Will Roger Federer Bounce Back And The Myth of Age 30?

This Article was first published on 10sballs.com as : 

http://www.10sballs.com/2011/08/10/will-roger-federer-bounce-back-and-the-myth-of-age-30/

Written by: ApekshaHA on 10th August 2011

A friend of mine, who was getting married, told me an interesting fact recently:  for bachelors, marriage can be looked at in two ways: The end of journey or start of a new journey. As Federer enters the 30’s club, it’s the same case for him. For people, it might seem as an end of an era when he lost in Wimbledon Quarter Finals; but for me, it’s the start of a new journey for him. Why? Read on to know the reason:

Life is a sinusoidal curve with ups and downs, highs and lows ready to take us into new paths in life. Historically, there was a time when people thought that  Bjorn Borg would go down in the history as the greatest ever. Then Pete Sampras emerged and dominated Tennis during 1990′s. When he retired, many regarded him as the greatest. But he was surpassed by Federer in 8 years’ time. He, not only surpassed Sampras in Grand Slam titles but is also considered, by many, the one who changed the face of tennis with his charming personality. Just when Federer was thought of as invincible, Nadal came knocking on the door with a claim to the throne; and when Nadal was starting to establish his credibility on all type of courts, though too early to say, we might have another claim on the throne in future-Novak Djokovic – Who Knows?

The point here is that no one is invincible in his/her life. If there is a high in your life, you will also experience the opposite in your career. And that’s the fact of life. So the biggest question is will Federer be back in his career?

Yes. Every good player has a high and which is invariably followed by a low as he/she advances in his/her career. The difference between good and great is the ability to bounce back from this dirt. It’s not the age that matters, what matters is the person’s sheer will and determination to continue to move forward. Here are a few examples from history:

1) Rod Laver won 4 Grand Slams after the age of 30.

2) Pete Sampras (seeded 17th at that time) surprised everyone when he won his 14th Grand Slam at the age of 31.

3) Not to mention Ken Rosewall, arguably amongst the 5 greatest players of all time, won his last Grand Slam title at the age of 37 and after two years reached the Wimbledon Finals.

4) And there are so many others – Jimmy Connors who won US open at the age of 31, Andre Agassi who won Australian Open at the age of 32 etc.

If you look at the greats of the game, they had competition from the likes of John McEnroe, Ivan Lendl, Stefan Edberg, Boris Becker, Jim Courier etc. during their time, but they managed to overcome all the odds successfully.

The simple rationale is – If you think you can, you will.

“I’ve won so much that you feel like if you put yourself in the right position and you do all the right things you’ll definitely get a shot of winning big tournaments.”

“My planning has always been long term. I’m looking forward to how much more I can achieve from this point on.” – Federer.

Here is a champion who has won more Grand Slams than anyone in history. He still believes in himself and knows that he can go that extra mile. For some, it might be the end of his journey but as I see it, it’s the start of a new chapter in his life. A chapter that he wants to write down in the history book as a successful one.   He has broken so many records; I won’t be surprised if he goes on to achieve the milestone of winning multiple Grand Slams after the age of 30.

So many greats of the tennis world have done it before, so can Federer!

For me there is no reason at all for Federer fans to panic or think that his era is over. The champion that he is, he will be back soon!

If you have any questions- You can mail me at apekshaha@gmail.com

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Also: Roger Cup Defeats: A boon for Federer, Nadal and Murray?

Federer Defends Cincinnati Title Over Fish

Roger Federer won his first non-major final of the year after losing 3 finals in a row (on 3 different surfaces: Madrid to Rafael Nadal, Halle to Lleyton Hewitt and Toronto to Andy Murray) in Cincinnati on Sunday over American Mardy Fish. The title was his 53rd overall, tying Bjorn Borg on the all-time list at 5th. It was Federer's 17th ATP Masters series title, tying Andre Agassi but still one behind Nadal's 18.

Federer has now won the Cincinnati title in 2005, 2007, 2009 and 2010. Next year it will become a combined male-female 8-day event (immediately following simultaneous men's and women's tournaments in Toronto and Montreal).

The match with Fish was a close, high-quality 3-set affair featuring 2 tiebreaks, one break of serve and only 6 breakpoints between the two players. The final score was 6-7(5) 7-6(1) 6-4. In the first set, Federer had 4 breakpoints and failed to convert any of them due to brilliant serving by Fish. Federer faced one breakpoint in the second set but was able to get through to a tiebreak. In the first set tiebreaker Federer held a 5-4 lead, but Fish played a brilliant point to even the breaker at 5-all and Federer played a loose point to be down 6-5. Fish won the first set on a service winner. In the second set tiebreaker Federer was much sharper, jumping to a quick 4-1 lead and never looked in danger of losing that breaker. The only break in the match came in the 9th game of the third set where, for once, after facing a break point Fish was unable to make a first serve and eventually lost the breakpoint and the game, and eventually the match when Federer served it out pretty easily on his second match point.

Quote For The Day

"I think winning the US Open final in 1988 against (John) Lendl stands out as my best tennis memory. I had watched Bjorn Borg win the French Open and win Wimbledon but never be able to win the US Open, so us Swedes thought it was the hardest Grand Slam to win. Up to the point that I won it I knew I had a chance on hard courts because I was beating Lendl, (John) McEnroe and (Stefan) Edberg on the surface, but at the US Open it just seemed that bit tougher. So to beat Lendl in ’88 after having lost to him in ’87 and to win playing a really tactical game and hitting shots that I wouldn’t usually hit, that was incredible."--Mats Wilander

Day 15: Star-Written

Reuters

His eyes were on the prize. The day after his nemesis and arch-rival was hit off the court by his final opponent, Roger Federer was five points from defeat against Tommy Haas in the fourth round when his forehand saved his Paris life.

The draw opened for him like the Moses-parted Red Sea. With Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray following Rafael Nadal to the sidelines, the tournament was his to lose.

On paper, his draw looked like a cakewalk. Despite the headcases in his path, it was anything but. Four times he rallied from behind, once from two sets to love down, once from two sets to one down. It was the most difficult row he's ever had to hoe at a Grand Slam.

Until the final where it was All About Raja.


Getty

I wasn't sure what was going on with Robin Söderling (blisters? nerves? deference? all of the above?) until he gave his speech in the trophy ceremony. He told Raja and the world that Raja was the greatest player in tennis history and he deserved to win this title. No wonder why he couldn't keep a ball in the court and refused to go for his big serves consistently. Still, his march to the final was unexpected, other-worldly, and wonderful to see.


AP

For Raja's part, his serve was clicking, his forehand on fire, his footwork impeccable, his recently unleashed drop shot untouchable. Much easier to pull off when Rafa's not on the other side of the net in a Paris final.

I, for one, never wrote off Raja as did his adoring and worshiping fans. Never thought he had gone anywhere. 20 consecutive Slam semifinals and 5 consecutive Slam finals betrays such hysteria. I did wonder how he would deal with his humiliating defeat here last year and his crushing defeat in his grass-covered garden. Wondered if he would recover from such shifting fortunes and go the way of, say, Björn Borg who sat in the stands today watching history unfold. How would Raja deal?

This is how.

He would not be denied. Champions seize their opportunities. I will always consider him the luckiest multi-Slam champion I've ever witnessed, but luck means nothing if you can't cash it in. He had to dig deep to get through the draw, and for all that digging, he receives my admiration and respect, even though he didn't have to beat his greatest rival in the anticlimactic final.


Reuters

It rained on his bi-lingual trophy reception parade, but that didn't matter. The adoring crowd that had chanted Robin! Robin! Robin! last week and Raja! Raja! Raja! this week made it clear they would stand in lightning to see their guy get that last piece of everything: the elusive French Open to go along with a beautiful, devoted wife with a bun in the oven, a record-tying 14 Slam titles, and the bestowing of that four-word title I refuse to endorse one way or the other because I simply don't believe in such things.

Getty

Getty

And to think, he received the Coupe des Mousquetaires from Andre Agassi exactly 10 years after the American completed the career Grand Slam when most everyone had written him off.


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Getty


Getty

For Raja, who fixed his eyes on the prize, this was truly written in the stars.

Exhibitionists

John McEnroe of USA and Bjorn Borg (R) congratulate each other after an exhibition match against Bjorn Borg in Kuala Lumpur on November 18, 2008. John McEnroe won the battle of the old timers when he beat former arch-rival Bjorn Borg 7-6. SAEED KHAN/AFP/Getty Images

On Top of the World

It's official. Rafael Nadal is the best player in the world. With his 6-3, 6-2 victory over Nicolas Kiefer in the Rogers Cup final, Rafa has won his 12th ATP Masters Series shield (his fourth on hardcourts), surpassing Pete Sampras with 11 (only Andre Agassi and Roger Federer have more), won his 30th title, finishing behind only Jimmy Connors and Bjorn Borg for that many titles won at the ripe old age of 22, extends his winning streak to 29 matches and 5 straight titles.


He has won seven of the last eight events entered.

But what's most impressive? Five events, five titles, three different surfaces. Two clay, two grass, one hard.

In that run, he's defeated Raja and Novak Djokovic three times each.

The rankings say he could become the World No. 1 soon if he keeps winning.

The results say he's the best player in the world.



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Out at the East West Bank Classic, Dinara Safina continued her fine form with a 6-4 6-2 victory over Italy's Flavia Pennetta.