Can Federer reclaim world number one ranking in 2012? – Tennis Special
Roger Federer is considered to be the best player to have ever held a tennis racket in the history of the sport by many experts and legends. No one has ruled the tennis world like Federer has done during the last decade.
Rod Laver is also rated the greatest player of the game by many but Federer’s feats surpass the legendary Australian player.
His records speak for his brilliance. With a total of 16 Grand Slam titles under his belt, the Swiss Maestro has won more Majors than any of this game’s legends. He has won at least one title at all the four Grand Slams. The right-hander
has won ATP World Tour Finals for a record number of six times. He has grabbed 18 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 events.
Federer has the record for staying on the top of the South African Airways ATP Rankings for most consecutive weeks with 237. However, in the list of staying world number one for the total number of weeks, Federer is second only
to Pete Sampras. The Swiss legend trails by only one week to Sampras. Federer has been on the top spot for a total of 285 weeks and the American is one ahead with 286.
Federer is at number three position right now and is below Novak Djokovic and Nadal. Although Djokovic currently tops the ranking list, he has become almost unbeatable in the last 12 months and Nadal is himself eyeing the number
one position. Federer has hinted with his performance in recent months that he is also a contender for the top spot.
The Swiss Maestro has always bounced back when his haters write him off. He has won five titles in the last six months. Just when his critics started to say, last year, that Federer cannot win any more title, Federer grabbed three
of them back to back. These included ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Paris and the World Tour Finals.
After failing to get past Nadal in the Australian Open semi-finals, Federer has again clinched two back to back titles in Rotterdam and Dubai. One special thing about the latter one was that Federer thrashed Andy Murray in the
final. Murray had toppled the unstoppable Djokovic in the previous match.
This is a clear sign that Federer is at par with the rest of the members of the Big four and he only needs a slight share of luck to win Grand Slams.
The 30-year-old has not won a Major since securing the 2010 Australian Open. The key to his regaining the top spot is grabbing Grand Slams.
He himself said, “What is clear is in men’s tennis in a season you have to get almost two Grand Slam titles to be No.1 without winning a major, which would be unthinkable for us.”
Djokovic and Nadal will have to defend a mountain of points in the coming four months, as they completely dominated the winter hard court and clay court season. On the other hand, Federer will have the chance to gain maximum points,
as he did not fare pretty well last year. If he wins most of the events held from Indian Wells to the US Open, the Swiss will have bright chances of claiming the top ranking.
Of the total 16 Grand Slam titles Federer has won, 11 of them were at the Wimbledon and US Open. The Swiss lost in the quarter-finals at both of these tournaments last year. If he wins both of his favourite Grand Slams, it will
almost make sure that he achieves his target.
Becoming world number one once again will make sure that Federer is second to none on the list. It’s not that Federer’s ‘Greatest Ever’ title would be in doubt if he does not make it but regaining the top spot one last time is
his desire. He can’t accept that he is playing the whole tour and is still behind a couple of players. His fans also want that their idol rules the Tennis World one last time and his struggle for the top spot bear fruit.
During his hometown tournament in Basel last year, Federer admitted that his goal is to become world number one once again. The Swiss said, referring to regaining the top spot, “In the long term that’s one goal.”
So, do you think that we can see Federer on top of the South African Airways ATP Rankings after or little before the US Open? I think so.
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