Defining the Swiss tennis Maestro in 2010 – Part One
Five crowns, including a major title, might be enough for most of players in a single year; however the 29-year-old Roger Federer looks beyond these achievements!
The sixteen times Grand Slam champion, started his 2010 campaign by picking up the year’s first Grand Slam, Australian Open in Melbourne after getting the better of Andy Murray in the final. The Swiss, by virtue, of his win also increased his lead over Pete
Sampras who finished his professional life with fourteen major trophies.
While commenting on his overall journey after holding the Australian Open crown back in January, Federer said that he has played some of the best tennis of his life in Melbourne.
However, after being thrown back due to a lung infection a month later that also did not allow Federer to take part in the Dubai event, he went through some hard times. The right hander surrendered his crowns at both French Open and grass court Grand Slam
tournament at the All England Club in London.
He fell down in the quarters to hard hitting Robin Soderling of Sweden at Roland Garros and to Tomas Berdych of Czech Republic in Wimbledon. The Swiss, as a result of his final eight exit in Wimbledon, also missed the title battle of the All England Club
on the very first occasion since 2002.
The loss in Roland Garros, on the other hand, also snapped one of the most amazing streaks in the history of tennis. The Basel born who made his debut on the ATP World Tour back in 1998, had reached at least the semi finals in all of his previous twenty
three major events. The defeat also had another consequence as Roger also dropped down to number two in the ATP rankings as he was replaced by the 24-year-old Rafael Nadal. Moreover, he also fell just seven days short of exceeding Pete Sampras’ mark of two
hundred and eighty six weeks at the top spot.
The modest Federer who currently resides in Wollerau; however praised Nadal for his class and aptitude by saying, “Nadal fully deserves to be number one, since he won the last three major tournaments. However I know if I am playing well, there is no question
that I am able to challenge him and get a chance to return to the top spot.”
In August, the right hander managed to win the Western and Southern Financial Group Masters in Cincinnati on the fourth occasion in his career. It was his seventh ATP World Tour Masters 1000 crown, levelling Andre Agassi and placing him just one victory
behind the top ranked Spaniard, Rafael Nadal on the tour.
However, sadly, the luck was not on his side at the other three big United States competitions. Federer lost to Marcos Baghdatis at Indian Wells, Tomas Berdych in Miami and in a fabulous United States Open final eight versus Novak Djokovic of Serbia.
The 2008 Olympic gold medal winner, however, still finds a lot of positive aspects in his twelfth complete year on the tour. He hired Pete Sampras’ former coach, Paul Annacone, as his coach who gave him great confidence and helped the former world number
one regain his top form by adding new ingredients to his tactics and game. After spending some years on the tour without any coach, the change for the Swiss proved extremely beneficial for him.
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