Nick Bollettieri comes to Federer’s defence
The tennis world was shocked at Roger Federer’s surprise exit at this year’s Wimbledon. It was the first time in years that Federer was unable to reach the finals at the All England Club.
His fallen head was not a sight photographers on site were used to clicking. Once off the court, critics, fans and media people alike had only one question; what was the reason for Federer’s loss, only the Swiss had the answer.
After losing to the unheralded Tomas Berdych, Roger Federer very calmly told reporters gathered at the post match conference that he attributed his poor performance to injuries.
This was the dreaded excuse that the reporters were waiting for but it was merely a façade that Federer was hiding behind. Amid speculations of Federer’s dwindling reign, there was one person who was steadfast in his belief that Federer was right in attributing his loss to injury related issues.
The man is a revered entity in tennis; he has produced many bright stars in the tennis world such as Andre Agassi. It was none other than Nick Bollettieri who said it was Federer’s back injury that hampered his performance on the grass court.
Bollettieri’s comments usually are given a lot of weight by tennis pundits as he has been associated with the circuit for a long time. He owns the Nick Bollettieri tennis academy and has been a coach and mentor to many players. In an interview to an Indian newspaper, Bollettieri said Federer’s back had given him issues previously as well.
For instance he was not at his best during the 2008 Masters Championship in Shanghai when a trainer had to be called out for his back. Bollettieri may be one of the most respected men in tennis but these comments have certainly drawn strong criticisms from around the globe.
Critics feel that Bollettieri is ignoring the fact that Federer may not be coming to the end of his supreme reign. There seemed to be no sign of any injury that could have been troubling him during any of the Wimbledon matches.
Any player who is troubled on the court would have a trainer called in, slow down his game, grimace a little after a tough shot, or stretch after a gruelling rally. None of these signs were present during Federer’s game.
He glided across the grass with relative ease, hit the shots in his majestic way, opened the face of the racquet effortlessly and served from the middle of his strings. The only difference was his opponents put on a better fight. Thereby making it an anomaly as to why such a renowned tennis coach would defend the injury excuse so openly.
This was not the only statement from Bollettieri that was frowned upon. He went on to state that a player of Federer’s stature never makes excuses. However, that seemed doubtful in the light of the post match conference at Wimbledon. Bollettieri’s statements were as much of a shock to the tennis world as Federer’s quarterfinal exit.
Looking forward, Bollettieri made a correct prediction that it will be difficult for Federer to rise again. The reason he gave was that a string of losses Federer has incurred had increased the confidence of other players on the circuit. He is not as feared in the tennis circuit as he used to be. Hence his opponents now will not crack under pressure and play their best game to down the wounded lion.
After being on top for majority of the decade it is normal for any player to commence his decline. He is probably not as nimble on his feet when he first burst onto the scene in 2003 and won his first Wimbledon title.
A champion should get his due but when a player seeks to hide his weaknesses under the shadow of excuses, there are chances of their reputation being tainted. Bollettieri may stand behind Federer, but reality is that it was not injury that caused his loss but it was his dwindling performance.
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