Tennis report: Has Roger Federer lost his vigour?
“I have decided not to join the Davis Cup team to Kazakhstan. I need some extra time to relax after the intense weeks in North America so I can finish the year strong.”
These are the words of the tennis legend Roger Federer posted on his official website. There is sufficient resting period between the Davis Cup and US Open; Roger could get some respite between the two tournaments, in fact by not
making it to the US Open Final, he saved a few more days of rest. Then why would he want some time-off? Perhaps, to get his mind off the rather unusual defeat against Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals of the US Open, it seems; or could it be that the 29-year
old has lost his vigour, his thirst to win matches… After all, he is beginning to lose his winning streak in matches. It reminds of the days when the legendary Pete Sampras was inching towards the end of his career, after spectacular achievements. Having said
that, it is still very premature to make any such judgments yet as one cannot say that the career of a player is over because of just one poor performance.
The semi final between Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic was one of the most exciting, yet strangest semi finals of a grand slam event. It was a rather long and thrilling five-setter match lasting three hours and forty-four minutes.
To be fair with Djokovic, one would say that he did put up a good front to get himself back in the match after almost facing defeat, but the fact of the matter is, Federer played an ordinary game of tennis. The Swiss player let two crucial match points slip
away from his hands and the two of the sets that he lost were 1-6 and 2-6, which reflect the increased number of unforced errors made by the Swiss. He also lost on the change.
It certainly didn’t seem that a player of Roger’s caliber, that is, someone who has won 63 tournament titles and 16 Grand Slam titles would put up such an ordinary show. Even though the match did go to five sets, what made it more
exciting was the way Djokovic got himself back in the game, partly by his own efforts, and partly by the unforced errors made by the former Champion.
Roger Federer really didn’t seem in his element that day, he wasn’t even putting up a good fight, and somehow he was struggling to get the ball above the net – the very basics of tennis. He, uncharacteristically, made too many
errors during the most pivotal and crucial parts of the match and he also failed to capitalize on his first serve. Age seems to be a factor creeping in with Roger’s current form; his rusty performance seems to be a proof of that.
Roger was defeated by Djokovic 7-5, 1-6, 7-5, 2-6 and 5-7. This has been the first time that Federer has missed the final of US Open in the last seven years. In those seven times that he has appeared in the final of the Grand Slam,
he has won five of them from 2004 through 2008.
Nonetheless, it was a semi final worth watching as it kept the audience at the edge of their seats and it did have a rather nail-biting finish. Both the players displayed a very entertaining show of tennis. But Federer’s fans were
truly disappointed along with many other tennis fans who desperately wanted to watch the showdown between Nadal and Federer in the US Open final.
Federer hopes to finish the year 2010 on a good note which is why he has taken a break from tennis to gather his thoughts and momentum, and get back his winning streak.
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