Tennis special edition; Can Roger Federer regain his number one ranking in 2011?
World number two Roger Federer was all set to write his name in the annals of history earlier this season at French Open, needing a semifinal appearance to level Pete Sampras’ all time mark of two hundred and eighty six weeks at the top spot in the ATP rankings.
Going into the quarters against Robin Soderling of Sweden, everyone predicted a straight forward victory for the Swiss tennis maestro, Federer. It was their thirteenth career encounter on the tour.
However, contrary to everyone’s expectations, Roger’s hope to tie Sampras’ record was dashed to the ground by the current world number five Soderling who bounced back from a set down to get past the defending champion. As a result of this victory, Soderling
also made it easier for Rafael Nadal to clinch the number one spot in the rankings. Rafa not only won the French Open crown but also ran away with the number one ranking over the next couple of months, sealing the season end top spot honour by September.
In spite of the fact that the 29-year-old Federer was at his top form in the last few months of the year, compiling a mark of 21-2 following the year’s final major, the United States Open in New York, he remained realistic about his chances of reclaiming
the number one spot in the world.
“Sure it is challenging. It is going to be very difficult because Rafa is playing well. It is not something I have in mind right now. The goal is to play well here in London and prepare for next season and hopefully at some stage get it back. If not then
I will focus on just winning tournaments. That is something I like doing as well. I have Australia to defend first. Rafa has no points to defend here in London; thatt is why things look very good for him for the next few months,” said Roger prior to his title
win against Nadal at the prestigious London event.
The Swiss at the moment trails Rafa by 3,305 points in the South African Airways ATP Rankings and may see the gap widen further following the year’s opening Grand Slam, the Australian Open in Melbourne, where Federer has to defend a total of 2,000 points.
Nadal, on the other hand, has 360 points to defend.
Roger’s best opportunity to gain ground would be during the clay court circuit, where Rafa won three ATP World Tour Masters 1000 crowns along with the French Open and thus earned 5,000 points. Federer, on the other hand, ended the European clay court season
with a total of 970 points.
The grass court stretch in 2011 could also prove an important stage in the quest for the number one spot. After ending quarterfinalist this season at Wimbledon, Federer would win 1,640 rankings points in case of winning the title.
Therefore, the question here is that does the Basel native who celebrates his 30th birthday next August, has what it takes to regain the number one spot? Satisfied with his strong end to the season, the Swiss was quite positive about his performance in 2011.
“I am just really happy the way I was able to finish the season in style, playing some of my best tennis, really saving the best for last. I believe I can have another great season in 2011,” said Federer at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London.
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