2018 US Open Top Picks: Roger Federer

Roger Federer had a brilliant start to his 2018 season with wins in Australia and Rotterdam, clinching the #1 spot and being the oldest ever to do so. Since Miami however, Federer has slowed down, losing in 3 finals, failing to defend his Wimbledon crown, losing the #1 spot and losing his first ever Cincinnati Final. His passive game and reliance on serve can take him only so far & he’ll be looking to rectify the kinks in his armour.

He enters the US Open as the current Finalist at Cincinnati. While a final showing isn’t anything to scoff at, Federer was favoured over Djokovic due to his dominance over him in Cincinnati. Alas, it wasn’t to be as Djokovic dominated Federer in a straightforward match of 2 sets.

What does he need to work on?

His current passivity while playing and his footwork. Tennis is a sport where you generate power from your enter body to hit a shot, and your footwork plays a key role in this transference of energy. When one’s footwork is hit or miss, so are their shots. While his serve is great and his 1-2 punch seems to be the weapon of choice, Federer really needs to work on bringing his game back up, and footwork is the most important thing to work on.

The second agenda on the list is to work on his increasingly passive style of play. Slicing to buy time, poor net play during crucial points are some of the areas he needs to work on.

Personally, I feel working on his footwork will allow for his passive game style to figure itself out. Either way, these are two crucial areas he needs to work on.

Can he do it?

The competition is stiff this year at the US Open, with several players making a comeback: Djokovic is back, Wawrinka is on his way and so is Murray. Nadal is on fire, Cilic and Anderson are playing well too and Nishikori can’t be ruled out at the US Open. Kyrgios is always a danger, Zverev is now under Lendl’s watchful eye, Tsitsipas is on the rise, Shapovalov can do damage too. Delpo beat him last year at the US Open and this year at Miami, so it’s entirely possible that he can do it this year too.

Aside from competition. Federer hasn’t won the US Open in 10 years. That’s longer than his French Open drought, which is saying something. He seems to check out during crucial moments (Read: 2010 and 2011 USO SF and 2015 F) or has freak losses to unexpected players (Berdych, Robredo among others). If he has an easy draw, works out on the kinks in his armour and doesn’t over exert himself, he can definitely have a good chance. Never rule out Federer, even if he’s an old man.