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Roger Federer Is Not Done Yet

By Siddhant Guru

SHANGHAI, CHINA - OCTOBER 11: Roger Federer of Switzerland looks on against Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain during they third round of the 2018 Rolex Shanghai Masters on Day 5 at Qi Zhong Tennis Centre on October 11, 2018 in Shanghai, China. (Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)
SHANGHAI, CHINA - OCTOBER 11: Roger Federer of Switzerland looks on against Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain during they third round of the 2018 Rolex Shanghai Masters on Day 5 at Qi Zhong Tennis Centre on October 11, 2018 in Shanghai, China. (Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images) /
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Roger Federer
SHANGHAI, CHINA – OCTOBER 06: Roger Federer of Switzerland practise at Qi Zhong Tennis Centre on October 6, 2018 in Shanghai, China. (Photo by Kevin Lee/Getty Images) /

Roger Federer had a horrible season in 2013, but he bounced back in 2014 and 2015 with new weapons added to his game and a new ultra-aggressive approach to the game.

After his injury in 2016, Roger Federer’s game evolved even further in 2017 when he dialed down the net-rushing but instead stuck to the baseline and took the ball ridiculously early, robbing his opponent of any time, which also helped him solve his career-long problem of defeating Rafael Nadal consistently.

This part of the season, is Federer’s favorite. He loves the fast indoor conditions as they suit his attacking game. While Federer’s season has generally been accepted as poor, what is important to notice is that he has consistently reached the later stages of the tournaments he has played in, thus giving himself a decent chance of winning them.

It’s a matter of one or two good performances in the later stages that could earn him a few more titles. At 37, Roger Federer’s famed consistency is gone but the genius is still there. Whether or not he wins more, would be decided by whether or not he can produce that genius in a final or a semi final.

Next. 2018, The Year Of Djokovic. dark

Federer’s relative decline has also coincided with two of his greatest rivals going on great runs. Rafael Nadal is a remarkable 45-4 for the season and although he is currently nursing a knee injury, he is still the World No. 1 and has had a decent run on the hard courts. Novak Djokovic, after a calamitous start to the season, is now the hot favorite to be the Year-End No. 1 with wins in Wimbledon, Cincinnati, US Open and most recently Shanghai. Djokovic also loves this part of the season as he is richly rewarded for his defense-to-offense transition plays. And yet, it isn’t as easy as expected.

Roger Federer is the only player to beat Djokovic in the indoor season from 2013-2015. Nadal never really likes this stage of the season and has never won an indoor title in his career. Federer still has more than a decent chance of finishing the season as strongly as he had started it. Counting him out, is something that should best be avoided.

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