Roger Federer : The Champion’s way back

On Saturday, July 9 2016, when the newspapers published the image of Roger Federer, the Swiss tennis icon, fallen
face first onto the lush lawns of Wimbledon in the fifth set of the Semi-final and his subsequent announcement of
shutting down his season, many tennis pundits and even the most ardent of Fed Fans have been forced to think,
that they might indeed have seen the last of The Mighty Swiss, or at least that of him genuinely competing for
slams.

But the uber competent Swiss is not ready to quit, yet. Federer, has completed one of the most stunning
comebacks that tennis has ever seen in 2017, with seven titles and eight finals in eleven tournaments to go with
the year-end win-loss standing at 52-5. Not since the 2007 season have we witnessed such stunning stats from the
Swiss maestro. The 6-month hiatus might have triggered alarm bells across the tennis fraternity, but it provided
the perfect opportunity for Federer to come to terms with his no longer youthful body and to fully understand
that his game – though still very potent and efficient – is no longer capable of getting him through against the
fellow Big Four players, a group he headed for years. His younger competitors come with a power game, that
burns through his elegant backhand and its slick slice. That the more the number of balls coming back onto his
side of the court, the finer his margins for error get, considering Federer’s aggressive style of going for winners,
whilst the rest of the big four are comfortable playing the defensive game.
 The identification of areas with room for improvement started in 2013, when he switched from his trusted
90 square inch racquet head to a larger 97 square inch. He made three grand-slam finals – the Wimbledon 2014
& ’15, the US Open 2015 – but came up short against a rampaging Djokovic. His game was back on track, but the
wait for that elusive 18th grandslam has stepped into its 4th year.

These six months thus provided a time for self-introspection and figuring out how he wants his twilight
years to turn out. Would he finish them as an “also ran” or would he wind back the clock?

Needless to say, he took the Champions way or perhaps laid one of his own personal track to glory. He
finally did what his father has screamed at him – for years – to do “hit the back hand damn-it, don’t slice“. Federer
re-invented his backhand, taking the ball on the raise and whacking it across the net. The ‘rush to the net’ element,
that Stephen Edberg managed to bring back to the Fed’s game, in combination with the new Neo backhand and
the freedom of no expectations – even his own – have unleashed a monster of a player that his army of fans have
craved to see and his competitors have never imagined possible in their wildest dreams.

In his first official tournament back on the tour, it took him all of two matches to shatter his doubts. The
match against Thomas Berdych that the pundits marked to be his end in the tournament, would become the stage
to the unleashing of the beast he has become. And poor Berdych was made to look like a club level player who
got lucky to have a hit with Federer.

Two five setters ensued against Nishikori and Wawrinka, but the match that everyone was craving for,
the showdown against his arch rival Rafael Nadal – who was on a redemption path himself – the ninth grandslam
final between the two champions, Kings of Wimbledon and Roland Garros on the plexi – cushioned Rod Laver
arena. Master of Green Grass Vs Rampaging Bull of Red Dirt.

With Federer and Nadal on 17 and 14 grandslams, it was a match that could swing the debate of who
ends the career with G.O.A.T title next to their name. If Rafa wins it is 15 to 17 with the French open round the
corner. If Federer survives he moves 4 clear of Nadal and more importantly he would break the duck on whether
he could win one more slam.

It was clear from the onset, that for Federer to win, the match should be played on his terms not on
Nadal’s. A baseline slugfest could only end with Nadal biting his teeth into the Norman Brookes trophy. And so
Federer ensured he did anything but that. The 3 hour 26 min five setter was so swift with Federer’s aggressive
tennis, either winning him the set comfortably in 1st & 3rd or losing it in 2nd & 4th because of the unforced errors
that ensued. The four sets have been a blitz with him blowing hot and cold.

The final set began with Nadal going a break ahead in the very first game – after another Federer medical timeout
– making it look like almost every other Fedal five setter, where Federer loses steam in the fifth.

The consequent two games were a battle with the two players getting break point opportunities with neither
converting them. Then came the defining moment of the match or perhaps that of Federer’s legacy. Nadal whose
service game has been shaky in every service game of the set was again under pressure and this time resulting in
a couple of errors. While he saved two break points from 15-40, he couldn’t do it again especially under the
onslaught of whizzing backhand winners from Federer.

Federer broke again to serve for the match. But it is not over yet. Not when it is Nadal on the other side of the
net. Fed went 15—40, saved three break points, teased the hawk-eye a couple of times and finally came the
Inside-In forehand that gave him what he tasted 17 times but not once in nearly four and a half years.
 It had to still pass the hawk-eye test, but the Nadal’s challenge only made sure that the defining point of
their legacies, was played in slow motion for all the world to see.

Roger Federer has done it. At 35, after six months away from the game, nearly five years after his last slam, as
17th seed, making his way through with three five setters against top 10 players, he has done it. He defied logic
and proved the world – that has written many eulogies and obituaries on his name – wrong.
The Champion is back, and the rest of the year has just been a joy ride for him (He chose less rides but had more
fun) having lost just five matches all year. A serene Wimbledon march without losing a set, setting the record as
the most decorated male player at SW19 only etched his name into the record books for the umpteenth-time.

The only missing piece was the World No.1, courtesy a back injury at Montreal Masters. But with the year he had,
he wouldn’t mind taking the second seat on the ATP list. After all, he has achieved what he wanted the most in
the past five years. To hear the words

” The Men’s Single’s Champion for Australian Open 2018, ROGER FEDERER “.

ABHISHEK VELAGAPUDI