The Federer Fade

It's not that Federer's competition has gotten better since he dominated the game and he can't adjust to them. Remember Federer had beaten Nadal, Djokovic and Murray in Slam Finals. In Fed's time, he was faced with Hewitt, Safin, and Roddick. All players that reached No.1 status, which means they are very talented players. Fed just wore them down over the years. It's that Federer's own level of play has decreased significantly due to Mono. Mono has a huge effect on people, especially those in sports. Many players have to leave the sports they are in when they contract Mono. Federer played through it!

Anyone who watched Federer play before 2008 and watching Federer play now knows that he can play much, much better. I mean come on, Tipseravic took Fed to a 5th set in the 2008 AO! Everyone knows something is definitely wrong there. Nadal and Murray are retrievers. Ever watch the two of them against each other? Not very interesting. Federer and Djokovic are offensive players who are able to hit winners from many angles. Now Fed is facing a confidence issue. Look how close he was to beating Nadal at the Australian Open and he was only serving at 51%. He has lost his serve over the last year and a half. That's not an issue of the competition getting better. That is simply an aspect of his game that he needs to work on now. He needs to get himself in better shape physically! He needs to restore his confidence, perhaps with a full-time coach! Then everyone will see the true Federer and what he can do to the competition again!

I agree with your main proposition, Mr.Epstein. nothing lasts forever. Let's be grateful and supportive every time Federer steps on court to play, from now on, win or lose.

But I do think you've taken Federer's fitness for granted. He has been struggling with his back since last fall. His serve and movement have never been the same. Mono, back, legs, etc. all parts of aging. Federer is not a machine.

Federer faced much tougher competition in 2008-2009 than he did during 2004-2007 when he racked up 11 of his 13 major titles. All of these elite players -- constantly improv ing Nadal, Djokovic and Murray -- and others in the top 10 relentlessly attack Federer's vulnerable one-handed backhand. Not even Federer's great athleticism, strategical acumen and experience can overcome this stroke liability. Federer was always far from perfect, and now those imperfections are being exposed and exploited. That said, Federer could play brilliantly, and he may still tie or break Sampras's record of 14 Grand Slams singles titles.

Typical male arrogance. Pete Sampras did NOT win more grand slam titles than anyone else in tennis. Perhaps he holds the records for males, but Martina Navratilova won 18 singles grand slam and 41 doubles grand slam titles. She won 167 singles titles, which is more than anyone else in the history of tennis, male or female. Next time, how about if you remember the other half of the world before you start talking about the best players in the world.

Joseph, your assessment of Roger Federer today, is as perfect as Federer was when he earned our awe. I will watch him as plummets further below the peak he built, as a tribute to the greatest player the game has ever seen -- if only for some moments.

... it's all about food ... what we eat eats us ... especially sticky foods that cause our muscle fibers to stick instead of slideing smoothly ... and salt which contracts and dehydrates our muscles and causes us to "short-arm" our movements ... same thing happened to vince young after he bought a sausage company ... and macenroe who lost badly at roland garros after eating a mess of snails the night before ... it's just that simple.

... it's all about food ... what we eat eats us ... especially sticky foods that cause our muscle fibers to stick instead of slideing smoothly ... and salt which contracts and dehydrates our muscles and causes us to "short-arm" our movements ... same thing happened to vince young after he bought a sausage company ... and macenroe who lost badly at roland garros after eating a mess of snails the night before ... it's just that simple.

Nadal ripped Federer's heart out. He never really experienced definite loss in his long run. Now he has and he is unable to cope with it. He will never come back. The gentleman tennis player should retire, make babies and relax. He had a great run

This was a terrebile article as it explains nearly nothing as to why this has hapened to Roger. And I agree Markoskar, he is not the same!!! What event in can we point to. Simple, he got Mono. An illness that stays with you for life. For Roger, even a %1 loss in step is enough for him to loose the mental edge. Now in it's in his head as well as others that he can loose.

. "He looks the same, hits the ball with the same intensity, has the same on-court elegance of bearing. "
With all do respect to the writer, after that comment he lost me.
Roger is technically not the same, and I appear to be the only person preaching this...
Federer has some un-interntional changes to technique that need to be addressed.
Tiger Woods recognized this with his own game, and so does Roger Federer.
I've discussed this in my own articles at - http://thetennisauthority.blogspot.com/
You'll need to find the older post regarding Federer. This isn't a marketing tactic for the site...
It's now an open letter to Roger on how to really evolve and potentially resume what his potential holds.

I agree that Fed plays with such lighness that there were times at the French his socks were barely dirty, while his opponents were covered in red clay up there calves. he was pure poetry. The ATP and the ITF have changed the game to favor slower courts for longer rallies to such a degree that we are in an era dominated by defensive retrievers. it is such boring stuff that I often just turn it off; watching Murry roll the balls in like a third rate pusher is like watching paint dry. Fed has become a victim of this change, where once his shots had enough sting to hit though the samll window for a winner, his shots are all nulified by the bigger faster defenders that stand 10 to 15 feet back behind the court. he is now so frustrated that he looks like a drunck puncher trying desperately land a finishing blow. it just can't be done. Fed won the 08 US open because it was the fastest court they played in last year! Bring back a fair surface that also allows offensive players a stage to show off their skills instead of being blungeoned by body blows designed to just wear out an opponent. Table tennis had to bring in a rule to force defensive players to finish points because points between two defensive players went on for hours. they would just stand back from the table and slice the ball until someone made an unforced error. international basketball was the same way, games were won with teams scoring less than 30 points. they also had to make teams try to score in 30 seconds. bring back some speed on the courts and give our appolo a fighting chance to fly again.

When he was very young, he behaved really wild; it would not be just one but three rackets per game... Finding perfection? He worked and overcame that awful temper. This year, he lost his concentration against Murray and Djokovic in a matter of fraction of seconds; the result, the beauty was lost, he did not care even about the public. Before that, he was crying really "in pain" after his final at Melbourne. Signs, signs. I think he is desperate looking what is vanishing in front of him, a rare combination of tekne and art... Maybe a touch of insanity would lead him to conquer the history, once again.

Hi Joseph, it's really sad to see Federer fade, but I'm hoping he comes back out and be what he should be.

On your article, it was beautifully written.. was a pleasure reading.

Ditto to the slowing down of the courts. At the last Wimbledon, the announcers mentioned that the AELTC changed and slowed down the court. What kind of rubbish is that. Do they WANT Nadal to win everything? Fed was undercut. And he still almost won it. Nadal had to fight to the death to win that 5 setter. The best tennis match ever played according to all who saw it.

Federer could reclaim his crown if only he would go back to what makes a person so single minded. He has become complacent in the adulation heeped upon him. He has become complacent in the royalty that is bestowed upon him by all in the tennis community. He has become complacent and a bit prim in his firing of his coach, Tony Roche, who helped him navigate the tennis world during his run of majors. And with Nike making him a fashionista during his Wimbledon runs recently, and all of the such, Roger is COMPLETELY distracted from what we think is most important to him, that is, winning the most majors and holding the rank of best of all time. Pretty heady stuff.

Maybe he doesn't realize that abandoning the lifestyle and demeanor that gets one that far, also adds to the difficulty of achieving it.

And for those who call him undersized, look at those who have held the number 1 ranking the longest in recent years. Ivan Lendl, Pete Sampras, Boris Becker, And now Rafael Nadal. All of them are in the 6-1 180 lb range. That is the perfect body size to have the range to cover the court and not be too big to cover and recover. And to be able to have the power and control of their strokes to be so creative. McEnroe was undersized, Borg and Connors were undersized. Even Bill Tilden in the 20's was the same 6.1 180 size.

Come on Roger, read this. Get rid of the side shows for a year or two. You can do that later. Show 'em who they are dealing with. Get JUST a little nasty or dominant on the court. Let's get that 13th and then more.

Federer could reclaim his crown if only he would go back to what makes a person so single minded. He has become complacent in the adulation heeped upon him. He has become complacent in the royalty that is bestowed upon him by all in the tennis community. He has become complacent and a bit prim in his firing of his coach, Tony Roche, who helped him navigate the tennis world during his run of majors. And with Nike making him a fashionista during his Wimbledon runs recently, and all of the such, Roger is COMPLETELY distracted from what we think is most important to him, that is, winning the most majors and holding the rank of best of all time. Pretty heady stuff.

Maybe he doesn't realize that abandoning the lifestyle and demeanor that gets one that far, also adds to the difficulty of achieving it.

And for those who call him undersized, look at those who have held the number 1 ranking the longest in recent years. Ivan Lendl, Pete Sampras, Boris Becker, And now Rafael Nadal. All of them are in the 6-1 180 lb range. That is the perfect body size to have the range to cover the court and not be too big to cover and recover. And to be able to have the power and control of their strokes to be so creative. McEnroe was undersized, Borg and Connors were undersized. Even Bill Tilden in the 20's was the same 6.1 180 size.

Come on Roger, read this. Get rid of the side shows for a year or two. You can do that later. Show 'em who they are dealing with. Get JUST a little nasty or dominant on the court. Let's get that 13th and then more.

Interesting article. There is another factor, however. The tennis powers have slowed down the courts dramatically -- so we're now seeing what amounts to clay court tennis all year round -- at Wimbledon, on hard courts, everywhere. It is no coincidence that the only Grand Slam Federer won last year was the U.S Open, which is the only fast, GS left. Remember several years ago when Leyton Hewitt threw a hissy fit because the Australian Open surface was so slow he couldn't hit a winner? That court that Hewitt hated because it was so slow was must FASTER than the new Auzzie Open surface.

Remember when a 19-year-old Federer beat Pete Sampras at Wimbledon in a five-set serve-and-volley shoot-out? I doubt that Nadal could have won a set off either of them on that surface; but he doesn't have to. Wimbeldon has slowed its surface down so much there are now FEWER VOLLEYS at Wimbledon on grass than Borg-and-Villas used to use at the French Open on clay. Tennis has become boring and one-dimensional. If this keeps up, today's finals will consist of Andy Murray and Nadal looping short forehands from six feet behind the baseline. Sorry. That's boring.

Yes Federer's game has dropped a notch but, more than this, the next generation's game has caught up to him including the likes of Nadal, Murray, Djokovic and even Gilles Simon) all but one of which he sports losing records.

Let's remember that even today, Federer continues to beat the same players that he used to beat with regularity (Roddick, Davydenko, Ferrer, Blake, Nalbandian, etc.). Let's not put this all on Federer's decline but more on the improvement in his competition.