Roger or The Field?
| 5
|
by Nejoshi
As seen on The Sports Lounge
For the first time in quite awhile, the answer to that question may require a little thought. For the past two years, one could have bet the house that the field – excluding Rafael Nadal on clay – had no use in competing with Roger Federer at the Grand Slams. That’s because Federer has made a mockery of his sport at the game’s biggest events, rendering even the stunning question of 1 vs. 127 to be utterly useless. Consider this; the man has made it to the last nine Grand Slam finals, winning seven.
That achievement right there is an all-time record in the sport of tennis, something you don’t see every day. Everybody knows about the Open Era that started in 1968 and finally allowed professionals to play, giving rise to what are commonly known as “open-era records.” All the greats of our time have been feasting on open-era records. But, seeing an all-time record that had stood for 73 years get surpassed is really quite astonishing, especially if you consider that many of the game’s champions in the pre-Open era often only had to win one match to retain their title. Federer has to win seven each and every time out. Breaking an all-time record in the sport of tennis is something that makes your head turn.
Putting this into perspective, imagine how much more we would celebrate Tiger Woods, the world’s most popular and successful athlete, if he somehow accomplished the unlikely feat of nine consecutive top-2 finishes in majors. Golf and tennis are different sports, but they are both based around the four “big ones,” and Federer’s hold on the game during those crucial moments requires tremendous praise (Woods’ achievements are pretty damn good too). If you need more evidence why the question posed in the title has been useless in the recent past, then scan the computer for the past 190 weeks and see whose name has been on the top. Ya, it’s Roger Federer, who is guaranteed to have the longest reign at #1 in the history of tennis, man or woman. In case you were wondering, Tiger Woods has been perched atop the golf world for the past 115 weeks, but his longest streak stands at 264. The debate about whether Tiger or Roger owns their sport more rages on.
So, what has suddenly happened that makes this moot point worth scratching our heads about? Well, that would be the emergence of a slight chink in Federer’s armor. The 11-time Grand Slam winner has indeed won the two non-clay Grand Slams so far in 2007, but it appears the field is catching up.
The North American hard court series has been especially brutal in ’07. Before his breakthrough in Cincinnati last weekend, the Swiss star had gone 0-3 on the continent for the year. That is simply unfathomable, considering this guy’s track record. In the desert of California (Pacific Life Open, Indian Wells) and the beaches of Miami (Sony Ericsson Open, Key Biscayne), Federer was taken down by Argentinean Guilllermo Canas, who opened up the world to an answer to the pressing question, Is anyone going to make men’s tennis mildly interesting?
Run like hell, be consistent, and don’t be afraid to go for the big shot when it’s your time. That was Canas’ plan of action. Sounds impossible, especially against Roger, but then Serbian sensation Novak Djokovic employed that strategy to perfection in his fame-grabbing triumph over Federer during the Rogers Cup in Montreal earlier this month, and suddenly there’s hope.
Don’t get carried away though, Federer immediately proved that he was unfazed by his Finals loss to Djokovic and rebounded by ending his drought with a win in Cincinnati. He effectively took the field’s best hit and hit them back, but harder. Djokovic, for all his talent as a potential foil, went down in the second round. Oh, the inconsistency of those 20-year olds!
There are many youngsters that are capable of pulling off a career defining victory in Flushing Meadow, but conventional wisdom swings wildly towards Federer. But you know its coming; one of these times, the champion eventually goes down. Why not now?
With the U.S. Open set to begin in a few short hours, it’s a huge opportunity for one of these breakthroughs to finally come at a major. The field has had no reason to feel like they can compete with Federer in the past, but the hiccups in ’07 are sure to make North America’s most prestigious hard court event live up to the bright lights of the Big Apple over the next fortnight.
