Roger Federer has glided through his tennis career without contracting any injury of such magnitude that could compel him to miss a Grand Slam event or retire through a match. His successes have made people to have a look at how he has managed to do what he has done. There is no individual shot of his game that has made the ultimate difference. There have been and there are many players who have thrived on a monster serve as the main attacking weapon. A few had the audacity to attack with the second serve too. There are those who bludgeon their ground strokes with almost as much power as the serve. A few have done it on the back hand too. Versatility looks like one dimensional for them when compared with Roger Federer.
Federer’s top ranked contemporaries have faded from the scene long back. Lleyton Hewitt born in the same year as Federer has gone out of the top two in 2005 and has been plagued with injuries for the last few years. Andy Roddick, a year younger, too was in the top two lastly in 2005. He though has managed to remain in the top ten for most of the time. Marat Safin, a year older, retired in 2009 and was in top two lastly in 2002. Roger Federer is continuously in the year end top two since 2003. He has declared his intentions to compete in the London Olympics in 2012. This speaks highly of him not only as a player who has managed to be in good physical condition but also necessitates a look into his game which is mainly responsible for his being in such great shape.
Roger Federer may not look as strong as say Rafael Nadal or Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, but it is not merely the bigger muscles that have to be strong for playing tennis. The smaller muscles play a big role in executing the shots. A thin Justin Henin can hit the ball as hard as a muscular Serena Williams. Roger Federer generates pace with his timing as well as his racquet head speed. Roger Federer can hit the ball from any posture he finds himself as the ball comes into him from the other side of the net. This is in sharp contrast to the back pedaling players like Rafael Nadal who want to meet an incoming ball in their striking zone. This quality of his play takes away precious time from his opponent to find a winner. He innovates on the court We see the contest between brain and brawn, the beauty and the beast and often, the beauty and the brain triumph. But all this is now changing as Federer approaches the twilight of his career.
Federer is committing many errors of late which were uncharacteristic of him in the past. His legendary self belief, mistaken as arrogance by some, wavers in big matches. Shades of doubt rule his mind when he is up against a determined player from the top few. The first breakdown occurs in the serve, followed by backhand and finally forehand. Those players who do not capitulate within 7-8 shots in a rally pose problems. The number of such players is increasing. His game is no longer a mystery, his having been on the scene for so long. Players and their backboard teams have dissected every aspect of his game and devised game plans. A few of the top players are now able to execute that game plan.
When people see him play, he invokes memories of his master class when he was at his peak and that is sufficient to light up the mood of many tennis fans.
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