Federer on the Brink of History

As Swiss tennis star Roger Federer gets set to take on Britain’s very own Andy Murray in the centre court of the All England Club with the Wimbledon title up for grabs, he has not only history but many other things in his sight as well.

If the 30 year old former world number one manages to break the heart of Murray as well as the whole of Great Britain once again, he will equal the record set by Pete Sampras by winning the 7th Wimbledon title of his career and the 17th overall Grand Slam title.

And a win would also guarantee the suave Swiss a return to the top of the ATP tennis rankings after a gap of more than two years as well. At the start of each tennis season, when asked about his goals for the year, Roger Federer has had the same answer for almost a decade now – winning the title at Wimbledon and ending the year as the world number one. And if he manages a victory today, one of those goals will be accomplished and the other one will become a real likelihood as well. Continue reading

FEDERER BREEZES THROUGH

Roger Federer breezed past his second round opponent at Wimbledon on Wednesday, taking just one hour and fourteen minutes to demolish Fabio Fognini. The Italian is not known for his grass court play, and struggled to get anything against Federer who showed the same fantastic form as in his first match against Albert Ramos two days before. The final score was 6-1 6-3 6-2, and Fognini never looked as though he expected the result to be otherwise. Despite playing the occasional great winner he failed to get into the match in any competitive sense, and had to admire the stunning display put on by the Swiss veteran.

The 6-time former champion was pleased with his own form, and was typically generous towards his opponent after the match. “I thought he tried hard,” said Federer. “On grass, it’s tough to get into the match when you are down. I was serving well. You’re not going to get many chances throughout a set against me when I’m serving like that. You have to be patient. On clay, if you play well you will get your chances. On grass, that is not automatically the case.” Only a few players have to class to sympathise with the defeated player and not seem arrogant but of course in Roger’s case there are 16 Grand Slam titles backing up his argument.

It was also Federer’s first appearance on Centre Court this year in London, and it was obvious that the world number 3 was happy to be back on the court that must seem like home to him after all his success there. “It was great to be back on Centre Court,” he said, “and a great feeling walking out with Prince Charles and Camilla in attendance. I’m serving well, forehand, backhand, concentration, it’s all going well.” Next up is Julien Benneteau, the world number 32 who will need to play the match of his life to challenge Federer who has looked imperious so far this championship.

FOCUS ON FEDERER

The Olympic Games has always interested sportsman from various sectors and avenues. They have always preferred making a chance to participate at the Olympics as they feel it will earn them a lot of brownie points and improve their ranking and status. Most of the tennis players are no exception to this rule and they feel that it is a sense of pride to have won a medal at the Olympics.

However, Roger Federer himself has actually thought of it and has realized that  winning the ATP events like that of the Indian Wells which he recently accomplished, can actually go on to improve his popularity among the tennis circuit. Earning fame from these events is equally strong as those of the Olympics. People need to realize the importance of their game play and no matter whichever avenue o tournament they participate in, the end result is always good if one can remain focused.

Roger Federer is a six times Wimbledon champion and hence to go about [proclaiming that the legacy of Federer is more crucial than that of a Wimbledon tournament is highly non-sensical and illogical. One avenue which Roger Federer needs to improve in is the fact that he has not yet scored a single gold at the singles event and this would actually help him improve his ratings and career ranking if he wins this achievement.

Trying to come to agreement to the terms that a single Olympic Event is enough to state that Roger Federer gains the best ever label is highly uncertain. A player’s worth is not decided by just a single huge event. It might help him to get a little higher for a while, but if there is no consistency in the performance all the fame dies down.

FEDERER ON A HIGH

The world number 3 Roger Federer is back in form again after defeating British Andy Murray in the finals of Dubai Duty Free ATP Tour Tennis Tournament. The former world number 1 is back amongst winning streak, and won his fifth title in Dubai on Saturday. His upcoming Tours includes Indian Wells and Miami and he wants to focus one at a time. He refuses to think about Wimbledon, Olympics or the US Open which is due in August. The Swiss star is in great form after winning 5 out of the 7 ATP s he has played in. His last titles coming within a week and he has not even dropped a set and 8 of the top ten players made the starting line-up.

Federer believes that once you are on a winning note then all the problems begins to vanish. There are no criticisms and the confidence comes back. He claims that he has played well in the Dubai series and also the one he played at Rotterdam a week before.

When he was asked by the scribes on why he refused to play an exhibition match with Rafael Nadal in Spain, he looked a bit hesitant. He says that he did not refuse the match but it did not match his dates. The match did not work out because of the tight schedule. The match was supposed to be held somewhere between the Wimbledon and the Olympics, he said. . He feels that in the coming future there can be an exhibition match, if the dates tally.