"Roger Federer had this aura of invincibility about him where you just could never breathe" - Mardy Fish
Former World No. 7 Mardy Fish recently gave his thoughts on Roger Federer's post-2003 ascendancy. Fish claimed that Federer was the reason male American tennis players, including himself and Andy Roddick, couldn't assert themselves on the tour.
Streaming giant Netflix recently released a documentary on Mardy Fish's career, titled "UNTOLD: Breaking Point". The documentary charts Fish's rise on the tour, followed by his slump and eventual resurgence. However, the biggest purpose of the movie was to shed light on Fish's physical and mental troubles.
The American underwent surgery on his heart to fix a chronic condition, which defined his career to a great extent. He also had a crippling anxiety disorder, which frequently deprived him of the ability to compete to the best of his abilities.
Since the documentary primarily revolved around Mardy Fish's playing years, the name of his contemporary Roger Federer featured quite prominently in the conversations. Fish, who was the main speaker in the movie, was asked to explain why American men's tennis failed to take off after Andy Roddick won the US Open in 2003, and he had an immediate answer.
"I think the bubble was named Federer, you know?" Fish said on being asked why the bubble burst for American tennis. "He figured out a way to win every time. Every single time."
The 2004 Olympic silver medalist further heaped praise on Roger Federer's innate ability to finish a point with just a flick of the wrist.
"Roger had this aura of invincibility about him where you just could never breathe, cause he could turn it like that," Fish said. "Boom. Point's over."
Mardy Fish went on to recall his 2004 Halle final against Roger Federer. The Swiss had stormed to a 6-0, 3-0 lead inside half an hour on that day, eventually winning 6-0, 6-3.
Such was Federer's dominance that Fish was led to believe he loosened his grip on the match so that the spectators could get their money's worth.
"We played in the final of 2004 in Halle," Fish said. "Roger went up 6-0, 3-0 in like 25 minutes. I'm like 'unbelievable, this guy's gonna beat me 6-0, 6-0 in the finals of a tournament'. I think he probably felt bad for all of the people that had paid money to come watch, and I'm still to this day convinced that he prolonged the match a little bit longer so it was 6-0, 6-3. He made it like an hour."
According to Mardy Fish, the fact that Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic announced themselves on tour so soon after the end of Roger Federer's prime made things even trickier on the men's circuit.
"And when it couldn't get any worse, in 2005, a guy named Nadal came around and then 2007 a guy named Novak Djokovic," Fish added. "And I'm like 'whoa!' The top three greatest players of all time in the exact same generation."
A look at Mardy Fish's head-to-head record against Roger Federer
Mardy Fish and Roger Federer faced each other nine times on tour, with the Swiss leading the head-to-head record by a whopping margin of 8-1.
They were due to face each other for a 10th time at the 2012 US Open. But the American was unfortunately forced to withdraw due to health concerns, handing Federer a walkover.
Federer first faced Fish at Wimbledon in 2003, where he beat the American in four sets. The Swiss' only loss to the former World No. 7 came at the Indian Wells Masters in 2008.