Opinion: Federer's loss at AO 2019 - A possible change of guard in world tennis
Australian Open 2019, on Sunday, witnessed a massive upset where Roger Federer lost the 4th round match against 14th seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in an exciting 4 setter (6-7,7-6,7-5,7-6) with 3 of the 4 sets going into a tie-break.
The match promised to be an exciting battle between the youngest and oldest player that remained in the tournament, signs of which were evident from the first game itself when Federer had a few break points but the lanky player from Greece managed to save them all.
The crowd could also sense something unexpected was on the cards with the way both the players fought right from the word go and the players didn't disappoint. The game went down to the wire, with 14th seed youngster becoming the first player from Greece to reach an Australian Open quarter-final.
Match Synopsis
In the first game, World No.3 Federer failed to break his opponent's serve which took the game into a tie-break. The game's first tie-break turned out to be a long one, with neither player taking that elusive 2 point lead. However, 37-year-old Federer brought all his experience into play, maneuvering the court with his powerful forehands, ultimately winning the first set 7-6.
In the second set, Tsitsipas came back stronger with a breath of fresh energy which was turning out difficult for Federer to match, culminating into a 7-6 win for Tsitsipas.
The third and fourth sets were again a catch-up game for the Swiss legend, who still could not break his opponent, ultimately losing out comprehensively in the final set tie-break.
Federer had 56 unforced errors in the match against Tsitsipas' 30, an unusual number for the World No.3. The fact that he could not break his opponent's serve from 12 opportunities again would make him rue this loss even more.
Though Federer displayed little emotions after the loss, he had "massive regrets" about the game and must have felt let down by himself. The fact that he could not break his serve in the Hopman Cup as well, could be a flaw that his team can work on, but furthermore, this loss tells us that we could be seeing a changing trend among the Big 3.
Change of guard
Federer has failed to reach the semifinal of a grand slam since 2018 Australian Open (where he went on to win the tournament), the longest since he won his first slam way back in 2003. Many would argue that the Swiss legend has seen such losses in the past as well and would bounce back soon, but the manner in which his losses have panned out has been un-Federer like.
With age, not on his side either, it is going to be an even tougher road ahead for the 20-time grand slam champion. However, the fact that he could opt out of the French Open augurs well for Federer for a stronger comeback at Wimbledon.
With Andy Murray's possible exit from the professional circuit owing to his hip-injury and a disappointing series of losses for Federer, men's tennis could well be on the verge of a transition where the younger generation challenge the Big 4 for the top echelon on a regular basis.
The loyal tennis fans though would hope that this is just another blip in his form and that their favorite tennis icon would do an encore, the fighting spirit he has shown over the years bouncing back from massive losses in the past as well