Sampras to Stakhovsky: The flipside of Roger Federer (Part 3)
This is the final part of a three-part series on Roger Federer titled ‘The flip-side of Roger Federer’.
Federer and Nadal’s is one of the more enduring rivalries (Getty Images)
But, every man has a demon.
Rafael Nadal had one too. No, in fact two.
Nadal’s old demons started haunting him. For long, his shoulder and knees were never quite okay. But during all these days it didn’t really trouble him. But the high amount of topspin on his serve and his straight arm forehand started troubling his shoulders. Nadal was unabashed, he continued playing with full vigour. However, he lost the US Open semifinal to Andy Murray. Federer had eased his way into the final. Andy Murray, who then had a better head-to-head record against Federer, could not prevent him from claiming his 5th US Open. Still, this was seen only as a consolation for the Wimbledon loss.
Nadal however, returned strong in the Australian Open. He defeated Federer in five sets in the final that left Federer in tears in the post-match speech. One thing was visible, age was catching up on Federer.
2009 would go on to be an important year for Federer and a forgettable one for Nadal. After he had won his first Australian Open, everyone expected him to comfortably streak to a 5th Roland Garros title. However, the law of averages stated that Nadal would lose and he did to everyone’s surprise. Robin Soderling, who had been raising a few eyebrows with his performances previously, defeated the Spaniard in the 4th round. That was the first time Nadal had lost on the red clay of Roland Garros.
This was an opportunity even the great Pete Sampras had been denied.
Federer was destined to complete a career Grand Slam. Even the Gods were on his side. Nadal had lost. In the fourth round, Federer had won from two sets down and a breakpoint which if converted would have had Tommy Haas serving for the match. He played five sets against Juan Martin Del Potro in the semifinal and went through. He faced Soderling in the final, who had squeezed his way past the top seeds. There wasn’t any doubt about the result. That was Federer’s tournament. Even an earthquake couldn’t have stopped him. Robin Soderling was no match for Federer’s brilliance in the final and finally, the Swiss maestro had overcome the milestone that had so convincingly eluded two of the greatest grass-courters of the Open era.
He had won 14 Grand Slam titles and equalled Sampras’ record.
It was destined that the 15th one would be at the place where it all started. Nadal’s recurring knee injury ruled him out of Wimbledon. Nadal’s injury meant a clear passage for Federer. Federer was the favourite and it was only a matter of time before Federer lifted the trophy for the sixth time. Federer never had to sweat till the final, where he played a five-setter against Andy Roddick and clinched the title.
Statistically, he was the greatest player of all-time.
The US Open was where Federer’s potential downfall started. Nadal returned and everyone was anticipating a Federer-Nadal final. But, there came a new champion from South America. Juan Martin Del Potro clinched the title beating Nadal in the semifinal and Federer in an epic five-setter in the final.
This match portrayed Federer’s weakness against young and physically fitter players. Next was the 2010 Australian Open. Again, to Federer’s advantage, Nadal retired in the quarter-final against Murray, who eventually reached the final. Federer easily outplayed Murray, who was yet to get to the peak of his career. This was the only title for the next two years as Federer didn’t even come close to winning a Grand Slam.
Nadal on the other hand, was in full form, and won Roland Garros and the US Open, thus completing a career Grand Slam
This proved outright that Federer could win a Grand Slam only when Nadal was out of contention. This theory was strengthened further when Federer won the 2012 Wimbledon title after Nadal was beaten in a five-setter by Lukas Rosol, owing to his problems with recurring tendnitis in the knee.
Federer won against an emotional Murray in the final and took his 17th Grand Slam title.