The year that was: Where do we go from here, Federer?
Bad year – Federer
The journey from July 2012 to July 2013, more specifically from Wimbledon 2012 to Wimbledon 2013, has been an especially unusual, unimaginable and an insane one to say the least, for Roger Federer. In one sentence, it has been a journey from ecstasy to agony.
A year back, he was on top of the world with a record-equalling seventh Wimbledon Trophy, the record-breaking ATP World No. 1 Ranking and a shot at the record-shattering 300 weeks as No. 1. A year later, it would only be fair to say that the situation is down in the dumps, with an unprecedented second-round defeat, slipping down to World No. 5 for the first time in eons and an unceremonious end to a 10-year Grand Slam streak. Topsy-turvy is an understatement for the year that was.
The questions begs itself; how on God’s good, green, grassed earth did we get here? How did All England Tennis Championship’s greatest protégé, Centre Court’s precious ward, SW 19 grass court’s invincible warrior clad in pristine white reach a situation like this?
Wimbledon is his first Grand Slam title, a trophy he has lifted seven times, five of those back-to-back, and a tournament where he has failed to make the finals only twice before. Since his first taste of success in 2003, Federer’s relationship with the grass courts at SW 19 has been nothing short of a love affair with exactly three plot twists – 2008, 2010 (both Nadal) and 2011 (Djokovic).
2012 was a fairytale, where Federer recaptured all his lost and former glory, vanquishing all his foes with a performance worthy of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club’ crown prince. Then what happened in 2013? How did the defending champion lose and (adding insult to injury) in the second round to a relatively unknown player? And how did he not recover from it but fell further backward losing to a qualifier, Federico Delbonis in the semis of his next outing at Hamburg?
In hindsight, the beginning of the end probably began on the same day he won his seventh Wimbledon crown. Ever since that fateful day, Federer has never been the same again. He won merely two trophies after that, only one of which has come in six months of 2013.
| 2012 | |||||
| Tournament | Surface | Round | Result | Opponent | Score |
| London Olympics | Grass | Finals | Lost | Andy Murray | 2-6, 1-6, 4-6 |
| Cincinnati | Hard | Finals | Won | Novak Djokovic | 6-0, 7-6(7) |
| US Open | Hard | Quarterfinals | Lost | Tomas Berdych | 6-7(1), 4-6, 6-3, 3-6 |
| Shanghai | Hard | Semifinals | Lost | Andy Murray | 4-6, 4-6 |
| Basel | Hard | Finals | Lost | Juan Martin Del Potro | 6-7(6), 5-7 |
| ATP Finals | Hard | Finals | Lost | Novak Djokovic | 6-7(6), 5-7 |
| 2013 | |||||
| Tournament | Surface | Round | Result | Opponent | Score |
| Australian Open | Hard | Semifinals | Lost | Andy Murray | 4-6, 7-6(5), 3-6, 7-6(2), 2-6 |
| Rotterdam | Hard | Quarterfinals | Lost | Julien Benneteau | 3-6, 5-7 |
| Dubai | Hard | Semifinals | Lost | Tomas Berdych | 6-3, 6-7(8), 4-6 |
| Indian Wells | Hard | Quarterfinals | Lost | Rafael Nadal | 4-6, 2-6 |
| Madrid | Clay | Third Round | Lost | Kei Nishikori | 4-6, 6-1, 2-6 |
| Rome | Clay | Finals | Lost | Rafael Nadal | 1-6, 3-6 |
| French Open | Clay | Quarterfinals | Lost | Jo-Wilfred Tsonga | 5-7, 3-6, 3-6 |
| Halle | Grass | Finals | Won | Mikhail Youzhny | 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-4 |
| Wimbledon | Grass | Second Round | Lost | Sergiy Stakhovsky | 6-7 (5/7), 7-6 (7/5), 7-5, 7-6 (7/5) |
| Hamburg | Clay | Semifinals | Lost | Federico Delbonis | 6-7(7), 6-7(4) |