Does Federer have enough in his tank to win his 21st Grand Slam and reach 100 career titles?
In a recent interview, Roger Federer said that he believes he can still win another Grand Slam and also get to 100 career titles. Let’s have a look at the way Federer has played in recent times and see how realistic such a possibility is.
Currently, Federer has 98 titles. So, getting to 100 titles, on the face of it, does not seem to be an arduous task at all for the Swiss maestro. Theoretically, he could do so this year itself by winning at Basel and Paris.
The Swiss Indoors ATP 500 in Basel has been a happy hunting ground for Roger Federer. This is the closest that he has in terms of success at ATP 500 level, that can be compared to Nadal and his success at Barcelona.
He has won 8 titles in Basel and is the defending champion. Last year, he won the title by defeating Juan Martin del Potro in 3 tight sets. Even though the Argentine will be missing from action in Basel due to injury, there will be no shortage of top quality players.
In all probability, Novak Djokovic will skip Basel to be fresh for the Paris Masters, though the temptation to overtake Nadal as the number 1 player even before the Paris Masters may eventually lead him to go to Basel.
But assuming Novak skips Basel, Roger may still have to contend with former champion Marin Cilic and other top players who may decide to skip Vienna Open in favor of the more prestigious tournament in Basel.
Federer no longer looks invincible, and has lost to less fancied players in the recent past. That would encourage others to come to Basel with a realistic shot at getting it past Federer in front of his home crowd.
After a great start at the Australian Open, Federer has shown flashes of brilliance, but has lacked the consistency to win 5 to 6 matches on the trot to win a title, even though he did manage to win at Rotterdam and Stuttgart.
But there is a possibility that the home support and the wonderful memories of winning so many titles there could spur him to greater consistency and focus. One also hopes that he gets a kinder draw this time, compared to the tough ones that he has been getting in the last few tournaments.
Basel Open is Federer’s only realistic chance at winning a title this year. In Paris, if he decides to play, he will have to contend with all the top players including Novak Djokovic and the returning Rafael Nadal.
Similarly, to go head to head with other top 8 players at ATP World Tour finals in London, and win them all, seems a very difficult prospect at the moment.
Federer, in all likelihood, will end 2018 with 99 titles, in the best case scenario. Stuttgart and other similar low key tournaments could be his path to get to 100 titles next year.
Even as an ardent fan of Roger Federer, one can clearly see the writing on the wall. Father time has certainly caught up with the seemingly ageless wonder.
Though one would love to see Federer lift another Grand Slam title, with time not on his side, and the resurgence of the all-conquering Novak Djokovic and a motivated Rafael Nadal, along with the emergence of an exciting crop of young players, it’s highly unlikely Federer will win another Slam.
But he will most certainly get to 100 titles before he calls it a day, though he will not be in a position to threaten Jimmy Connors’ all-time Open Era record of 109 titles.