Why Roger Federer can still win another Grand Slam

Roger Federer

The times have changed...

The preface to this article starts with this one, in which the author puts his objectivity about Roger Federer’s Slam chances above his fandom of the Swiss player.

Putting aside my own subjectivity, I can’t help but agree with some of the author’s views. These days, it has indeed become hard to term Federer as a starting favourite in any event. It is a bitter truth to chew on after enjoying several years of almost uninterrupted supremacy by the player widely acknowledged as the greatest ever.

Even looking back at the recently concluded US Open, I can’t help but feel disquieted. While draws and possible upsets of Federer’s nearest rivals used to hold no bearing upon his performance ealier, nowadays those things seem to have more effect on his chances than his game itself.

...but 2014 has given plenty of reason to be positive

Despite these factors though, I strongly believe that Federer is strong enough to win another Major.

Granted, his game may not be as flawless as it once was, but there is no way one can disagree that even with the obvious imperfections to it, his opponents can’t get past him easily. Gael Monfils experienced that in their quarterfinal at Flushing Meadows last week, and before that, Novak Djokovic almost came close to succumbing to him at Wimbledon.

These two matches, however, just form the tip of the iceberg that the season has been for the 17-time Grand Slam champion. Statistics attest to his overall successful season in 2014. Around the same time last year, Federer was not only struggling to get his rhythm going, but was also unable to assert his dominance even in his wins. But this year has been completely different.

Regardless of his straight sets loss to Marin Cilic in the US Open semifinal, it cannot be denied that Federer is back among the game’s elite. His consistency through most of the tournaments (he has reached eight finals this year – the most among any player) has helped him find his rightful place in the topmost bracket in the rankings yet again, and also enabled him to qualify with ease for the World Tour Finals, for the 13th straight year.

Adaptability is the name of the game for Federer

Till a few years ago, Federer was entering tournaments without a full-time coach to mentor him. Later on, following a spell of bad tournament runs in 2011, he wasted no time in hiring Paul Annacone, who was instrumental in helping the Swiss win at Wimbledon in 2012.

In the last 12 months though, he has made even more dramatic changes to arrest his downslide. He announced the start of his partnership with his idol Stefan Edberg towards the end of 2013, a decision which has reaped many tangible rewards. He also made a transition to a bigger racquet frame at the start of this season, from using a smaller frame for almost the entirety of his career.

Uncertain as the future is, it can be evidenced in Federer’s case that at no point one can discount him as a threat. Adaptability was, and still continues to be, the 33-year-old’s forte. And in all these years, no other player has been able to modulate his game to suit the situation as effectively as Federer.

Unparalleled self-motivation

Every time the end of the road has been predicted for Federer, the Swiss has gone on to rebound quite aggressively. Be it in 2008, when he was attempting to equal Pete Sampras’ tally of 14 Majors or in 2011, which saw him fail for the very first time in nine years to capture a Slam title.

Though the frequency of his Major wins has lessened considerably, one thing that refuses to fade away is the father-of-four’s self-motivation. In losses, as in wins, his ability to put things in perspective is the most significant factor that still preserves his chances of winning an 18th Grand Slam.

As he says himself, “It would mean a lot. I keep working hard to win titles on the tour, not just No. 18. I’ll give it a go again in Australia; I hope to be healthy there. I hope to get another chance at it. I can't do more than try really hard, which I'm doing.”

Yes, Federer can’t do anything more than trying really hard. But judging by his still-abundant skill and his competitive fire, there’s no reason why his efforts won’t result in yet another Grand Slam win.