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2013 was certainly a disappointing year for Roger Federer, where the only tournament he won was at Halle, the warm-up tournament for Wimbledon. A persistent back injury coupled with the fact that he couldn’t make a single Slam final in the whole of 2013, or even make the semis apart from the Australian Open, posed the question whether he would win another Slam to add to the 17 that he has won already.
Everyone questioned his future in the game which saw Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic dominating at the top. Federer ended 2013 at No. 6 in the world due to the poor results he had throughout the season, a period during which we saw him trying to get used to a new racquet with a bigger head.
But even though everyone questioned him regarding his form, fitness and desire for the game, the man himself never questioned himself, and worked hard to come back to the top of his game with the help of his team, doctors and well-wishers.
The first signs of revival came when he appointed Stefan Edberg as his coach. Edberg has certainly helped Federer recover his serve-and-volley game. The Swiss is at his best when going forward and putting away those volleys. Federer also seems to have recovered from the back injury which didn’t do him any good throughout the 2013 season.
In 2014 Federer has been playing with renewed energy, a high level of confidence and is also much more comfortable with his racquet.
It was at the Australian Open where we first saw glimpses of the old Federer; he played some amazing tennis in disposing of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Andy Murray before he ran into a rampant Rafa. His impressive form continued in Dubai, beating Tomas Berdych in the final. This was his first major tournament win since he won the Cincinnati Masters in 2012. It was here that we also saw him beat Djokovic for the first time since Cincinnati in 2012.
Federer also played some breathtaking tennis in the recently concluded tournament at Indian Wells where he was defeated in a close final by Djokovic.
The tennis season has just begun, and if Federer can continue this form, we could see him winning many more tournaments and perhaps add another Slam to his mantle. His fans would certainly hope so.
