There was a moment during the final set of the semifinal match between Roger Federer and Milos Raonic at Wimbledon 2016, when Federer found himself spread eagled on the lush green grass of Centre Court. Minutes before that, the 7-time Wimbledon champion had seemingly been cruising towards yet another final at Wimbledon. But now, suddenly, everything starting going downhill, and he found his game coming apart.
In that moment, with his face touching the grass on Centre Court, he might have wondered – "Why do we fall?". Unable to find an answer to the question and to a rampaging Raonic, he lost the match.
2011-2016: Tough times for Federer and his fans
The six years before 2017 had been tough for Federer and his adoring fans across the globe. Watching him lose to lowly ranked players and exit early from tournaments was hard to digest for his devotees. It was an unfortunate yet expected curve in a tennis player's career, which comes with age.
Federer's contemporaries like Lleyton Hewitt and Andy Roddick went along that road long ago, got to the end of it, and now live a comfortable retired life. Had it been that way for Federer too, his fans would have resigned themselves to the fate that awaits all tennis players on the wrong side of 30. But most were unable to accept this fate, because of the manner in which Federer played over the course of half decade.
No doubt the early exits had become more frequent. No doubt age was catching up with him. But after every tough loss, a deep run into the second week of a Grand Slam would follow, keeping the hope for glory alive.
From 2011 to 2016, the maestro participated in 22 Grand Slams. These 22 Grand Slams yielded one win, four final appearances and nine semifinal appearances. Apart from Djokovic, Murray, Nadal and Wawrinka, all of whom have had better Grand Slam results over this period, any other player would gladly accept Federer's results. However, it is not acceptable when Federeresque standards and expectations have been set since the year 2003.
Those deep runs into the semifinals and finals continued to keep the optimism levels high in the Federer camp, but they also brought along the scars of heart-wrenching losses. With every agonizing loss, the tennis pundits would go into overdrive, and pose the perennial question – is he no longer good enough to win Grand Slam No. 18?
The defeats in the finals of Wimbledon 2014 and 2015 to Djokovic and the semi-final loss to Marin Cilic at the US Open 2014 hurt the most, causing doubts in the minds of even the most optimistic of fans. And finally, after the loss to Raonic at Wimbledon 2016 and a possible aggravation of his knee injury, the situation appeared to be very bleak.
A step back, some strategization, and the return of the king
Sometimes, in our quest to achieve greater heights in our lives, we put ourselves through an impossible regime which takes a toll on the body and the mind. When you face burnout, it is sometimes advisable to step back, take a deep breath, and return to the arena as a rejuvenated man. And that is exactly what Mr. Federer decided to do.
After the great fall and the semifinal loss at Wimbledon 2016, Federer decided to take a six-month long break from the cruel sport of tennis in order to allow himself to fully recuperate from his knee injury. With no guarantee that he would ever be able to return to the glittering level that he himself had set for the world to see, this was a necessary but risky plunge. He missed out on a chance to compete for a gold medal at the Olympics, and he also missed out on playing in the Colosseum-like Arthur Ashe stadium.
After six months of R&R, the maestro from Switzerland returned. He entered the Australian Open draw as the 17th most likely player to win the competition. A possible run to the 4th round would have pleased his fans. A quarterfinal round would have exceeded expectations. The great man himself did not expect to make it past the quarterfinal stage; he was just happy to be fit enough to answer the inviting calls of competitive tennis.
The expectations were clearly low. After all, he was closer to 40 years of age now than he was to 30, and no one in history had returned after such a long injury break as a satisfactorily competitive player, let alone a world beater.
But what followed is already the stuff of legend. Two weeks, seven gruelling matches including a classic nail-biter of a final against old nemesis Rafael Nadal and a teary-eyed celebration later, Federer held aloft the Norman Brooks Cup at Melbourne. Roger Federer was back to his very best, if not better.
The Australian Open witnessed a new Federer with a reinvented game. Firstly, the backhand, oft exploited by the likes of Nadal, was spitting venom. Secondly, a serve and volley journey that began under the watchful eyes of Stefan Edberg had finally come together, helping him cut short points and conserve energy. Thirdly, and most importantly, there was a marked change in the not-so-young man’s mindset.
When Federer recovered from a break down in the final set against none other than Nadal to win the final, it spoke volumes of his newly invigorated attitude. The Federer of the previous few years had often struggled to win crucial points against Djokovic and Nadal. In hotly contested matches against these two, the result would swing one way or the other based upon a handful of crucial points. In such crunch situations, an unimpressive break point conversion rate would inevitably be Federer’s Achilles' Heel.
It is pertinent to look at a few statistics to understand that. Federer converted one out of seven break points (14%) in the Wimbledon final against Djokovic in 2015 and four out of 23 break points (17%) in the 2015 US Open final. Both finals resulted in four-set losses for Federer. In contrast, the break point conversion stood at 6 out of 20 (30%) in the Australian Open 2017 final against Nadal. Surely, the break from tennis did some good.
Thereafter, he went on to establish that the win at Melbourne was not just a flash in the pan. He brushed aside the field at Indian Wells, recovered from match point down against Tomas Berdych at Miami, won a pulsating semi-final against next generation star Nick Kyrgios and absolutely thrashed Nadal at both Indian Wells and Miami Masters. By the early part of April, in addition to the Australian Open, he had managed to win the Sunshine Double – 11 years after he last achieved the feat.
Fast forward six months and the entire claycourt season, Federer stood on the very same Centre Court where he had taken a mighty fall. Just another one of the 10,000-odd aces from his racquet marked the moment when he was the last man standing at Wimbledon, for the 8th time in his life. And he did it without dropping a set, a feat last achieved at Wimbledon four decades ago by the mighty Bjorn Borg.
The Grand Slam drought of the last four and a half years has given way to a torrential downpour of Major silverware. With all the hype attached to Slam No. 18 over the years, Slam No. 19 almost felt too easy. And if tennis experts and our own eyes watching him play tennis are to be believed, the ever-youthful Federer seems primed to get out of his teens at the US Open next month.
Keep in mind that almost every step that Federer now takes, like Neil Armstrong stepping onto the moon's surface, is onto unchartered territory. No male player has ever achieved these heights. The Wimbledon victory puts him at the top of the 131-year-old chart of Wimbledon winners, with eight wins. He is also the oldest ever to win the Championships.
The record for the most Grand Slam wins has been in his name for the last eight years. Now he is simply extending the lead. As Andy Roddick hilariously tweeted to Federer after his 19th Grand Slam win – "At this point you're just showing off". What is most remarkable and mind-boggling is that he is playing the way he is at the ripe age of almost 36, while his contemporaries play senior tennis.
Is there a secret ingredient for such unprecedented success?
You do wonder how is he managing to do all this. After his fall at Centre Court, did he watch Christopher Nolan's 'Batman Begins' and get inspired by the iconic line, “Why do we fall, Master Bruce? So that we can learn to pick ourselves up again."?
There is no doubt that Federer has learnt to pick himself up again. But it looks like he did not stop there. He also learnt to fly. He is not just gliding across the courts once again. He is simply floating around and hitting winners left, right and centre.
When age tried to catch up with Federer, he re-strategized, and is now out sprinting past age effortlessly. He is not just outrunning age; he is doing it while thumping his chest a la Usain Bolt.
The world is wondering if the Federer of 2007 would stand a chance against the Federer of 2017; that is some indication of his current level of play, for everyone knows that the Federer of 2007 was an unstoppable force. He has entered a realm of artistry and skill in his game which is difficult to explain. Writers have waxed lyrical about his prowess for the last 15 years. But now the English language is running short on adjectives to describe him and his level of play.
Unable to express their amazement through the mere use of English words, answers are being sought in the world of the supernatural. Did he drink some magic potion during his six-month lay-off? Or did he get access to a book with secrets to achieve eternal youth? Some have wondered if his racquet is actually a magic wand purchased from Ollivander's in Diagon Alley.
But a mere wand cannot produce such results. In my opinion, it surely is the Elder Wand that he has hidden within his racquet handle.
Or maybe the answer is much simpler, and within the realm of normalcy. Maybe it is a simple mixture of unmatched talent, unwavering motivation and a mind and body which no more carry any burden. Maybe the explanation is as simple as Roger Federer being the greatest tennis player, if not the greatest athlete, to have ever stepped on this planet.
For Federer, belief is the stepping stone to achieving the impossible
Personally, I always believed that Federer had it in him to get his hands on No. 18. But that didn’t always come through in the way I expressed my feelings.
One of my closest friends, himself a Federer worshipper, often said that he wants to watch the Swiss champion walking into the sunset with 20 Grand Slam wins. I considered him to be too greedy; he was taking it too far. I was more than content with just his presence on the competitive circuit. Another Grand Slam victory would have been icing on the cake, but if not, 17 was not that bad a number.
But my friend accused me of not being a true Federer believer. Ladies and gentlemen, to this charge, I plead guilty. I confess to having committed the sin of resigning myself to watching Federer live a life of mediocrity. For when Federer returned to the world of tennis in 2017, he was anything but mediocre.
We humans are greedy by nature. Initially, the clamour was for Slam No. 18. Then for just another Wimbledon victory. Now fans are already talking about Federer getting back to the top of the tennis rankings, and of how 25 is better than 20.
If there is one thing that Federer has taught us well, it is to believe. During his interview on Centre Court, after the recent Wimbledon victory, he said, "If you believe, you can go really far in your life." With his confidence sky-rocketing over the course of the last few months, he truly believes in himself.
As for his horde of fans, in Roger we believe. We have witnessed him achieving the impossible on countless occasions throughout his career. There is nothing to stop the new-born Federer, the Federer who can do no wrong.
He could probably slay White Walkers on Centre Court without a Valyrian sword, with just his tennis racquet. He could possibly sprint 100 metres in less than 9 seconds. He can’t walk on water as well, surely? Of course he can. He can do even better.
After all, he didn't just learn to pick himself up again. He also learnt to fly.
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