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Article by Steve Flink of Tennis magazine, making many sound points.
FEDERER IS FOCUSING ON THE LARGER PICTURE BY SKIPPING THE CLAY SEASON
by: STEVE FLINK | April 17, 2018
As the clay-court circuit begins in Monte Carlo this week, the central figure as always will be a Spanish dynamo with boundless competitive spirit, unmistakable brio and a lethal brand of topspin artistry named Rafael Nadal. The estimable left-hander will be looking to reassert himself after an injury-plagued season, remind season.
While Nadal will be ubiquitous in the coming weeks—a fellow from Switzerland will be far away from the center of the tennis universe.
Roger Federer will be tending to his own knitting and needs. The Swiss Maestro has wisely elected to skip the entire clay-court campaign, as he did a year ago. Why mess with a winning formula? A year ago, Federer had been dominating the game majestically, rallying from 1-3 down in the fifth set of the Australian Open final against Nadal to sweep five consecutive games for his fifth title Down Under. Buoyed by that stunning triumph after being gone from the game for six months leading up to the 2017 season, Federer sparkled. This revitalized competitor with the wide-ranging arsenal and the soaring imagination swept the hard-court Masters titles at Indian Wells and Miami. He was ruling tennis ruthlessly, comprehensively and relentlessly.
But Federer refused to allow his stirring run to cloud his judgment or collide up against his priorities. He realized that competing on the clay was a risky proposition. So he stepped aside, trained, recharged his engines, and skipped the entire 2017 clay season. That decision was demonstrably beneficial to Federer.
Still fresh yet fully prepared, Federer moved onto the lawns at the All England Club and won a record eighth Wimbledon singles crown over Marin Cilic. Over the fortnight in Great Britain, he did not drop a set. Would he have prevailed at Wimbledon if he had played a few red clay tournaments, including Roland Garros? I have my doubts.
What too many people forget is that in 2016, after having knee surgery, Federer rushed his return to the game. In his first tournament back, he bowed out in the quarterfinals of Monte Carlo, and lost in Rome in the round of 16. By then, his body was ailing. His knee remained vulnerable. His back was problematic.
Knowing what he was confronting, Federer bypassed Roland Garros, which was surely a painful experience for a fellow who had done himself proud at the world’s premier clay-court tournament. He had appeared at Roland Garros for 17 years in a row, from 1999-2015.
I believe that missing Roland Garros in 2017 was not troubling to Federer. This year, it was almost inevitable that he would again stay away from the clay and gear himself up mentally and physically for an all out bid to defend his Wimbledon title. He did not find the upper level of his game at Indian Wells and Miami this spring, losing to Del Potro in the Indian Wells final despite serving for the title and having three match points in the final set of a blockbuster clash. Federer was subsequently beaten by Kokkinakis in Miami.
Those losses conceivably could have made Federer more inclined to be out there on the dirt right now. But, in my view, he surely realized that he can’t afford the wear and tear of clay-court tennis any longer. He will be 37 in August, and he is well aware that he has to pick his spots carefully, protect his body sedulously, and not do anything that might cause his knee to act up or his back to become burdensome.
There is a part of Federer that would have relished performing on the red clay in places like Monte Carlo, Rome, Madrid and, especially, at Roland Garros once more. He would undoubtedly have enjoyed displaying his shotmaking genius for the Parisian audiences, and they would have welcomed him back wholeheartedly after his absence the last three years.
Federer, however, was not going to make merely a sentimental journey back to Paris; the only reason to go there would be to achieve nothing less than a second title. Deep down, he had to wonder if he could topple Nadal in Court Philippe Chatrier, potentially in another final. Despite sweeping his last five encounters with the Spaniard, he knew full well how difficult it would have been to defeat his revered rival in a best of five-set showdown on clay. That is a feat Federer has never realized.
Frankly, though, I don’t believe Federer was preoccupied with the challenge of facing Nadal when he evaluated whether or not he would appear on the clay this season. He was looking at the larger picture, determining what was best for himself in terms of preserving energy for the rest of this year and beyond, and figuring out what would make the most sense in terms of capturing more majors.
My feeling is that he will be every bit as big a favorite at Wimbledon as he was a year ago. Now that there is a three-week stretch between the end of Roland Garros and the start of Wimbledon, Federer gets the essential preparation he must have to be in peak form for the most prestigious tournament in tennis. His foremost rivals will be enduring a difficulty surface change from clay to grass, but Federer can start his grass court practice sessions sooner and be ahead of the game in adapting to the lawns.
Federer is far and away the most natural grass-court player in the game today. He will always find his range and his footing on those courts, surely and swiftly, efficiently and elegantly. The cast of players who stand a realistic chance of overcoming Federer on grass courts is exceedingly limited. His propensity to sweep through the first four rounds of Wimbledon without the loss of a set is unquestionable. If he can manage a typically smooth excursion through the early rounds, Federer will save his best brand of tennis for the homestretch of the tournament. I fully expect him to do that this year at a venue that means more to him than any other.
A Wimbledon triumph would carry Federer into the summer in good stead, as was the case last year. But, in 2017, Federer was physically compromised in Montreal by an ailing back on the hard courts. In his final-round loss to Alexander Zverev, he was a shell of his normal self. His injury lingered into the US Open, eventually he was beaten by del Potro. He finished the season reasonably well in the autumn, raising his record for the year against Nadal to 4-0, winning their Shanghai final comfortably in straight sets. He also took the title in Basel over Del Potro, but seemed slightly out of sorts when he was beaten in the semifinals of the season-ending Nitto ATP Finals by a top-of-the-line David Gofffin.
So the evidence is clear: Federer remained magnificent in the second half of 2017, but he was not as convincing as he had been during the first half. It is all about pacing and planning for the Swiss as he moves through the latter stages of an exemplary career. Even with intelligent scheduling last year, he still had the back issues that plagued him over the summer and into the autumn. Federer must proceed with a certain caution these days, and that is a fact not lost on him.
As long as he is deliberate, Federer will benefit immensely in what he accomplishes. He remains remarkably motivated, driven by a wide range of goals, propelled by private engines that have not been diminished over time. He already attained one significant goal this year by returning to No. 1 in the ATP rankings after winning Rotterdam, establishing himself as the oldest ever to reside at the top of the official rankings...
What will happen if Federer is at the height of his powers at the US Open this year? That would be fascinating. I would not be shocked if he is the victor in New York this time around. After all, this is a man who seldom sells himself short. Above all else, Roger Federer knows full well who he is, why he is still playing after capturing 20 Grand Slam championships, how he would like to arrange his priorities, and what he can still accomplish.
Federer has more than a few important triumphs ahead of him on the tennis battlefield—just not on clay, this year.
http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2018/04/federer-focusing-larger-picture-skipping-clay-season/73366/
FEDERER IS FOCUSING ON THE LARGER PICTURE BY SKIPPING THE CLAY SEASON
by: STEVE FLINK | April 17, 2018
As the clay-court circuit begins in Monte Carlo this week, the central figure as always will be a Spanish dynamo with boundless competitive spirit, unmistakable brio and a lethal brand of topspin artistry named Rafael Nadal. The estimable left-hander will be looking to reassert himself after an injury-plagued season, remind season.
While Nadal will be ubiquitous in the coming weeks—a fellow from Switzerland will be far away from the center of the tennis universe.
Roger Federer will be tending to his own knitting and needs. The Swiss Maestro has wisely elected to skip the entire clay-court campaign, as he did a year ago. Why mess with a winning formula? A year ago, Federer had been dominating the game majestically, rallying from 1-3 down in the fifth set of the Australian Open final against Nadal to sweep five consecutive games for his fifth title Down Under. Buoyed by that stunning triumph after being gone from the game for six months leading up to the 2017 season, Federer sparkled. This revitalized competitor with the wide-ranging arsenal and the soaring imagination swept the hard-court Masters titles at Indian Wells and Miami. He was ruling tennis ruthlessly, comprehensively and relentlessly.
But Federer refused to allow his stirring run to cloud his judgment or collide up against his priorities. He realized that competing on the clay was a risky proposition. So he stepped aside, trained, recharged his engines, and skipped the entire 2017 clay season. That decision was demonstrably beneficial to Federer.
Still fresh yet fully prepared, Federer moved onto the lawns at the All England Club and won a record eighth Wimbledon singles crown over Marin Cilic. Over the fortnight in Great Britain, he did not drop a set. Would he have prevailed at Wimbledon if he had played a few red clay tournaments, including Roland Garros? I have my doubts.
What too many people forget is that in 2016, after having knee surgery, Federer rushed his return to the game. In his first tournament back, he bowed out in the quarterfinals of Monte Carlo, and lost in Rome in the round of 16. By then, his body was ailing. His knee remained vulnerable. His back was problematic.
Knowing what he was confronting, Federer bypassed Roland Garros, which was surely a painful experience for a fellow who had done himself proud at the world’s premier clay-court tournament. He had appeared at Roland Garros for 17 years in a row, from 1999-2015.
I believe that missing Roland Garros in 2017 was not troubling to Federer. This year, it was almost inevitable that he would again stay away from the clay and gear himself up mentally and physically for an all out bid to defend his Wimbledon title. He did not find the upper level of his game at Indian Wells and Miami this spring, losing to Del Potro in the Indian Wells final despite serving for the title and having three match points in the final set of a blockbuster clash. Federer was subsequently beaten by Kokkinakis in Miami.
Those losses conceivably could have made Federer more inclined to be out there on the dirt right now. But, in my view, he surely realized that he can’t afford the wear and tear of clay-court tennis any longer. He will be 37 in August, and he is well aware that he has to pick his spots carefully, protect his body sedulously, and not do anything that might cause his knee to act up or his back to become burdensome.
There is a part of Federer that would have relished performing on the red clay in places like Monte Carlo, Rome, Madrid and, especially, at Roland Garros once more. He would undoubtedly have enjoyed displaying his shotmaking genius for the Parisian audiences, and they would have welcomed him back wholeheartedly after his absence the last three years.
Federer, however, was not going to make merely a sentimental journey back to Paris; the only reason to go there would be to achieve nothing less than a second title. Deep down, he had to wonder if he could topple Nadal in Court Philippe Chatrier, potentially in another final. Despite sweeping his last five encounters with the Spaniard, he knew full well how difficult it would have been to defeat his revered rival in a best of five-set showdown on clay. That is a feat Federer has never realized.
Frankly, though, I don’t believe Federer was preoccupied with the challenge of facing Nadal when he evaluated whether or not he would appear on the clay this season. He was looking at the larger picture, determining what was best for himself in terms of preserving energy for the rest of this year and beyond, and figuring out what would make the most sense in terms of capturing more majors.
My feeling is that he will be every bit as big a favorite at Wimbledon as he was a year ago. Now that there is a three-week stretch between the end of Roland Garros and the start of Wimbledon, Federer gets the essential preparation he must have to be in peak form for the most prestigious tournament in tennis. His foremost rivals will be enduring a difficulty surface change from clay to grass, but Federer can start his grass court practice sessions sooner and be ahead of the game in adapting to the lawns.
Federer is far and away the most natural grass-court player in the game today. He will always find his range and his footing on those courts, surely and swiftly, efficiently and elegantly. The cast of players who stand a realistic chance of overcoming Federer on grass courts is exceedingly limited. His propensity to sweep through the first four rounds of Wimbledon without the loss of a set is unquestionable. If he can manage a typically smooth excursion through the early rounds, Federer will save his best brand of tennis for the homestretch of the tournament. I fully expect him to do that this year at a venue that means more to him than any other.
A Wimbledon triumph would carry Federer into the summer in good stead, as was the case last year. But, in 2017, Federer was physically compromised in Montreal by an ailing back on the hard courts. In his final-round loss to Alexander Zverev, he was a shell of his normal self. His injury lingered into the US Open, eventually he was beaten by del Potro. He finished the season reasonably well in the autumn, raising his record for the year against Nadal to 4-0, winning their Shanghai final comfortably in straight sets. He also took the title in Basel over Del Potro, but seemed slightly out of sorts when he was beaten in the semifinals of the season-ending Nitto ATP Finals by a top-of-the-line David Gofffin.
So the evidence is clear: Federer remained magnificent in the second half of 2017, but he was not as convincing as he had been during the first half. It is all about pacing and planning for the Swiss as he moves through the latter stages of an exemplary career. Even with intelligent scheduling last year, he still had the back issues that plagued him over the summer and into the autumn. Federer must proceed with a certain caution these days, and that is a fact not lost on him.
As long as he is deliberate, Federer will benefit immensely in what he accomplishes. He remains remarkably motivated, driven by a wide range of goals, propelled by private engines that have not been diminished over time. He already attained one significant goal this year by returning to No. 1 in the ATP rankings after winning Rotterdam, establishing himself as the oldest ever to reside at the top of the official rankings...
What will happen if Federer is at the height of his powers at the US Open this year? That would be fascinating. I would not be shocked if he is the victor in New York this time around. After all, this is a man who seldom sells himself short. Above all else, Roger Federer knows full well who he is, why he is still playing after capturing 20 Grand Slam championships, how he would like to arrange his priorities, and what he can still accomplish.
Federer has more than a few important triumphs ahead of him on the tennis battlefield—just not on clay, this year.
http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2018/04/federer-focusing-larger-picture-skipping-clay-season/73366/
