Devin
Semi-Pro
What were Federer's toughest slam draws en route to a slam victory?
I feel like it would be between AO 2004 (Hewitt, Nalbandian, Ferrero, and Safin), Wimbledon 2004 (Johansson, Karlovic, Hewitt, Grosjean, Roddick), and AO 2017 (Berdych, Nishikori, Wawrinka, and Nadal).
At the AO in 2004, his toughest opponent was Nalbandian by a decent margin. Federer also had to prove in that slam that he would be able to get the best of Hewitt for once, and after a slow start (losing the first set), he was able to pull away with a victory. Ferrero played well for two sets out of the match, and while Safin was not at his best in the final, he made an extraordinary effort to get there, beating Agassi and Roddick in two of his career best performances. Safin was definitely able to cause Federer problems with his combination of powerful ballstriking and good movement.
Wimbledon 2004 seems to be underrated. He faced several players who had a great record on grass. 2004 had perhaps Hewitt's best form on grass. He played fine in the first set of the QF except perhaps not getting enough first serves in. He won the second set with good play, although Federer's form dipped during the tiebreak. Although his form dropped in the third set, he was able to make the fourth set somewhat competitive. Roddick had Federer on his heels in the final, winning the first set and being up a break in the third set.
The 2017 AO draw was very difficult, having to screech by many good players after taking six months off. That was finished by having to defeat someone who Federer had not beaten in a slam for 10 years (Wimbledon 2017). It is something that will forever be in the history books.
Honorable mention to AO 2005. If Federer had gotten past Safin, it may have gone down as Federer's best AO win. He would've had to beat Suzuki (who actually played very well in the match), Agassi (4-time champion), Safin (at his peak), and Hewitt (at his best AO form).
His RG 2009 victory gets a little bit underrated because he had to beat Del Potro en route to the title. Del Potro played at a similar level or better than Wawrinka did when he beat Djokovic to win the 2015 RG title. Soderling had made his way to the final beating Nadal in the process, but Federer beat him forehand-to-forehand and with quite a few exquisite forehand drop shots. His serving was also quite good. However, I can't say that this was his toughest draw.
It is difficult to decide Federer's best USO draw. I feel like there is a case for each year in all honesty. In 2004, he had to beat Agassi and Henman. Hewitt did not play well in the final, but Henman had beaten Federer in Rotterdam earlier that year and could still work his game on the faster courts. In 2005, he had to face Agassi and Hewitt back to back. He also had to deal with Kiefer, who was able to take a set off of Federer (like he also did at Wimbledon). He had to face Blake and Roddick in 2006. Blake played fine in the quarterfinal and was putting Federer under pressure in certain moments, and Roddick also took a set off of Federer, but I think he played better in the 2007 QF. 2007 involved having to beat Lopez, young Isner, Roddick, Davydenko, and Djokovic. Lopez and Roddick especially put up memorable performances against Federer. Djokovic had beaten Federer in Canada, but he lost in straight sets (he should've won the first though). In 2008, he had to beat Andreev and Djokovic. Andreev was a tough matchup for Federer due to the heavy spin that he hits with, and Djokovic had made a name for himself by winning the AO in great form that year. Murray played how he normally does at AO finals, however. I don't think Andreev would have been such a matchup issue for peak Federer though.
So, out of those five years, his toughest draw was probably between 2007 and 2005.
Hamburg 2004 was probably one of Federer's toughest draws at a Masters event. He had to beat several good clay court players (Lapentti, Gaudio, Gonzalez), Hewitt, and the best clay court player that year, Coria. It is definitely underrated overall.
Wimbledon 2006 had potential to be a tough slam draw. Many of the players Federer faced had beaten him prior to the event, but Federer made short work of all of them. Ancic could have challenged Federer in the quarterfinals by taking a set, but he was unlucky to run into one of the best possible versions of Federer.
It's difficult to decide what his toughest TMC/WTF draw was. I don't remember all of them too well. I might give it to 2003 because he had to beat Agassi, Ferrero who had made the USO final that year, Roddick who won the USO that year, and get his first victory over Nalbandian to win that title. I can also see arguments for 2010, 2004, and 2007 however. I remember that Federer actually lost to Gonzalez in the round robin stages of the 2007 TMC, but I'm not sure if Federer faced opponents that were more challenging than those that he faced in 2004 or 2010 after that. In 2004, Hewitt played well in the final and did not do much wrong except being simply outplayed, and Safin was gradually building up into the great form that would topple Federer at the AO in 2005. In 2010, he had to beat Djokovic who played well from the forehand wing in that match and Nadal, who was probably showing some of his best indoor tennis form.
Thoughts?
I feel like it would be between AO 2004 (Hewitt, Nalbandian, Ferrero, and Safin), Wimbledon 2004 (Johansson, Karlovic, Hewitt, Grosjean, Roddick), and AO 2017 (Berdych, Nishikori, Wawrinka, and Nadal).
At the AO in 2004, his toughest opponent was Nalbandian by a decent margin. Federer also had to prove in that slam that he would be able to get the best of Hewitt for once, and after a slow start (losing the first set), he was able to pull away with a victory. Ferrero played well for two sets out of the match, and while Safin was not at his best in the final, he made an extraordinary effort to get there, beating Agassi and Roddick in two of his career best performances. Safin was definitely able to cause Federer problems with his combination of powerful ballstriking and good movement.
Wimbledon 2004 seems to be underrated. He faced several players who had a great record on grass. 2004 had perhaps Hewitt's best form on grass. He played fine in the first set of the QF except perhaps not getting enough first serves in. He won the second set with good play, although Federer's form dipped during the tiebreak. Although his form dropped in the third set, he was able to make the fourth set somewhat competitive. Roddick had Federer on his heels in the final, winning the first set and being up a break in the third set.
The 2017 AO draw was very difficult, having to screech by many good players after taking six months off. That was finished by having to defeat someone who Federer had not beaten in a slam for 10 years (Wimbledon 2017). It is something that will forever be in the history books.
Honorable mention to AO 2005. If Federer had gotten past Safin, it may have gone down as Federer's best AO win. He would've had to beat Suzuki (who actually played very well in the match), Agassi (4-time champion), Safin (at his peak), and Hewitt (at his best AO form).
His RG 2009 victory gets a little bit underrated because he had to beat Del Potro en route to the title. Del Potro played at a similar level or better than Wawrinka did when he beat Djokovic to win the 2015 RG title. Soderling had made his way to the final beating Nadal in the process, but Federer beat him forehand-to-forehand and with quite a few exquisite forehand drop shots. His serving was also quite good. However, I can't say that this was his toughest draw.
It is difficult to decide Federer's best USO draw. I feel like there is a case for each year in all honesty. In 2004, he had to beat Agassi and Henman. Hewitt did not play well in the final, but Henman had beaten Federer in Rotterdam earlier that year and could still work his game on the faster courts. In 2005, he had to face Agassi and Hewitt back to back. He also had to deal with Kiefer, who was able to take a set off of Federer (like he also did at Wimbledon). He had to face Blake and Roddick in 2006. Blake played fine in the quarterfinal and was putting Federer under pressure in certain moments, and Roddick also took a set off of Federer, but I think he played better in the 2007 QF. 2007 involved having to beat Lopez, young Isner, Roddick, Davydenko, and Djokovic. Lopez and Roddick especially put up memorable performances against Federer. Djokovic had beaten Federer in Canada, but he lost in straight sets (he should've won the first though). In 2008, he had to beat Andreev and Djokovic. Andreev was a tough matchup for Federer due to the heavy spin that he hits with, and Djokovic had made a name for himself by winning the AO in great form that year. Murray played how he normally does at AO finals, however. I don't think Andreev would have been such a matchup issue for peak Federer though.
So, out of those five years, his toughest draw was probably between 2007 and 2005.
Hamburg 2004 was probably one of Federer's toughest draws at a Masters event. He had to beat several good clay court players (Lapentti, Gaudio, Gonzalez), Hewitt, and the best clay court player that year, Coria. It is definitely underrated overall.
Wimbledon 2006 had potential to be a tough slam draw. Many of the players Federer faced had beaten him prior to the event, but Federer made short work of all of them. Ancic could have challenged Federer in the quarterfinals by taking a set, but he was unlucky to run into one of the best possible versions of Federer.
It's difficult to decide what his toughest TMC/WTF draw was. I don't remember all of them too well. I might give it to 2003 because he had to beat Agassi, Ferrero who had made the USO final that year, Roddick who won the USO that year, and get his first victory over Nalbandian to win that title. I can also see arguments for 2010, 2004, and 2007 however. I remember that Federer actually lost to Gonzalez in the round robin stages of the 2007 TMC, but I'm not sure if Federer faced opponents that were more challenging than those that he faced in 2004 or 2010 after that. In 2004, Hewitt played well in the final and did not do much wrong except being simply outplayed, and Safin was gradually building up into the great form that would topple Federer at the AO in 2005. In 2010, he had to beat Djokovic who played well from the forehand wing in that match and Nadal, who was probably showing some of his best indoor tennis form.
Thoughts?
