Good article on Roger Federer

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Professional
Roger Federer has no intention of fading away
Published On Tue Aug 10 2010

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Roger Federer in his match against Juan Ignacio Chela at the Rogers Cup Mens Tennis Tournament the Rexall Centre at York University.

By Damien Cox
Sports Columnist

Last seen losing in England in all whites, Roger Federer showed up in Canada wearing hot pink.

Still a supremely confident fellow, indeed.

He didn’t arrive at the sold-out Rexall Centre on Tuesday night in top form — a “bit rusty,” is how he termed it — but what he brought was plenty good enough against an experienced but non-dangerous opening-round opponent, Juan Ignacio Chela of Argentina.

Nothing newsworthy in particular about the two-set Federer triumph, although there were a couple of dodgy moments in a first-set tiebreak. Well, and there was the pink shirt over brown shorts, not exactly a controversial garment in the tennis world but something more daring from the Swiss master.

It was almost a statement that if there are those seeing him as a depleted force in the wake of his stunning quarter-final loss at Wimbledon six weeks ago, he has no intention yet of becoming old news on the men’s tour.

Federer, having fallen to No. 3 in the world for the first time in 6 ½ years, has a new partnership with coach Paul Annacone but looked to be pretty much the same player, albeit with his occasionally balky backhand filled with a few more shanks. But after a long layoff, his first match back since losing to Tomas Berdych at the All England Club was more than satisfying before a decidedly pro-Federer audience, completed with two forehand bombs in the final game of the match as he gradually seemed to locate all the disparate parts of his vast arsenal beneath the setting sun at York University.

“Well, I guess today I could play in almost any way I wanted to, because Chela sort of allows you to,” said a customarily lean, relaxed Federer after his 7-6 (7), 6-3 victory. “He doesn’t have the biggest serve in the game. You know, he likes to rally. But then when he obviously has a shorter ball he can finish it.

“So that gives me opportunities to maybe serve and volley, maybe chip and charge, to maybe come to the net, to, you know, create good points, but then again it’s dangerous, too, because you sometimes get caught in the longer rallies or then you overhit early on.

“I had many options. I wanted to play on my terms against a player like that, and that’s what I was able to do today somehow.”

He was philosophical about his fall from No. 1 in the world to third behind Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

“I look at what I’ve achieved in my career, what I still want to achieve, and, what I have done the last few weeks to get prepared again, you know, to hopefully get to a higher playing level than I was playing at the French, at Wimbledon. That’s what you look at and not your ranking,” he said.

“Rankings are what they are. You can’t control them that much unless you win tournaments. That’s not what I have been doing lately, so I know I have to try to do better there. Other guys played well as well, so they deserve the ranking that everybody has. Rankings usually don’t lie, so it’s up to me to make a move now.”

With the Rogers Cup kicking into high gear Wednesday with the final top seeds in action, Federer has one more match before a likely rematch against the hard-hitting Berdych in the quarter-finals later this week, no easy task for either man with the North American hard-court season just kicking into gear.

Beyond that, this is clearly a new phase of Federer’s career, one that begins with a pinkish hue. Hunger has been replaced by family and achievement, and now it remains to be seen what the 29-year-old superstar has left to deliver.

“I’d love to win many, many tournaments still,” he said. “But what I’ll try to do is make, you know, the best possible career and then judge it at the very end instead of trying to run after things.

“I think I did that enough with the Grand Slam count of (Pete Sampras’ record) 14 and the French Open, and now that I got those out of the way, really, I feel like I’m playing much more, you know, with relief, more fun, and a purpose, too.”

This much seems true. Federer, at 29, is still a colorful, stylish athlete well worth watching.

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Nice to see some journalists who don't go for the 'hype angle' with Federer.

The fact is Federer is still a great player, an entertaining player to watch and still has more to contribute to the game. Regardless of whether he dominates or not. Just to watch him playing well is still something and if he plays well he still has shots at winning. He is only 29 after all, not 34 or 35. He clearly is not ready to bring down the curtain yet on his career and while a lot of people and press seem to be ready to write his tennis obituary, he is still working hard and playing hard and enjoying his time on the tour.
 
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