With two weeks remaining until the final Grand Slam tournament of the year, no tennis player would consider a recurring back injury and limited game time as ideal preparation for the US Open.
Incredibly, tennis great Roger Federer finds himself at (a pretty foreign) number five in the world, according to the ATP men’s singles rankings, with no form, a nagging injury and a gap that is widening between him and the four players ranked above him.
Attempting to defend his 2012 title, the 32-year-old veteran bundled out in the second round at Wimbledon just over a month ago, by 116th ranked Ukrainian, Sergiy Stakhovsky. He let slip a wonderful opportunity to go deep into the second week, as the best in the world also fell down around him.
As the defensive games of Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic and David Ferrer grow more and more impenetrable, any hope of Federer claiming his 18th Grand Slam title might hinge on good fortune.
Following his shock loss at Wimbledon, Federer backed up his poor showing in Germany, a week later, where he was ousted in the semi-finals by Argentina’s Federico Delbonis, ranked 114 at the time. He then fronted up in his native Switzerland for the first time in nine years, only to lose his opening match in straight sets, to Germany’s Daniel Brands.
”I’ve had serious problems with the back, I had to get some anti-inflammatories last week in Hamburg due to the back pain,” Federer said following the loss to Brands.
”It was so tough to play and move out there today. I’ll just have to take treatment and see how it all goes.”
The world number five subsequently pulled out of the Montreal Masters due to his back concern, a tournament where the best players will return for an assault on the North American season, fit and refreshed.
He is not the first tennis great to succumb to back problems in his later years. Eight time Grand Slam winner Andre Agassi, also suffered back problems toward the end of his career and his former coach, Australian Darren Cahill, told The Changeover that Federer ought to be cautious.
“It’s becoming more evident that it’s popping up more often than it used to, and that’s a problem for him,” Cahill said.
“So for Roger to constantly have to take that time off, you feel like you’re slipping behind. Not only are you not playing great at the moment, but you can’t put in the work in the offseason or those weeks off to improve as a tennis player.”
Federer hopes to return for the final lead-up tournament in Cincinnati, to defend his title, and scrounge for some encouraging form before attending the big dance at Flushing Meadows.
His position at the season-ending Barclays ATP World Tour Finals could also be in jeopardy, as the top eight players of the year playoff in London, in November. Federer has qualified for the event 12 years running, but currently clings onto sixth place in those rankings.
In the past, Federer has been able to manipulate his schedule so that he hits top form in time for the Grand Slams. But now he is being forced to compete out of necessity, desperate for fitness and some kind of form.
His all-round game is led with a precise, but not express, first serve, a subtle yet deadly forehand and the most poetic and deliberate one-handed backhand of all time. It means that at his prime, each of Federer’s shots was more exact and crushing than the last.
However, the Swiss may certainly be weighing up his future, as his back injury is proving harder to overcome than Spaniard Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros.
It will be hard for Federer to drastically improve his record or legacy. Andy Murray’s Wimbledon triumph won’t be his last and Novak Djokovic may even be better defensively than Nadal.
With his best tennis looking as though it is behind him, perhaps now is the time to retire on top.
Justin Falconer is a second-year Bachelor of Journalism (Sport) student at Melbourne’s La Trobe University and is a weekly contributor to upstart. You can follow him on Twitter at @jfalconer6
(Photo: toga – Flickr)
