A Make or Break for Roger Federer

While I was being euphoric following the victory of Novak Djokovic, he’s my idol of course, my real concern goes directly to his opponent in the finals at the recently held Dubai Tournament, no less than Roger Federer.

In an impressively play coming from Djokovic, he easily defeated Federer on a straight set 6:3,6:3 to win the title. It was definitely a major setback for Federer for not winning at least a single set.

The two top seeded tennis player had a couple of faced off match prior to their last game. They both played with one another at the semis of US Open and Australian Open respectively, to which only Djokovic has successfully advanced to the finals. And so backed with these two win over Federer, Nole’s confidence was in utmost and he obviously delivered a terrific play at their last bout.

Tagged as the ‘king of hard court’, the three consecutive loss to Djokovic at his comfort zone must have been hurt Federer, and perhaps to his minions of supporters who pinned hope to him to redeem the number 1 spot in the ranking.

The disappointing loss of Federer might be caused by two contributing factors.

First. The reason could be with Nole. With his 2 win experienced over Roger, he’s the very person who knew how to execute a play that will put Roger in a struggling condition on a hard court and apparently for the same reason, it also increased Nole’s confidence on the game. In addition, Nole raised his play tremendously. His hard hitting serve were just extraordinary. The backhand and forehand were perfectly worked out for him.

So with Nole’s composure, unparalleled confidence and the game’s momentum in his favor, Federer might have just been overwhelmed. Or we can say that, Djokovic was just too hot for Federer to handle. Hence, the loss.

Second. It might have been the fact that Federer’s performance on the court is slowly declining. For his fans and those who witnessed how he played during his grandslam victorious years, his last game was nothing but a disappointment. It is as if he was not the Federer they used to applaud for the past years. The errors committed were left and right. His volleying wasn’t that effective also. And he looked quite indecisive on how to manage the ball. Though he’s trying to strike a hit back to Nole, the control over the ball, the strength, endurance and the power weren’t that enough to compensate an impressive performance and tactics showed by Nole. To say, Federer was completely swallowed by Djokovic.

Most certainly, the mere combination of these two contributing factors might led Federer to a painful defeat. Oh, well.

For a player who holds a record of 14 grandslam win in an open era and are considered to be one of the greatest tennis player of all time, losing on a three consecutive streak on the same man, quite made an impact in his career. It could have marked the beginning of his decline in the tennis world. Or who knows Federer might utilize this situation to inspire himself on the challenges ahead and in turn, redeem himself and reclaim the title of being #1.

But note that if this poor performance of Federer push through to his succeeding tournament this year, much better for him to send off his retirement while he’s still at the peak of his career, really. Nobody wants “The King” to be dropped way down from the ranking. That’s pretty hard to digest especially for the people who patronize him over the years.

So it is really a make or break for Federer in the games ahead. It will dictate his fate on tennis. A careful decision must be considered when everything seems going at the wrong direction.

For Djokovic, well, this is the time of his life. The momentum is with him. He shall remain his composure and confidence. There’s no way to go but up.