Sorrow turned to Joy as Roger Federer wins his 18th Major

As I write my first post in almost a year I have the Federer-Berdych 3rd round match running in the background.  The magical run at this year's Australian Open can't be taken lightly and I plan to bask in it as long as possible.  But before talking about the joys we have experienced this month of January, ending with magical #18, lets review 2016, as difficult as it was.

After last year's semifinal loss in Australia there was the shocking announcement that Roger had had surgery on his knee.  

I want to inform you that yesterday I underwent arthroscopic surgery on my knee. I injured my knee the day after the semi-finals in Australia. After getting tests done when I returned home, it was determined that I had torn my meniscus. I apologize to my friends in Rotterdam and Dubai, as I was very much looking forward to playing those events. While this is an unfortunate setback, I am encouraged and grateful that my doctor said the procedure was a success. I am looking forward to attacking the rehabilitation process this afternoon with my team and working hard to get back out on tour as soon as possible. Thanks for all your incredible support. I will check in with all of you soon.

Then he gave this creative rundown of his experience:

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 After the initial shock wore off that he had been required to have the first surgery of his career, my first thought was that meant that he likely wouldn't be coming to "my" tournament, Indian Wells, where I volunteer.  That was a bitter disappointment but I manged to survive it, still with some special memories.  Then followed several months of struggles in tournaments he tried to play, the withdrawl from the French Open, which meant missing his first grand slam in many, many years.  Then, of course his run to the semis at Wimbledon with a chance to win that match to get to the final, the fall, the disappointment.  But the biggest shock came with this announcement:

Dear Fans,
I’m extremely disappointed to announce that I will not be able to represent Switzerland at the Olympic Games in Rio and that I will also miss the remainder of the season. Considering all options after consulting with my doctors and my team, I have made the very difficult decision to call an end to my 2016 season as I need more extensive rehabilitation following my knee surgery earlier this year. The doctors advised that if I want to play on the ATP World Tour injury free for another few years, as I intend to do, I must give both my knee and body the proper time to fully recover. It is tough to miss the rest of the year. However, the silver lining is that this experience has made me realize how lucky I have been throughout my career with very few injuries. The love I have for tennis, the competition, tournaments and of course you, the fans remains intact. I am as motivated as ever and plan to put all my energy towards coming back strong, healthy and in shape to play attacking tennis in 2017.

Thanks for your continued support.
Roger

When that message appeared on his Facebook page and quickly spread, there was an almost audible moan of pain that reverberated amongst most of the tennis world.  This was followed by depression for all Federer fans that continued in varying degrees throughout the remainder of 2016.  As I worked through my depression, though, it became more and more evident, partly from what he was saying himself and partly from just knowing this in my heart, that he NEEDED this break and that it was going to pay off in the end if we could survive the long months.   

Time did eventually pass and the pain became a bit less stark and before we knew it full anticipation of the comeback was in force.  Hopman Cup was a joyous experience - no stress or pressure to have to win matches, just getting back to match play, plus the fun of mixed doubles with partner Belinda Bencic.  Federer fans were on cloud 9 having their man back.

When the draw came out in Melbourne there was a bit of a relief that the first two rounds would be qualifiers, but then the reality of what being the 17th seed really meant - potentially five top 10 players in a row.  It seemed impossible that he could win, so I tried to have the attitude of enjoying each match.  However, as each match went by and he played better and better, first beating Berdych in the 3rd round in scintillating fashion, then a scary 5-setter against Nishikori, at which point anticipated quarterfinal opponent Murray had shockingly lost to big brother Zverev, who served and volleyed him right out of the tournament.  With beautiful play by Roger to beat Mischa, all of a sudden he was into the semifinal and it was impossible not to think of the possibilities.  

The semifinal against Stan Wawrinka was the worst for me.  I had to watch it on a recording in the morning as I couldn't stay up all night on a work night.  After winning the first two sets he then went on to lose the next two, sending me into a panic, since I hadn't looked at the results.  At the end of that match I was emotionally exhausted because somehow I had gone from the point of just enjoying every match to really wanting him to win the whole thing.  The fact that this was suddenly a possibility was a beautiful surprise, but while I should have been rejoicing I found myself almost depressed once it was confirmed his opponent was to be none other than Rafael Nadal.  What for some was the dream final was to me the dread final.  I couldn't stand the thought of having him lose to the man who has given him so many heartbreaking losses over the years.  Though I like Rafa a lot better than I used to after meeting him last year and him giving European kisses to my friend and me, those feelings don't extend to him beating my guy or getting close to his GS record!

I was actually more calm during the final than I was in the semi - until the first half of the 5th set that is, when I had to actually just glance at the match while reading a novel to save my heart.  But we all know what happened - the break back, another break, the stressful last service game, and finally the absolute elation of realizing he had actually done it - he had won his 18th major!

So fellow Fed fans, we survived a difficult 2016, 6 months straight of which was Roger-less. And do you know what?  The pain has been all worth it!  Look at the joy on his face in the above picture.  Seeing what he is capable of doing after giving his body and mind the rest it needed gives me great hope for what will hopefully be at least a couple more years of watching this amazing man continue to achieve his dreams and delight his fans.  And when eventually time does run out, we will have these completely incredible memories of this absolutely joyful experience and how much it means to him.

Making sense of the last week for Federer fans

There are a lot of random thoughts rolling around in my brain related to Roger Federer and tennis in the last week, so I thought it was time to get some of it in writing and maybe make a little more sense of it all.

First of all, re: the Australian Open semis, I once again let myself get my hopes up for a win in a major against the dominating Novak Djokovic.  I tell myself over and over again not to do it, build myself up only to be crushed to the ground when he loses these matches that I so desperately want him to win.  His fans around the globe are hoping so badly for that elusive #18.  And really, I still do believe it will happen.  But let's face it - the Australian Open is the perfect scenario for Djokovic.  The court surface seems to suit him to a T, plus the fact that they play the semis and the final in the evening when conditions are slower just plays into his hands.  AO is to Novak as Wimbledon was to Roger in his prime.  For anyone to beat Djoker there when he's on a roll such as he is would be virtually impossible.  Sure it's discouraging, but best to face the facts and accept it for the time being.

That being said, that doesn't mean it's going to stay that way forever.  Let's look at reality as it's been in the last several generations.  Winning majors past the age of 30 is a difficult task.  Doesn't mean it can't happen obviously, but the rate of success seems to drop by quite a large margin.  I see some saying that Djokovic will catch and surpass Federer's tally of major titles and weeks at #1, plus claim the GOAT distinction.  Obviously that's a possibility.  However, Novak will be 29 in May, a number that has seemed to be a bit of a slowing down for many.  I realize that he started his run of majors a little later than, say, Federer and Nadal.  All I'm saying, though, is that although it seems like he will be in this form stretching on and on because we don't currently see someone to stop him, history shows this is not the case.  At some point he will have a slight drop in form and someone else will step up to the plate.  Maybe that's when Roger will get his chance for the draw to open up and win #18.  Time will tell.

Now to the latest news - Roger surprised everyone (not to mentioned freaked everyone out a bit) when he announced he had undergone a surprise arthroscopic surgery to repair the meniscus in his knee.  He said he had injured it the day after his semifinal, which is certainly rather puzzling.  My best guess is that he didn't really feel the injury until he woke up the next morning.  From what I have read related to this type of surgery, it's minimally invasive, pretty much an out-patient procedure, and relatively quick to heal.  He for sure will be missing two tournaments he had planned on playing, Rotterdam and Dubai.  My sincere hope is that he will be ready for Indian Wells, a tournament I have attended the past five year, volunteering both last year and this year.  It would be a huge disappointment if he weren't there.  I'm not going to worry too much about it at this point, but will try to think positively that he will be ready to play at that point in time.  No reason to borrow trouble (though sometimes easier said than done).

To end on a positive note, one big plus from the Australian Open is that the Federer boys were finally in public, along with their sisters, at the AO Kids Day.  It was so fun to see all four Federer kids together, hopefully something we will see much more of in the future.
 

 

Roger Federer begins his 2016 season with a final in Brisbane

Roger Federer started off the 2016 season as he has the last couple years in Brisbane Australia.  He and his fans were hoping for a repeat of his incredible victory a year ago where he celebrated his 1000th win in style with a victory in the final against Milos Raonic. The stage was certainly set when it turned out to be the exact same final as last year, after Federer beat Dominic Thiem and Raonic claimed the win against Tomic. Unfortunately health issues, as well as some excellent play by Raonic, crushed the hopes of an 89th title to begin the season.

Those who follow tennis closely knew there was potentially some cause for concern when rumors started to circulate that Federer had summoned a doctor earlier in the week, though it was unclear if it was for illness or injury.  He showed up to play his first match on Thursday, however, with an easy win, though he stated in press afterwards that he had been sick with a fever/flu that his four kids had earlier.  He managed to win his next two matches in spite of not feeling his best, though the quarterfinal against Dimitrov, in which he was pushed to three sets, was certainly a challenge I didn't know if he would come through.

After a fairly easy semifinal victory against youngster Dominic Thiem, I was hoping he would have enough left in the tank to get through one more match, especially with a few extra hours of rest before the final.  Unfortunately that wasn't to be.

It soon became obvious in the final that Roger wasn't finding his rhythm against an in form Milos Raonic.  Though there were certainly the usual moments of brilliance for Federer, there were also many easy errors into the net.  It's not often these days that Roger shows his frustration, but in this case there was a loud yell at one point in the match, and then a drop of his racquet onto the court with his hands on his hips as if he couldn't believe what was happening.  Unfortunately he was never able to find the way to gain the upper hand and the match was soon over with Raonic the victor at 6-4 6-4.

Federer gave a gracious speech in the award ceremony, but in his press conference later he revealed (more so than he normally does) that he was certainly affected by the sickness that had plagued him earlier in the week, and that he still was suffering effects from.  He said he has a lingering cough and sore throat, plus his legs had felt heavy all week, even after spending a day-and-a-half in bed Tuesday and half of Wednesday.  Never one to make excuses, he praised Raonic's game.  Still, though, it was obvious to me that he wasn't feeling himself, especially with the lack of aggressive play that has become so much part of his style in recent days.  He says he will rest up in the next couple days and hopefully be coming into Melbourne back to his healthy form with renewed vigor and energy, not to mention motivation to improve on last year's surprise early loss in the first major of the year.

 I also have to say, for any who have followed my blog over the years, that I have been taking a bit of a hiatus since August, but hope to get back into writing more frequently again as we begin an exciting new season.  Can't wait for the upcoming Happy Slam, and also I am counting the days until I leave to volunteer for 2 1/2 weeks at Indians Wells again in Player/VIP Transportation.

Dream week for Federer in Cincy

Why do I call this a dream week?  After all, it was Roger Federer's 7th time to win the title in Cincinnati; it's not like it was anything too new to him.  But how often does a player not only not lose a set on their road to the trophy, but more importantly not even have his serve broken one time?  And not just that, he only faced break point three times in the tournament, and not one time in the final against the world #1.  That is simply unheard of!

Anyone who watched any of Roger's matches during the week couldn't help but have heard about and observed his ultra-aggressive tactics.  His new return strategy started out as a joke in practice - moving up to within just a couple feet of the service box and taking the serve incredibly early, stunning his opponent.  He even used this on big server Kevin Anderson, much to the shock of everyone watching.  Some of the shots he produced during the week were just outrageous.  To continue to add to his game at 34 years old after all that he has accomplished in his career is so impressive and can be added to his extensive list of what he is so admired for.

The quick conditions in Cincy are so well suited for his game.  I kept thinking through the week as I watched Federer shine and Djokovic struggle how things would be different if so many of the court surfaces hadn't been made ridiculously slow.  There were still quite a lot of long rallies during the tournament, so the argument that there are no long rallies with quick courts doesn't ring true.  There was a lot of very exciting tennis!  I will hold myself back from going on a long rant about this, but I'll at least say that I wish it was more even as far as slow and fast surfaces.  I mean, this year Federer beat Djokovic on the quick surfaces, Djokovic beat Federer on the slow surfaces.  Different strengths for different players.  Enough said.

I heard it said many times after the final that this was the first time Roger had ever beaten the the #1 and #2 player in the world in a tournament.  To me that sounds bad because it sounds like he wasn't capable of doing that.  What many were ignoring, however, was the fact that the majority of the time he has been ranked #1 or #2, so it would have been impossible simply because of that.  Again, enough said.

I loved seeing the Federer girls at the tournament, seeming a little more tuned in than previously.  When Roger went to greet his family after his win, I couldn't stop smiling for many minutes afterwards.  Even though I know everyone has already probably seen it, I still have to put the sweet video in.

  

And finally, I leave at the end of the week for my first experience at the US Open!  I will be there the first week.  It will be a very different experience than my time at Indian Wells this year, where I was able to sit right down at the front because I was volunteering; here I will be up in the nosebleed section.  But being at a grand slam for the first time will be quite an experience and I'm very excited!  Hopefully will still get some good Roger time.