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January 31, 2008
Roger Recharges
By Richard Pagliaro, Tennis Week
The Nike swoosh on his shirt is now accompanied by a bulls-eye on his back, the breeze beneath his feet from his prolonged elevation above the field is now bolstered by two Grand Slam champions breathing down his neck and the major monster he created in reaching a record 10 straight major finals sometimes seems as much adversary as ally. If you're speculating Roger Federer's straight-sets loss to Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open semifinals has shaken the Swiss stylist or signals a seismic shift in the balance of power at the top of tennis, then think again. Despite suffering a stomach virus that left him bed-ridden and forced him to scrape himself off the sheets the week before the Melbourne major began, Federer still advanced to his 15th consecutive Grand Slam semifinal. While the second-ranked Rafael Nadal could have surpassed Federer and seize the top spot in the rankings by reaching the Oz Open final and eventual champion Djokovic, who owns the most complete game of any man not named Federer, played as if he was defining himself as Federer's future successor, the 12-time Grand Slam champion isn't exactly looking over his shoulder. Federer didn't reach his prominent place in tennis dwelling on defeat or regressing in regret and says his recent setback hasn't sent him into a state of self-analysis. The forward-thinking Federer doesn't define himself exclusively on where he is now in as much as he's motivated by where he's going and in Federer's case the finish line typically resembles the starting point. "I honestly don't feel like I need to prove anything," Federer told the media today in a conference call to promote his NetJets Showdown exhibition match against Pete Sampras on Monday, March 10 at Madison Square Garden. "It's not like I feel anxious to go back on the tennis court to try to forget about what happened. I think I still did well under the circumstances — the fact I was sick and I didn't play a tournament before — and Djokovic was really playing a good match. Maybe not serving out that first set [I have] a little regret, but I don't feel bad about it because I think I still did well. I don't look back: it's important to look ahead and then get back on the practice court and get ready for the upcoming tournaments. That's sort of what the mindset is and when you enter the year as number one that's where you want to be and that's where you want to be at the end of the year. I still try to push myself forward and still try to improve and that's the key." Life at the top of the tennis world may sound a little like the role of a contestant on American Gladiators, but a week after his Australian Open reign came to an end as an inspired Djokovic dealt Federer his first straight-sets loss in a major since he bowed to three-time French Open champion Gustavo Kuerten in the third round of the 2004 Roland Garros a revived Federer spoke like a man who is relaxed, recharged and ready to rise again to meet the challenge posed by three-time Roland Garros champion Nadal and Djokovic, who has beaten Federer in two of their last three meetings. "To some degree I felt the breath of Rafa for a long time on my neck," Federer said. "It's been a tough couple of years trying to lift your game. You don't stay number one just winning a couple of tournaments and playing well in a couple of Grand Slams. I think you always have to rise again to the occasion and try to prove yourself again. Nothing really changes in that sense: someone will win a tournament and eventually someone will catch up. I try to make that as difficult as possible. People were talking like I lost in the second round, but under the circumstances, having been sick and having not played a tournament before [the Australian Open], I was happy with the result." Though Federer seems able to shrug off the setback as if it were an itchy scarf annoyingly draped around his neck, the 20-year-old Djokovic, whose all-court ability makes him a threat on every surface, eclipsed the 5,000-point mark in ranking points with his impressive Oz triumph and took a giant leap forward in his ultimate goal of unseating the World No. 1. "I'm one of the players who is really trying to challenge him in that matter. You know, as a 20-year-old, I reached the third place of the world, but I'm really not trying to rush anywhere," Djokovic said. "I know the way he's playing now on any surface he's not really thinking of letting go of that first place in the world. We cannot forget, you know, Rafa Nadal is right behind him already for three years trying to get to the best place in the world." The Australian Open result gives more than hope to the two men shadowing Federer's footsteps — for the first time in a long time both the second and third-ranked players in the world have a legitimate chance of ending Federer's four-year reign as the season-ending number one. "For the first time leaving the Australian Open in the last four or five years I felt the season-ending number one ranking is up for grabs," U.S. Davis Cup captain and ESPN analyst Patrick McEnroe said. "I don't think it's a given Federer will be number one at the end of the year. I think he's a threat and the favorite for sure, but it's not a given." While Djokovic's win has given his closest rivals hope in closing the gap, it's also prompted Federer to ponder his immediate future and consider hiring another coach. Federer has been working with Swiss Davis Cup captain Severin Luthi and while he says he has some candidates in mind — speculation has swirled for years that Federer has been interested in working with Darren Cahill, a close friend of his late coach Peter Carter and the man who made history in coaching the youngest year-end number one (Lleyton Hewitt) and the oldest number one (Andre Agassi) — the five-time Wimbledon winner said his extensive travel schedule may be too arduous for the coaching candidates he's considered. He suggested he may make a decision on a prospective coach in February. "I was thinking a lot in November and December after the Pete exhibitions [about a coach] and I was just going through who are the possible people I can imagine working with," Federer said. "At the moment I am traveling with our Davis Cup captain and he's going to come to Dubai in February and he's helping me out a lot. But still I am going to sit down in February and discuss who are the possibilities, but I have my doubts it is someone who can do the traveling and is very experienced. Maybe I will just have Severine and that's what it is going to look like. We'll see how it goes and maybe I'll decide again in February." Federer, who has worked with Australian Tony Roche and Sweden's Peter Lundgren in the past, often consults long-time girlfriend Mirka Vavrinec on certain opponents, but said while he is receptive to hearing a new voice with different ideas he does not anticipate making major changes in the game that has enabled him to capture 53 career tournament titles. "I think more overall maybe someone with some different ideas I can still filter what's good and bad from that person, but I don't think I can change my game drastically and I don't think I should," Federer said. "And that's what I am [considering]: little things make a difference." He is not scheduled to play a tournament until launching defense of his Dubai title on March 3. From there, the schedule gets a bit demanding as Federer will fly to New York City to face Sampras at the world's most famous arena and then head west for Indian Wells. The three-time Indian Wells champion can pick up ranking points at both the Pacific Life Open and the Sony Ericsson Open after losing to Guillermo Canas at in the second round of Indian Wells and fourth round of Miami last year. You've seen all the superlatives showered on the Swiss stylist, but his recent losses highlighted his vulnerability: Federer can't kick the habit. Winning is addictive and Federer is hopelessly hooked. Since the beginning of 2004, Federer has a 320-25 match record, winning 42 titles in his last 66 tournaments during that stretch. His exhibition series with Sampras has also highlighted areas of his game he can improve, though Federer said he resisted the temptation to ask Sampras about his own game. "I didn't want to abuse him in a way and try to use him like a coach," Federer said. "I realized what a great volleyer he is; I don't even come close to his volleys and today he'd still be one of the top two or three volleyers on the tour. It shows what you can do if you have a solid technique. You can wake him up at two in the morning and he can hit a monster serve because he is so fluid and his whole technique is so smooth. He reminded me so much of myself and that's something I never get on tour." The Madison Square Garden exhibition is a virtual sell-out and Federer is looking forward to facing the man he's chasing across the record books on one of the world's most famous stages. "Being able to play there with Pete Sampras is a dream come true," Federer said. "I never got the chance to actually play at the Garden, but I've heard so much about the basketball team and Rangers so to play there and know there is probably going to be 18 to 19,000 people, there will be there so much excitement. I hope I am healthy and fit and ready to go out and beat Pete on March 10."
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