Roger Federer and his diehard fans took a hard semifinal loss on the US Open’s Super Saturday, after he failed to hold on to a two-set lead and eventually let two match points slip away to world number one Novak Djokovic. The 30-year-old Swiss champion was obviously intent on nabbing his one last chance at a Slam title for 2011, but it wasn’t meant to be. As much as the press has latched on to this epic semifinal competition, desperate to discover the meaning behind such a mishap from the tennis maestro, Federer is already talking about the Australian Open. An hour after the match, and he’s moved on.
The Five Stages of Tennis Angst
At least he’s trying to move on. Roger Federer’s post-match press conference revealed a man working through his anguish and disappointment, right in front of a bunch of strangers and a camera. The typically stoic Federer has always had his moments of emotion, and it was immediately clear that his loss stung him. Badly. Barely able to even stomach the energy to answer the initial pointed questions, Roger admitted: “Well, I mean, it’s awkward having to explain this loss because I feel like I should be doing the other press conference.”
Sitting in that lonely chair, feeling the harsh pangs of missed opportunities, the five-time US Open champion even added, “I have only myself to blame.” When asked about what he said a few minutes later, however, Roger quantified with a sudden smile, “Maybe, I said.”
Folding his arms across his RF tee (decorated with artistic representations of 15 of his greatest victories), Roger slogged through the inevitable questions about why he lost and why Novak won. There was a bit of bitterness from him over losing to a player who threw a Hail Mary pass of sorts to counter a match point, but he recognized the mixture of luck and skill and things that sometimes just go boom. “He played well,” Fed said. “I didn’t serve my very best. It was a combination of many things. And then what he does really well this year, he front runs really well and he started playing great. It was hard to counter his playing. That’s why it was very important to push for the two sets to love lead. Everything I did today I thought was the right way. He just played really well in the third and the fourth.”
When the questions persisted about this point or that point, Federer adopted a perfect hipster attitude of “I’m over it,” saying: “Yeah, maybe I get a bit unlucky with the net cord. Who knows? Seriously, at this point I don’t care anymore. It’s all in the past.”
How We Got Here
Anyone who’s watched Federer lately can’t be all that surprised at how things played out in this semifinal match. As Federer has aged, he’s lost a little bit of his edge. The magic plays, killer forehands and corner shots still appear, but then he usually slumps at some point in the match. He gets up a few points, and then loses them. He gets up a set, and then loses one. It’s never entirely clear if he loses mental focus, or if his arm just gives out after awhile–and he’d never admit to either of these, maybe not even to himself.
From the Wimbledon quarterfinal loss until last month’s Cincinnati Masters tournament, Roger truly seemed to have lost his way, often looking as perplexed as everyone else when his backhand went into the net for the twentieth time. As the US Open began, he appeared to be struggling against much weaker opponents, until a pattern started to emerge. Fed wasn’t just tanking on points–he was experimenting. Confident he’d eventually win the matches, he tried out new strategies, many of them at the net.
As he progressed through the rounds, Federer’s game smoothed out, and the vintage confident tennis champion emerged. His Wimbledon and Rogers Cup nemesis Jo-Wilfried Tsonga actually sensed his opponent’s altered state, and caved as much from Fed’s play as from awe–which is pretty much how Roger “My Reputation Precedes Me” Federer used to win all of his matches. It was a giant step in the right direction, and while his form still wasn’t perfect, his errors were down and his serve was improving.
The Big Picture
My early assessment of the new and improved Federer was that he might not win the US Open, but he was on track to get farther in tournaments and win another Slam in the following year. During the catharsis of his post-loss semifinal press conference, Roger came to the same conclusion. “It was still a good run here. Like I said, I played great. I thought I was playing some really good tennis these last few matches, and that’s definitely gonna give me a lift…I’ve had better seasons, yeah. But then again, you can’t play every season identical. You don’t want it to be, otherwise it becomes boring, too. I guess I will be extremely hungry going to Australia next year. It’s clear and obvious, and I know if I keep on working hard now that I’m feeling so good right now it will all pay off. I know it. I haven’t felt like this in a long time, so this is a good time.”
The best tennis players always have to think long term, and Federer is obviously looking at the bigger picture. Fans and critics alike should be as practical. Fed is still number three in the world, and this year reached the quarters in one Slam, the semis in two more, and a final at Roland Garros. He had a personal slump, but he’s on an upswing when it comes to his level of play. It’s worth staying in the game, especially considering the unpredictability of tennis. Opponents lose focus, suffer surprising losses or injuries. Roger’s beaten all of these players before, and can again. He’s still got his foot in the door.
As for the devastating 2011 US Open loss that opened up a whole can of “what if?” worms for fans and journalists? “Sure, it’s a bit of a bummer,” the Swiss maestro concedes. “I guess it happens occasionally.”
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