ON HIS TURF
Federer expected to be a factor at Wimbledon again
LONDON — Write off Roger Federer at your own peril.
He has been considered done by some folks at various times over the years, whether because of age or a bad back or a bum knee or a — gasp! — 4 1/2-season drought without a Grand Slam title.
And yet here he is, about to turn 36 next month, about to tie a record by playing in his 70th major tennis tournament and, lo and behold, back to his old status as a popular pick to take home the title as Wimbledon begins today.
He is seeking an unprecedented eighth men’s championship at the All England Club.
“A player like Roger, as long as he’s playing, you know, he’s going to have a chance to win
a Grand Slam,” said Stan Wawrinka, a three-time major champion who has played much of his career in his Swiss countryman’s considerable shadow. “The day he will stop playing, that’s when he will have no chance to win.”
Wawrinka is a sometimes foe who is also a friend to Federer, having teamed with him to win a Davis Cup title and Olympic gold in doubles. He knows better than to discount the talent of someone with a record 18 major titles, seven of them earned at Wimbledon.
He is also aware even careers with the highest peaks have valleys.
“We all know as players, we all see on the court, we all see when we practice against him,” Wawrinka said. “For sure, he had some years a little bit down — with some injury, with some tough results for him. That’s part of a long career.”
The lasting image of Federer at Wimbledon a year ago was of him face-down on the Centre Court turf during the fifth set of a semifinal loss, betrayed by a surgically repaired left knee. Also tough to forget are his consecutive double-faults in the last game of the fourth set.
He seemed more vulnerable than the tennis world had seen him in more than a decade.
“The fall just really scared
“A player like Roger, as long as he’s playing, you know, he’s going to have a chance to win a Grand Slam. The day he will stop playing, that’s when he will have no chance to win.” — STAN WAWRINKA
me,” Federer said this past weekend, fingers clasped as he leaned forward.
Afterward, he recalled, he consulted with several doctors. Federer figured he would need a month off, maybe two. Then he was told that at least four months off was the proper way to heal. That meant no Olympics, no U.S. Open, no matches at all for the rest of 2016.
All he has done since coming back this year is go 24-2 with four titles, including erasing a fifthset deficit to beat Rafael Nadal in the Australian Open final in January. That was Federer’s first major championship since Wimbledon in 2012, when he was a mere 30 years old.
He took more time off this season, too, skipping the clay-court circuit — including the French Open — despite being healthy.
“I was ready to play in Paris,” he said. “I just didn’t feel ready to go yet.”
Federer wanted, he explained, to give himself the best chance to succeed on his best surfaces, grass and hard courts. Leaning back in his chair with arms crossed, he said of missing the French Open: “I kind of never regretted it, even though it hurt.”
He tuned up for Wimbledon by winning a grass-court tournament in Halle, Germany. In the final, he walloped one of the game’s up-and-coming talents — Alexander Zverev, who is 15 years his junior — as if to prove the kids can wait their turn.
And the old guard is still in charge of the sport. Federer, 31-year-old Nadal, and Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray, both 30, are the top four seeds at Wimbledon. They’ve combined to win the past 14 titles at the tournament.
“It’s very even, when we put it all out on the line,” Federer said about the so-called Big Four.
This is Federer’s 19th appearance at Wimbledon, two shy of Jimmy Connors’ record in the Open era. Federer enters with 84 match wins, equal with Connors for the most.
There are concessions to time, Federer acknowledged. He tried to get through practice Saturday as quickly as possible — “short and sweet, just to get it done” — and planned to take Sunday off before the grind began.
The philosophy is the same during matches. An attacking style to shorten points, the occasional serve-and-volley and the more powerful backhand he displayed in Australia against Nadal all can help save energy.
“I don’t want to be at the mercy of my opponent. I want to take charge, play aggressive myself,” Federer said. “So for that, I need to be fast on my feet and quick in my mind. I just need enough rest so I can play enough inspired tennis.”