Federer, Nadal still lead way
Even in 30s, pair dominates rest of the field
LONDON — Go back 15 years, to the start of Wimbledon in June 2003, and look at where things stood for Roger Federer.
He was 21 and had yet to reach No. 1 in the ATP rankings. Not only had he never won a Grand Slam tournament, he’d never been past the quarterfinals at one. He was coming off a first-round loss in the French Open amonth earlier and another at the All England Club a year earlier.
When all was said and done two weeks later, Federer was crying, cradling the champion’s gold trophy.
And now? When play begins at Wimbledon on Monday, Federer, closing in on his 37th birthday, will have the honor of playing the first match at Centre Court as the defending champion. He earned his record eighth title at the grass-court major a year ago, and he ran his total Grand Slam haul to a record 20 men’s singles trophies by winning the Australian Open in January.
“I don’t know how much longer it’s going to last,” Federer said. “I have no idea.”
He was speaking about his own success, but he might as well have been talking about the two-man supremacy exhibited by himself and his greatest rival, RafaelNadal.
Nadal, 32, hadn’t even entered a major tournament in 2003. These days, he trails only Federer in the all-time men’s Grand Slam standings with 17 championships, including his 11th French Open title last month.
Remarkably, especially given all the talk in recent years about their supposed declines, Federer andNadal have divvied up the last six major titles, claiming a trio apiece. It’s their longest such stretch since grabbing six consecutive majors in 2008-09, which included Nadal’s 9-7 fifth-set victory over Federer in the 2008 Wimbledon final, considered by many to be the greatest tennis match ever.
The duo’s best run was 11 Slams in a rowfrom2005 to ’07, when Fe der er won eight andNadal the other three.
“This is perfection,” said French Open tournament director Guy Forget, a former top-five player and captain of France’s Davis Cup and Fed Cup teams.
“They are the best players in the world and are proving that even when your body is not as young as itwas, whenonestill has the drive and is well-prepared, nothing replaces talent and strong will. The young players are still lagging behind.”
Yes, all these years later, Roger and Rafa continue to lead theway.
One other indication: They have swapped the No. 1 ranking a half-dozen times in 2018, the most it has switched hands in a single season since 1999.
As of now, Nadal is No. 1 and FedererNo. 2— but just barely, with a 50-point gap between them. Because Wimbledon’s seeding system takes into account the men’s success on grass, Federer isNo. 1 andNadalNo. 2 in the draw.
This is the fifth time they are seeded 1-2 and the first since 2010. Each of the other four times, one or the other collected the title: Nadal in 2008 and ’10, Federer in 2006 and ’07.
“They won everything — both of them won everything, and not only once but so many times,” said Robin Soderling, who lost to Federer in the 2009 French Open final (after upsetting Nadal along the way) and Nadal in the 2010 French Open final (after upsetting Federer along the way).
“But they are still hungry.”
They manage their schedules more carefully in their 30s: Federer skipped the clay-court circuit, while Nadal opted not to play any grass-court tuneups before arriving at the All England Club.
He’s a two-time champion and three-time runner up at Wimbledon, butNadal has had some trouble at the place lately, failing to get past the fourth round in any of his last five appearances, with four losses to players ranked100th orworse.
“Wimbledon has always been difficult for us,” said Nadal’s uncle and former coach, Toni, “but I believe that he will have his chance if he is physically fit.”
Good health has stood in the way of Novak Djokovic (elbow), AndyMurray (hip) and Stan Wawrinka (knee), who are in various stages of returning from operations. But here are Federer and Nadal, as good as ever.
Maybe even better than ever?
“I don’t know,” Federer said. “It’s hardtotell, (but) it doesn’t really matter to me.
“I would hope that I’m a better player today just because of the time that’s gone by. I’ve had time to practice and train, but it’s different times today than itwas10,15 years ago.”