By Chris Oddo | Tuesday June 27, 2017
Absence makes the heart grow fonder. And in Roger Federer’s case it appears to have therapeutic powers that enable him to move forth with the sprightly swagger of a teenager.
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If there’s a lesson to the older players on the ATP Tour to take from the success of Federer in 2017, it isn’t about tactics or technique. Forget about playing the type of transcendent tennis that Federer produces—it simply isn’t possible—but do take note of the man’s ability to turn a productive training block into a stretch of torrid tennis.
Retreat. Reload. Reinvigorate.
It happened during the Aussie summer when Federer shocked the tennis world to claim his 18th major title after spending his autumn and winter off the grid, and it might be happening again at Wimbledon as the 35-year-old comes into Wimbledon on the heels of his 92nd career title after a 10-week hiatus that saw him strategically eschew the red clay of Roland Garros for the practice courts and very same Slazengers that he’ll be playing with next week when the 2017 Championships begin.
It wasn’t just that Federer won the Gerry Weber Open title at Halle on Sunday; he was the top seed and he had already done that eight times. Rather, it was Federer’s performance, particularly in the final, that suggested he’s heading into one of those untouchable phases that could trouble for the rest of the Wimbledon field.
Federer’s far from a lock to win at Wimbledon despite the ragged form of Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic and the always tenuous hopes of Rafael Nadal on grass. Nevertheless, his performance against Sascha Zverev in the Halle final bodes well for his chances. If you caught the final you know what I’m talking about. Federer hardly put a foot wrong as he tamed the fiery German, and the lopsided 6-1, 6-3 scoreline was hardly an indictment of Zverev, who tried his very best to put Federer on his back foot but every well struck ball he sent Federer’s way came back with interest.
If Federer is off his game it’s easy to see it. He’ll plop a volley into the net or shank the occasional backhand; maybe he’ll even double-fault on break point. There was nothing of the sort from his end of the court on Sunday as he won 26 of 28 first-serve points and casually saved the only break point he faced against Zverev.
Keep in mind, Federer’s exploits were carried out against a player that defeated him in three sets in the Halle final before losing to Florian Mayer in the final. Zverev is a far superior player one year later—he has a prestigious Masters 1000 title and for Top 10 wins to prove it—and yet he was still trounced by Federer so thoroughly that there was nothing he could do to stop the one-way traffic from zooming past him.
It was a dramatic turnaround for Federer, who needed a week to get his bearings after taking 10 weeks off the tour this spring. He was stunned by Tommy Haas in his first match at Stuttgart, despite holding a match point, and left for Halle needing a shot of redemption.
Was Federer, the owner of more grass titles than any other player, worried?
“I was doubting myself a little bit I must admit,” he said after his title in Halle, his summer home away from home where he has won 59 of 65 matches. “Losing first round for the first time in 15 years on grass was always going to shake me a little bit—and it did—so I’m happy to react right away and let that be forgotten and move on.”
Doubts come in clouds, and sometimes they are foreboding, but after a satisfying experience in Germany, Cloud 9 is the buzzword for Federer. He’s extremely confident now, and so are oddsmakers, who have installed him as the pre-Wimbledon favorite, ahead of Andy Murray.
But he’s not that confident. Pundits are downplaying the threats that will be lurking in the draw to challenge Federer at Wimbledon, but Andy Murray is the defending champion, Novak Djokovic is due for a return to form, and Rafael Nadal played is in such a good place after winning Roland Garros (speaking of Cloud 9), he just might keep it up on the grass.
“I do believe there is going to be a surprise like every year in the first week, but one of the favorites is probably going to go all the way at Wimbledon—it’s pretty much always the same,” Federer said on Sunday at Halle. “Who that is, we don’t know. I hope I’m going to be in the running too.”