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Can Roger Federer Regain No. 1 This Year?
By Richard Pagliaro
© Mark Peterson/Corleve
(August 27, 2010) Roger Federer says he may have pursued a career as a professional soccer player if his tennis career hadn't worked out. John McEnroe believes the 16-time Grand Slam champion will go down as a goal keeper.
Prior to launching his US Open Series in Toronto, Federer sent a message to rivals stating he had set a goal of reaching 20 Grand Slam titles, regaining the No. 1 ranking and breaking Pete Sampras' record of 286 weeks as the world's top-ranked player. McEnroe says most of those goals are within reach and suggests meeting challenges motivate Federer even more.
"I think Roger does relish these challenges," McEnroe told the media in a conference call to promote CBS' coverage of the US Open. "Despite what some people would say 'He's over the hill and he's a bum,' which is what people like you like to write about, he is the only person aside from Nadal who has a chance to be No. 1 at the end of the year. And he's in a position where if he wins (the US Open) it could still go down to the wire. Whether or not he's got a lot left in the tank, I suppose that's relative to mere mortals. I think he'll win two or three more majors."
Hall of Famer Jimmy Connors says the fact Federer showed a willingness to attack net more frequently and try to impose his transition and net game on opponents during his run to the Cincinnati title makes him more dangerous — if he can play that style when it matters most.
"I think that way Federer plays and his ability to change his game, he has more than just one way to play and his ability to change his game from defense to attacking and from keeping the ball in play and to be able to move forward, certainly is a great advantage for him," Connors said. "Now, it just a matter of having the court sense and the wherewithal to be able to do it and to do it at the times that matter the most, but that’s all about trust and trusting that it does work and obviously like in Cincinnati by winning the tournament there, he sees that it does work. And the more he does it the better he will become at it."
Some speculated on Federer's major demise in the aftermath of the 6-1, 6-3, 6-0 annihilation he absorbed at the hands of Rafael Nadal in the 2008 French Open final. Since enduring the most lopsided loss of his Grand Slam career, Federer has advanced to the finals in seven of his last nine Grand Slam tournaments and if the Australian Open champion wins the US Open next month he would match Nadal with two majors apiece this season.
"That (speculation on Federer's slide) started a couple of years ago when he lost that match to Nadal and he had been thrashed at the French Open," McEnroe said. "He taught Andy (Murray) a thing or too particularly at this year's Australian Open where I picked Andy in the final and thought he was ready to take the next step."
Nadal has surpassed Federer in the rankings and McEnroe believes the World No. 1 is on pace to win six or seven more Grand Slam titles, which would push him ahead of Pete Sampras on the all-time list.
McEnroe says Federer's days of dominance are over, but does not discount the Swiss stylist as a major contender.
"It's reasonable to assume that if (Nadal is) healthy, it has been. But at the same time that's a little unpredictable," McEnroe said. "Roger is not going to dominate the way he did. He knows it. Pretty much everybody knows it. He loves to play still. That's a big advantage. I think he'll win a couple more majors. I think the upside for Nadal is greater. He could win six, seven more."
Surveying the state of American tennis, McEnroe, who has launched the John McEnroe Tennis Academy on Randall's Island in New York City, believes John Isner is headed for the top 10.
"Isner, I believe he's going to get to the top 10 in the world," McEnroe said. "He's a guy that went to three or four years of college. (Sam) Querrey, our two best hopes, are maturing later, which I think is a good thing, and will maybe help us. We'd like to produce more players like that and hopefully we'll get better athletes, more people paying attention, we'll get a breakthrough, guys winning slams."
The four-time US Open champion suggests it will be a challenge for Andy Roddick to win another major.
"Maybe if (Andy) Roddick is lucky, it's going to be difficult now, but if he's lucky, he had a really tough loss to lose so early (at Wimbledon)," McEnroe said. "I think he really thought about that the whole year after that great (2009 Wimbledon) match with (Roger) Federer. That would have been a bit of a boost."
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