Men’s tennis in the late 2000s was defined by the rivalry between two titans of the sport. The calm, elegant, precise Swiss master Roger Federer — a man whom most consider the greatest player of all time; a man whose fame and popularity transcended the world of tennis; a man so widely respected that a study conducted in 2011 found him to be the second most admired and trusted individual in the world — placing behind only Nelson Mandela. And of course Rafael Nadal. The King of Clay. The Moriarty to Federer’s Sherlock. The Road Runner to his Wile E. Coyote. The powerful, hot-blooded southpaw with a style of play seemingly custom-built to dismantle Federer’s game. As someone who grew up watching and playing tennis during this time, and who absolutely idolised Roger (Seriously. If I saw Federer kick a kitten, I’d blame the kitten for getting in the way of his foot) , I must admit that I hated the Spaniard — for no reason other than the fact that he had the gall to get the better of Roger time and time again.
Their rivalry was simply breathtaking. Two of the greatest players of all time slugging it out against each other on some of the sport’s biggest stages, playing each other in a remarkable seven grand slam finals from 2006 to 2009. Their five setter finals at Wimbledon 2007 and 2008 are considered by many to be the greatest matches of tennis ever played. But throughout this storied rivalry, Rafa always seemed to have the edge over Federer, who could find no reply to Rafa’s heavily spinning forehands targeted at the Achilles’ heel of Federer’s otherwise perfect game — his difficulty in facing balls bouncing high on his backhand side.
In 2011, they met in the French Open final for what seemed to be their last meeting in a major final. In a sport as physically demanding as tennis, growing old does you no favors. After Federer’s win against Andy Murray in Wimbledon 2012, it did not look like he would ever win a slam again, coming close more than once but always falling short. Rafa continued to show glimpses of his greatness, picking up a couple more of his favorite French Opens, but his extremely physical playing style appeared to have taken too much of a toll on his body, and he suffered from chronic foot and knee injuries which severely affected his game.
Both of these giants had dismal seasons in 2016 by their lofty standards. Nadal finished the season with a wrist injury after the US Open, and Federer injured his knee after slipping in a tub while drawing a bath for his twin daughters — a mortifying way to miss out on what was probably his last chance to win an Olympic singles gold —the only prize missing from his trophy cabinet. Going into the 2017 season, it looked that these two legends were in the twilight of their careers, and the tennis world was preparing for life after Federer and Nadal.
The first grand slam of 2017 was the Australian Open in January, and neither player looked likely to win. Nadal was seeded ninth, and Federer a lowly seventeenth. At the onset of the tournament, the smart money was on World Number 1 Andy Murray and six-time champion Novak Djokovic. As the tournament progressed though, seeds started to drop like flies, with Murray And Djokovic shocked by underdogs Mischa Zverev and Denis Istomin, but Federer and Nadal remained standing. As the tournament reached the semifinals, fans hoped against hope that they would see these two now grizzled veterans trade blows for one last time. But stern tests stood in the way of this dream clash. Federer faced his compatriot Stan Wawrinka — an old friend and doubles partner. Federer looked to have thrown away a two set to love lead before finding a touch of magic to claw his way past Stan in five sets. Nadal was up against the Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov — given the moniker ‘Baby Federer’ because of the similarities in their styles of play. What followed was what was probably the best match of 2017, with Nadal narrowly eking out a win in a grueling baseline slugfest. During this game, I surprisingly felt myself rooting for Nadal, even though I knew Federer would probably stand a better chance against Dimitrov. My childhood hatred for Nadal seemed to have been replaced by a grudging respect — even admiration — for Rafa’s incredible achievements, his positive outlook, and his tremendous work ethic. While Federer completing an improbable comeback to reach the finals was amazing in and of itself, facing his nemesis in yet another final was a poetic conclusion to the tournament, and possibly to their rivalry.
It was happening! Federer-Nadal! In a Grand Slam Final! In 2017! Along with Venus Williams overcoming all odds to set up a clash with her sister Serena on the women’s side of the tournament, it seemed like I had gone to sleep and woken up in 2007. Federer and Nadal began to play and what followed were five sets of pure emotion. The match was finely balanced throughout, and as the two aging legends peeled back the years to produce shots of incredible quality, I felt like a little kid again. With the match delicately poised at two sets each, Rafa seemed to be in the ascendancy, picking up a break in the start of the fifth set. What followed was an inspiring display of grit from Roger, as he plucked victory from the jaws of defeat. As Roger tucked away a neat forehand to pick up his eighteenth grand slam — his first in five years — he pumped his fists in disbelief, his eyes welling with tears. The words of Andre Agassi never rang truer — “It’s no accident, I think, that tennis uses the language of life. Advantage, service, fault, break, love, the basic elements of tennis are those of everyday existence because every match is a life in miniature.“
( Above – In disbelief after hitting the winning shot at the Aussie Open)
I thought that that was it for Federer and Nadal. Surely neither player could sustain this level of play at their advanced ages. But once again, I was wrong. Rafa annihilated the field at Roland Garros, crushing everyone on his way to picking up his unprecedented tenth French Open — La Decima. Federer easily won Wimbledon, before Rafa cemented the duo’s domination of the season with a hard-fought victory at the US Open. Nadal finished the year as the oldest world number one in the open era, and it feels weird to call Nadal the oldest anything — to me he will always be that baby-faced, sleeveless shirt and three-fourth pants wearing force of nature that burst onto the scene in 2005 at the age of eighteen.
( Above – Nadal with his French Open title, and Federer with his Wimbledon Trophy)
For me, and for most tennis fans, 2017 was an absolute dream. A nostalgic trip down memory lane with two Gods of the sport. So what could 2018 have in store for us? Surely Federer and Nadal cannot repeat their incredible feats again?
After their performances in 2017, it would be unwise to write them off. But towards the end of the year, they did start to show signs of their age. Federer injured his back prior to the US Open and it seemed to affect his play for the rest of the year. Nadal pulled out of the World Tour finals with a knee injury. Whether they can heal in time for the start of the new season in January remains to be seen.
While 2017 was the Year of the Veteran, there were some pleasant surprises from the youth. The young German Sascha Zverev had his best year yet, winning a Masters 1000 tournament, and ending the year as world number four. It seems to be only a matter of time before he wins his first grand slam. Could 2018 be his year? 20-year-old Andrey Rublev made a deep run in the US Open, reaching the quarters, and if he could perform consistently at that level, he is sure to be a force to be reckoned with in the coming seasons.
We should not overlook the returning old-timers. The other two members of ‘The Big Four’, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray. They emerged from the shadows of Federer and Nadal after 2010 to cement themselves as legends in their own right. Djokovic has won an incredible twelve grand slams, at one point holding all four grand slam titles at the same time, a feat unmatched in recent men’s tennis. His 2015 season is often considered to be the most dominant season ever played by a tennis player. Murray has picked up three slams over the years, and his consistency saw him rise to the top of the world rankings in 2016. Though they missed out on most of 2017 with injury, they should be back at the start of the new season in January, hoping to emulate the success of Federer and Nadal in 2017. Stan Wawrinka, another three-time grand slam champion should also return from injury soon, with the hope of picking up the only grand slam that has so far eluded him — Wimbledon.
With so many top players ready to fight it out over the next year, and young talents waiting to burst through, you would be foolish to attempt to make predictions on the upcoming season. ‘Smart’, however, is not something I’m often called.
I’ll start off with some easy predictions. Barring injury, Rafa Nadal will win the French open for the eleventh time. His level of play on clay in 2017 was just on another level, and it is tough to see anyone truly challenging him. Federer will win Wimbledon for similar reasons, his 20th grand slam.
( Above – Alexander ‘Sascha’ Zverev (left) and Grigor Dimitrov — two players with bright futures.)
Now some less obvious ones. I think that Grigor Dimitrov will win the Australian Open. The 26 year old Bulgarian showed signs of greatness in 2017, reaching the semifinals in Melbourne, winning a Masters 1000, and topping off his season with a win in the World Tour Finals, albeit against a depleted field. I think that Djokovic will win the US Open, and Nadal’s domination of the clay season will see him finishing the year as world number 1 again. Sascha Zverev should also be able to make deep runs in some grand slams — especially in Paris and London — but I feel that he needs to improve his mental game before he can be a serious contender. If the young Austrian Dominic Thiem can consistently hit the level of play that he showed flashes of, he could be a dark horse to trouble Nadal on the clay courts and perhaps finish the year in the top three of the men’s ranking list.
These predictions are probably going to make me look like an idiot in a year’s time, but one thing’s for sure. If the upcoming season can have just half as many unpredictable twists, thrilling matches, and stunning upsets as last season, it will be a treat for any sports fan.
– Deepak