Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal sat side-by-side in director’s chairs attempting to complete a short video that promoted Roger’s winter 2010 charity exhibition. Time and time again, Rafa tripped over lines, causing Roger to burst into fits of laughter. They cracked up uncontrollably like two goofy fraternity brothers. Roger wiped tears from his eyes; Rafa tossed his hair in fits of laughter. They acted like two chums spending a casual afternoon together.
The recording offered a glimpse into the lightheartedness that can encapsulate the Roger-Rafa relationship though it was a far cry from what happened on the tennis court throughout 2010. In short, Nadal experienced brilliant Grand Slam success, Federer relative disappointment. While Federer began the year with a convincing win in Australia, he wouldn’t return to a Slam final the rest of the season. He watched Nadal capture titles at the French Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. A motivated Swiss would enter the season’s last tournament, the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, with a vengeance. He would ultimately upset the World No. 1 to earn the championship title, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1. It’s not a Major, but the victory had significant relevance.
As Federer creeps closer to the tennis-old age of 30 and his twin toddler daughters near 2, some fans speculate if the “Greatest of all Time” will hoist additional Grand Slam trophies? Or, will Roger wow the tennis world – again – in 2011?
TRADING PLACES
After amassing a 26-2 record in 2009 Majors and collecting his first French title and another Wimbledon crown, Federer started 2010 in his typical ultra-human fashion. He coasted through the Australian Open draw, then faced Andy Murray in the finals, a match the media hyped as a potential classic. It was a classic, but only in the sense of clinical instruction: In overwhelming fashion, Federer claimed his 16th Major.
As winter turned to spring and spring to summer, the tide that left Nadal dog paddling at the end of 2009 was turning. Nadal capped the clay warm-up tournaments with a win over Federer, and began a 21-match winning streak at the Slams, winning the French, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in fewer than four months. The run was considered by many as the best single-season performance in the Majors. In comparison, Federer tallied a14-3 record in those Slams, marking his first failed attempt to win one of the events since 2002.
ON THE COUCH
Allen Fox, sports psychologist and former pro, works with touring pros on the mental approach to the game. Fox notes that tennis is the most mentally challenging sport. Aside from the mental aspect, Federer, who has competed since 1998 and turns 30 in August, is naturally losing his edge.
“Roger has slowed down physically. It’s not terribly noticeable, but as you look at the stats and numbers on players, you’ll see that most peaked in their mid-20s,” says Fox. “By their late 20s, players tend to drop off. They’ll have nagging injuries and just slow up for one reason or another.”
While Federer had a bout with mononucleosis in early 2009 and occasionally is bothered by lower back pain, the world No. 2 has remained healthy with age. His winning percentage did still dip slightly in 2010, where he won 81 percent of his matches.
Last year, it was 83 percent. “The older athlete will start to lose matches that they would’ve won in the past,” explains Fox. “These losses have a direct impact on their level of confidence. There’s a negative feedback loop where a loss turns into a reduced level of confidence, which in turn, leads to more losses and so on.”
With more Grand Slam trophies than any player, Fox acknowledges that Federer is not a typical player. He believes the Swiss will collect more titles. “Federer shouldn’t change his game plan, he should still work to go to the net and shorten points,”
Fox explains. “He has to tell himself that he’s going through a short-term down swing … when he goes into the next Slam, be hopeful that he might win.” Federer hopes to bolster his chances to win another big tournament with the new addition to Team Fed, coach Paul Annacone. The two began working together last summer, and solidified their relationship at the U.S. Open. Annacone is a former coach of Pete Sampras.
“When you’re winning you don’t need anything. You’re on autopilot. Right now, Roger might need more help psychologically than anything else,” says Fox. “Federer has a greater comfort in having Annacone on his team; it’s probably more of a placebo effect, but it’s a real effect when you’re dealing with confidence. Make no mistake, Annacone reduces Federer’s stress level.”
Federer is expected to make small tweaks to his own game, but the rise and maturity of the next tennis generation – Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic, Gael Monfils and the like – have created a buzz, threatening Federer’s reign (or co-reign with Nadal) as tennis’ top dog. Has the talk bothered Roger?
“I think that’s a ‘yes and no’ question,” Fox says. “He cares what people say and it raises his stress level, which can be negative. When you’re confident, you’re more motivated. When you’re not confident, it adds to the stress. A direct consequence of losing matches is a loss of confidence.” I’ve changed my game. I’m playing more physical than three, four years ago. Just try to put all that together, in split seconds break it down and take the right decision, which isn’t easy because you have so much info.
It’s a vicious cycle. And while it’s impossible for outsiders to gauge Federer’s level of confidence, he is cognizant of his age as it relates to competition, especially in relation to his top rivals. “Older athletes tend to get more nervous. They know too much. They know all of the things that can go wrong,” says Fox. “Federer has been choking more these past couple of years. When he chokes, it’s obvious because his usually smooth strokes start to miss and spray. He’s typically so relaxed that when he’s not, it’s extremely noticeable.”
DADDY ISSUES
Federer married longtime girlfriend Mirka Vavrinec in 2009 and the couple had twin girls later that summer. The girls, Myla Rose and Charlene Riva, along with Mirka and a team of caregivers, travel nearly full time with Federer. The clan’s day-to-day routine is kept private, but Federer has expressed great joy in fatherhood, and those who spend time with the family say the parents are active in their daughters’ lives.
Be that as it may, Roger has won just one slam in five attempts since Myla and Charlene’s birth. For anyone else on Tour, the single Slam would be a great accomplishment. For Federer, it marks a slump and raises the question, has fatherhood softened his competitive drive?
Parenting expert Armin Brott, referred to as “the superdad’s superdad” by Time magazine has written nine books on fatherhood, including Fathering Your Toddler: A Dad’s Guide to the Second and Third Years. Brott says fatherhood is a good thing for Roger and that he should approach his career differently, reducing his commitment to the sport and focusing more on his parental obligations. Roger’s best approach to winning matches, suggests Brott, is to exert optimum effort and remain focused mentally and physically while on the court and focus on the family when he’s off the court.
“When you have kids, all of a sudden things change in your mind. You start looking at the world differently. Priorities change. Maybe another trophy is not so terribly important,” Brott elaborates. “Perhaps he wants to take advantage of the life he’s created and just enjoy his kids.”
Brott insists that for Federer to feel at ease on court he must maintain a solid connection with Myla and Charlene, a factor that didn’t impact Federer’s performance in 15 of his 16 Major wins. “Now, success will mean the girls running to him, yelling ‘Daddy, daddy!’ And if that doesn’t happen, then he could fall into a pattern of working [competing] too much. If kids aren’t happy to see their fathers, then something’s not right,” notes Brott.
“Until now, success for Federer meant money and trophies and fan adoration. Now it’s different. There is a spillover between the home and work. If he’s successful at home, who knows what will happen at work… They absolutely affect each other.” Brott suggests that the best of Roger Federer may be yet to come. A successful home life with his three leading ladies could translate to great success on the biggest stages of the game, the Slams.
WATCHING HIS BACK
Asked to explain Federer’s sub-par Grand Slam performance for 2010, Brad Gilbert responded, “I don’t think he’s lost his game. He’s 29 years old. He’s still playing at a phenomenal level.” Gilbert, a former pro and coach and now an analyst for ESPN, sheds light on what many tennis fans and pundits believe: Federer has plenty of motivation and firepower to keep winning.
“His first motivator is stopping Nadal. Having someone who is trying to re-write the history books right alongside him, well that fires him up,” explains Gilbert. “Trying to prove all the critics wrong is what keeps him going, and he [Federer] looks like he genuinely loves it.”
Now, however, Federer has more to concern himself with than Nadal. During the final three Majors of the year he displayed vulnerability against other top rivals, Robin Soderling, Tomas Berdych and Novak Djokovic. “If you focus on beating just one player [Nadal], that hurts you against other guys. You want to work on everything,” says Gilbert, who helped lead Andre Agassi back to tennis’s upper echelon in the late 1990s. “It’s dangerous to focus on that one guy, but Paul is a great coach and they’ll figure it out together; it was a great hire for Roger.”
2011 will be the true test for Federer and Annacone to see just how great of a partnership they can forge. Gilbert believes that a healthy body and mind will lead to Federer winning Grand Slams for several years. “That’s why he hired Paul. He’s [Federer] said before that he saw Andre play until he was 35 and that was a motivating tool for him,” Gilbert recalls. “The biggest thing for him is that he’s amazingly healthy. He’s had no long-term injuries. He’s a young 29. If you win one Major a year, it’s a great year. Anything more is gravy; 99.9 percent of guys wish they had his ‘slump.’ He’ll be in the mix, big time.”
THE BRIGHT SIDE
The Swiss champion has stirred opinions regarding season 2011 and beyond.
“I love tennis and it is not difficult to be motivated. I always want to be the best I can be. Having a family now and having my wife and daughters traveling with me everywhere, it contributes to me having a balanced life.”
But does a balanced life mean he’ll continue to win Slams?
“I won the Australian Open. I think I played well at the U.S. Open, was a point away from making the finals, and then you never know. Wimbledon obviously was a disappointment and the French … I wasn’t able to come through. It’s the way it is, you know. With Paul, it is good to hear a different, fresh opinion on how I need to handle myself both from a tactical and a mental standpoint.”
And Federer hopes that standpoint will help him return to the top of the tennis mountain, the only position that matters says the Swiss.
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