The ATP ranking never lies, even if tennis commentators usually pretend it does when talking their countryman's ranking up and others' down. Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray were much more successful this year than Roger Federer, David Ferrer was more constant, and Juan Martin Del Potro won 4 tournaments to Roger Federer's 3. This inevitably means a ranking at 6, as it did in 2002. 2013 has a bottom line for him: disappointing. That goes for everyone who has watched his career. He did not achieve the goals he set for himself on one side, and he certainly didn't perform on a level of previous years.
Flashback: Shanghai in November 2002. A 21-year-old has a fantastic first Masters participation throughout the group games. In the semifinal, he fails to get through in an impressive fight against the reigning number 1, Lleyton Hewitt. The tennis world was delighted and celebrated the skills of the newcomer; Switzerland was over the moon and hoped for more magic tennis to come.
The sequel to the story is well known. The sequel is also the problem when we try to judge Roger Federer's performance these days. The Swiss master collected titles like other people collect stamps. He did it with such ease that many were shocked when he lost a set at times. Roger Federer was so superior to the competition at times that he said. "I've created a monster."
He was right. The monstrous success of his best years (from 2004 to 2007, he won 11 of 16 Grand Slams and 3 of 4 Masters) are the bar everyone but mostly himself have to contend with. He pushed the bar up so high that failure was the inevitable result of it. But because he managed to keep near to these high marks to the end of 2012, the year 2013 appears to us as a veritable catastrophe. Commentators are quick in ending his career again due to that. Many nations would take him or Stanislas Wawrinka thankfully as their number one players.
The facts for 2013: 1 tournament won at the lowest ATP level (Halle, Germany), 1 Grand Slam semi-final (Melbourne), 2 ATP finals (Rome, Basel) and the semi-finals at the Masters; these are the best results in 2013. On the negative side, he had back problems, defeats against low ranked players, and a failed racket test in the middle of the season. Roger Federer himself emphasized in a recent interview that back pain was the root of the problems, all the rest was just a result of it.
In fact, his performance since the disappearance of the health symptoms are up again. This trend is expected - if all goes to plan for Roger Federer - to continue in 2014. He wants more than just to compete with the best, he wants to beat them, too. He has reset the bar, which is still pretty high by any standard, against which he can be measured and should be measured, too. The old bar he set between 2004 and 2007 should be banned from use and only be applied when discussions about "greatest ever tennis player" are coming up again.
Further reading
Giving Up: The Key to Success
Jerzy Janowicz and Andy Murray
Tennis: Mr Darcis Says Nada
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