Australian Open 2014: The vulnerabilities continue to plague Roger Federer

Roger Federer lost to Rafael Nadal in straight sets in the Australian Open Semi-final, 6-7. 3-6, 3-6

Vulnerability – the word that describes our weakness, that takes apart all our strengths and makes us out to be meek facsimiles of our selves. How hard do we strive to obliterate the challenges that the word represents? In the case of failure, we try and take things in stride, put them in perspective and rationalise why we weren’t able to get through. And when every bit of rationalising is done, we shrug our shoulders and carry on, to try and fight better the next time round.

The rivalry between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal is an example of an athlete fighting to overcome his biggest vulnerability. There were times before where he succeeded. These were as notable occasions as the ones where he tried but failed to get through that one hurdle. Eventually, the latter overran the former and all that was left was the gloriousness of the past, when the rivalry wasn’t so distorted and Federer still stood with a chance to claim victory.

Did the turning point come in 2013? It was a year where Nadal’s resurgence ran concurrent with Federer’s performances taking severe hits; Federer lost all four of his matches against the Spaniard in 2013. No one can be sure of the exact time. But the contrasting style of play that underlined the very essence of their rivalry started to get distorted as well, as Rafael Nadal edged the Swiss despite the latter doing everything to think outside the box in addition to using his usual, conventional style of play.

For observers of the game and for Federer fans seeking redemption, looking at result after result being whittled away in the Spaniard’s name, the Nadal-Federer fixture in the Australian Open semi-final gave a reason to hope. There were so many things that had started to align. Some of these were external factors, but mostly it was about the coming together of Federer’s game with the control, aggression and precision of old.

Then there was the presence of Stefan Edberg and the bigger racquet head that displayed Federer’s sorcery once again not just in the earlier rounds, but also against Jo-Wilfred Tsonga and Andy Murray. Three tough players standing in his path to the final and just like that, Federer had blown aside two of them. 18 looked within grasp and the world dared to hope, if not believe. Just this one match left to conquer, and hope was ready to turn into belief and surety.

And just like that, 144-minutes later, the hopes crashed and burned. Irrespective of a badly blistered palm, despite not having excellent service margins, in spite of faster court conditions, Rafael Nadal did what he set out to do – thwart Roger Federer.

Federer was not at his worst. He played well, and employed tactics that would have worked on any other player, except Nadal. His best shots became his biggest vulnerabilities that the Spaniard was able to exploit fully. And slowly but steadily, the vulnerability in Federer’s mind about winning against Nadal crept in too. The first set, as excruciating for him as it was, was still a close one. The next two merely prolonged the agony of watching Federer struggle, before ending abruptly, leaving the Swiss rueful and his fans baffled about his turnaround from playing confidently to being extremely shaky.

In the aftermath of yet another convincing victory by Nadal over Federer, uncertainty and vulnerability loom even larger than before. The Spaniard is close to overhauling Federer’s record of 17 Majors. And despite there being innumerable positives to take from Federer’s run to the semi-finals at the Australian Open, the biggest point of contention isn’t about him possibly adding to his Majors’ total, but about if he can ever again hope to defeat his biggest rival.

Roger Federer is tied with Andre Agassi and Novak Djokovic with four Australian Open singles titles.

If you can face your vulnerabilities challenging you

Answering critics when they question you,

If you can face up to challenges perplexing you

And can come out the last standing man too;

If you know your weaknesses, your drawbacks

Have your back to the wall,

And can, despite these, offer resilient fightbacks,

And can come out, standing 10 feet tall:

If you know you have been the grandmaster

Yet to all, have been the same,

If you can meet with victory and disaster

And handle those two tricksters just the same;

If you can do it all over again

No matter the doubts creeping in,

The incredible victory chain,

That made everyone proudly grin:

If you toss around losses

As you bandied about wins,

If you can bear your crosses

Through thick and thin;

If you can focus more

On defeat and on success,

And bring to the fore,

The determination of your prowess:

If you can keep your perspective

In this mired time,

If you can be still as effective

As you were in your prime;

If you can raise the game’s bar

No matter the consequence,

No matter suffering an odd or two scar,

There will be resurgence – of your once thorough dominance!