Is Roger Federer still a contender for Grand Slams starting from this year's US open?

Federer

Who else but the great man himself would know it better as to how to bring his acts together. Unfortunately, this year has been quite uncompromising and unforgiving for the great legend. Just as we were thinking that his failure against a person ranked outside 100 in the second round of Wimbledon was a minor blip, he has lost to Fredrico Delbonis , a qualifier from Argentina in the semifinal of Hamburg ATP yesterday.

This is more than a vivid indication in all fairness which palpably states that his career has hit an all time low.

Under these circumstances, it is natural for anyone to doubt if the great Swiss would still be a contender for winning Grand Slams. If one looks deep into the maestro’s career, he would understand that it is too early for the panic button to be pressed. The mighty King of tennis has dominated the game like no one has ever done.

From the year 2004 up until 2007, he won 11 of the 16 Grand Slams played, winning multiple majors each year. When it did look as though he would end the year 2008 without any Grand Slams, he found his form at the right moment after defeating Igor Andreev in the fourth round of US open in a hard fought five setter. He made sure that he finished the season well by winning the title at Flushing Meadows.

Again in the following year, he produced some exceptional tennis to capture two Grand Slam titles including the one at Roland Garros. No one ever thought that he would be winning the French Open that year but he again did make it happen. In the last decade, barring the years 2010 and 2011, which were ruled by Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic respectively, rest of the seasons belonged to him.

It is only appropriate to say that even last year belonged to the Swiss though the Grand Slam titles were equally divided among the “big four” simply because he won what it matters the most for all professionals – The Wimbledon. So, with only half the year over and a Grand Slam yet to be played, it is not correct on anyone’s part to discount Roger, who is the all time leader in Grand Slam title count. And why would one be?

He may be fast approaching 32 and might have lost to the players to whom he should not be losing against and yet his quest to add more titles seems to remain undiminished.

Once he experienced a shock exit from Wimbledon, he understood that it was time to assess where his game stood. So, he made a surprise announcement that he would be playing in Hamburg and Gstaad which were not in his schedule released last year.

Also, he has opted for using a bigger racquet with a larger square inch head just to generate more power.

So, it is very much obvious now that he is man with a mission. He wants to experiment something which is a good sign. If this new racquet works and helps as he grows older then he may still win a couple of Slams.

Even otherwise, the fifth-ranked player in the world is too good to be deprived of any Grand Slams. Who knows, with some of his main rivals like Djokovic and Nadal also seems to be struggling at times, the Swiss artist may finally get to capture his sixth US open this year.