Roger Federer Falling to the Back of Rafael Nadal's Class

(Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

With the U.S. Open rapidly approaching, there is a momentous amount of buzz about the tennis world.  Indeed, there should be.  This year's U.S. Open has the very real possibility of serving as a litmus test for the men's field. 

There is probably a little less drama on the women's side of things, where realistically, there are only two favorites, and maybe one or two others with a legitimate chance to win the tournament. 

But for the men, we stand on the precipice of a great chasm.  The past and the future colliding in the present, fighting for the soul of modern tennis.

When Roger Federer first came into his own six years ago, we thought that he was the future of the game.  We thought that he was the prototypical modern tennis player.  Perfect height at 6'1".  Variety, touch, pace of shot, movement; indeed, Federer had and still has it all.

But things have not turned out exactly as we would have predicted.  Federer has collected a bunch of Grand Slam trophies.  We were right in this prediction.  However, his footprint on the game has been lighter than we would have imagined. 

Federer was hailed as the modern incarnation of the classic players of the past.  The artistry of Laver, the all-court game of a young Pete Sampras (if not the power), the imagination of Stefan Edberg, all rolled up into a metrosexual media darling. 

Rising to become one of the most recognizable athletes on the planet, taking his place in the pantheon of beloved players next to names like Agassi, Connors, Borg, McEnroe, and Evert.  It would have seemed that Roger would have been the mold in which the next generation of players was cast. 

For a brief moment, it seemed that he was.  The likes of "youngsters" such as Richard Gasquet and Marcos Baghdatis seemed to be poised to follow Federer.  The attractive all-court flash, speedy transition game, and pure shot making seemed to be the order of the day. 

Then something happened.

Those guys fell by the wayside somewhere along the line, but, more importantly, Nadal arrived.  The very first point of the 2005 Roland Garros semifinal between the undisputed world number one and a fresh-faced seventeen year old provided a single point that would serve as a harbinger of things to come.

As I was saying, Federer took control of the very first point of the match with his smooth ball striking and silky footwork.  He had Nadal pinned a good 15 feet back behind the baseline.  We all just knew that the point was over.  Just as we had resigned to a 15-love start for Roger, this kid absolutely whips a clean winner up the line on the dead run, from fifteen feet behind the baseline. 

A game-changing shot? 

Yes. 

A career-altering shot?

Yes.

I saw Federer's subtle change in demeanor after that one shot.  He was taken aback. He'd never had to deal with someone who could produce that type of tennis before.  To be fair, no one had ever seen that type of tennis before.  So one shot may have set the tone for a head-to-head battle between two great players for years to come.  But, more importantly, it was a precursor of the tennis player of the future.

While Nadal is only between 6'1" and 6'2", he is the strongest player in the game, and he is the best athlete in the game.  These are the characteristics that have come to be dominant in men's tennis today.  The average height on tour is now 6'2", a far cry from the days of Emilio Sanchez, Michael Chang, and Ken Rosewall. 

The younger guys are even bigger.  Just take a look at 6'6" Sam Querrey, Juan Martin Del Potro or Marin Cilic, or 6'5" Gael Monfils.  Andy Muray and Novak Djokovic both stand at around 6'3".  Even a 6'2" guy like Jo Wilfred Tsonga is a freakishly fast player, especially when considering his 200-plus-pound frame.

The wide shoulders and flexible upper body have enabled these youngsters to be the hardest hitting generation of tennis player who have ever lived.  It is as if everyone can hit the ball as hard as Lendl, Agassi, and Sampras.  Only these guys can crush the ball from ten feet back.  

Where Federer is the pure talent, the raw athlete has won the battle for the future of tennis.  With the speed and power of today's players, shots that were winners three or four years ago are starting to come back at an alarming rate.  Even the maestro, Roger Federer is being forced to hit three to four winning caliber shots in a single rally just to win a point.  As a result, his results have started to slip.  Anyone's would.  No one who hasn't been brought up dealing with that kind of pressure regularly would be able to stand up to it.

So it is the brute, the freak of nature, that has won the battle for the future of the sport. Tennis is more physical now that ever.  The rallies are longer, the balls are being struck harder than ever before.  The new school is here, and Rafael Nadal is its class president.  Perhaps his athleticism has encouraged the better all around athletes to take up tennis over other sports which may have stolen the attention in the past.

Whatever the reason, the 100+ mph forehand is becoming the norm.  The crushed two-hander down the line is becoming commonplace.  Even more frightening, the 6'5" kid with a sprinter's speed and a 140 m.p.h. serve is representative of business as usual.  We are seeing the evolution of the game before our very eyes.

There was some hope, at least amongst the ranks of the older generation (headlined by John McEnroe and Mary Carillo) that Roger would usher in a revival of the classic, all-court style. 

A throwback to older times. 

It was not to be.

649
reads

38
comments

3
likes

You're currently logged into Facebook

Do you want to share your Bleacher Report activity on Facebook?