Roger Federer: Why Nagging Injuries Are a Sign of Fed's Future

The curse of 30 is something every professional tennis player dreads.  

Once you turn 30 your odds of winning a Grand Slam go down significantly.

Only one woman in the span of the last 30 years has won the Australian Open. On the men’s side it’s even worse. Exactly five players in the last 101 majors have won a Grand Slam after reaching the big 3-0.

That’s not exactly the greatest news for the legend Roger Federer.

He turned 30 in August but didn’t win a single major during the 2011 calendar year for the first time since 2002. He enters the 2012 Aussie Open dealing with a back injury that made him look visibly slow in his 7-5, 6-2, 6-2 opening round win over qualifier Alexander Kudryavtsev.

The problem with a back injury is that it affects your whole entire body. There is no hiding a creaky back injury. At times you could see the third-seeded Swiss looked fatigued as he attempted to hide the back pain. Federer claimed after the match that he was 100 percent…but does one of the greatest tennis players of all time let a qualifier take him to the limit in the first set of one of the four major tournaments of the year?

I don’t think so.

The days of Federer dominance have passed and it’s time to realize that the beginning of the end is upon us. While he still has great serves and a terrific return game, his overall foot speed has taken a nose dive. Mentally he still holds a sizable advantage over the rest of the field, but that can only take you so far.

Tennis is a young man’s game and it appears as if Federer is going to be the next victim of the curse of 30 in tennis. Don’t expect a sudden resurgence at Melbourne Park.