Roger Federer: How Extra Rest Will Benefit Fed-Ex at 2012 US Open

Roger Federer did not have to take the court against Mardy Fish to advance to the quarterfinals and the walkover will benefit him going forward.

Yahoo Sports reports that Fish withdrew from the match due to “health reasons” that have not been specified. Diane Pucin of the Los Angeles Times notes that Fish has dealt with a heart condition that has caused him to miss time during his career.

Fish’s unfortunate inability to face Federer will give the world’s top-ranked player some badly needed rest. Now, he will receive a full five days of rest before he takes on Tomas Berdych in the semifinals.

This creates an ideal situation for the 30-year-old. Federer, although he is the No. 1 player in the world, is significantly older than his two main competitors. Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic are both 25 years old.

When Federer faced Murray in the gold medal match at the London Olympics earlier this summer, he suffered his worst defeat ever on the grass courts at Wimbledon, as noted by The Daily Mail. The report also notes that the Swiss’ semifinal match against Juan Martin del Potro just two days earlier lasted for just under four and a half hours.

Fatigue was clearly a factor as Federer made 31 unforced errors compared to just 17 for Murray, according to NBCOlympics.com. It was an uncharacteristic performance that was likely influenced by a grueling summer schedule.

Federer has had little time to rest since then and he played his first match at the Western and Southern Open just 10 days after losing to Murray. He went on to play five times at the tournament, beating Djokovic in the finals.

Then he started play at Flushing Meadows eight days after wrapping up in Cincinnati. This rapid pace seemed to be pushing Federer towards another disappointing match when facing one of the other top players in the world.

He is on a collision course with Murray, who faces Milos Raonic in the fourth round and will take on the winner of Marin Cilic and Marin Klizan in the quarterfinals.

Given the level of play that Murray has shown this summer, he will likely win his next two matches. If Federer had to beat Fish on the court then face Berdych, there would have been serious concerns over his fitness.

Now, he has an extended rest and a chance to make sure he is still sharp against Berdych—who will give him a competitive match, but is not near the level of competition of Murray or Djokovic.

It has been extremely difficult to predict which one of the top men’s players will win this tournament, and this recent development has just tipped the scale in Federer’s favor.