Roger Federer's Late-Season Surge Proves He Will Dominate in 2015

Roger Federer's best days on the tennis court might be behind him, but that doesn't mean the 17-time major winner isn't capable of dominating anyone in the world. 

A perfect case in point is Federer's performance against Novak Djokovic in the semifinals of the Shanghai Rolex Masters on Saturday. In their first match since that epic Wimbledon final, Federer took out the world's top-ranked player in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4. 

The encouraging thing wasn't just that Federer won, nor that he snapped Djokovic's 28-match winning streak in China, but the way he won. The scores in the two sets make the final result appear closer than it was. Federer broke Djokovic's serve twice, including this pitch-perfect shot in the first game, via Tennis TV:

After the match, Djokovic raved about Federer's performance. He told reporters, via The Associated Press (h/t ESPN), that Federer "played a perfect match" and it was "definitely one of the best matches he has played against me, that's for sure."

Per the BBC, Federer wasn't afraid to attack the net during the match and forced Djokovic into making mistakes we don't usually see from him:

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The Swiss, who will return to number two in the world rankings, broke serve in the fifth game of the first set after a couple of unforced errors by Djokovic.

The 17-time Grand Slam singles champion served strongly, sending down four aces to win a game in the first set, and also made 35 forays to the net, winning 20 points with a series of precise volleys.

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Keep in mind that Federer did this 10 months into the season. For a 33-year-old with 16 years of experience under his belt, fatigue doesn't seem to be much of a problem. He's still going to have those matches that make you question how great he can be. It even happened in Shanghai when Leonardo Mayer took him to a tiebreaker in the third set. 

The difference is Federer has learned to compartmentalize the bad performances and get better as the tournament goes along. Go back to Wimbledon when Stan Wawrinka took him to four grueling sets in the quarterfinals, which could have exhausted him going into the semifinals against Milos Raonic. 

Instead, Federer beat Raonic in straight sets before having that marathon match with Djokovic. Even though he didn't come out on top that day, it has served as a spring board to bigger things later in the year. Since August, FedEx has participated in four events including the Shanghai Rolex Masters. 

In the last four tournaments, Federer has compiled a record of 18-2 with one title at the Western & Southern Open and a chance at another against Gilles Simon in China on Sunday. His two losses came in the finals at the Rogers Cup and semifinals at the U.S. Open. 

Charles Krupa/Associated Press

Trying to carry momentum from one match to the next, let alone one tournament to the next, is virtually impossible. Sports are just as much about failure as they are success. Federer has had plenty of both throughout his career, but the trick is to limit the failures. 

No one would accuse Federer of falling off a cliff as the third-ranked player in the world with three singles titles in 2014. Andy Murray, who is currently ranked 11th in the world after being included in the big four when the year started, would kill to have that resume this year. 

There just hasn't been any consistency in Federer's performance for most of the year. From April through May, he appeared in a final (Rolex Masters), lost in the second round (Internazionali BNL d'Italia) and lost in the fourth round (French Open). 

Roland Garros has never been Federer's best event, but it was still alarming to see such a wide variance of success happening to him. Things got better at Wimbledon, and the ascent has continued through the Shanghai Rolex Masters. 

There are only two months before the 2015 Australian Open starts, yet Federer looks firmly in control of his destiny. At this rate, it would be a disappointment if he didn't end his two-year drought without a Grand Slam singles title. 

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