The smile is back and some of the swagger too. Indeed, for the last few weeks of 2011, a permanent smile has been plastered across Roger Federer’s face. The reason is pretty obvious – the Swiss master has found his touch, won tournaments and to a very small degree managed to turn the disaster of a year around. In November, he snapped a 10-month title drought by beating Kei Nishikori 6-1, 6-3 to lift his fifth Basel title. The following week, he won the Paris Masters and then followed it up by beating Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-3, 6-7(6), 6-3 in the final to win the World Tour finals for the sixth time – taking him past Ivan Lendl and Pete Sampras, who did it five times each. One obvious fact that emerges out of this late season run is that barring Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, the rest of the tour hasn’t quite caught up with Federer. Three of his four titles this year have come in the last two months of the season when the top players were injured or too tired to compete. While some Nadal and Djokovic fans may argue that is was the sole reason for Federer’s resurgence, the truth is that if the others can’t keep going for the rest of the season, it isn’t Federer’s fault. He manages his season better than everyone else on the tour – takes breaks and stays fit. The others don’t. So while the rest of the top players faltered, Federer flourished. The records, meanwhile, have continued to tumble. Federer reached his 100th final when he made it to the ATP World Tour Finals. He is only the 5th player in the Open Era to achieve this. The others are Connors (163), Lendl (146), McEnroe (108) and Vilas (104). [caption id=“attachment_141829” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“But for him to keep playing the game – he needs to win Grand Slams. AP”] [/caption] And by winning the title, he won his 70th trophy. He is in 4th place in the Open Era. Only Connors (108), Lendl (92), McEnroe (76) have more. That, he is the GOAT (Greatest of All time) is now beyond reproach. He’s there already and he’s been there for a while. But for him to keep playing the game – he needs to win Grand Slams. Everything else is small fodder. And going into the off-season that is the question, he’ll have on his mind – Can he find a way to beat Nadal and Djokovic in the big tournaments? In 2009, Federer won two Grand Slams – French Open and Wimbledon. In 2010, he started off with a bang by winning the Australian Open but then won nothing. And this year, he has drawn a blank. It’s a slow, slow decline but a decline all the same. Has he lost half-a-step or have the others gained by the same margin? Is he pushed onto the defensive more by the others? Has his one-two punch (the serve and the forehand) become less lethal? So many questions, and the end-of-season-form only provided some of the answers. Federer must be keenly aware that this year he squandered the momentum he had gathered by playing well and winning in London at the end of last year. In fact, after October in 2010, he won three tournaments – very similar to this year and he’ll be extra careful to avoid this situation at the beginning of next year. But just being careful isn’t going to help. While the others rest and recuperate, Federer will have to work on his game plan. Djokovic and Nadal will come into the new season well rested and confident. Federer won’t be short on confidence either. But can he still beat Djokovic and Nadal on their best days? If the answer to that is ‘Yes,’ then 2012 will be his year. If ‘No,’ we might just see a repeat of 2011 once again. And for Federer fans that would be unthinkable. [fpgallery id=336] Watch video
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