Federer Is, Once Again, In a Class All His Own

This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

The New York Sun

SHANGHAI, China — Roger Federer hasn’t had to prove himself for a while now. He’s won 12 major titles and 53 titles in total. No one has stayed at the top of tennis for as many consecutive weeks. No one has earned more prize money in a season. No one has dominated both Wimbledon and the U.S. Open so thoroughly. And no one has possessed so many shots and so much mental fortitude.

But this week in Shanghai, where Federer won the season-ending Masters Cup over David Ferrer, 6–2, 6–3, 6–2, Federer acted as if he wanted to show us something a little extra — something to end the talk about whether a few men on the tour, namely Rafael Nadal, 21, and Novak Djokovic, 20, were closing in on him. Something to let everyone know he is fully in his prime and intends to remain there for a while yet. For the rest of the field, it’s a scary thought.

“It was a nice victory, especially proving it to myself and to the world, you know, that I can do it over and over again,” he said.

After arriving here on the heels of two consecutive losses to an old nemesis, David Nalbandian, Federer started slowly, losing his first match to the erratic Fernando Gonzalez. Gonzalez didn’t win another match. Federer didn’t lose another set and polished off three top opponents — Andy Roddick (6–4, 6–2), Nadal (6–4, 6–1), and this week’s human highlight reel, Ferrer — as if they were lowly first-round qualifiers, not three of the best players in the world. It took Federer less than four hours to go from so-so, with a 1–1 record before his match against Roddick, to superior. The Masters Cup title is his for a fourth time; only Pete Sampras and Ivan Lendl have won five.

This was some finishing kick from the best player in the world, a perfect ending to a season that, despite a few worrisome moments — consecutive losses to lower ranked opponents and a loss in the French Open final, which in truth is hardly a worry when Nadal is on the other side of the net — brought Federer three major titles and the season-ending championships. Tennis has five big events. Federer won four of them. Though he won fewer titles overall, he suggested that a lower total is the inevitable result of having priorities.

“It’s been in some ways a breakthrough year for me,” Federer said. “Beating Nadal for the first time on clay. I’ve beaten my closest rivals, Nadal and Djokovic, more times than they’ve beaten me. Maybe I didn’t win 10 titles, but it’s not necessary to stay no. 1 in the world all the time. If I keep this level of play up, I’m in a great position for next year as well.”

The Wimbledon final against Nadal was Federer’s best match of the year, probably the best of his career. But in the last days of this tournament, he found a form he hadn’t found since the Australian Open, which he won without losing a set. Roddick and Nadal could only hang with Federer for an hour (in one stretch, Nadal lost 14 consecutive points and 19 of 20). Yesterday evening in Shanghai, Federer gave Ferrer a dose of the same poison, breaking open the match early in the first set — 11 straight points in one stretch — and never looking back. Ferrer, given the benefit of an extra set (the final was best of five) forced Federer to play (or practice?) for an hour and 38 minutes.

Ferrer’s legs had won him four matches leading up to the final, but he couldn’t run enough for Federer, who now holds an 8–0 record against the Spaniard. After Ferrer defeated Roddick in the semifinals, Roddick said he hadn’t seen anyone move the way Ferrer does. Federer moves better. He might not be as fast, but his anticipation is such that every step looks effortless. On several occasions in the final, Ferrer looked stunned that Federer not only had a reply for a sharp angle, but that said reply had such power and precision. Federer’s volleys were crisp, his slice backhands deep and low to the ground. He served something close to perfection as the tournament concluded, more than 80% on first serves against both Roddick and Nadal. Among his many clinical performances, these last three days have to rate very near the top.

“[He’s] for me the best of the history,” Ferrer said. “Maybe I play with a little bit nervous, but him do it all, no? Serve, volley, slice. It’s very difficult.”

Difficult indeed, especially when there’s an important title on the line. Federer’s record in finals now stands at 53–17, or 76%. He’s 12–2 in Grand Slam finals and 4–1 in Masters Cup finals. He’s more confident against Nadal, his most difficult opponent, now than ever before. Based on Djokovic’s performances of late, there’s still a long way for the Serb to go before he can make good on a major title, as he had the chance to do at the U.S. Open. Federer may lose more matches in coming years. But is there anyone who can beat him when it matters most? So far, only Nadal has done it, and even then only on clay.

There’s one opponent left this season, of course: Pete Sampras, whose record of 14 major titles is within Federer’s reach. Federer leaves today for three exhibitions against Sampras in Seoul, Kuala Lumpur, and Macau. The one time they met on the tour, at Wimbledon in 2001, Federer won a five-set match that he has called the most memorable of his career. He said he didn’t plan on showing one of his idols any mercy now that no title is on the line.

“I’m happy I played well this week, so hopefully I can carry that over to next week and beat him not just once but three times,” he said with a smile. Look out, Pete. He’s closing in.

Mr. Perrotta is a senior editor at Tennis magazine. He can be reached at tperrotta@nysun.com.


The New York Sun

© 2025 The New York Sun Company, LLC. All rights reserved.

Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. The material on this site is protected by copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used.

The New York Sun

Sign in or  Create a free account

or
By continuing you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use