They lack our talent: Federer takes aim at youngsters

Roger Federer takes aim at younger competitors, suggesting he, Nadal and Djokovic can’t be matched.

Roger Federer claims younger players don't have the same level of talent as he, Novak Djokovic, and Rafael Nadal. Picture: AFP/Getty Images

The resemblance was uncanny, Roger Federer charging to his left and steering a backhand winner past his opponent from the exact same spot of the Centre Court lawn on which he planted his feet 11 years earlier when playing the same stroke to save a match point in that unforgettable Wimbledon final against Rafael Nadal.

Federer, now only 28 days short of his 38th birthday, continues to defy age. Still, the 20-times grand-slam champion competes at the highest level, drawing gasps of wonderment from spectators as he dashes around the court. The aforementioned shot was merely one of countless moments of brilliance during a 4-6, 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 victory against Kei Nishikori, the No 8 seed from Japan.

It seems apt that this evocative Federer backhand contributed to securing a long-awaited first Wimbledon meeting with archrival Nadal since 2008. On Friday, the 40th edition of one of the greatest rivalries in sport will be contested, providing a much-needed dose of excitement to a men’s singles draw that has quite frankly been rather mundane so far.

“Rafa has improved so much over the years on this surface,” Federer said. “He’s also playing very different than he used to. We haven’t played each other in a long, long time on this surface. He’s serving way different. I remember back in the day how he used to serve, and now how much bigger he’s serving, how much faster he finishes points.

“It’s impressive to see how sort of healthy he’s stayed. A lot of people were saying in 2008, ‘Oh, it’s the end.’ Similar to me in 2009. But we’re still here, so it’s nice to play each other again.”

If any further evidence of Federer’s astonishing longevity was needed, it was provided yesterday in the form of yet another milestone for the Swiss. He claimed his 100th victory at the All England Club, becoming the first player in history to record three figures of men’s singles wins at the same grand-slam tournament.

“It’s special,” Federer said. “It’s been a lot of years I’ve been coming here (he first played in 1999). That’s given me the opportunity to win a lot, naturally.

“I didn’t think of it while I was playing today. Actually not at all, not once. Then as I’m signing (autographs), a guy says, ‘Congratulations for 100.’ I didn’t know. I forgot.

“It’s nice, because if I look back at the hundred wins that have happened, some were so incredibly cool. Today again was a big match going into the semis, maybe facing Rafa. A hundred wins here at Wimbledon, who would have thought? I didn’t, for sure.”

The match-up between Federer and Nadal on grass is particularly intriguing, as they have only faced off on hard and clay courts since 2008. Federer was on a six-match win streak, including a five-set victory in the 2017 Australian Open final, until Nadal won their French Open semi-final five weeks ago in strong winds that ruined the spectacle.

“Not so much the French Open,” Federer replied, when asked to name the encounters in recent years that would have some relevance before their reunion on Centre Court. “It was so windy. It was just insane. I haven’t heard that it is going to be the same in a couple of days, so I hope not, even though that would be funny again.

“Maybe the Australian Open final. It was five sets. It doesn’t matter anyway. Who cares? It’s about how he has played so far, how I have played so far. It’s going to be tough. Rafa really can hurt anybody on any surface. He’s that good. He’s not just a clay-court specialist.”

Nishikori, 29, caused problems early on for Federer by taking the first set, but then tamely faded as the match progressed. He bowed his head in resignation at the net when the Federer backhand whizzed by, incapable of stopping his opponent becoming the oldest men’s grand-slam semi-finalist since a 39-year-old Jimmy Connors in 1991.

As special as the “big three” of Federer, Nadal and Novak Djokovic are, the lack of challenge they face is pitiful. With Roberto Bautista, the 31-year-old from Spain, filling the remaining spot in the last-four, Dominic Thiem, 25, will remain the only active player under 28 to have contested a grand-slam final.

“I think it’s definitely not a regular time in tennis in the men’s game because I don’t think we would have thought that me, Novak and Rafa were going to be so solid and so dominant for so many years,” Federer said.

“Number one, that stopped a lot of runs from the younger guys. Number two, I’m not sure, were they as talented as Rafa, Novak, and myself and others? Maybe also not.

“I think also the way the (ranking) points are structured, they’re so far forward in the draw that you have to go so deep as a younger guy. If you’re in the top 32, that’s good at slams. If you’re top 16, it’s good. The top eight is another step. I feel like it’s hard to get into the top eight and stay there, let alone the top-four, just because there’s some guys in there that are very tough.

“It is what it is right now. I just think it’s kind of tough to get to the top because Novak and Rafa are still so, so good.”

The Times