Roger Federer is still a very fine tennis player, but it’s clear that he is in the downside of his career. He is 32 and currently ranked No. 6 in the world. This year he failed to reach the quarterfinals of a major for the first time since 2004, as he was ousted in the second round of Wimbledon and fourth round of the US Open.
Though he is still respectful of Fed’s abilities and talents, Novak Djokovic explained bluntly what one of Federer’s problems is.
“From my point of view he hasn’t been moving as well this year and I guess that’s one of the reasons he hasn’t had much success,’ Djokovic said of Federer this week at the ATP World Tour Finals in London. “He is moving maybe slower than he used to but he is still striking the ball really well and on his day is capable of beating anyone.”
Djokovic would know — he just beat Federer in three sets in the semifinals of the Paris Masters. The two will also play for the second time in four days because they’re both in Group B for the London event. Juan Martin del Potro and Richard Gasquet are also in Group B, while Rafael Nadal, David Ferrer, Stanislas Wawrinka and Tomas Berdych are in Group A.
Like Djokovic said, Federer is still capable of beating anyone when he’s on, but he just doesn’t have the consistency that he had during his prime. That’s to be expected for someone his age. Hopefully he doesn’t hang on too long past the point of being unable to win majors, because few want to remember him as being anything other than one of the best players in the world.
