Roger Federer, Rank No. 4- Are His Days Over?

Originally Published on 10sballs.com as http://www.10sballs.com/2011/10/19/andy-murray%e2%80%99s-rise-to-no-3-does-it-bode-the-end-of-federer-era/  by Apeksha HA

With Andy Murray winning 3 titles back to back and claiming the No 3 ranking in the world- What does it mean for Roger Federer - Are his days over?

Let’s look at some figures and then come to a logical answer: 

Roger Federer has won 67 career singles titles in all (4^thoverall in the ranking with Jimmy Connors at 109). He has won 16 GS and been at No 1 for 285 weeks (just one week behind Pete Sampras) and probably is the player with the highest number of records to his name.

He said in an interview: I’ll probably be picking the tournaments I like to play the most at this point because I’ve achieved so much. It’s important that I work hard, I practice well, I do all the right things. Olympics is obviously part of that. “.  He also said that he is at peace with the rankings. There is nothing else that he can do.

Isn’t it obvious that a person who has achieved so much in his career will not bother about rankings? He has his goals set and amongst them, GS win and Olympics are prioritized higher.  He is at a stage where he has to listen to his body and be wise about his playing decisions. He cannot go on and play back to back tournaments like earlier. So it was inevitable that he will slip in rankings. The fact that he is taking rest and preparing himself to be in the right situations to win is a sign of danger for his rivals.

So my answer to the earlier question would be – No, even though Andy Murray has surpassed him, it will not affect Federer and his game. And it definitely does not mean that Murray is playing better than Federer now as we all know that Murray has a tendency to choke at a GS stage against Federer, Nadal and Djokovic.  For me rankings are insignificant as rarely a person has won a GS after 30 as World No 1. It’s about the quality of play and mental toughness that takes the person to a GS title and with his 80% win record this year; he surely can surprise us all in 2012!

As Tom Landry once said: “Setting a goal is not the main thing. It is deciding how you will go about achieving it & staying with that plan.”  Sounds like what Federer is currently implementing! What do you think?

Here is a recent pic of Federer practicing in Dubai: Enjoy Federer fans!

Also:Will Roger Federer Bounce Back And The Myth of Age 30?
Djokovic’s 2011 stats; his No.1 ranking; and, Kaizen!

Emerson, Sampras, Federer: The Myth of Invincibility?

Anger: Difference between Good (McEnroe,Murray) & Great (Federer,Nadal)

If you have any questions- You can mail me at apekshaha@gmail.com
My Facebook Page: http://on.fb.me/pouTOy

Djokovic’s 2011 stats; his No.1 ranking; and, Kaizen!

This article was first published on TennisConnected.com as http://tennisconnected.com/home/2011/10/13/djokovic%e2%80%99s-2011-stats-his-no-1-ranking-and-kaizen/By Apeksha HA on October 13, 2011.

With Rafael Nadal’s defeat in Shanghai, Novak Djokovic is all set to end 2011 as World No.1. It will be the first time since 2003 that a player other than Roger Federer or Nadal will end the year as the No.1 player in the world (the last player to do so was Andy Roddick in ‘03). A lot of things have been said about the unbelievable achievements of the Serb and how he has been able to achieve his success this season.

Let’s take a look at Djokovic’s stats from 2011 compared to 2010.

 When looking at his game stats, one will be surprised to know how much Djokovic has elevated his game since last year. He has reduced his double faults and break points faced by a whooping 60 percent and 40 percent, respectively. Also, his return games won in 2011 have been 41 percent compared to 32 percent in 2010. For me, this summarizes the effort that has been put forth in his game to achieve the pinnacle of success this year.

There’s no doubt that some qualitative factors such as a change in his diet and Davis Cup victory attributed to his recent success. But his overall focus on the weak areas in his game have really taken him up to the next level. The principle of Kaizen (continuous improvement) fits perfectly into his game. His quest for continuously improving his game—early racket preparation, penetrating forehands, shallow spin on service returns and fitness—along with willingness to change, aided him to identify the weak links in his game and work upon it. He is what Nadal was in 2008 (solid defense) but with more aggression. His dominance throughout the year is remarkable as it has been accomplished in the presence of two greatest players in tennis history (Federer and Nadal). 

Whether he can continue his success in 2012 is a question best left for the future, but the key lesson to take away from Djokovic in 2011 remains a simplistic one: In order to succeed, you have to continuously work on yourself to remain at the top. If you don’t, you will become obsolete and someone else will come along and take away your position: Is Roddick listening?

 Also:Emerson, Sampras, Federer: The Myth of Invincibility?

Anger: Difference between Good (McEnroe,Murray) & Great (Federer,Nadal)

How Nadal can win his battle of minds against Djokovic?

If you have any questions- You can mail me at apekshaha@gmail.com
My Facebook Page: http://on.fb.me/pouTOy

Emerson, Sampras, Federer: The Myth of Invincibility?

Life is all about moments and memories. If these two are cut off from a person’s life, he/she will live like an automated machine tuned to complete daily chores at fixed times. I just walked into a Nike store and there it was- A Big poster of Roger Federer.  I looked at it and my thoughts went to one basic question of life: Can anyone be invincible?

My thoughts wandered to the past history: When Roy Emerson won his 12^th GS in 1967, at that time he was hailed as the champion that tennis never had. You fast forward it to 32 years later, and Pete Sampras equaled his record! And fast forward it to 10 years further, Federer won his 14^th GS title at FO 2009. Amongst all these victories there is one common thing: The belief that the record cannot be broken: Too difficult for anyone to catch on!

Although Federer’s record is yet to be broken, it’s inevitable that it will be broken one day. Not true only in tennis but in business also if you look at the top companies in the last 100 years only handful have survived and the rest went into extinction. The motto here is not to demotivate you to not to pursue your goals but to make you realize that even though you think your challenge in life is too difficult to accomplish- it’s just a myth. The fact is that if you don’t accomplish it, somebody else will!

But then another question which comes to my mind if someone else will overcome our achievements, then why do it? Simply because that’s all life is all about- building moments for you. The satisfaction at the end of life that you gave your best is more important than knowing that you didn’t try because you/others thought you couldn’t. It’s this feeling which  keeps champions like Federer keep on going to achieve even more when they can be satisfied with what they have already accomplished.

Think about it- at the end of your life- lying down do we want to think- Oh I wish I could have tried just once more to achieve my dreams? My choice- Try it out while you can, go on and give your best and you may or may not achieve goals but one thing is for sure- you will make a lot of memories which will bring a smile on your face in the end- something you can be proud of and brag about!

No goal, no life and no memories or One Life, One Goal, One more try and Multiple Memories!

Which one would you chose?

Also: Federer/Nadal Epic Semi- Final - What do Australian Open Stats Indicate?- Part 1
Anger: Difference between Good (McEnroe,Murray) & Great (Federer,Nadal)
How Nadal can win his battle of minds against Djokovic?

If you have any questions- You can mail me at apekshaha@gmail.com
My Facebook Page: http://on.fb.me/pouTOy