Federer Still Believes He is In Control.
Athletes age just like the rest of us, they have to deal with the inevitable decline in their physical abilities, JUST like the rest of us. The big difference however, is that our careers usually don't depend on our physical skill sets, their careers do! The life of a professional athlete is brief in comparison to other non athletic careers and the ending always seems to be more abrupt. One day you're a champion and the next day the lights of the stadium and the adulation of the crowd has moved onto the next aforementioned champion or young gun.
One Legendary Champion still believes that he is in control of his destiny and one would be foolish to question his prognostications. According to Federer, “The French Open is always going to be hard as long as Rafa Nadal is around,” Federer told the BBC. “But on the other surfaces, if I am playing well, it’s more on my racquet than on anybody else’s racquet.” This may be a ploy on Roger's part to show he is still confident in his abilities at his advanced age. On the other hand, it only seems natural that someone with his remarkable resume would still believe in himself, even if he has only won one title this season and will not finish in the ATP Top 4 for the first time since 2002.
Federer may have proven himself right on Saturday in London, after he rallied past Juan Martin del Potro 4-6, 7-6 (2), 7-5 to reach the semifinals of the ATP World Tour Finals for an 11th time. Federer will now face top-ranked Rafael Nadal on Sunday, Roger needed a win in his final round-robin match to advance from Group B. Only once in 12 appearances has Federer failed to reach the final four, and the event featuring the top eight players is his last chance to win a big title in 2013. We will have to stay tuned to this developing story, as Fed goes up against the current kings of the court in Nadal and Djokovic. The ATP World Tour Finals run through Monday in London and you can catch the semi-finals on the Tennis Channel. We will find out tomorrow, but it may still be more on Roger's racquet after all.