Federer Will “Rage, Rage Against The Dying of the Light”
Everyone knows that when it’s Wimbledon time, It Federer time! If Roger Federer wins Wimbledon 2008, he will become the 1st man in History of the Wimbledon Championships to win six successive Wimbledon Titles- beating Bjorn Borg’s (and Federer’s own) of five. Not a bad achievement. But can it be done? Looking at Rafael Nadal’s performance, many avid tennis fans believe this is the end of the awesome ‘Federer Era’.
Federer finds himself in a battle to keep his reputation, but with Rafael Nadal right behind him, watching his every move (even on grass), the question will be… Does Federer still feel at home at Wimbledon and even more so, can Federer win Wimbledon 2008?
It seemed to go down-hill for Roger Federer when he lost the 2008 Australian Open. While Federer might have had glandular fever during Aus Open, there was no fever to blame when he lost to Nadal at the 2008 French Open. The Spaniard thrashed Federer, whilst handing him his worst defeat ever.
There is, however, a ray of light at the end of the road for Federer: The Swiss legend has not lost a match on grass in over 6 years; The World number one secured a trophy at Halle to show he has what it takes to win every grass tournament; Federer has not lost at Wimbledon in five years and he believes he is the favourite going into Wimbledon 2008.
“I haven’t lost on grass for six years. I still definitely feel very strong about my chances and being the big favourite going into grass,” he said.
Nadal has failed to beat Federer in the previous two Wimbledon encounters. The World number two won his first ever Grasscourt trophy last week at The Queen’s Club and looking at the Federer vs Nadal meetings, Nadal leads 11-6.
Some tennis fans say Nadal’s turn will come to win a Wimbledon Championship. The Spaniard is only 22. Another youngster not to be forgotten is Novak Djokovic, who stole Federer’s Aus Open Title in January this year.
“It’s motivating to see all these young players coming up, but I’m quite confident the second half of the season is going to be better than the first,” said Federer.
Bjorn Borg would love to see Federer overtake his record, but feels Nadal should be watched.
“If he survives the first two or three rounds, then I pick Nadal to win Wimbledon,” said Borg.
“He’s playing really good on the grass. He’s feeling very comfortable.” But Federer has an ally in Andy Roddick who he beat in the 2004 and 2005 finals.
“Playing the final on red clay against Nadal is not the same as playing on a grasscourt,” said Roddick.
“If anything, it’s going to annoy him to where he wants to prove everybody wrong. Maybe if he wins it six times, people won’t question him. People are sitting here saying, ‘Can Roger win Wimbledon?’ Yes, he can. He’s won it five times.”
Some are hoping Federer will “Rage, rage against the dying of the light” while others hope he “will go gentle into that good night”. What do you think? Leave us a comment.
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