Once in a while, high-profile sports produce some extraordinary characters, role-models for the regular human being. At some point in their career, these athletes are reaching their peak getting acknowledgement for their qualities. While at his peak, an athlete will be facing a new script, an edgy scenario. It`s like reaching the highest summit of a mountain, but instead of screaming out loud the sense of fulfilment, the reality urges to keep the emotions down as the thin air might cause breathing troubles.
So is Federer Roger. In the past 15 years, he`s been a pivotal point of men's Tennis.
Following his phenomenal success at the Australian Open, he is irresistible than ever.
Federer is still eager to improve his game
What all people saw in Melbourne, was a transformed Federer in a positive way. While the basis of his game remained the same having the entire strategy revolving around his serve, the improvements came up just where were needed the most, namely his backhand. With this particular shot, Federer managed to get himself out of the sink for so many times.
As many pointed out, Federer's backhand has been in an upward mode for a couple of years now. It was Stefan Edberg the one triggering the change and Ivan Ljubicic (Federer's current coach) kept the trajectory on the same route.
A few years ago, Federer's career seemed on the verge of disintegration. But the Swiss champion never stopped learning, improving his game and strategy required for a high yield on the tennis court.
Learning to deal with frustrations
Last year was cruel for Federer as he was forced to skip the 2nd part of the season including the Olympics in Rio.
The schedule of 2016 revolved around this event, but that knee injury left Federer without choices. Someone else in his position could have participated at the Olympics exposing to a tremendous risk. But Federer did not take chances and call off the season though it may have been his last chance to win a gold medal in men's singles (the only worthy award missing from his pocket).
In 2020, Federer will be 39 and a complete race in Tokyo is unlikely to happen.
Knowing when to step down or when to push harder is a great quality that ensured a great deal of success for Federer. Among the younger players, we saw great qualities but a huge lack of discipline or self-control when it mattered the most. Kyrgios or Thiem are those players with great skills but with no long-term strategy.
