Great Britain’s Andy Murray jumped to third place pushing the ex-world champion Roger Federer down to 4th position first time after 2003 as he was last outside top three before he won 1st of his 16 grand slam titles, a record 8 years ago. Murray, who has won consecutive titles in Bangkok, Tokyo and Shanghai including 25 out of 26 matches since mid-August and has few points to defend before the end of the season with Federer sidelined with an injury, the Scottish is well-placed to end the season as world number three for the first time.
Roger Federer falls further down
Serbia’s Novak Djokovic, who has won the Australian Open and US Open as well as the prestigious Wimbledon this year and thus, remains comfortably ahead despite taking time off to rest a back injury. French open winner Rafael Nadal of Spain remains at the second spot. Federer has chosen to skip the Asian tournament and has not played since his semifinal loss to rank 1. Djokovic in the US Open and also hasn’t won a title in the past seven Grand Slam events that he has entered. The great downfall that was initiated by the left handed Spaniard Rafael Nadal, who held the number one spot for a long time before Novak Djokovic started his regime with some extraordinary and innovative tennis display guided by sheer aggression and controlled play.
Andy Roddick turns 30 next year and he was quoted taking some advice from the former No. 1 Jim Courier, he said. “Jim and I are pretty like-minded people,” Roddick said. “He said, ‘I ran myself into the ground. I overworked myself and I was done by 27, 28.’ He said, ‘You’re heading down the same path. You need to pull back a little. You’re not going to forget how to play tennis overnight. As opposed to doing workouts four times a day, maybe cut it back a little bit.’
“I’ve done that, but almost to the extreme where I’m just trying to stay healthy and get through the year and not get hurt. The way I feel moving out there right now isn’t optimal. It’s not going to be what’s going to get me a good result in a big event.”
It remains to be seen whether Federer can pull out a title in his 30’s. The modern day game is getting tougher, more physical and demands a lot of fitness. This does not means that the legendary player does not possess all these features but the competitors nowadays are of new generation and have more intellect and a greater aggressive mindset and the never give up attitude with a hunger to keep winning every time separates them from the players of previous generation. The last man to win a major grand slam after the age of 30 was Andre Agassi, when he won the Australian Open in 2003.
Tags: Andy Murray, Australian Open, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Tennis, US Open, Wimbledon
