No player in the Open era has won a Grand Slam at the age of 40 and Roger Federer may not be able to change this.
Roger Federer turned 40 years old on August 8 and is ranked ninth on the ATP scoreboard. He is the second player in history to be ranked in the top 10 at this age. Before Federer, legendary eight-time Grand Slam champion Ken Rosewall was in the top 10 in the world in August 1976 at the age of 41.
Federer played 13 matches in 2021 and won 9, not reaching any semi-finals.
On the WTA scoreboard, no one has remained in the top 10 at the age of 40. Serena Williams may be the first to do that when she celebrates her 40th birthday next September. But, the American player is ranked 20th and needs many good results to return to the top 10 at the end of the year.
Federer and Serena hold the record for being the oldest players to ever hold the number one position in the ATP and WTA. Federer did this at 36 years old, while Serena was 35 years old. No 40-year-old player, both male and female, has won a Grand Slam in the Open era – starting in 1968. The oldest male player ever to win the title was Rosewall at the 1972 Australian Open, when he was 37 years old. Serena is the oldest female tennis player to win a Grand Slam, at the 2017 Australian Open, at the age of 35.
The Open era has not even seen a 40-year-old player reach a Grand Slam final. Rosewall appeared in the 1974 US Open final at the age of 39, and Serena reached the 2019 US Open final at the age of 37.
Winning the Grand Slam and being ranked number one in the world is considered the pinnacle of tennis. But doing either of the above at age 40 is a huge challenge. Even winning minor titles at this age is very difficult. Pancho Gonzales won the ATP championship at the age of 44 and reached the final at the age of 48 in the 1970s. He is the oldest person to achieve this achievement in the Open era. After Gonzales, no one repeated that.
Federer belongs to a group of 11 players over 35 years old who are ranked in the top 100 ATP. This number includes Rafael Nadal, who just turned 35 in June 2021. The Spanish tennis player has won two titles this year and is still competing for the Grand Slam. Federer’s opponents, therefore, are not only young talents but also his contemporaries.
“Listen, I still love tennis and am enjoying it,” Federer said when attending Wimbledon in July 2021. “My goal is not to play until I’m 40 or more. Those are just numbers. I will play until I still have fun and fitness. 10 years ago, Pete Sampras asked me about my retirement plan . At that time, I had just turned 30. Pete retired at 31 so it was normal for him to ask. With the careers we had, it was difficult to push ourselves for more years. We spent all When you’re young, you have to sacrifice many things. I never thought I would continue after two knee surgeries. But now I’m still here to compete.”
Federer has gone through many adjustments to his playing style to maintain his career. In 2017, he revived with a modified left shot, after half a year out due to injury. The Swiss legend, thanks to that, won two Grand Slams in 2017, then another championship in Australia in 2018. He also regained the world number one position in a short time. Thanks to adjusting his playing style, Federer also changed the score against Nadal. He won seven of the last eight meetings with Spain, from 2015 to 2019.
Federer’s career cannot last forever like the love his fans have for him. Photo: Wimbledon
But at the age of 40, it is not easy for Federer to improve himself when his physical strength has decreased. A serious knee injury makes “Express Train” have difficulty moving, which is a strong point in its gameplay. Federer is considered the tennis player with the best footwork in history, along with standard body movements. When his legs no longer listened to his brain, Federer, therefore, suffered consecutive failures. In the Wimbledon quarterfinals, he lost three sets to Hubert Hurkacz, including the final set, losing 0-6. For the first time in his career, Federer appeared helpless in a Grand Slam quarterfinal.
Pierre Paganini, Federer’s fitness coach for 20 years, explained: “Roger’s muscles and physical strength have decreased a lot compared to three or four years ago. His knees are a painful problem for him. Roger used to control him. very good body, including injuries. But after 1,500 matches, many parts are forced to regenerate. This is very difficult when you are 40 years old, although we believe Roger’s age as an athlete is younger than his age.”
Federer has withdrawn from the US Open pre-tournament series and has not confirmed his participation in the year-end Grand Slam. He has not played since July 8, after the loss to Hurkacz. The Swiss tennis player has also not appeared on social networks since July 13, after a post announcing his withdrawal from the Tokyo Olympics. According to Eurosport, Federer has spent a long vacation with his family and has shown no signs of attending the US Open.
Federer may wait until the Australian Open to find his last chance. That’s where he won his last Grand Slam. But, at the age of 40, Federer’s chances of winning will not be as great as three years ago, and perhaps also less than Wimbledon 2020.
