The success of
Roger Federer (10/11) at the recent
Wimbledon tennis Championships has written his name forever into the history of the game.
By winning his 15th Grand Slam title the Swiss player not only regained No.1 spot in the ATP Tour world rankings but also took over the mantle as the No.1 player when it comes to winning Grand Slam tournaments.
Federer already held the record for the number of appearances in a major final, 19 prior to this year's renewal at SW19, but his epic victory over Andy Roddick (16-14 in the fifth set) gave him a sixth All-England title and eclipsed the previous best of Pete Sampras who won 14 Slams over a 13 year period from 1990 to 2002.
The fact that Federer achieved this feat in just seven years, from 2003 to 2009, illustrate his total dominance of the modern game but the manner of both his Grand Slam victories in 2009, in the French Open and here at Wimbledon, suggest that he has taken full advantage of the favourable situations which have presented themselves - i.e. the surprise early loss of Rafael Nadal in Paris and the subsequent absence of the Spaniard in London - rather than play unbelievable tennis himself.
Does that sound unfair? Maybe so but most would agree that Federer isn't the player he was some 12 or 18 months ago. What he is, however, is a consummate professional, a great competitor and a player capable of a consistent level of performance way beyond most other players. That can't be denied. The guy is a winner.
Federer wins due to the failings of others
But, and this is the point, both his wins have come about more by the failings of others as opposed to the great man's brilliance - Roddick should have been two sets up in the final at Wimbledon,
Tommy Haas was two sets up against him at Roland Garros and folded, Federer didn't have to beat any of Nadal,
Andy Murray or
Novak Djokovic in winning either tournament. Of course he did win both, and he should be rightly applauded for that, but just be wary of the form of both those wins. It's not quite as strong as it could be.
As such, the odds for the forthcoming US Open at Flushing Meadows - Federer 13/8, Murray 7/2, Nadal 9/2, Djokovic 8/1 - might seem very tempting but just remember that Federer has now achieved all there is to achieve in the game and he might not be quite so lucky next time out in New York. He still looks much more of a lay than a back when it comes to the last Grand Slam tournament of 2009.
For our US Open Outright Bets, call our membership hotline on 01625 583 300 or subscribe online by clicking Outright Tennis Betting Advice.
