It’s easy to root for another Federer win, but it’s also great to see him back at Roland Garros.
Roger Federer has been chasing history, or at least that’s what everybody assumed when the 20-time Grand Slam champion skipped the French Open the past two years. At 37 years old, the rationalization was easy to see: his chances of winning on clay when Rafael Nadal is healthy are much lower than his chances of downing Nadal (or Novak Djokovic) on the grass courts of Wimbledon or even the hard courts of the Australian and US Opens.
So why is Federer back in action at Roland Garros? His reason is pure: he just wants to play.
“I simply just wanted to play,” Federer told L’Equipe, via Tennis.com. “I hadn’t planned not to play for three years. For the previous six months, my body has been good. For the rest of the season, it’s maybe good, but mostly it’s the desire to return to clay and [this tournament].”
It’s safe to say that pretty much everybody — other than his opponents — is happy that Federer is back.
Federer has dealt with injuries over the years, and they were the catalyst for his absence at Roland Garros for the most part. In 2016, he underwent knee surgery which caused him to miss the French Open, and when he returned to clay, he aggravated those injuries again. That led to him skipping the action in 2017 and 2018, while Nadal picked up a title both times (Djokovic took it in 2016).
Still chasing history
Federer may not have the best odds of winning the French Open, but after a strong start to the year, he enters Roland Garros with his best shot at an upset in some time, at least when it comes to looking at how he’s performed of late. He grabbed titles in Dubai and Miami, beating Stefanos Tsitsipas and John Isner, respectively.
He also made it to the finals at Indian Wells, and the quarterfinals in Madrid and Rome (lost to Dominic Thiem, another dominant clay player in the former, and withdrew with injury from the latter). But he’s healthy going into Roland Garros and will be a force to reckoned with.
So what history is he chasing? Pretty much every time he hits the court he stands a shot of breaking or increasing his own records. Other than having played the most matches and owning a ludicrous number of career wins straight up, there’s always Grand Slam titles. He already has the most Grand Slam singles titles of any male player in history, but he’d love to add to that number.
He’d also love to add another French Open title to his collection, as he only has one, from 2009, when he didn’t have to face Nadal. To compare, he’s won a record eight Wimbledon titles, six Australian Open titles, and five US Open titles (all consecutive, which is also a record). It’s obvious he’d love to retire with more than a single French Open win.
Federer’s path to victory
Federer has made it to the final of the French Open five times, with all of his losses coming to Nadal. His lone win, again, came when Nadal was eliminated earlier in the tournament (though Federer did beat the man who eliminated Nadal, for what that’s worth). He won’t have to worry about Nadal in the final this year, but that’s because they were drawn into the same half of the bracket, which happens more and more as Federer hangs around No. 3 in the rankings.
Instead, Federer and Nadal could wind up meeting in the semifinal, while Djokovic is in the other half. For Nadal, he has a pretty good draw, having to contend with guys like Kei Nishikori, Daniil Medvedev, and David Goffin on his way to a potential matchup with Federer.
Federer, on the other hand, could face Tsitsipas in the quarterfinals, which would be a very tough matchup. Before that, he has to contend with his opener, Lorenzo Sonego. He could then face either Jaziri Malek or a qualifier in the second round, before potentially seeing Matteo Berrettini, the 29th seed, in the third round. In the fourth, he could have to contend with either No. 16 Marco Cecchinato or No. 17 Diego Schwartzman.
As far as the potential matchups with Tsitsipas and Nadal, the latter would hinge on Federer dealing with the former in a timely fashion. Federer is capable of winning seven consecutive matches to win a title, but he needs to be fresh for someone like Nadal, especially on clay. What Federer needs more than anything is four straight-set wins before he faced Tsitsipas, provided that is the matchup that surfaces.
Federer skipped the French Open out of necessity before, and now he just wants to return because it’s a great place to play. There’s going to be a Federer-friendly crowd everywhere, even at Roland Garros. Him coming back there is great for the fans, probably great for his own mindset and hey, there’s always a chance he takes it to Nadal (whom he’s beat the last five times they’ve played) or any of the other top players.
We probably don’t have that much Roger Federer left, and it’s great to see him back at Roland Garros, win or lose.
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