Federer Still Tops, But Are Competitors Gaining?

Roger Federer may have won the U.S. Open tennis championship Sunday for his 12th Grand Slam title in his career, but after watching the championship match against No.3 Novak Djokovic, one wonders if Federer’s competitors are closing the gap. The Swiss champion has reigned supreme for the past two years and no one has really challenged him on the court. That is, until this season. Spain’s Rafael Nadal, ranked number two in the world, has dominated Federer on the clay court at the French Open, and is the only current player to have a winning record against him. In a thrilling final match at Wimbledon in July, Nadal extended Federer to five sets and had several match point opportunities before Federer grabbed the title.

Earlier this week, American Andy Roddick played one of his best matches of his career against Federer at the U.S. Open, only to lose to him in the end. In his first Grand Slam title appearance Sunday at the U.S. Open, Djokovic had Federer on the ropes and squandered seven set points in the first two sets, which were both decided by a tie breaker. While most tennis fans would look at this as more of the same Federer dominance, you have to admit that the matches are becoming more competitive, more balanced. Federer is not blowing out the top competitors anymore, but instead has been scrambling to keep his championship crown, like a magician pulling a rabbit out of his hat.

Federer has raised the sport of men’s tennis to a whole new level, and for awhile, no one came close to beating him. But if the competition level we saw at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open is any indication, we may be seeing signs that his closest competitors – Nadal, Djokovic and Roddick – are closing the gap. These players have raised their own games and the matches are more tightly contested, which has created some exciting matches for fans to watch. And that’s great news for men’s tennis.