Last year, Roger Federer gave Rafael Nadal a ride from the Canadian Masters to the Ohio plains in his private jet. Since then their professional relationship has changed dramatically. There will be no such cosiness this time.
Instead, Federer has been sent packing from Canada several days early and Nadal has jetted in behind him, preparing for the chance to push in front of the world number one and bring the biggest upheaval in the rankings for four-and-a-half years.
Federer would have to lose before the semifinals in the Masters Series for that to happen this week. But whether he does or not, the pressure from such a possible sea-change has never been greater — nor could the timing of it have been worse. Almost immediately after the loss of his Wimbledon title, Federer is fighting the fear of another crushing blow and, wisely chosen though his words have been, the mask they seek to maintain is evident.
”It’s the start of a hard-court season of eight or nine months. So I hope I can start well,” he said, conveniently dropping the opening chapter of last week’s loss to Gilles Simon and reversing the telescope to project the sequence into the distance beyond the impending Olympics and US Open. ”Maybe there’s a little bit of extra pressure,” he admitted, ”but at the same time you know you are on a winning streak at this tournament.”
Federer won here last year and before that in 2005. But in 12 tournaments this year he has won just two — Estoril and Halle. Still, he is better rested than Nadal and is possibly still the favourite, despite all his disappointments this year.
How much extra pressure was there, he was asked. ”I don’t know if there is more pressure than Wimbledon,” he said. ”When I go out there I expect to win the match, win the tournament. It’s not anything new that the number one position looks in more danger than in the past. I have to focus, look at the big picture, prepare well and not go crazy over it.”
There were other clever deflections. His rivalry with Nadal was greater than the legendary one between McEnroe and Borg, he pointed out, because they had played each other 20 times (it’s actually 18).
”We have the feeling it will happen another 20 times. We are right in the prime of the rivalry.” Message to himself here: time to make amends.
To do so here Federer may have to survive a last-16 meeting with Ivo Karlovic, the steepest server on the tour, and a quarterfinal with Andy Roddick, a former champion here. As for Nadal, he spent every day last week saying he was world number two and content to be so — and he is still saying it. So often has he denied that number one has even crossed his mind that the prospect has become all the greater. —