Will Roger Federer Make it Through his Quarter at Roland Garros?

Roger Federer already began his French Open campaign pretty stylishly, seeing off Lukáš Lacko in straight sets with some vintage tennis as the match wore on. There are two questions on most people’s lips regarding the Swiss maestro at this stage of his career. Can he win another Slam? And how long will he play on for?

To take the second question first, I realise he will have to take on a year-by-year basis, but I don`t see any reason that he can`t go on for a few more years. He still loves playing, he moves as well as ever, he never gets injured, and now he`s got two more young kids who might want to see him play one day. When he`s playing decent, he`s still probably third favourite for every slam, with the possible exception of the French, he could go on for quite some time yet.

The odds are certainly against him when he plays Nadal in any length of match! But I think he`s well capable of beating Djokovic on grass. It wouldn`t surprise me at all if he won Wimbledon this year, the other Grand Slams may be beyond him at this point. Of course, running into Nadal has historically caused him many problems.

In my opinion, in fast conditions Federer is still the best player in the world, but we hardly ever see these any more, and we certainly won’t see them at Roland Garros. So can he still compete on clay, and what should his expectations be for the French Open?

It’s tough to look beyond the semi-final, as he’s almost certainly going to run into Novak Djokovic there, and that will probably be the end of his tournament. Federer may not see it that way, but the fact is that Djokovic has probably been the best player on clay this year.

Can he make the semis, though? In my opinion, the draw hasn’t exactly been unkind to him. The trickiest opponent that Federer could meet in the first four rounds is Ernest Gulbis. While the Latvian is a very talented and sometimes brilliant player, he hasn’t produced his best tennis in recent years and can be extremely volatile. On the other hand, he has beaten Federer before on clay, and actually pushed him each of the three times that they’ve met. Gulbis is the kind of player that raises his game for the best players in the world, so this could be a stickier match for Federer than it perhaps looks on paper.

In the quarter-finals, Federer could meet one of two big servers and hitters. Tomáš Berdych and John Isner are seeded to meet in the fourth round, and Federer would then play the winner in the last eight. Although one wouldn’t expect either to particularly trouble Federer on clay, Isner has in fact beaten him on this very surface over five sets in the Davis Cup. And the Swiss has a relatively mediocre record against Berdych.

Nevertheless, Federer is playing well and looking confident this year, and I expect him to make another semi, before Djokovic sees him off.

Selection: Federer to win this quarter.

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27/05/2014     © Frixo 2026