by Bob Stockton
Roger Federer has established himself as arguably the greatest player of all time, although his legacy alone at the top is coming under threat from his two rivals Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. The Swiss stood alone and well ahead of his contemporaries after clinching the 20th Grand Slam of his career when he triumphed at the Australian Open in 2018.
However, both Nadal and Djokovic have been relentless in their performances since to close the gap to the 37-year-old. Nadal’s dominance of the French Open has lifted him to within three Grand Slams of Federer’s record, while Djokovic’s triumph over the Swiss at Wimbledon has taken him to 16 crowns. Although the Federer has still been outstanding on the court, his levels of excellence at the major competitions have dipped.
He has set an extraordinarily high standard, but the fact remains that Federer has won only one of the last six Grand Slams since the start of 2018. All eyes will be on the 37-year-old at the US Open to see if he can break the recent trend of falling behind his two rivals. Although the latter stages of the event will be headline news, the sport will still fall behind the return of the NFL at the beginning of September with the US Open final, falling on kickoff Sunday.
Given that tennis is a non-marquee sport, there could be opportunities for betting value for the US Open, but it might have to be found outside of the big three. Federer has displayed vulnerabilities in the past at Flushing Meadow, crashing out in the fourth round at the hands of John Millman. There could be a solid bet backing the Swiss for a premature exit once again, which would further increase the pressure on him to solidify his legacy in the Grand Slams in 2020.
Djokovic is currently operating at the peak of his powers, and it would be no surprise to see him triumph at Flushing Meadows. He was relatively untroubled on his march to the final at Wimbledon when he met Federer. The two played out a thrilling duel, which became the longest final in singles history at the All England Club. In the past, Federer would have been able to up the ante to defeat his rival, but it was Djokovic that claimed the decisive tie-breaker after the two men could not be separated in the final set.
The contest could be symbolic for the passing of the torch to Djokovic as the player of the generation. Djokovic is the defending champion at the US Open, having defeated Juan Martin del Potro in New York last year in straight sets. Another triumph would take him to 17 crowns before the first Grand Slam of next year at the Australian Open, where he has been imperious. If Federer has been the master of Wimbledon, then Djokovic has been the king of Melbourne with seven titles to his name to date.
Victories at both the US and Australia Opens would take him to two within Federer’s record. Age is on the side of the Serb at just 32, meaning that he has plenty more opportunities to beat out the Swiss’ record. The pressure is on Federer to respond and he has to make a statement at the US Open to re-establish his reputation as the lone man atop of the sport.
