Federer's Backhand

Indian Wells Semi-Final results

A. Murray def R. Federer 6-3 4-6 6-1

Its like watching a movie again & again with similar yet different climaxes.

This is fourth (fifth if you count Abu-Dhabi exhibition) straight shellacking faced by federer by the gifted hands of Andy Murray. Fed fans all over the world have cringed at the fact that a beast named Nadal now owns Federer’s psyche & served him 5 consecutive defeats especially at last 3 grand slam finals they played against each other.

Heartbreaking!

Pushed to no. 2 (after 267 weeks of monopolizing & terrorizing players) in 2008, fed’s level has dropped so much as to his name in Murray’s draw guarantee’s his demise before the finals of the tournament. This confidence erosion is due to evolutionary game adaptation of both the fed’s nemesis & Fed’s obsession not to change his game plan .

Nadal & Murray’s plan against a man named Federer:

Attack Fed’s backhand relentlessly by giving him deep shoulder high ground strokes which Fed now misses with predictable regularity. Instead of employing a different strategy like slice backhand, he generally engages them with his trademark topspin backhand which may work for lesser players but work as apple pies against the mentioned twosome.

To negate their play , federer moves to cover for the backhand side using his fluid forehand, but that takes an exhaustive effort which at his prime Fed used to muster by swivelling of his back & other body contortions . Now at a ripe age of 27 plus , he is unable to generate the required movement.
( Federer’s majestic forehand is described in great detail by one of the most read sports journalist , who is deceased now . Mr. David Foster Wallace , in his insightful article “ Federer as a religious experience "http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/20/sports/playmagazine/20federer.html?pagewanted=all "

So where will this take Federer? He has a lot of questions to answer .
1. Whether he will be able to reach the magic no. 14 & equal his idol Pete’s record ?
2. Can he be considered a GOAT when he has a losing record against two of his contemporaries ( Nadal 13-6) ( Murray 6-2)?
3. How many more major titles are left?

As an avid fan , I’d love fed to prove all of us naysayers wrong as he has shown a glimmer of hope after winning US Open in 2008 fall . But the trend is negative & even TMF( the mighty fed , name quoted by Pete Bodo , sports writer & famed editor of tennisworld) may find it difficult to reverse it . All fed fans would look to fed to burn one more time before fading .