Swiss media say Federer is down, not out

Roger Federer has plenty to ponder after his Wimbledon loss Reuters

A few hours after Roger Federer's defeat against Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon, the Swiss press says the tennis star is not about to throw in the towel.

The loss against the Spaniard should provide the world number one with a fresh challenge that goes beyond racking up Grand Slam titles and record numbers of victories.

For the press on Monday, there is little doubt who is the best player in the world at the moment. Nadal has shown with his wins at the French Open and Wimbledon – the first player to do so since Björn Borg – that he is currently on top.

“He is the best in the world – at least for the moment. Even if Federer is still in front in the ranking,” wrote the tabloid Blick.

For Federer’s hometown Basler Zeitung, Nadal has found the recipe for success on grass, as he had already done on clay. “Nadal in 2008 is better than before, because like Federer he works ceaselessly on perfecting his game,” it added.

But the media refuse to say that the world number one is declining, or on the way out.

“It is not a question of technical inferiority or of physical incapacity or of generational change,” wrote Geneva’s Le Temps. “Roger Federer is perhaps less brilliant, but he is mainly being challenged by talent and dominated by the intensity of his rival.”

For the Tribune de Genève, Wimbledon was Federer’s moment of truth after his crushing defeat at French Open against Nadal, but says it is too early to speak of decline.

“It is more a redistribution of the roles at the top,” it pointed out. “Federer is no longer alone in the world: he will have to get used to it and so will we.”

Exceptional player

The press are certainly reminding readers that Federer is an exceptional player.

“What Federer achieved over the past few years is not normal,” wrote Bern’s Bund and Berner Zeitung newspapers. “He has dominated men’s tennis like no other in the 40 years of the professional era.

“Now he is facing a challenge, and it is squarely on his shoulders to move forward. But why shouldn’t he succeed?”

For Zurich’s Tages Anzeiger, Federer was “kicked out of his green paradise, but he will knocking on the door again in a year’s time.

“Wimbledon was the end of a period, but not of an era for Federer. He is too motivated, too talented, too strong, too fit, too professional and too proud to not back himself to win more major titles. He is no Björn Borg, who threw in the towel at age 26.”

The Blick warned though that the Swiss would have to find the key to his Nadal riddle. “Otherwise, he will be facing a mental hurdle he will not be able to overcome,” it added.

For the Bund and the Berner Zeitung, the future promises to be interesting. “Roger Federer, just like Rafael Nadal, is not the kind of guy who accepts to play second fiddle,” it pointed out.

Le Temps summed it up perhaps best when it wrote that Federer would no longer be chasing records and setting deadlines for himself.

“This dramatic final helped Federer rediscover, when all seemed lost, his desire to play, a taste for risk-taking, a need to amaze,” it said. “The artist has reappeared. Time for him to show if he has the right stuff.”

swissinfo, Scott Capper

Key facts

In 2001 Federer ended Pete Sampras’s 31-match winning streak at Wimbledon in the fourth round of the tournament.
By winning Wimbledon in 2003, Federer joined Stefan Edberg, Pat Cash and Björn Borg as the only players to win both the juniors’ and men’s Wimbledon championships.
Federer has won five consecutive men’s singles titles at Wimbledon (2003-2007), a feat only ever accomplished by Borg.
Pete Sampras holds the record for the total number of Wimbledon wins with seven.

International media

The Telegraph, Britain

Federer returns to Switzerland with the world No 1 ranking in his racket-bag, but there were many on Centre Court yesterday evening who felt as though Nadal had also earned the right to be called, unofficially, the world’s best tennis player.

Sydney Morning Herald, Australia

No two players have met in more grand slam finals in the Open era, and nor has any pair met in three successive finals at two different majors. Nadal, of course, has ruled at Roland Garros, and now, after the latest memorable instalment in a great rivalry, reigns at Wimbledon as well.

The Guardian, Britain

How, one wonders, will this compelling rivalry develop? This is the real battle, the epic tennis tussle. Borg-McEnroe didn’t last for long, while Federer-Nadal is already a more substantial contest than that. And the great news for tennis is that it should run and run and run for some years yet.

Los Angeles Times, United States

It doesn’t happen often, but it was a day when tennis stormed into the mainstream on the wings of two incredible players, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. If tennis is lucky, the stuff that blew in may just stick around for a while.