The other day, we talked about Federer's shoes, jerseys, rackets and threaders, and today we talked about Federer's former opponents to see how they are doing.
10 years ago or earlier, if someone had asserted that Federer could play until he was 40 and still occupy the top 5 position, almost no one would have believed it.
Similarly, to young fans today, the names of Safy, Roddick, Ferrero, Coria, and Nalbandian sound strange and distant, and seem to be of the previous generation. In fact, they are similar in age to Federer, and can be regarded as players of Federer's contemporaries, and the gap between them and Federer is the height of professional achievement and the length of their careers. Today we will take stock of the recent situation of these old opponents.
Safin
Birth date: January 27, 1980
Year of occupation: 1997
Year of decommissioning: 2009
Singles titles: 15
Career high: No. 1 in the world
Record against Federer: Federer 10 wins, 2 losses.
Status: Safine retired at just 29 years old, and it certainly seems too early. After retiring from the army, Safin chose to enter politics, first serving in the Russian Tennis Association and then becoming a member of the Russian Olympic Committee. In 2011, Safine was elected to the Russian State Duma until he stepped down in 2017.
In 2016, Safin was inducted into the Tennis Hall of Fame, becoming the first Russian to receive the award. Since then, Safine's activities in all walks of life and politics have increased, which has deprived him of his personal living space, and he has gradually become tired of politics. In 2017, Safine chose to end his political career, just as he chose to retire in 2009.
Jc
Birth date: February 12, 1980
Year of occupation: 1998
Year of decommissioning: 2012
Singles titles: 16
Record against Federer: Federer 10 wins and 3 losses.
Status: Ferrero made a brief comeback in Barcelona in 2017 when he partnered Busta in doubles. Later, he began to coach Zverev Jr., and the two sides disagreed on many aspects, which led to the mentor-apprentice relationship lasting only 8 months.
Ferrero also opened a tennis academy in Valencia, Spain, where he owned a hotel named after himself.
Gonzalez
Birth date: July 29, 1980
Year of occupation: 1999
Singles titles: 11
Career high: Fifth in the world
Record against Federer: Federer 12 wins and 1 loss.
Status: After retiring from the army, Gonzalez continued to work in tennis, serving in the Chilean Tennis Association and coaching a Chilean youngster named Gonzalo Lama. Last year, Gonzalez went on to coach Elias Ymer, who is currently ranked 201 in the world.
Hewitt
Birth date: February 24, 1981
Year of decommissioning: 2016
Singles titles: 30
Record against Federer: Federer 18 wins and 9 losses.
Status: Hewitt, 35, announced his retirement after the 2016 Australian Open, but he will still play in some doubles matches. He received a wild card for a doubles match at the 2018 Australian Open with homegrown player Sam Gross. In addition, Hewitt has captained the Australian team in the Davis Cup.
Davidenko
Birth date: February 6, 1981
Year of decommissioning: 2014
Singles titles: 21
Career high: Third in the world
Record against Federer: Federer 19 wins, 2 losses.
Status: Davidenko chose a quiet life after retiring, spending all his time with his family and 3 daughters, giving few interviews and doing coaching or tennis commentary. He received $16 million in prize money in his career, and if he invests properly and doesn't live too splurgey, he should have had to live a lifetime of food and clothing.
Neminin
Birth date: July 23, 1981
Year of occupation: 2000
Year of decommissioning: 2015
Singles titles: 2
Career highest ranking: 13th in the world
Record against Federer: Federer 15 wins and 0 losses.
Status: Neminen captained the Finnish men's national tennis team and served as a commentator on European sports in Finland during Grand Slam events. After retiring, he also switched to soft hockey, a sport he played until his teenage years, and Neminen also trained with Finland's top soft hockey teams in 2016.
Nalbandian
Birth date: January 1, 1982
Year of decommissioning: 2013
Record against Federer: Federer 11 wins and 8 losses.
Status: If it weren't for a shoulder injury, Nalbandian might still be fighting on the pitch right now. Since giving up tennis, he has turned to a new sport – racing in the Argentine Car Rally. Nalbandian has also worked as a coach in the country for a short time, and the Youtube channel recently recorded a backhand video lesson of Narbandian in Argentina.
Coria
Birth date: January 13, 1982
Singles titles: 9
Record against Federer: Federer wins 3 wins and 0 losses.
Status: Coria had to retire at the age of 27 due to serious injuries, but he still achieved the outstanding achievement of third in the world. He currently manages the Argentine government-funded "Our Tennis" foundation, which aims to identify and nurture children and adolescents with a talent for tennis.
Robredo
Birth date: April 2, 1982
Year of decommissioning: Not yet decommissioned
Singles titles: 12
Record against Federer: Federer 11 wins and 1 loss.
Status: Robredo, who currently ranks 224 in singles world, is aiming to return to the top 100 but has been plagued by elbow injuries in recent years. Robredo's most recent tournament was the MARBELLA ATP Challenge in Spain at the end of October 2020, where the first round of the tournament was eliminated. Robredo was also actively involved in the Wheelchair Open, for which he won the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian Award from the ATP in 2018.
Roddick
Birth date: August 30, 1982
Singles titles: 32
Record against Federer: Federer 21 wins and 3 losses.
Status: Roddick worked as a tennis critic after retiring, but in 2008 he began dabbling in buying shops to rent out. He also owns a foundation in Austin, Texas, that bears his name and has invested in 17 different businesses with his business partner Phil Miles and wife Brooklyn Decker.
Of the players born between 1972 and 1985, Federer is the only player to have won more than 3 Grand Slams. Since winning Wimbledon for the first time in 2003 and topping the world number one in 2004, Federer has established a crushing competitive advantage over its contemporaries. How terrifying is Federer's dominance among his peers? His current coach, Lyubishic, who has also lost to Federer on several occasions, said desperately, "We worked so hard to get to the final in order to lose to a man named Roger Federer." ”
In the above list, Nalbandian is undoubtedly the most competitive player of Federer's generation, and he has won eight games from Federer.
Federer's greatness lies not only in his terrifying dominance, but also in his extraordinarily long career. What makes us wonder is why some players have a longer career than others? Is it because you love the sport more? Or is it because of having good genes and talents that can avoid sports injuries? Or scientific training, good medical care and a self-disciplined lifestyle?
Federer's 20 Grand Slams and nearly 40 years old are still in the top five positions in the world, which is unimaginable to the previous generation of players, which is what Makes Federer great. But even the greatest record will eventually become history, and history will often be surpassed by future generations. In the future, the number of 20 Grand Slams held by Federer may be the first to be surpassed by Nadal, who is the biggest real threat to Federer's Grand Slam record.
So who is the biggest potential threat to Federer's record? Apparently Djokovic. The player, who is six years younger than Federer, still maintains a strong dominance. In terms of actual performance and physical condition, Djokovic's number of Grand Slams exceeded Federer's estimates to be a high probability event. Another suspense is whether Djokovic can be in the top five of the world like Federer by the age of 40. If I could, I would write another article in 6 years to recount the latest developments of Djokovic's old rivals, as I did today.
Who knows? (Source: Tennis House Author: Yun Cirrus Yunshu)