With his triumph in Indian Wells at the latest, Juan Martin del Potro has returned to the absolute top of the world. Roger Federer, on the other hand, takes note of the defeat with some composure.
Roger Federer later quantified exactly how small the chance of losing this great and great final was:”If I lead 40:15 in a service game to win the match, then I win it to 90 percent,” Federer noted in the review of Indian Wells’ lost final against Juan Martin del Potro.
Federer even had three match points in the tenth game of the third, all decisive set, with a 5-4 lead, but all of them remained unused – and shortly afterwards there had been the just unlikely defeat, which was one of ten cases, if Federer’s calculation was followed. 4:6, 7:6 (10:8) and 6:7 (2:7) was the exact number to win.
“That was extremely frustrating,” said the 36-year-old afterwards, “but fortunately I’m not 19 anymore. Today, Federer said, he could see things in a larger context – and with it the positive:”It was a good tournament, a strong season so far. And I can look forward with confidence.”
Federer can indeed, because he has been the only stable factor in men’s world tennis this season, whether in the Californian desert or not. Until he lost to del Potro, he set the focus and headlines on his own, whether as the Australian Open winner or as the old, new number one in the ATP world rankings.
Shortly before the final knockout in the desert, the industry leader set a new personal record – with 17 consecutive victories at the start of the season. Where long-time rivals like Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Stan Wawrinka or Andy Murray struggle with more or less persistent injuries, Federer, the oldest of the former elite group, exudes almost juvenile freshness.
The four-time family man also put the two fiercely contested three-set games on the Indian Wells home stretch away well: “I don’t feel exhausted or dull now. And I’m looking forward to Miami, to the next Masters,” said Federer. There, too, in Florida’s metropolis, he will compete again as defending champion, having won the final against Nadal in 2017.
It remains to be seen whether Desert King del Potro will be able to establish himself as Federer’s potentially most dangerous opponent in the coming months. After his grandiose US Open victory in 2009, the tall Argentinean had suffered from wrist problems time and again. The “Tower of Tandil” was operated on four times and repeatedly forced to the sideline.
At the end of 2015 he even thought of resigning, at that time he was only number 587 in the world rankings. With the final triumph against Federer, his comeback mission reached its dramatic and euphoric climax at the top of the world. Since yesterday’s Monday, the 29-year-old has been in 6th place on the hit list of tennis pros.
“I hope I can still make some nice surprises this year,” said del Potro on the evening of the victory in Indian Wells. Del Potro can still make up ground in Miami. Federer, however, must defend the terrain he has won and the points he has won. If he does not reach the quarter-finals at the last Hurra in Key Biscayne (the tournament moves afterwards), first place is in danger.