Roger Federer’s bankruptcy against Kei Nishikori put him in an unpleasant situation at the ATP Finals in London’s O2 Arena.
Roger Federer had spoken a real word before the first rally at the ATP Finals. “If you’ve been looking for your shape and strokes here for a long time, then wird´s is very, very hard,” said Federer. He was alluding to the character of this last tournament of the year, a tournament that brings together only the best of the season. And where there is no smooth gliding into the competition against opponents from the second or third row.
Federer is now in exactly the situation that none of the main actors at the ATP climax of the game series would like to get into. He lost his opening match against Japan’s Kei Nishikori, the man he won this autumn in Shanghai and recently in Paris with relative ease. And he is thus under considerable pressure to succeed, even as a form seeker, when he enters the Centre Court in London’s O2 Arena on Tuesday for his second duel against the Austrian Dominic Thiem.
Whether this pressure in Federer’s situation is obstructive or, as so often in his career, inspiring, remains difficult to assess. “I don’t look back anymore. I still have my chances. And I also want to use them,” said Federer after the failure against Nishikori. The maestro was visibly trying to cover and limit the disappointment to the outside, after all, he said, at the beginning it was “fight and cramp” in such a match, you had to accept that.
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Federer knows that things can turn quickly at the ATP Finals, it has to do with the fact that you don’t have to pack your bags after a defeat – you can stay in the title race. Once in his long final history, Federer even became champion after a failure at the beginning. In 2007, this was when he lost to Chilean Fernando Gonzalez in three fierce sets, then defeated Russian Nikolai Davidenko and American Andy Roddick and then prevailed in the final against Spaniard David Ferrer. Once upon a time, a failure at the start also had quick consequences – in 2008, after his defeat against Gilles Simon, he could no longer catch up, but failed for the only time in 16 participations in the group stage.
Federer seemed very tense and irritated in the duel with Nishikori, similar to the last time he played Djokovic in the Paris final. The anger about failures was written all too clearly in his face, the one or other curse was unmistakable. “I have to improve a lot, the performance was disappointing, no question,” said Federer, who was unable to compensate for his 33 easier mistakes. A real rhythm didn’t come up because Nishikori also acted in a dishevelled way for a long time and only gained momentum in the second set – but a Federer comeback in the match didn’t take place anymore.
Federer could win the 100th title of his exceptional career in London, on one of the great stages of his sport. But the subjunctive in this statement has now gained more weight, because Federer made a classic false start. In all probability he now needs two wins in the remaining group matches against Thiem and against South African Kevin Anderson, this season’s Wimbledon finalists.
The 37-year-old class oldest can’t and won’t get involved in arithmetic games, according to which theoretically a victory could be enough. Thiem is the obvious challenge, it must be mastered. “We haven’t met on the court in a while. But it’s going to be a tough thing, that’s for sure,” Federer said. In fact, the last match against the Austrian was two and a half years ago, when Federer lost in the Stuttgart semi-final on grass, his favourite surface. Thiem even won the tournament afterwards.
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“Federer said on Sunday evening that he had to play “Tactically clever and generally flexible”. He still has a second chance at this tournament, against Thiem, who leads in the head-to-head balance with 2:1. And also against himself, against a Roger Federer with his initial dissension.