The Australian Open 2017 marked the moment of Roger Federer`s return to the ATP World Tour. As he played his first match on the ATP circuit since Wimbledon 2016, Federer had his fans quite excited. The Swiss Tennis star passed over the opening round in Melbourne at the end of the 4 sets match almost entirely controlled by the Swiss magician. His opponent, namely Jurgen Melzer put up a resistance only in the 2nd set eventually winning it by 6-3. Overall, it was a comeback show for Federer, and it`s likely to have one of that also in the 2nd round as Federer is set to play against Noah Rubin ( 200 ATP).
But the look should be over starting with the 3rd round were Tomas Berdych is likely to confront Federer.
Federer had a hard draw
When it comes to a Grand Slam event, the draw it something to take into account. And for Federer, things are not that easy as he will have to put up a fight against some serious competitors. In this matter, Federer`s low-ranking status played an important part. Seeded as no. 17, the Swiss star will have to deliver some surreal tennis in order to reach the higher stages in Melbourne.
By simply taking a look at the draw, it reveals that Federer will have to fight perhaps against Berdych, Nishikori, Murray, Wawrinka and eventually Djokovic, Nadal or even Raonic in the final.
Against all these players, Federer had success in the past but now, following a long period of inactivity it`ll be hard to maintain a pace so elevated for an extended time. The best example is Wimbledon 2016. Following a long and gruelling battle against Marin Cilic in the quarterfinals, Federer failed to deliver in the semis against Raonic.
While the framework was the same ( each match consisting of 5 sets), Federer was not able to keep his head above the water until the end and Raonic saw a great opportunity and just took it.
Each stronger opponent will take a little more out of Federer
In case that no upset occurs in the next matches, Federer will face Berdych who is anything but an easy opponent to deal with.
Then, it might be Nishikori who seems to be the perfect incarnation of Djokovic in terms of tennis playing style. While everybody already talks about a clash between Federer and Murray, only a few are aware that Federer might lose a lot of steam in the process of getting there.
Just for the sake of the argument, if Federer reaches the semifinals in Melbourne, it might be Stan Wawrinka to jump in front of him. And we all know how good can he be while playing at a Grand Slam. With all the ups and downs, Wawrinka remains the one who stole 2 Grand Slams, the French Open 2015 and the US Open 2016, from Djokovic when no one thought he was capable of producing such damage.
To look even further would be a little bit unrealistic judging by the current data. Federer was great, and he still has his part of glory but for him to win a Grand Slam is rather a lost train.
