Laver Predicts Federer's Slam Drought near an End
Tennis great Rod Laver predicts Roger Federer's two-year Grand Slam title drought will soon end.
Federer has dropped to No.4 in the world rankings since winning his 16th and last major at the 2010 Australian Open, slipping behind Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray.
Speaking at Monday's unveiling of the Brisbane International's new Roy Emerson Trophy in honor of his on-court rival and fellow-Australian, Laver said Federer's form at the ongoing Paris Masters indicates he's returning to his best.
"Federer has a chance to come back and, if anywhere, the Australian (Open) is a good place for him," said Laver, who was world No. 1 for seven consecutive years and is the only player to have won two season Grand Slams — each of the four majors in a season.
"It seems to me he's serving a whole lot better, he's getting to the net a lot more and he's got a drop shot that works pretty effectively," he said.
Emerson, 76, a winner of 12 singles Grand Slam titles, was adamant Federer has more major trophies to collect.
"Federer has still got some grand slams in him," he told Australian Associated Press. "He's an incredible player and he should have beaten Djokovic (at the U.S. Open)."
Federer weathered a barrage of big hitting by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France on Sunday to begin his title defense with a 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 win Sunday in the opening match of the ATP World Tour Finals.
Federer came into the tournament on a 12-match winning streak following titles in Basel and Paris, where he beat Tsonga in straight sets in the final a week ago.
The 16-time Grand Slam champion looked ready for another easy win when he took the first set in 21 minutes, but Tsonga broke early in the second set before taking the match into a decider.
A close third set ended when the pressure seemed to get to Tsonga. Trailing 5-4, he was broken at 15 and Federer earned his third straight win over Tsonga since back-to-back losses at Wimbledon and Montreal.
"Today I had flashes of that match," Federer said of his five-set loss to Tsonga in the Wimbledon quarterfinals. "I didn't have much of a chance for a while on his serve. You just try your best."
Rafael Nadal was up against American Mardy Fish in the second match in Group B later Sunday. Group A begins Monday with Andy Murray facing David Ferrer, and Novak Djokovic against Tomas Berdych.
Federer has won at least 60 matches for nine straight years, and extended his career record over Tsonga to 7-3.
"It's not always in your control when you play Jo," Federer said. "That's the beauty of it. I kind of enjoy that to some degree. But I think also partially because it was a first-round match, I think that's maybe why we saw some ups and downs from both players."
Federer is making his 10th straight appearance, while Tsonga is playing the event for only the second time in his career.