INDIAN WELLS, CALIF.—“He’s not what he used to be, is he? It’s hard to watch.”—Roger Federer fan in section 172 in Stadium 1 at approximately 4:00 P.M. on Wednesday.
“He’ll never be the same player, not after everything with his knees.”—Rafael Nadal fan in section 172 in Stadium at approximately 8:00 P.M. Wednesday.
“I mean, we’re both a bit suspect going into our match, I guess, so it’s an interesting matchup. In the past, this match used to be a final, now it’s a quarterfinal.”—Roger Federer, after his win over Stan Wawrinka, on the possibility of playing Nadal on Thursday.
Poignant quotes, aren’t they? Time flies in tennis, if you haven’t noticed, and the players who once seemed invincible become “suspect,” and “not what they used to be,” in the space of half a decade—which can feel more like the blink of an eye. Federer and Nadal once had the No. 1 and No. 2 rankings on lockdown; now Nadal is No. 5 and Federer could soon go from No. 2 to No. 3. It once seemed a tennis fan's God-given right that all of their matches would be epic finals; tomorrow, as Federer said, they’ll be facing each other in the quarterfinals for the first time in their 29 meetings. Coming in to it, the theme for Federer-Nadal XXIX might be “creeping vulnerability.”
For better and worse (and then better again), Federer’s 6-3, 6-7 (4), 7-5 win over Wawrinka today had all of the hallmarks of his play over the last few years. There was, first of all, the bad back, which has plagued him at various times in his career, and which forced him to cancel his practice session the previous day. Federer said afterward that it felt better than it had on Tuesday, and that he expected it to continue to improve on Thursday.
Still, there was, despite that niggle, his usual strong start. Federer broke twice in the first set, and he handled Wawrinka with tactical mastery for the better part of two. Much has been made, rightfully, of Stan's second-fiddle, little brother status to the Swiss Maestro, but Federer also happens to be an old-fashioned bad matchup for him. Wawrinka is a rhythm player, and Federer, obviously, can mix up his shots and keep an opponent from getting any rhythm. He did that well today. Federer followed the flat serve into the body with a slow kick wide; a drive forehand was followed by a high one with heavy topspin, which led to a short slice backhand. By the middle of the second set, it looked like Stan, who was playing at a more casually fast clip than normal, was ready to accept his 15th defeat in 16 matches against his doubles partner.