Can Roger Federer win Wimbledon for a record ninth time?

July 8, 2019

Matteo Berrettini was eaten alive tonight by possibly the greatest tennis player in history. Roger Federer breezed to a three-set victory to continue his unbelievable record of never losing a fourth round game at Wimbledon.

The eight-time winner of Wimbledon now moves into the quarter-finals along with Novak Djokovic and Rafa Nadal. With the tournament reaching the latter stages the Wimbledon betting is starting to clear up, but will Federer be lifting a record ninth Wimbledon trophy?

(Roger Federer defeats Marin Cillic in the final of Wimbledon 2017 to notch up his eighth title at the All England Club.)

Quarter-Final Hurdle

Before turning our attentions to the semi-finals or the finals, we have to take a look at Federer’s next opponent. The world number 8 Kei Nishikori is lying in wait for the Swiss after a hard-fought victory over Mikhail Kukushkin.

In that game Nishikori demonstrated his wide range of shots and put the Kazakh to the sword with some excellent back hand winners. Federer has met Nishikori on 10 separate occasions, emerging victorious from 7 of those encounters.

Federer will be the strong favourite to beat Nishikori once again but he will be pushed to the wire. This match will certainly be no 75 minute walkover like the fourth round clash against Berretini.

Semi-Final Hurdle

If and when Federer reaches the semi-final stage he will undoubtedly face his old foe Rafa Nadal. The two have face each other 39 times in Grand Slams with the Spaniard leading the way with 24 wins to Federer’s 15.

The 37-year-old Federer narrowly holds the advantage in grass court encounters and has twice beaten Nadal in 3 Wimbledon finals. But will age finally catch up with Federer and see him fall to his old foe once again?

Much of that will be dependent on both player’s respective quarter-finals, and whether or not Federer can come through unscathed from his tie against Nishikori.

(11 years on from this incredible game Nadal and Federer will lock horns once again, this time in the semi-finals of Wimbledon.)

Defeating Djokovic

Federer and Nadal look likely to meet each other in the semi-finals of this year’s tournament, which would set up a final for the winner against reigning champion Novak Djokovic. ‘The Swiss King’ as he is often called tends to grab the headlines when it comes to Wimbledon, but that does a disservice to Djokovic.

The Serbian player is the world number 1 for a reason and is perennially underappreciated. His inner-drive and all-round mastery of the modern game make him the clear favourite to win Wimbledon 2019 and a tight affair between Federer and Nadal in the semi-finals will play right into his hands.

The Fatigue Factor

Roger Federer is the oldest player to have reached a Wimbledon quarter-final in the Open Era, but so far his advancing years have not been apparent. In all of his clashes in the tournament so far he has breezed to success, creating the illusion that tennis is an easy sport.

Having said that, tennis is a physically demanding sport and racing up and down the baseline takes its toll on the body. At 37 Federer is some way past his physical peak, especially in such an unforgiving tournament as Wimbledon.

Nishikori and Nadal will be formidable opponents to face before a final showdown against Djokovic. Making light work of all three of those opponents looks unlikely, although we admit to being consistently surprised and dumbfounded by Federer’s durability.

Will Federer win his ninth Wimbledon title? All logic and reasonable thinking points to another Djokovic success, with Federer likely to fall at the semi-final stage.

Can Federer win his ninth Wimbledon title? Certainly. The Swiss is undoubtedly the most gifted player to have ever graced the world’s courts, it’s impossible to ever completely write him off.