Filed under: Australian Open, ATP
MELBOURNE, Australia -- Roger Federer was becoming obsolete. Not only that, but he was in denial about it. It was the worst of combinations.The game was starting to blow right by him, and he was still insisting that his losses were from bad weather, tiny back pain, or whatever else he could think of to keep his greatness current.
"People make it sound like I was just pushing the ball into play,'' Federer told me Tuesday after he crushed Stanislas Wawrinka 6-1, 6-3, 6-3 to advance to the semis of the Australian Open. "I don't think that's how anybody ever saw me play.''
Let's be real honest: Pushing the ball is exactly what he was doing, in contrast to the new generation of players. But plenty of Federer fans were in denial, too, pretending they couldn't see how much better Rafael Nadal had become than their hero.
Be honest.
But also be honest about this: what Federer has done now is truly remarkable. He has made the change this late in his career. The amazing thing isn't that he was able to do it, but that he was willing to.
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