2008 Roger Federer tennis season

Roger Federer won one slam in 2008, which came at the 2008 US Open, defeating Briton Andy Murray, 6–2, 7–5, 6–2. Federer was defeated by Rafael Nadal in two Grand Slam finals: at the 2008 French Open, which he lost 1–6, 3–6, 0–6, and at the 2008 Wimbledon Championships in a five-setter, 4–6, 4–6, 7–6, 7–6, 7–9, when he was going for six straight wins to break Björn Borg's record. At the 2008 Australian Open, Federer lost in the semifinals to Novak Djokovic, ending his record of 10 consecutive Major finals. Roger Federer lost twice in Master Series 1000 Finals on clay to Nadal at Monte Carlo and Hamburg. However, Federer was able to capture three more victories in 250-level events at Estoril, Halle, and Basel.

2008 Roger Federer tennis season
Calendar prize money$5,886,879
Singles
Season record66–15 (81.5%)
Calendar titles4
Year-end ranking#2
Ranking change from previous year 1
Grand Slam & significant results
Australian OpenSF
French OpenF
WimbledonF
US OpenW
Other tournaments
Tour FinalsRR
Olympic GamesQF
Doubles
Olympic Games Gold Medal
Davis Cup
Davis CupWG PO
(adv. to 2009 WG)
Main article: Roger Federer

In doubles, Federer and compatriot Stanislas Wawrinka won the gold medal in at the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Year summary

Early hard court season

Federer began the year by attempting to defend his title at the Australian Open. Federer suffered an illness related to food poisoning prior to the start of the Australian Open. He lost, however, in the semifinals to eventual champion Djokovic, 5–7, 3–6, 6–7. This ended his record of ten consecutive Grand Slam finals, the most ever for a men's player.

In March, Federer revealed that he had recently been diagnosed with mononucleosis and that he may have suffered from it as early as December 2007. He noted, however, that he was now "medically cleared to compete".[1] Despite being cleared to compete Federer admitted that he had suffered a significant dip in fitness due to his struggle with mononucleosis, which would prove to negatively impact his results till the Miami Masters in which he lost to long-time foe, Andy Roddick.

Although Federer was seeded first and was the defending champion at the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships, he lost to Murray in the first round. On 10 March, Federer won his third exhibition match out of four against former world no. 1 Pete Sampras at Madison Square Garden in New York City, 6–3, 6–7, 7–6.[2]

Clay court season

Federer began the clay-court season at the Estoril Open in Portugal. This was his first tournament with coach José Higueras.[3] and his first non-Master Series clay-court tournament since Gstaad in 2004.[4] Federer won his first tournament of the year, when Nikolay Davydenko retired from the final while trailing, 7–6, 1–2 with a leg ligament strain.

Federer then played three Masters Series tournaments on clay. At the Masters Series Monte Carlo, Federer lost to three-time defending champion Rafael Nadal in the final in straight sets. Federer made 44 unforced errors, lost a 4–0 lead in the second set, and fell to 1–7 against Nadal on clay courts.[5] At the Internazionali BNL d'Italia, Federer lost in the quarterfinals to Radek Štěpánek. Federer was the defending champion at the Masters Series Hamburg, but lost to Nadal in the final.

At the French Open, Federer was defeated quickly by Nadal in the final, 1–6, 3–6, 0–6.[6] This was the fourth consecutive year that Federer and Nadal had played at the French Open, with Federer losing his third consecutive final to Nadal.[6] Federer's record of 23–4 (2005–08) at the French Open is second only to Nadal's record of 28–0 during the same period.

Federer serving for the third set against Nadal in the Wimbledon final

Grass court season

Federer bounced back by winning the Gerry Weber Open in Halle, Germany without dropping a set or a service game. This was the fifth time he had won this event. With this result, he tied Pete Sampras's record for most titles on grass in the open era with 10.[7]

At Wimbledon, Federer once again played world no. 2 Nadal in the final. A victory for Federer would have meant his sixth consecutive Wimbledon singles title, breaking Borg's modern era men's record and equaling the all-time record held since 1886 by William Renshaw. Federer saved two championship points in the fourth set tiebreak, but eventually lost the match, 4–6, 4–6, 7–6, 7–6, 7–9. The rain-delayed match ended in near darkness after 4 hours, 48 minutes of play, making it the longest (in terms of elapsed time) men's final in Wimbledon recorded history. It concluded 7 hours, 15 minutes after its scheduled start. The defeat also ended Federer's 65-match winning streak on grass. John McEnroe described the match as "The greatest match I've ever seen."[8] After Nadal surpassed him as world no. 1 later in the year, Federer stated that his main goal would be to regain the Wimbledon title, rather than the top spot.[9]

Federer at the 2008 US Open, where he won his fifth consecutive title.

Summer hard court season

Federer made early exits in his next two singles tournaments, the Rogers Cup in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters in Cincinnati, Ohio.[10] Federer was chosen to carry the national flag at the Beijing Olympics.

Federer at the 2008 Summer Olympics, where he won Doubles Gold.

At the Summer Olympics in Beijing, Federer lost in the quarterfinals to James Blake for the first time in their nine matches.[11] Federer however, finally won his first Olympic gold medal in the men's doubles, when he and compatriot Stanislas Wawrinka upset the world no. 1 doubles team of Bob and Mike Bryan of the United States in the semifinals and defeated Sweden's Simon Aspelin and Thomas Johansson in the final, 6–3, 6–4, 6–7, 6–3. The following day, Federer lost his world no. 1 ranking to Nadal after 237 consecutive weeks.[10][12][13]

At the US Open, Federer reached the fourth round without dropping a set. He defeated third-seeded Novak Djokovic in a rematch of the 2007 US Open Final, 6–3, 5–7, 7–5, 6–2, in the semifinals, and then defeated Andy Murray, who was playing in his first Grand Slam final, 6–2, 7–5, 6–2, to win his fifth straight US Open title and 13th career Grand Slam title, leaving him one Grand Slam title from tying Pete Sampras's all-time record of 14. This extended his US Open winning streak to 34 matches.[14] Federer became the first player in tennis history to have five consecutive wins at both Wimbledon and the US Open.[15]

Fall indoor season

At the Mutua Madrileña Masters Madrid, Federer reached the semifinals without losing a set. There he lost to Murray, 6–3, 3–6, 5–7. Meanwhile, he became the all-time leader in career prize money in men's tennis, earning over US$43.3 million at the end of the tournament and surpassing 14-time Grand Slam singles champion Pete Sampras.[16]

Federer won his 57th career title at the Davidoff Swiss Indoors in Basel, beating David Nalbandian in the final. He became the only player in history to win the title three consecutive years.

He reached the quarterfinals of his next event, the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris, before withdrawing because of back pain. This was the first time in Federer's career of 763 matches that he had withdrawn from a tournament.[17] This meant that 2008 was the first year since 2003 in which he did not win a Masters Series title.[18] Federer entered the Tennis Masters Cup as the top-seeded player, after Nadal withdrew from the tournament. He drew Simon, Murray, and Roddick in the Red Group. In his opening match, Federer lost to Simon, but kept his hopes alive by defeating Roddick's replacement, Stepanek, in his second match. He lost his third match to Murray, 6–4, 6–7, 5–7. Federer had received medical treatment for back and hip problems in the third set, but lost after saving seven match points.[19] However, Federer still ended the year ranked world no. 2.

Grand Slam performance
Singles
Tournament Match Round Opponent (Seed or Key) Rank Result Score
Australian Open
Melbourne, Australia
Grand Slam tournament
Hard, outdoor
14–27 January 2008
1 / 6861R Diego Hartfield106Win6–0, 6–3, 6–0
2 / 6872R Fabrice Santoro37Win6–1, 6–2, 6–0
3 / 6883R Janko Tipsarevic48Win6–7(5–7), 7–6(7–1), 5–7, 6–1, 10–8
4 / 6894R Tomas Berdych (13)14Win6–4, 7–6(9–7), 6–3
5 / 690QF James Blake (12)13Win7–5, 7–6(7–5), 6–4
6 / 691SF Novak Djokovic (3)3Loss5–7, 3–6, 6–7(5–7)
Match Tournament Start
Date		 Type I/O Surface Round Opponent/Rank Result Score
692 Dubai 3/3 500 Outdoor Hard R32 Andy Murray L 7–6(6), 3–6, 4–6
– Indian Wells Masters 3/13 1000 Outdoor Hard R128 Bye  
693 Indian Wells Masters 3/13 1000 Outdoor Hard R64 Guillermo Garcia-Lopez W 6–3, 6–2
694 Indian Wells Masters 3/13 1000 Outdoor Hard R32 Nicolas Mahut W 6–1, 6–1
695 Indian Wells Masters 3/13 1000 Outdoor Hard R16 Ivan Ljubicic W 6–3, 6–4
– Indian Wells Masters 3/13 1000 Outdoor Hard Q Tommy Haas W/O N/A
696 Indian Wells Masters 3/13 1000 Outdoor Hard S Mardy Fish L 3–6, 2–6
– Miami Masters 3/27 1000 Outdoor Hard R128 Bye  
697 Miami Masters 3/27 1000 Outdoor Hard R64 Gael Monfils W 6–3, 6–4
698 Miami Masters 3/27 1000 Outdoor Hard R32 Robin Soderling W 6–4, 3–0 RET
699 Miami Masters 3/27 1000 Outdoor Hard R16 Jose Acasuso W 7–6(5), 6–2
700 Miami Masters 3/27 1000 Outdoor Hard Q Andy Roddick L 6–7(4), 6–4, 3–6
701 Estoril 4/14 250 Outdoor Clay R32 Olivier Rochus W 4–6, 6–3, 6–2
702 Estoril 4/14 250 Outdoor Clay R16 Victor Hanescu W 6–3, 6–2
703 Estoril 4/14 250 Outdoor Clay Q Frederico Gil W 6–4, 6–1
704 Estoril 4/14 250 Outdoor Clay S Denis Gremelmayr W 2–6, 7–5, 6–1
705 Estoril 4/14 250 Outdoor Clay Win (1) Nikolay Davydenko W 7–6(5), 1–2 RET
– Monte Carlo Masters 4/20 1000 Outdoor Clay R64 Bye  
706 Monte Carlo Masters 4/20 1000 Outdoor Clay R32 Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo W 6–1, 3–6, 7–6(1)
707 Monte Carlo Masters 4/20 1000 Outdoor Clay R16 Gael Monfils W 6–3, 6–4
708 Monte Carlo Masters 4/20 1000 Outdoor Clay Q David Nalbandian W 5–7, 6–2, 6–2
709 Monte Carlo Masters 4/20 1000 Outdoor Clay S Novak Djokovic W 6–3, 3–2 RET
710 Monte Carlo Masters 4/20 1000 Outdoor Clay F Rafael Nadal L 5–7, 5–7
– Rome Masters 5/5 1000 Outdoor Clay R64 Bye  
711 Rome Masters 5/5 1000 Outdoor Clay R32 Guillermo Canas W 6–3, 6–3
712 Rome Masters 5/5 1000 Outdoor Clay R16 Ivo Karlovic W 7–6(4), 6–3
713 Rome Masters 5/5 1000 Outdoor Clay Q Radek Stepanek L 6–7(4), 6–7(7)
– Hamburg Masters 5/11 1000 Outdoor Clay R64 Bye  
714 Hamburg Masters 5/11 1000 Outdoor Clay R32 Jarkko Nieminen W 6–1, 6–3
715 Hamburg Masters 5/11 1000 Outdoor Clay R16 Robin Soderling W 6–3, 6–2
716 Hamburg Masters 5/11 1000 Outdoor Clay Q Fernando Verdasco W 6–3, 6–3
717 Hamburg Masters 5/11 1000 Outdoor Clay S Andreas Seppi W 6–3, 6–1
718 Hamburg Masters 5/11 1000 Outdoor Clay F Rafael Nadal L 5–7, 7–6(3), 3–6
719 Roland Garros 5/25 GS Outdoor Clay R128 Sam Querrey W 6–4, 6–4, 6–3
720 Roland Garros 5/25 GS Outdoor Clay R64 Albert Montanes W 6–7(5), 6–1, 6–0, 6–4
721 Roland Garros 5/25 GS Outdoor Clay R32 Mario Ancic W 6–3, 6–4, 6–2
722 Roland Garros 5/25 GS Outdoor Clay R16 Julien Benneteau W 6–4, 7–5, 7–5
723 Roland Garros 5/25 GS Outdoor Clay Q Fernando Gonzalez W 2–6, 6–2, 6–3, 6–4
724 Roland Garros 5/25 GS Outdoor Clay S Gael Monfils W 6–2, 5–7, 6–3, 7–5
725 Roland Garros 5/25 GS Outdoor Clay F Rafael Nadal L 1–6, 3–6, 0–6
726 Halle 6/9 250 Outdoor Grass R32 Michael Berrer W 6–4, 6–2
727 Halle 6/9 250 Outdoor Grass R16 Jan Vacek W 7–5, 6–3
728 Halle 6/9 250 Outdoor Grass Q Marcos Baghdatis W 6–4, 6–4
729 Halle 6/9 250 Outdoor Grass S Nicolas Kiefer W 6–1, 6–4
730 Halle 6/9 250 Outdoor Grass Win (2) Philipp Kohlschreiber W 6–3, 6–4
731 Wimbledon 6/23 GS Outdoor Grass R128 Dominik Hrbaty W 6–3, 6–2, 6–2
732 Wimbledon 6/23 GS Outdoor Grass R64 Robin Soderling W 6–3, 6–4, 7–6(3)
733 Wimbledon 6/23 GS Outdoor Grass R32 Marc Gicquel W 6–3, 6–3, 6–1
734 Wimbledon 6/23 GS Outdoor Grass R16 Lleyton Hewitt W 7–6(7), 6–2, 6–4
735 Wimbledon 6/23 GS Outdoor Grass Q Mario Ancic W 6–1, 7–5, 6–4
736 Wimbledon 6/23 GS Outdoor Grass S Marat Safin W 6–3, 7–6(3), 6–4
737 Wimbledon 6/23 GS Outdoor Grass F Rafael Nadal L 4–6, 4–6, 7–6(5), 7–6(8), 7–9
– Canada Masters 7/21 1000 Outdoor Hard R64 Bye  
738 Canada Masters 7/21 1000 Outdoor Hard R32 Gilles Simon L 6–2, 5–7, 4–6
– Cincinnati Masters 7/28 1000 Outdoor Hard R64 Bye  
739 Cincinnati Masters 7/28 1000 Outdoor Hard R32 Robby Ginepri W 6–7(2), 7–6(5), 6–0
740 Cincinnati Masters 7/28 1000 Outdoor Hard R16 Ivo Karlovic L 6–7(6), 6–4, 6–7(5)
741 Beijing Olympics 8/11 OL Outdoor Hard R64 Dmitry Tursunov W 6–4, 6–2
742 Beijing Olympics 8/11 OL Outdoor Hard R32 Rafael Arevalo W 6–2, 6–4
743 Beijing Olympics 8/11 OL Outdoor Hard R16 Tomas Berdych W 6–3, 7–6(4)
744 Beijing Olympics 8/11 OL Outdoor Hard Q James Blake L 4–6, 6–7(2)
745 US Open 8/25 GS Outdoor Hard R128 Maximo Gonzalez W 6–3, 6–0, 6–3
746 US Open 8/25 GS Outdoor Hard R64 Thiago Alves W 6–3, 7–5, 6–4
747 US Open 8/25 GS Outdoor Hard R32 Radek Stepanek W 6–3, 6–3, 6–2
748 US Open 8/25 GS Outdoor Hard R16 Igor Andreev W 6–7(5), 7–6(5), 6–3, 3–6, 6–3
749 US Open 8/25 GS Outdoor Hard Q Gilles Muller W 7–6(5), 6–4, 7–6(5)
750 US Open 8/25 GS Outdoor Hard S Novak Djokovic W 6–3, 5–7, 7–5, 6–2
751 US Open 8/25 GS Outdoor Hard Win (3) Andy Murray W 6–2, 7–5, 6–2
752 SUI v. BEL WG Play-offs 9/19 DC Indoor Hard RR Kristof Vliegen W 7–6(1), 6–4, 6–2
– Madrid Masters 10/12 1000 Indoor Hard R64 Bye  
753 Madrid Masters 10/12 1000 Indoor Hard R32 Radek Stepanek W 6–3, 7–6(6)
754 Madrid Masters 10/12 1000 Indoor Hard R16 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga W 6–4, 6–1
755 Madrid Masters 10/12 1000 Indoor Hard Q Juan Martin Del Potro W 6–3, 6–3
756 Madrid Masters 10/12 1000 Indoor Hard S Andy Murray L 6–3, 3–6, 5–7
757 Basel 10/20 250 Indoor Hard R32 Bobby Reynolds W 6–3, 6–7(6), 6–3
758 Basel 10/20 250 Indoor Hard R16 Jarkko Nieminen W 7–6(6), 7–6(1)
759 Basel 10/20 250 Indoor Hard Q Simone Bolelli W 6–2, 6–3
760 Basel 10/20 250 Indoor Hard S Feliciano Lopez W 6–3, 6–2
761 Basel 10/20 250 Indoor Hard Win (4) David Nalbandian W 6–3, 6–4
– Paris Masters 10/26 1000 Indoor Hard R64 Bye  
762 Paris Masters 10/26 1000 Indoor Hard R32 Robin Soderling W 6–4, 7–6(7)
763 Paris Masters 10/26 1000 Indoor Hard R16 Marin Cilic W 6–3, 6–4
– Paris Masters 10/26 1000 Indoor Hard Q James Blake Withdrew
764 Tennis Masters Cup 11/9 WC Indoor Hard RR Gilles Simon L 6–4, 4–6, 3–6
765 Tennis Masters Cup 11/9 WC Indoor Hard RR Radek Stepanek W 7–6(4), 6–4
766 Tennis Masters Cup 11/9 WC Indoor Hard RR Andy Murray L 6–4, 6–7(3), 5–7
Doubles
Tournament Match Round Opponents (Seed or Key) Ranks Result Score
Rogers Cup
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
ATP Tour Masters 1000
Hard, outdoor
21 – 27 July 2008
Partner: Stanislas Wawrinka
11R Julien Benneteau / Frédéric Niemeyer (WC)30 / 399Win6–4, 6–4
21R Lukáš Dlouhý / Leander Paes (7)14 / 15Loss4–6, 4–6
2008 Summer Olympics
Beijing, China
Olympic Games
Hard, outdoor
11 – 17 August 2008
Partner: Stanislas Wawrinka
31R Simone Bolelli / Andreas Seppi138 / 150Win7–5, 6–1
42R Dmitry Tursunov / Mikhail Youzhny (Alt)40 / 77Win6–4, 6–3
5QF Mahesh Bhupathi / Leander Paes (7)13 / 15Win6–2, 6–4
6SF Bob Bryan / Mike Bryan (1)2 / 2Win7–6(8–6), 6–4
7W Simon Aspelin / Thomas Johansson9 / 116Win (1)6–3, 6–4, 6–7(4–7), 6–3
Davis Cup, World Group Play-offs
Lausanne, Switzerland
Davis Cup
Hard, indoor
19 – 21 September 2008
Partner: Stanislas Wawrinka
8PO
3R		 Xavier Malisse / Olivier Rochus177 / 105Win4–6, 7–6(8–6), 6–3, 6–3

Source (ATP)

Yearly records

Singles: 8 (4–4)
Legend
Grand Slam (1–2)
ATP World Tour Finals (0–0)
ATP World Tour Masters 1000 (0–2)
ATP World Tour 500 Series (0–0)
ATP World Tour 250 Series (3–0)
Titles by surface
Hard (2–0)
Clay (1–3)
Grass (1–1)
Titles by surface
Outdoors (3–4)
Indoors (1–0)
Result No. Date Tournament Surface Opponents Score
Win 54. 20 April 2008 Portugal Open, Portugal Clay Nikolay Davydenko 7–6(7–5), 1–2 ret.
Loss 18. 27 April 2008 Monte-Carlo Masters, France Clay Rafael Nadal 5–7, 5–7
Loss 19. 18 April 2008 Hamburg Masters, Germany Clay Rafael Nadal 5–7, 7–6(7–3), 3–6
Loss 20. 8 June 2008 French Open, France Clay Rafael Nadal 1–6, 3–6, 0–6
Win 55. 15 June 2008 Halle Open, Germany (5) Grass Philipp Kohlschreiber 6–3, 6–4
Loss 21. 6 July 2008 Wimbledon, England, UK Grass Rafael Nadal 4–6, 4–6, 7–6(7–5), 7–6(10–8), 7–9
Win 56. 8 September 2008 US Open, United States (5) Hard Andy Murray 6–2, 7–5, 6–2
Win 57. 26 October 2008 Swiss Indoors, Switzerland (3) Hard (i) David Nalbandian 6–3, 6–4

See also

References
  1. Christopher Clarey (8 March 2008). "Federer's Weakness Might Have Been an Illness". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 14 January 2014. Retrieved 9 March 2008.
  2. Harvey Araton (11 March 2008). "Something to Lose in a Just-for-Fun Match". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 November 2008.
  3. "Federer to Work with Higueras in Estoril". Estoril Open. Archived from the original on 19 April 2008. Retrieved 15 April 2008.
  4. "Federer To Play Estoril - With Paris on His Mind". Archived from the original on 29 May 2010. Retrieved 9 August 2012.
  5. "Nadal continues mastery of Federer on clay, takes Monte Carlo Masters title". ESPN — Tennis. Associated Press. 27 April 2008. Retrieved 17 July 2008.
  6. Douglas Robson (9 June 2008). "Nadal remains the king of Roland Garros". USA Today. Retrieved 5 November 2008.
  7. Ticker (15 June 2008). "Federer wins once again at Halle". Yahoo! Sports. Archived from the original on 3 July 2008. Retrieved 17 July 2008.
  8. Richard Alleyne (7 July 2008). "Wimbledon 2008: John McEnroe hails Rafael Nadal victory as greatest final ever". The Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 17 July 2008. Retrieved 17 July 2008.
  9. "Federer unfazed by ranking threat". BBC Sport. 18 November 2008. Archived from the original on 4 December 2008. Retrieved 19 November 2008.
  10. "It's official: Nadal will pass Federer for No. 1". NBC Sports. Associated Press. Archived from the original on 19 October 2008. Retrieved 5 November 2008.
  11. ATP Tour, Inc. "Roger Federer vs James Blake, Head-to-head results". ATP Tour, Inc. Retrieved 31 July 2008.
  12. AFP (27 October 2008). "Life goes on for Roger Federer". The Australian Herald. Archived from the original on 29 October 2008. Retrieved 5 November 2008.
  13. AFP. "Nadal vows to raise the bar still higher". AFP. Archived from the original on 2 November 2008. Retrieved 5 November 2008.
  14. "Federer rolls past Murray to win 13th Grand Slam title". ESPN. Associated Press. Archived from the original on 22 October 2008. Retrieved 5 November 2008.
  15. ATP Tennis (2008). "Federer Captures Fifth Straight US Open Title". ATP Tennis. Retrieved 9 August 2012.
  16. "Federer tops ATP career money list". ESPN. Associated Press. Archived from the original on 19 October 2008. Retrieved 5 November 2008.
  17. Sports Network (31 October 2008). "Injured Nadal and Federer exit Paris Masters". Sports Network. Archived from the original on 22 June 2011. Retrieved 31 October 2008.
  18. Julien Pretot (31 October 2008). "Federer pulls out of Paris Masters event". Reuters. Archived from the original on 3 November 2008. Retrieved 31 October 2008.
  19. "Murray knocks out ailing Federer". BBC Sport. 14 November 2008. Retrieved 18 November 2008.
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