In 2007 American tennis player Andy Roddick was in the form of his life. When he ran into the Roger Federer in the semi-finals of the Australian Open, one of the greatest games in the modern era was predicted.
Going into the game, the Swiss made all the right noises, he pointed to close games the previous season and, of course, the former world number one Texan’s ability to serve north of 150mph.
Then he took him apart 6-4, 6-0, 6-2 and went on to win a third title in four years.
Fast forward 13 years and Federer’s back in Melbourne. But this time he only made the semi-finals before falling to his old adversary Novak Djokovic.
Aged 38 and the statistically the greatest with Grand Slam titles and an 310 weeks at the top of the ATP rankings, it’s a different Federer we see these days to the one that blew Roddick away. He’s not as quick about the court, not quite as sharp in the volley and not as resilient to the five-setter as he once was.
But he’s still got it. He’s still able to pull off the most beautiful baseline passing shots. He’s still able to see the game in a way very few others could.
Recovery from his latest knee operation permitting, Federer will remain an entirely daunting prospect for a while yet.
And so will Sébastien Ogier.
The six-time World Rally Champion has endured his worst start to a season since 2012; the last time he didn’t win one of the first two rounds of a season. And that’s back when he was driving a Škoda Fabia S2000.
When the Frenchman lost out to his teenage Toyota team-mate Kalle Rovanperä at last week’s Rally Sweden, there was more than the odd eyebrow raised. This wasn’t the Ogier of old. One of the sport’s ultimate predators, Ogier didn’t lose final-stage shoot-outs like this.
Simultaneously as Ogier slipped 3.4 seconds behind the precocious Finn on a rainy Sunday afternoon in Torsby, the end of one of the greatest careers in the history of our sport was predicted.
I found that quite astonishing. Here’s a guy sitting third, five points off the top of the table in the fastest car and with arguably the best resourced team around him. Compare that to 12 months ago, when he headed south from Sweden, also third in the standings, but 16 points down on leader Ott Tänak. And 12 months ago Ogier was with Citroën. In a C3 WRC.
Write Ogier off at your peril.
By his own admission, the sort of higher risk approach – likely the one Rovanperä took in Likenäs a week last Sunday – is not always the way for Ogier these days. With the experience of 151 WRC starts (31% of which have ended in 47 wins, by the way) has come a maturity and an understanding that there’s more than one way to win a title. We’re not talking tortoise and hare here, not by any means, but we are talking about a greater focus than ever on the sort of consistent, 17 or 18 points per rally getting a driver into the ballpark of a title challenge.
As the man himself told my DirtFish.com colleague Colin Clark: “It’s clear, the target of the season is the championship definitely. Had it been a fight for victory I would probably fight harder for it, that’s clear, but that’s how it is.
“At this point of the season you don’t necessarily want to lead the championship, you want to score consistent good points and stay close and now I think we are in a good position to fight for Mexico, so that’s good.”
There are, no doubt, plenty out there who would offer that as a sour grapes response to being beaten by boy wonder. Forget it. No doubt, it stung being beaten by not just one but two team-mates, but Ogier’s thinking differently these days. Wearing a crown for six years gives you the ability to put your head in a different place. I was hugely impressed with the magnanimous words he offered. “On the powerstage I drove a little bit too much with my head and Kalle was just better, he really went for it and he did a beautiful time so he deserved the podium. “Kalle has done well and Elfyn even better. Elfyn was driving fantastically this weekend.”
This is where we insert the swallows and summer reference. Moving forward, bar Argentina, Ogier’s won every rally that’s run before in the championship. He’s dominated Mexico from the front, so success from third on the road is well, well within his grasp. And, he’s feeling more comfortable with every yard in the Yaris WRC. In his swansong season, Ogier will dance to his own tune.
