Sports

Federer’s struggles catch Camilla pros’s eyes

• Pros at the Mitchell County Pro Tennis Invitational believe Roger Federer will be back to his winning ways soon.

Scott Chancey

CAMILLA — Roger Federer may have lost Sunday’s Monte Carlo final against rival Rafael Nadal, but the Swiss tennis star seems to be rebounding from a tough start to the 2008 season.

The world’s top men’s player, Federer has won 12 Grand Slam titles and lost his only two French Open finals against none other than Nadal. Up until this point, however, Federer has only won one event this season.

Players who competed in this past weekend’s 33rd Annual Mitchell County Pro Tennis Invitational at the Mitchell County Tennis Complex had their views on the trend.

“I think the other players are catching up to him a bit,” said Vaughn Snyman, who was an All-American at Alabama-Birmingham and played in both Wimbledon and the Australian Open. “He had been so dominant for so many years, it’s quite amazing.”

Then again, Federer is still the player to beat.

“He’s still No. 1 in the world,” said Tomas Catar, who reached the 1995 French Open semifinals as a junior player. “He just doesn’t happen to win everything, but he still usually gets at least to the semifinals. He might still have a few ups and downs, but he’s still No. 1 in the world so he’s doing pretty good.”

Armi Neely, who will be inducted into the Georgia Tennis Hall of Fame later this year, put things in perspective when it comes to the expectations of top players.

“I think tennis is a very hard game to be perfect all the time,” Neely said. “Whether it’s Tiger Woods or Jack Nicklaus in golf, or Ted Williams in baseball, they’re going to lose now and then. That’s how the sport is. Although you may be the better player overall, things might not click for you at a particular given moment.

“There’s usually a razor’s-edge difference between performing and not performing,” he added. “That edge is very thin and the athletes will tell you, yes, they were able to perfect that edge but it’s very thin and it can go away quickly. The edge had been there for so long over the years that his fellow competitors became awestruck, the way players were in the 1970s against Bjorn Borg.”

OF NOTE

The annual Mitchell County Pro Tennis Invitational has raised more than $1,000,000 for charity over the years, and raised around $40,000 this year. For information on how make a donation, log on to www.camillatennis.com/make-a-donation.

CHAMPIONS

“Working on it” won the Mitchell County Pro Tennis Invitational’s title match, 2-1, against the “Camilla Hunters.” Catar won in singles for “Working on It, and the doubles team of Neely and Jeff Davis captured a doubles match. The only win for the “Camilla Hunters” was earned by the doubles tandem of Stephen Enochs and David Matthews. In the consolation final, “The Attackers” defeated the “Miller All-Stars,” with two wins in doubles by Julien Raynal/Snyman and Roy Barth/Jose Campos. Mauricio Roveri accounted for the only win, in singles, for the “Miller All-Stars.”

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