He's not all the way back yet, but Roger Federer is on his way to defying Father Time yet again.
Despite losing to world No. 2 Novak Djokovic in the finals of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif., on Sunday, Federer climbed from No. 8 to No. 5 in the world, according to the latest ATP rankings, in his comeback from an injury-riddled 2013 that led to his descent in the rankings.
Federer, who will turn 33 in August, has played in four tournaments this season and reached the semifinals in all of them. He lost to No. 1 Rafael Nadal in the semis at the Australian Open, reached the finals in both the Brisbane International and Indian Wells, and beat Djokovic in the finals of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
Djokovic, who halted his own mini slump - his victory at Indian Wells marked his latest season-opening win since 2006 - noted the resurgence in Federer's play.
"He has more depth on his shots, especially from the backhand side," Djokovic said, according to Tennis.SI.com. "He's opening with his backhand shot down the line. He gives himself an opportunity to finish with the forehand. He serves well. He just played better than he did in the last 13, 14 months. I needed to really be in the top of my game and very concentrated the last moment in order to win."
Federer himself said he was happy with his play at Indian Wells, reporting that he thought his play in the third-set tiebreaker was affected by the wind more than by Djokovic. Federer added, however, that he thought the wind helped him break Djokovic in the third set when 'Joker' was trying to close out the match at 5-3.
"A bit more wind coming from my side, which made it more difficult for him maybe to serve it out," Federer said. "It would have been easier for me to get on the offensive in the rallies. And then the same thing switched around in the breaker. He then played the first six points with the wind. He took advantage of that, and maybe against the wind that's when you have to get those easy points and those service winners I couldn't get and he couldn't get.
"So it was an interesting end to the match, no doubt. But I think he played well. At the end, he made sure he kept the ball in play and I might have made a few too many errors when it really mattered."
Federer has a 19-3 record as he heads to the Sony Open in Miami this week. His first loss of the year may have been his least impressive, a 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 loss to Lleyton Hewitt in Brisbane.
But with his confidence steadily improving, Federer has a chance to contend with Djokovic and Nadal for tournaments this summer and could build his ranking back up for a chance at No. 1 by season's end.
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