来源：The New York Times
网址：http://tinyurl.com/ycc3mq5f
Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal Duel, Once Again, for Supremacy
费纳的再一次顶尖对决
WIMBLEDON, England — Three Grand Slam tournaments down, one to go, and the
only men who have won major singles titles are Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
三个大满贯赛已经落幕，今年还剩一个大满贯赛；这三个大满贯的冠军落在费爸跟纳豆身
上。
What year is this?
今年是西元几年？
“2005?” Federer ventured, suppressing a giggle, in a Tennis Channel
interview on Sunday night.
“2005吧？”费爸说，硬是忍住笑容；他在星期天晚上接受网球频道访问。
A better guess would have been 2006 or 2007. But this continues to be a
time-warp season, at least in the men’s game, one where you could have
skipped a decade of tennis to build a business, tuned back in and felt
thoroughly up to speed except for wondering what those four young children
were doing in the front row of Federer’s box at Wimbledon on Sunday.
比较合理的数字应该是2006或2007，但是今年球季对男子网球比赛像是时光旅行般，一个
球员跳过了10年后又回来，马上回复状况，甚至追上其他选手；只是你会怀疑，星期天温
网决赛，坐在费爸包厢第一排那四个小孩到底是谁的？
Yes, there have been some life changes (Federer and his wife, Mirka, now have
two sets of twins). But the on-court news still rings very familiar.
是的，人生是有不少的变化 （费爸跟他太太Mirka生了两对双胞胎），但是场上的新闻似
乎也是类似。
There was Nadal last month crushing the field on red clay to win his record
10th French Open. There was Federer this month gliding across the grass and
outclassing the opposition to win his record eighth Wimbledon title.
上个月纳豆在红土球场摧枯拉朽，赢得他第10座法网冠军；费爸这个月在草地上优雅的打
败对手，赢得他第8座温网奖杯。
Neither dropped a set along the way, and now the 31-year-old Nadal and the
just-about-36-year-old Federer are in position for a days-of-yore duel for
the No. 1 ranking. It still belongs to Andy Murray but probably will not for
long given the state of Murray’s hip and the mother lode of points he has to
defend before the end of the season.
两个选手在分别在法网跟温网都没输掉任何一盘，现在31岁的纳豆跟刚刚36岁的费爸两个
又像以前一样要争夺世界第一的宝座。虽然现在球王还是茉莉，不过应该不会再坐太久，
基于他的臀伤以及他目前的积分来看。
So bring on the United States Open, the year’s final Grand Slam tournament
and the only major tournament in which Nadal and Federer have never faced
each other. It begins Aug. 28, and Federer is already the bookmakers’
favorite.
所以年度最后一个大满贯赛美网就刺激了，这是目前唯一一个费纳还没对决过的大满贯
赛，将于8/28开打，赌盘看好费爸。
Who can blame them? He was the pretournament favorite at Wimbledon, too.
能说什么呢？费爸在温网开打前也是被赌盘看好。
He can obviously handle the burden, but it is no doubt less magical to win
when many expect it than when nobody expects it, which was how he won the
Australian Open in January.
他能应付压力，而且，当大家都看好他会赢球，会让赢得冠军看起来比较没那么神奇，这
就是他澳网获胜的样子。
“It felt like a fairy tale,” he said of Australia on Monday morning at the
All England Club, looking a little groggy after partying with a large group
of friends and finally going to bed at 5 a.m.
“感觉像是个童话故事，”费爸在星期一的全英俱乐部讲到澳网，脸上有点疲惫，因为前
一天刚跟朋友开趴玩到早上5点。
“My head is ringing; I don’t know what I did last night,” he said, his
baritone voice a note or two lower than usual. “I just drank too many types
of drinks, I guess.”
“我的头嗡嗡叫；我根本不知道我昨晚干了什么，”他说，声音比平常的声音低的多。
“我猜我可能喝太多了。”
Federer presumably will be as smart as usual about recovery even if he admits
that he is eager for more matches after spending much of the last year
rehabilitating his postoperative knee, doing fitness work or practicing.
即时去年他花了相当长时间复健他接受手术的膝盖，他仍旧表示想赶快要投入比赛，所以
他应该会很快就恢复原本的状况的。
He has picked his spots and tournaments beautifully, however, which is how he
is ranked No. 3 despite playing just seven tour events in the last 12 months.
虽然过去12个月内他只打了7个赛事，但他选的比赛都很关键，这也让他排名来到第三。
Federer also has no points to defend the rest of the year. He is No. 2 in the
2017 points race, behind Nadal, who has 7,095 points to Federer’s 6,545.
Nobody else is close, certainly not Murray or Novak Djokovic, the two men who
— way back in January — were expected to dominate the season.
费爸在今年剩余的赛季没有需要积分去竞争，目前在2017年积分榜6545分排名第2，仅次
于纳豆7095分。其他人都差很远，更不要说是茉莉或是囧口，这两个在今年一月的时候，还
被认为会称霸今年。
Neither has reached the final of a major tournament this year, and it is
unclear when they will play again with Murray’s hip a big concern and
Djokovic’s right elbow pain serious enough to force him to retire in the
quarterfinals of Wimbledon.
这两个今年都没在重要比赛打到决赛，而且现在茉莉的臀伤状况未明，囧口右肘伤让他在
温网半准决赛就退出，这两个人今年还能不能打都不知道。
Djokovic said the elbow had been an intermittent problem for about 18 months
and he was expected to seek medical advice in the United States. His wife,
Jelena, is due to give birth to their second child in early September, and
some in Djokovic’s camp would not be surprised to see him skip the rest of
the season.
囧口说他的肘伤起起伏伏有一年半了，他被认为会到美国寻求医疗建议。囧口的老婆会在
九月生下他们的第二个小孩，所以囧口团队里有人认为囧口可能今年都不会打了。
Some savvy outsiders agree, even if the consensus is that the equation that
works for Federer (long break = Grand Slam title) will work for precious few.
有些人认为，费爸的赢球公式：休息长一点=大满贯冠军，对费爸适用，但不是对所有人都
可以。
“Roger’s fortunate because of the way he plays and his hand-eye
coordination,” said Pat Cash, a former Wimbledon champion now coaching Coco
Vandeweghe. “He can get away with that, but I don’t think a lot of players
could do that. But it makes sense for someone like Novak. He should take six
months off.”
“费爸很幸运，因为他打球的方式跟他的手眼协调很好，”温布顿前冠军Pat Cash说到，
“他可以休息很久但不受影响，但是其他大部分选手可能就不行那样。不过对于像囧口这
样的选手应该可以，他应该要休息个六个月再回来。”
That only makes sense if the elbow problem is serious or requires surgery.
Djokovic did look motivated and focused again at Wimbledon. But for now,
Federer is ahead of Djokovic in the rankings for the first time since
November 2012.
若是囧口的肘伤很严重或者要开刀，他应该要休息那样久。囧口在温网表现的很积极，也
比以往专心，不过，这次是在2012年之后，费爸积分第一次超过囧口。
He has yet to face Djokovic or Murray in 2017, and it is possible he will not
have to face either of them at any stage this season. It does seem for
Federer as if all the stars have aligned (or are too hurting to line up),
even if that is not a theme he embraces.
费爸今年都还没对到囧口或者茉莉，也很有可能今年都不会再对到。看起来就像球场上的
其他明星都排好队等他打败（或者说受伤严重排不到队），那是费爸之前没想到的状况。
“Not really,” he said on Sunday night. “I thought Andy and Novak were
going to continue. Novak, one year ago, was holding all four Slams, and Andy
went on this unbelievable run. And that’s why my mind-set coming back was
this is going to be rough. Novak was on top of the world. Rafa was going to
come back strong. I thought I might have runs and go deep maybe, but then
maybe I’m at the mercy at the end of Rafa or Andy or somebody.”
“真的没想到，”费爸在星期天晚上的访问说到，“我以为茉莉跟囧口还会继续打下去
的。一年前囧口还有四个大满贯赛冠军，茉莉也是可以在不可能状况下得分，所以我一开
始给自己设定回来打球所面对对手的状况应该会很强。囧口曾经是世界第一，纳豆也打的
很好。我有想过，我可能可以得个几分，打的久一点，然后纳豆或是茉莉或是其他选手最
后打的我无法反击。”
For now, the only two men to beat him in 2017 are Evgeny Donskoy and Tommy
Haas. Donskoy was a qualifier ranked No. 116 when he upset Federer by winning
a third-set tiebreaker in the second round in the United Arab Emirates on
March 1. Haas was a wild card ranked No. 302 when he beat Federer, 2-6, 7-6
(8), 6-4, in Federer’s opening round in Stuttgart, Germany, last month.
不过到目前为止，2017年打败过费爸的只有两个人，Donskoy跟Haas。Donskoy，排名116，
在3/1阿拉伯联合酋长国的比赛在第二轮打败费爸；Haas，世界排名302，则是上个月在德
国斯图加特以2：1打败费爸。
But Federer is undefeated against the top 100 and a phenomenal 25-0 in Grand
Slam and Masters 1000 play. So where is the next generation?
不过费爸在大满贯或大师赛面对世界排名前100名的选手是完美的25胜0败，到底下一个世
代的网球新星在哪里？
Alexander Zverev, 20 years old and ranked No. 11, is its clear leader. Nick
Kyrgios, 22, remains a fire that can blow out too quickly. But Federer
wonders about it, too, speculating that the current ranking points structure
makes it harder for new talent to rise but also pointing out that the new
wave lacks variety.
Zverev，20岁，排名世界11，被认为是目前下一世代的新星领头羊；Kyrgios，22岁，有些
表现，但似乎还不成气候。不过费爸也认为，现在的排名系统对于新的球员要往前比较困
难，而且觉得新的球员的打法不够多样。
“I wish we’d see more players and coaches taking chances at net, because
good things do happen at net, but you have to spend time up there to feel
confident up there,” he said.
“我希望可以看到更多的球员或是教练敢在网前拿点分数，因为网前对决是会有好结果发
生的，但是就是得要敢冲向前，展现出自信来，”费爸说。
Even Federer served-and-volleyed on only 16 percent of his service points at
Wimbledon, but that was still well above the tournament average of 7 percent.
即使费爸发球后上网只占他发球的16趴，但也比所有球员平均值7趴高的多。
“In any case, the race for No. 1 will go through us,” he said of himself
and Nadal. “Unless someone like Novak wins 25 or 30 matches at the end of
the year, which is of course possible. He and Murray have done it before.”
“在任何状况，抢第一的念头都会出现在我们身上，”费爸说到他自己跟纳豆。“除非出
现一个像囧口那样的人，在年底前狂赢了25到30场比赛；这当然可能出现，囧口跟茉莉都
打过这样的比赛。”
Federer also said he would not become caught up in chasing the year-end No. 1
ranking if it comes at taking chances with his body. “I think maybe getting
there for just one week anytime would make me just as happy,” he said. “That
’s my feeling. To be No. 1 again would be something totally unexpected for
me.”
费爸说他不会纠结于追逐年度排名第一的位置，如果那会让他对自己身体健康冒险的话。
“我想若是可以在第一名待一个礼拜就可以让我很高兴的了，”费爸说。“那是我的真心
话，我从没想过我回来可以再度成为世界第一。”
He has not been there since 2012, which brings us back to the same question.
从2012年后他就没世界第一过了，这就让我们回到最前面问的问题了。
What year is this?
今年到底是西元几年？