Fedipal. That was the word that came to mind as I watched the highlights of Roger Federer’s 6-0 first-set win over Novak Djokovic in Cincinnati this past weekend. I thought I had heard it somewhere before, and a Google search did reveal a couple of previous uses. The first, in 2009, came from TENNIS.com’s own Hannah Wilks, and the second from a blog called Mariposaxprs during the Australian Open this past January. Despite the three-year gap, each referred to the same player, Juan Martin del Potro, and his mental block against Federer.



The second mention, however, extended the concept to include pretty much the entire men’s tour:



“Every player on the ATP has a Fedipal complex. Some lash out at him. Others profess their admiration or go one step further, calling him the “greatest of the history.” Even when Rafa criticizes Fed, he uses words like ‘rose’ and ‘gentleman.’ Each player has his own take/issues.”



Federer’s mastery of his own generation of players is well known, but his relationship with the next group—Nadal, Djokovic, Andy Murray, del Potro—is more complicated. On the one hand, they’ve had much more success against him; on the other, none of them has vanquished the older champ for good, or taken his place as the world’s fan favorite. Most of their matches against him still feel like uphill battles, against both a player and the crowd that’s passionately backing him. As Brad Gilbert noted on ESPN, even when he was playing the U.S.‘s Mardy Fish in Cincinnati, Federer had 80 percent of the crowd on his side.



As the above blog post notes, each player has his own issues with playing Federer. Nadal was told very early by his uncle Toni that he would never be the shot-maker that Federer is, so he would have to wear him down, get every ball back, and do whatever he could to put doubt into his head. Rafa’s Fedipal complex actually ended up working in his favor. By believing that he wasn’t as talented, that he would never measure up to the father, Nadal took pressure off of himself and his ego out of the equation against Federer. He knew exactly what he had to do to beat him, but beating him didn’t make him “better” than him. It’s no coincidence that Nadal has maintained the same “he’s the greatest in the history” mantra when it comes to Federer, despite his 18 wins over him. (A) Rafa still believes it, and (B) it works. (In his book, though, Nadal does betray some bitterness toward the Fed, claiming that he’s the one player who never has to worry about injuries, the way mortal players do—a “rose” among thorns, you might say.)



As for Andy Murray, Federer has seen him at times as a slightly disappointing little brother. Federer said he saw serious talent in Murray in their first match back in Bangkok in 2005. But over the years the Maestro scolded Muzz for not putting his gifts to better use. “He tends to wait for the mistake of the opponent,” Federer said after losing to Murray in Dubai in 2008. “He stands way far behind on the court and that means you have to do a lot of running. I gave him the mistakes today, but I think overall, you want to win a point more often than for an opponent to miss.”



“I don’t think he’s changed his game a whole lot since I played him in the Bangkok final,” Federer continued. “I really would have thought that he would change it in some ways.”



Murray’s Fedipal complex has waxed and waned. He has beaten him nine times, but before the Olympics this year, Federer remained the master when it mattered most. In their three Grand Slam finals, Murray has won one set. After his 2010 loss to him at the Aussie Open, Murray shed a tear and told the world, “I can cry like Roger; it’s a shame I can’t play like him.”



Did Murray’s thorough scorching of Federer in the Olympic gold medal match relieve him of his Fedipal complex? We’ll see. This was the rare case when Federer’s opponent didn’t also have to fight the crowd. But the older man did look like something of a proud papa afterward, when he met Murray at the net with a broad smile—a smile, it appeared, at long last, of approval.



If Djokovic is any guide, though, Murray may not be out of the woods yet. A Fedipal complex is hard to shake permanently—the guy doesn’t make it easy, anyway. Last year, Djokovic appeared to have put his in the past, and finally passed Federer in the rankings for good. The Serb won four of their five matches in 2011, and continued the trend with a straight-set victory in the French Open semifinals this spring. Then came Wimbledon. Through five rounds, Djokovic once again looked to be the player to beat. Against Federer in the semis, though, the Centre Court roof was closed, Djokovic struggled to find his feet on the slippery grass, and he went out in a lackluster four sets.



It was a similar scene in Cincy. Djokovic came in having lost a total of two sets in the last two tournaments. He had just beaten del Potro 6-3, 6-2 in the semis. He hadn’t been broken all week. But you wouldn’t have known any of those things after seeing him play a few games against Federer. Djokovic was broken in his first service game—as well his next two. He pulled up on his forehand and hit it short. He double-faulted. He sailed his backhand wide. He hung his head and stared at the sky. It was as if the last two weeks of vintage Djoker clinicism had never happened.



Djokovic, as he typically does against Federer, eventually rallied and lost the second set 9-7 in a tiebreaker. But as he had when he went down two sets at Flushing Meadows last fall, and when he dropped the first set at Wimbledon this summer, Djokovic began this match with little confidence against Federer. It feels, a year after Nole seemed to have pushed father Fed one step closer to retirement, like an uphill battle again for him.



Finally, what about del Potro, the man with the original Fedipal complex? Things haven’t changed a whole lot there either. He’s a gloomy 0-6 against him in 2012, though he fought with plenty of heart and belief in their Olympic semifinal before succumbing. Is there hope for del Potro? He may have to head home to find it. According to this New York Times article from last week, his native Argentina may have what he needs. The country currently leads the Western world in psychiatrists.