I garuntee Fish will be getting a call from Roddick tonight with many, many, many questions.

I’m a Federer fan but I have to admit Fish played out of his mind today and was brilliant from the first point. I bought 2 courtside tickets to watch Roger and I’m now reselling them on eBay to see if I can get rid of them quick as I have no intention to drive 2 hours to see Fish or Djokovic.

Great title Sean. Funny article too.

Getting to the semis when you don’t even have to PLAY a quarter final match is certainly “no major feat” as you put it.

Does Fed get the points for a walk-over? Or how does that work? Seems kind of unfair for any player to get points for a match he doesn’t play.

Anyhow, yes, another surprise in tennis, and the internet is lighting up.

I think Fed should have his mono re-assessed, or he shouldn’t be goaded by the press into giving answers about it; when he says he’s more sure he’s recovered, as he did before this tournament, then he needs to either put it behind him or reword his response to something less definitive. For example he could say he needs to play and see how he feels or whatever. Of course that could backfire in a couple of ways: a) it suggests he’s using it as a lingering excuse for any potential losses or b) it kind of puts a target on his back (not that he doesn’t have one now anyhow, but.)

Federer’s kind of in a rough place with this illness lingering as a potential “whatever.” It’s like a MacGuffin or something. LOL. But seriously, it’s a tough position in which to be; he’ll be happy when he can really put it behind him.

I was expecting Djoke humiliating Fed in the finals but humiliation happened unexpectedly sooner. It seems that Fed’s sickness will be the excuse for his disappointing 2008.

great stuff

tennis is out of control

Right after Wimby 2000, Sampras had lost his 100%, resulting in 33 tournament drought. But he wanted a respectful exit plus 13 was not the lucky number in his GS count, so he decided to have one last try at 2002 US Open, which turned out to be pretty good.
The title drought for Fed for 3 months is the longest since 2000. Look at the year “2000.”
Sean, you joked around, if I am not mistaken, that Fed contracted something from Sampras. Could it be the beginning of Fed’s “33 tournament drought” since we already have one matching number “3″?

I’m sure James will be calling his pal Mardy today too to get the inside of how Mardy did it all week. Welcome back, Mardy.
Barbara

Lack of respect for Roger Federer on this board is sick.Its obvious there’s a lot of hatred,for whatever reason.My last read of your articles.Signing off permenantly.

I couldn’t be happier for Mardy and American tennis. It seems that our players are coming out of stasis, one by one, and it couldn’t happen at a better time. Thank God. Maybe Roddick can finally get that monkey off his back.

Re: Fed’s drought “When sorrows come, they come not single spies, but in battalions”. Some food for thought.

Where was he?

wow. i could only see live scoring and thought they had reversed the scores. anyone see it? was fed steamrolled by fish or was fed having a day from hell? anyway, credit goes to mardy.

again, wow. interesting news for tennis.

Everybody has a bad time. And fed has had an incredibl run so far. Maybe his confidence is a bit low. But let us not forget that he is an out of the world player. He will get back i’m sure:)

It’s looking like we Fed fans are in for a painful year of downward spiral for Roger.

Bjorn Borg knew the party was over when he was 26, and bowed out.

Despite what he’s saying at his press conferences, Roger may be thinking of Bjorn’s example.

Here’s what Mardy himself had to say about those who speculate Fed’s days are numbered:

“In the locker room, we just kind of laugh at it,” he said. “We just kind of think it’s kind of a joke.

“You know: ‘Oh my gosh, Roger hasn’t won a tournament yet this year.’ Yet he’s only played two tournaments and reaching the semi-finals while he had mono (glandular fever) is pretty good.”

I suspect Roger’s still a little sick, maybe not, but mono doesn’t go away easily or quickly from what I’ve read or heard. Anyhow, even if he’s slowly becoming less dominant, he’ll win again, probably sooner than later.

Wow! Another shocking upset. Tennis has certainly been very exciting this year. The men’s side has been desperate for new faces to come along and knock Federer off of his throne. I am really enjoying the tennis these days.

As the esteemed Mrs Novak would say ‘The king is dead long live the king’! Congratulations to Mr Fish and good luck in the final.

TD:

“I am really enjoying the tennis these days.”

Same here. Hopefully, our Andy will get that “W” that has eluded him thus far. He must be licking his chops and feeling very happy for his bro.

Kudos to Mardy FISH … as Justin would say … serving up the tender Victuals!!

Way to go Mardy … you rock! Now take out that Serb who bounces that ball about a million times per match! Mata el Serb!

Do you know why Federer lost? Because Mardy Fish beat him. Period! You know what was sick? Mardy Fish beating RF! Long live the Fish!

Cheers.

jane,
Had you said that a bit earlier, probably Joanne would have stayed around.
I don’t think we have ever been that irrationally offensive to any one. If I accidentally did and if it hurt anyone, my apologies. I believe I have been pretty tolerant to Djoko’s or Rafa’s critics. I never go after them for their disliking of certain aspects of my favorite players.
I recall the days last year whenever I said a word about Fed (even constructive criticism), I would be called names of worst sorts (sexist/racist and what not) and be harassed for days. And I am always grateful to you for being a sole backer in my worst days here. I did not leave the site because somebody said bad about Djoko or Rafa. I waited, and now it looks like we have a level playing field, and the place has grown into much more amicable for healthy conversation, and I will be around for years to come. I feel bad for Joanne, even though I don’ know the person. Hopefully, we will not have another Joanne leaving us in anger.

Federer appreciates Mardy in his interview after the match:

“He [Mardy] played great today. I can only congratulate him. Fantastic.

“The danger of best-of-three matches is it can be over in no time. We all know that. He was just trying to go for everything and it sort of worked.

“He didn’t even play particularly bad on the break points, every time he read the right side on the serve and he kept the ball in play. When he wanted to attack, everything worked. He would never miss when I needed maybe a miss once in a while.

“So that was just impressive by his side and I couldn’t do much to control it.

“It’s not like he’s been 98 for the first time in his life and he just made a career breakthrough breaking into the top 100.

“The guy has been top 20 before and he’s had big matches before. He should have won Cincinnati a few years back beating Andy before he became No. 1. We know how good Mardy can be. Let’s not talk about 98. We know he’s way better than that.

“I’m happy with this week. Today it’s hard to judge because Mardy took everything on the rise. There weren’t many rallies out there so it’s hard to judge.

“But all in all, I’m happy the way this week has been gone for me. Obviously the walkover is sort of an awkward situation, but you have to take them when they come around.

“So semi-finals to start off with at the first Masters Series is a good thing and I hope I can go from here and win in Miami and on to clay.”

Shital Green,

I remember those days when you and I were beat up pretty bad around here. That’s why I’m trying to be fair at the same time that I am super happy to see my favorite players - as well as some surprise ones - winning.

I think it’s great for tennis in general that’s it’s so unsettled at the moment, yet I can appreciate that it must be tough for Roger’s fans.

The mono is a Tony Godsick fantasy, after he (Fed’s agent) realized he couldn’t have another food poisoning episode (version 1 of the sickness story, given out in Australia) to explain the Murray loss so we got the new improved version 2. Last year it was Roche that was the scapegoat. He is done unless he hires Cahill, quits d**king around with a retired player who couldn’t beat Justine Henin, and quits kissing the asses of the Vogue crowd IMG has hooked him up with.

jane:

“I remember those days when you and I were beat up pretty bad around here.”

I can second that for myself from day one that I put my finger on the computer keys to the present. I can’t believe how many times I vowed I would NEVER post again, but my love for tennis has made me continue. But, it was pretty cruel at times, and some of it still lingers, at least for me. I guess, it’s that learning curve that we all have to face and choose our battles carefully, instead of jumping in feet first.

I kinda agree with Larry, though not as harshly. It did sorta start last year when Federer started doing the Gillet commercial and hitting with Sampras and everything. It seems like his status got to his head and he was doing too many extra things off the court instead of focusing. And look at what happened, he lost to Canas after 41 straight wins.

BUT!! After all the criticism he got for having “sour grapes” after his Murray loss, he definetly deserves some praise for this. This is his worst loss in like 5 years and he did nothing but praise Fish. I didn’t see the match but according to a lot of you he played like crap. And I read he had 1 BH winner to 13 errors, obviously not his best day. But he made no excuses and said that Fish was just too good. So he can be gracious, he’s not that much of a douche.

I just have one thing to say in this board everybody here knows what Federer has done for tennis and the down to earth person that he is so a little more respect for this guy would be nice thanks.

Seriously. Its fine when people say things like, “oh , roger could have been more tactful” in this or that situation, but when people start making these blanket comments like he’s a douche, he’s full of himself, he’s making excuses for losing, his illness is fake, its just painfully retarded…especially considering how gracefully Roger has presented himself these past 5 years or so. At that, I watched his match today. He played like complete crap. The most striking thing to me was how bad it was compared to his other matches in this tournament. He absolutely KILLED it in those other matches, serving around 70% first serves, never losing a beat, except in that weird set with Ljubicic. In his match with Fish, what was it, one ace?? 55% first serves in. Errors all over the damn place. And people are saying how amazing Fish played…well…he wasn’t playing all that fantastic. For him, yeah it was a higher level than usual. But it was not mind-blowing by any stretch of the imagination. I wonder if Fed really thought his loss was due to Fish’s amazing play, or because of his own garbage play. If there’s one thing that astonishes me, its when a player doesn’t recognize that he played like trash. That’s what worries me about Fed, especially today. I’m glad he was gracious with his comments about Fish, but my god, for your own sake, watch the tape of the match and witness that horrible display.

Fed’s gonna bounce back at some point. Mario Ancic was out of contention for about five months or so with Mono last year, which may have been necessary in his case, but Federer looks pretty intent on playing through his sluggish state, which at least indicates an interest in returning to form. He’ll get back to winning titles, but semi-final runs are not bad in the meantime. This one also boosted his ranking points.
It’s Mardy Fish’s time to shine for now and hopefully beat the next top-ten opponent in the final.

Fish turned out to be a golden one, but he ran out of his third wish: to beat Fed. So, tomorrow Djoke will do some easy light net fishing.

To Paul: It ill be very hard for Roger to pull out, since it that case he will lose $100M contract with Nike…

Good to see voices of reason in the euphoria of King being dead and what not. Johnnhoj says it best. I have two questions :

Did Federer ever lose to a guy serving at 35% without ever breaking the guy in 9 service games.

What is the list of players who have lost when their opponent was serving at 35%

For what it is worth, this match like the australian open semi-final reminded me of the Volandri match last year. The murray match was more like the canas/nalbandian/djokovic matches last year. Those matches tell us that roger’s game is slipping. What this match tells us, like volandri’s match last year is that fed did not turn up for his job today. It is more like going to work with other issues on your head. The other kind of matches are where you have no clue about how to finish up that assignment your boss wants done that day.

We will know more about how much to read into this match from what is going to happen today in the final and what is going to happen to fed at miami. Not at all a bad thing for fed to keep the expectations low till the french. he can play the french with no-fear whatsoever. he wont be the humongous favorite in every match and that is not a bad thing. agassi won the french when no one expected him to, after losing in two finals some 8 odd years earlier. federer, himself took-out the whole spannish armada - ferrero, ferrer, moya and nadal at hamburg after not having won a title since dubai…..

Too sad that Fed’s reign of terror had to be brought down by mono. This is a guy who had not been beaten on hard courts by the same guy more than once till canas did that last year. Nalbandian’s magic repeated that trick and the mono definitely hampered him in djokovic and murray matches. ofcourse those guys would have eventually achieved that priviliged record anyway. People talk about nadal’s clay record and federer’s grass record but this guy was outright scary on hard-courts till canas struck this time, last year. I guess it is djokovic’s turn to don that mantle. Till how long? only time will tell….. Petty fans can disgrace the great-man till he finds his way out of this phase of his career. It is the game of tennis that is disgraced by such petty comments. Federer has created enough magic on a tennis court to last for as long as the game exists. Nothing will change that.

Oh yea! Djokovic in two sets tomorrow. If Fish wins tomorrow, Ralph Nader will be the next US president! If he wins so in 2 sets, Mr. Bush will get a honorary membership in MENSA

Nice finish Kash! Here’s my take on Fed. A lot of fans are going on about not panicing and that he has more wins in him. I agree. But someday that will come to an end; maybe now, maybe when he’s 60. I don’t want to be the kind of fan, fickle and insecure, who will always align myself with the contemporary victor. (Coppola’s) Patton said America loves a winner and hates a loser. Well I think it has little to do with me being Canadian that my heroes may stop winning, or never ‘win’ in the first place. Heroes are also defined by grace, determination, and at times, yes even losing. I have learned as much by the great losses of my life as the great victories. What tennis fans will get out of Federer in the tournaments which follow, may indeed be wins - but even if they are not, I have a feeling that I haven’t learned all there is to know about what it really takes to be a true champion.

Kash:

“Oh yea! Djokovic in two sets tomorrow. If Fish wins tomorrow, Ralph Nader will be the next US president! If he wins so in 2 sets, Mr. Bush will get a honorary membership in MENSA.”

I’d like to clarify a point and it isn’t that I feel jubilant about Fish beating Fed en Route to the IW finals. I’m just happy that Fish has been able to make a run to get to the finals, something that he has not done since Cincy’03. Federer being one of the players he beat en route was just incidental and in no way takes away from Fed’s status as a champion. Surprises happens and yesterday was one of them. Fed will bounce back because he is resilient and has what it takes to do just that and maintain his status as a champion.

From your post, it’s clear that you don’t feel that Fish can win the trophy and Djokovic will. However, who ever wins I’m happy for them and it’s no small feat, but at the same time it does not diminish the loser’s efforts and be it Fish or Djokovic who accomplishes the task, then hats off to the best man on a much deserved win.

I guess Sean Randall said it all:

“If you told me that Fed played an American ranked No. 98 who served 34% first serves, I’d say there’s zero chance for that guy to beat Fed or any World No. 1.”

Really, when I saw the final stats, I simply couldn’t believe my eyes… 34 % first serves in, and the guy could manage “as much” as ONE SINGLE BREAKPOINT in the entire match?! Unbelievable! Just imagine if some of his opponent’s served like this cca 2-3 years ago. They would be eaten alive! Mardy’s exellent performance apart, but it’s simply beyond me how on earth can Fed lose SO BADLY to a guy who has only took off one set of him in their 5 career meetings, and who in one of these matches even received a BAGEL from him? Apart from the Volandri match, this was without question the worst performance from Fed since he’s became the No. 1 player (actually, it was even worse than the Volandri match)…

But apart from Fed’s desastrous play, what really astonished me was the fact how TIRED he appeared in this match… I’ve maybe seen a couple of matches where he was showing signs of tiredness (like that Rome 2006 semi with Nalby), but nothing even remotely close to this! He seemed totally out of shape, both physically and mentally! I’m sure that those of you who watched the match must certainly remember that one shot (I guess it was in the penultimate game) where one of Mardy’s shots clipped the net and landed close to baseline (or something like this), but Fed simply didn’t bother at all to move and just barely returned it back with a FOREHAND SLICE (!)… Yes, a FOREHAND SLICE! Something unimaginable for Fed (who normally plays these shots only when going for dropshots)… The guy didn’t even bother to ask for a Hawk Eye when there was a close call - just walked on the other side of the court as if he wanted to be in the locker-rooms as quickly as possible. Just didn’t care at all about what was happening on the court…

That said, Mardy Fish was the deserved winner yesterday - no question about that! Even if he didn’t play that well as against Nalby (just my personal opinion), he still was able to outhit Fed from the baseline with some absolutely stunning shots! Through the whole match, he played exactly how to play against Fed on hardcourts - i.e. aggressively, attacking whenever possible. Didn’t bother at all who was standing on the other side of the court - he just wen’t for it, and it worked excellent! Really, all the credit goes to this guy! He was phenomenal against Nalby, and simply didn’t give Fed a chance… Anyone says American tennis is dying?

Hi Skorocel:

sorry about Fed’s loss. I know that you’re disappointed but there will be other times. Did you receive my email?

Hi Skorocel:

sorry about Fed’s loss. I know that you’re disappointed but there will be other times.

Please excuse the double post. i’m having computer problems.

Let me beg to differ from some of us.
(1) Did Fish’s win have anything to do with Fed’s “mono”? Big “NO”. We should rather listen to Fed, the guy who had it. He confirms that he is fully recovered based on the diagnosis from one of the best medical team in the world. I believe him and his doctors, not our creative narratives, guys. Plus, the stat shows that he did far better this year than his 1st round exit with straight set loss last year.
(2) Did Fish beat Fed? Absolutely. (According to Fed, Mardy did not give him any chance to play rallies. Mardy sort of immobilized Fed. In Fed’s words, “He played great today”). Or else, we will have to believe that Fed did not want to face another round of humiliation from Djokovic, so Fed decided to let Mardy win, instead. Or, Fed forgot his tennis all of a sudden. Both are ludicrous arguments.
(3) Did Fish get to semi without playing “great”? Big fat No. His run to the semi had already established that he “could beat everybody” (Mardy’s words). And on the way there he did beat guys who he never did before: Davydenko, Hewitt, the former number one who has 7 wins against Fed, and Nalbandian, who has 7-6 against Fed if we leave out clay, including last two wins in Oct 2007, not long ago.
(4) Are we impartial in our judgment when we discredit an underdog’s win? Yes, we are heinously prejudicial. We made all kinds of far fetched excuses for Fed’s loss, from his “mono” through his girlfriend’s questionable “pregnancy,” and we called Mardy’s win “fluke” and called him a “journeyman” and what not. Can we grow a little bit and learn to give the credit to the guy who truly deserves?
(4) Did I believe 3-4 days ago Fish has chance against Djoko? No, but at this moment I do think that he has some serious chances. It is well-known in this site that I have been a committed and one of the biggest supporters of Djoko, but if he loses to Fish, would I run around with excuses like Djoko had “mono,” food poisoning, virus, blisters, sprained ankle, swell in the arms, heat or the wind of the desert, dehydration, hangover, argument with his family, or bad sex the night before and pain in the groin? Absolutely, NO. I will not be whining and making excuses, real or imaginary, to cover his malperformance; and, most of all, I will not be undermining Mardy’s victory with Djoko’s excuses, if that happens. I believe each move a player makes, including what he eats, before the match counts as a part of his athleticism and part of his game plan.

I believe (and I hope) Joker will win. I love him Anyway, even if he doesn’t win now, it’s pretty sure that he’s the most dominant tennis player at the moment and there is a big chance that he will be the first in the world very soon.

Von,
I have been reading your posts. With reference to–”it was pretty cruel at times, and some of it still lingers”–I feel for yo. Over the course of a year or so, I learned to avoid disagreeable comments that come sporadically, but I would try to address those that come from the same group of people frequently with the intent to hurt or with the suggestion that they have some scores to settle with me for no real reason.
And I too can gracefully say if Mardy wins, “[H]ats off to the best man on a much deserved win.”

Shital:

Everything you say makes sense and is true. I am somewhat upset by the fact that there are those who feel that Mardy’s win was some kind of a fluke and not deserving of such a good run to the finals, beating en route top 10 players. Similarly, had been stated about Roddick’s win in Dubai and I cannot help but feel that in some way these players are deprived of the joy that they should experience for what is somewhat of a miraculous run, and defining moments in their careers. We should all be happy for them. But, in order to be happy for people who we don’t particularly care for, we have to be filled with an abundance of self-love for ourselves, and only then can those feelings be translated to others.

I’m always happy when an underdog wins. And, Mardy is a very underrated underdog. He has a superb serve and his backhand and forehand are not bad either. I know that he didn’t serve well in his last 3 matches, but his serves did impact at the correct times. He normally serves around 60% and I can only attribute his low serving percentage to being nervous. And, who wouldn’t be nervous facing so many Top 10 and the No. 1 player. It seemed that both Fed and Nalby were nervous also, since not too many aces came from their direction either.

“His run to the semi had already established that he “could beat everybody” (Mardy’s words).”

I heard Mardy say after beating Nalbandian that he felt he could beat anyone. That’s confidence, which he should have after his repeated wins.

I wish both Novak and Mardy the very best in today’s match.

The present day Amwerican tennis players have taken the worst type of slagging — a great amount of it coming from their predecessors, who I believe could lend a helping hand in molding some of the younger players instead of criticizng them and wasting time playing numerous exhibition matches. They would be more blessed by giving something back to their country which has bestowed much in terms of money and fame.

Goodluck to Mardy and Novak and may the best man win!!

I started to follow tennis again in January 2007. Before that, I’d never heard of Roger Federer, Andy Roddick or any of the other four guys I keep tabs on. I’m totally blind, so my take on tennis is probably somewhat different-I have to plo through the “thousand words” instead of looking at the pictures-and I determined after a while that I was going to have to settle down to the fact that my six guys-including Roger-are human! they win games, they lose games. the singleminded Roger fans gather around protectively and make excuses and bare their teeth at all the other players. the singleminded Roger-haters gather around jubilantly and make other kinds of excuses and waggle their fingers at the Roger-lovers “we knew it all the time! Roger is …” I struggled for half a year trying to understand why people-including commentators-would say the almost idolatrous things they said about him. I’ll never appreciate that part because I think it’s something one has to seeon the court. I like Roger though. He’s number one now because that’s where he deserves to be. He won’t always be number one just as he won’t always be 26 years old. that’s okay with me; I even feel rather protective sometimes myself. Of my other five guys, one of them will probably spend some time at number one and one of them already was for a while a few years ago. As for the loss to Marty, I don’t really care why Roger lost. I’m sorry he lost because I hate to see my guys lose, but I’m very happy for Marty. All these speculative reasons are what make these forums and sports radio go around. It’s like Rafa Nadal said once in a press conference when they were trying to figure out why he had lost a particular match: “No excuse; I lose.” Odds are, Roger will win again and, at some point, he will lose again. that’s just life. Maybe it’s because i’m old enough to be his an my other “boys” mom. I’m watching everybody grow up in front of me. This week has stirred up the pot a bit though, which is actually a good thing!

Shital Green Says:
“Von,
I have been reading your posts. With reference to–
”it was pretty cruel at times, and some of it still lingers”–I feel for yo. Over the course of a year or so, I learned to avoid disagreeable comments that come sporadically, but I would try to address those that come from the same group of people frequently with the intent to hurt or with the suggestion that they have some scores to settle with me for no real reason.”

Thank you for your kind expression of empathy. Unfortunately, trying to address these people have only prolonged the cruelty. There are some people who thrive on this sort of behavior and have insatiable appetites for extracting unhappiness from others. It’s a part of their lives and they enjoy it. I can only deduce that they are so miserable inside and can only find some sort of relief by unleashing their misery onto others.

For example, there’s one woman, who has systematically targeted me with her hate comments. She had made herself my warden and, timekeeper. Her behavior towards me is tantamount to harassment. Her comments are to the effect that I’m ‘ignorant’, ‘an idiot’, etc., and then she makes statements to the effect that I post here all the time, every day, and the most ludicrous of all, I live here, this is my home. Of what business is it to this woman what I do or don’t do? None, except she has nothing else to do. On one thread she mentioned: “Von, when you leave tonight, turn off the lights.” You know my Dad always told me that the answer is what causes the problem. That being the case, I do my very best to ignore her.

And, then there are the men, who do the same, in a different way. They are insulting and gang up together. It’s just a vicious circle. I have even been criticized for my style of writing, how pathetic can that be, i.e., I use flowery phrases, and I use flattery, if I compliment another poster. And above all, “I’m shameless and without scruples.” My judge and jury.

I have come to the conclusion that because I love tennis and there are some very nice, decent people who blog here, I will just have to ignore those unsavoury characters, because the joy I derive from discussing tennis far outweigh the annoyance that’s forced upon me.

In Federer’s press conference, an interviewer asked if he is “well” and Federer replied “Yes, I am well. How are you?” to much laughter afterwards. So, perhaps I was wrong in speculating that he is still a little sick. He keeps confirming / insisting he’s not so I guess we should take him at his word.

In fact, I found his press conference to be downright cheerful; much laughter and no crushing sense of disappointment. He sounds pleased with the results this week - and why not?

Maybe his fans can take heart from what seems to be a very positive & jovial attitude from the champ.

————————————————-

Von and Shital Green,

I am with you guys on this; may the best player win today. They both deserve to be in the final - one took out #1 and the other took out #2 and last year’s champion here.

Mardy pushed Novak to 7-6 (in the 3rd set I believe) at the Hopman cup this year, and as Novak acknowledged in his press conference, Fish is a dangerous and difficult opponent. Indeed, he’s certainly showed that this week.

Jane:

“Mardy pushed Novak to 7-6 (in the 3rd set I believe) at the Hopman cup this year, and as Novak acknowledged in his press conference, Fish is a dangerous and difficult opponent. Indeed, he’s certainly showed that this week.”

I saw that match, and you know my pet peeve about Novak — he had a medical timeout, after Mardy had won a set, but Mardy was very nice about it, as Hoffman Cup is a very jovial type atmosphere. Mardy was realy pounding aces on that day.

The match today could go either way and I know that Novak knows this - he mighrt be a bit nervous. He’s a kid in so many ways. P:)

Yeah, Novak, who is, after all, only 20 (!), reveals his youth perhaps most in his press conferences; but he’s trying! What can I say? I like the follies of the young - it’s gone so soon. It’s nice to see young players make mistakes, learn, grow, get better, mature - all that. They’re also so exciting to watch because they’re clearly just loving it, being there. On the other hand, an experienced player like Mardy having the run of his career is pretty fun to watch too. It’s all good.

If Federer seemed unusually tired, maybe it was mono after effects. Federer took nothing away from Fish’s win. Only his fans are trying to discredit him. There are a few things to note though:
Unlike the Volandri match, this was on hard courts.
Also, Federer’s had bad days before so no matter what way you spin it, Fish crushed Federer on the right day and Federer has lost the magic to claw his way out of any match.
But, Federer says he wants to go and WIN Miami now. So it looks like he’s established his own expectations.
At the end of the day, no matter what it looks like, Federer knows he played like shit. At the pro level, they KNOW when they’re playing subpar, no one has to tell them. He was being gracious in defeat, like so many of you have been wanting of him. He gave full credit to Fish and said he’s gonna move on. But I garuntee he’s gonna go back to the practice courts and to the gym and train his ass off until Miami starts because he was NOT satisfied by his play by any stretch of the imagination. The problem isn’t just that he was dominated, it’s that he wasn’t even ABLE to make an EFFORT to come back. After his Volandri loss he went on to beat Nadal on clay for the first time and made the French final again. It’s impossible to predict what will happen at this point, but, I think Federer’s gonna start grinding again. He wants to feel like he can keep up again before he can surpass. Right now, his confidence is not as high as he might like everyone to think. This is tennis, after all.

Somebody just wipe the smug of this guy’s face. I dunno how he (Justim Gimelstob) is getting the gig to be a tennis commentator. He is not qualified (did he went deep in any real tournament?) and neither his mannersims look real. He is just awkward in front of that camera. Stop smiling will you Justin? And what is the rant about Federer anyway? Get a sense of perspective!!!

Here is a treat for Federer fans. Something for you guys to cheer up with, while Shital green blue or otherwise keep shooting their barbs with justification that they are being as fair as they can be for the “torment” they received. No less!

http://www.insidetennis.com/YB08_first_serve.html

Will post in detail later, but Shital, Djokovic fans have no right to speak about other posters like federer or nadal fans till Djokovic plays atleast one whole year without injury time-outs or retirements. Djokovic offers enough excuses without you saying a thing. His breathing gets heavier the closer the opponent gets to winning sometimes even if it is just a set. We already saw that at the Aus open this year. I will listen to your philosophy on “No-excuses” when you acknowledge such stupid djokvovic antics on the court.

Anyone who has seen the match yesterday without biased eyes knows federer’s movement was off and that absolutely has nothing with how Fish played. Federer played ljubicic just the other day who hits a much more pacy ball than fish. It was not Fish’s pace on the ball that beat him. All the more so on 2nd serves which Federer had many on offer. This is a player who can put back A-rod’s 140mph bombs without blinking. And yet experts here would have us believe that Fish’s 2nd delivery beat fed for pace?

What are you guys smoking? Pass it along to those fed fans you are busy getting even with

Kash,

Personally, I’ve always acknowledged, even joked about, Djoko’s retirements (see previous thread); I think the breathing issues (for which he’s been operated on), however, are valid, and maybe linked to anxiety, asthma, or both. But he can still whack that tennis ball and is fun to watch imho.

But do you really think Fed’s loss “absolutely has nothing [to do] with how Fish played”? Sure, he wasn’t flying around the court like he does at times - but he did run down some shots when he could. Fed said in his press conference that because Fish was taking everything “on the rise” and going for winners, that there wasn’t much opportunity for “rallies”. Do you disagree? Just wondering.

(By the way, I’m not smoking anything…;-))

The way Fish played didn’t give Federer a chance to get himself into the match. That’s something that can’t be denied. But Fish isn’t the first player Federer’s ever played who took everything on the rise. You can’t say Fish played better than Federer’s ever played. Federer’s best will surely beat Fish’s best. But in tennis, no matter what, BOTH players have something to do with the result. No matter how you spin this, you can’t take anything away from Fish because he DID give Federer his biggest loss in years, something Djokovic, Nadal, Murray, Nalbandian, etc. were never able to do. But Federer obviously wasn’t at his best. Pretty far from it, too.

“You can’t say Fish played better than Federer’s ever played.” —

Obviously true. Federer has played at some weird superhuman level at times (like 07 AO); I can’t say I’ve ever seen Fish play like that! Not even yesterday.

“But in tennis, no matter what, BOTH players have something to do with the result.”

100% agreed.

Kash:

I was under the impression that you were rooting for Djokovic. Have you had a change of heart and are you going to feed the non-Fed fans such as myself to the wolves? What did I do to you.?

Interesting comments guys.

I read a lot of talk of just how gracious Federer was to Fish, but so what? Roger’s not playing to be gracious, at least I hope not, he’s playing to win titles. Break records, etc. The “he lost but at least he was gracious so it’s okay” argument is pointless.

Fish played very well, Roger didn’t. Yes, Fish had something to do with that, but despite what Roger says – and he’s mislead us before - he wasn’t at his best, even Fish acknowledged as much.

As Michael writes, “I wonder if Fed really thought his loss was due to Fish’s amazing play, or because of his own garbage play. If there’s one thing that astonishes me, its when a player doesn’t recognize that he played like trash. That’s what worries me about Fed, especially today. I’m glad he was gracious with his comments about Fish, but my god, for your own sake, watch the tape of the match and witness that horrible display.”

And I agree. Roger’s got to know he was flat. And I’m sure deep down – he won’t say it -he’s somewhat embarrassed by the result. Tiger’s not going to be impressed!

Based on what I saw from Roger a fair number of guys would have taken him out yesterday. Fed just didn’t look like he wanted to move. Roger should be thankful Nalbandian didn’t beat Fish, otherwise Dave would have likely posted another win over the Swiss.

After some more reflection, I think if Roger gets bounced early in Miami you will see him withdraw from a few of the clay event to allow himself more recovery and rest from the mono. Just a hunch.

I’ve read that with mono you can have good days and bad days. In Australia Fed started strong and then had a bad day with Janko and Novak, and I thought he didn’t play well against Blake. The pattern continued in Indian Wells, where he again played well at the start but then suffered another bad day against Fish. Seems to be he now gets two/three good days then a bad one. We’ll see.

Now if Fish goes out and does Novak like he did Fed, then…

I can not wait for the final match to start…I’m so nervous…

Federer has a rep of being a nice guy and he should keep that going by being gracious in defeat. But I’m telling you, no matter what he says, he knows what happened better than anyone else. And he feels like shit about it. He doesn’t wanna talk about how bad he played, he’d rather everyone just think Fish was amazing and no one will question Roger’s play. He knows he played bad and feels bad about it no matter what he says. He’s a tennis player after all.

I don’t think Federer was hiding his dissapointment - he always has some nervous behaviour and face expretion when he lose…

Jane:

I know you have been quite fair about a lot of issues regarding Djokovic! That post was more for Shital than anybody else. I would have posted that in a more orderly manner, but I was kind of in-between things.

Regarding Fish, I definitely like how Mardy played. I like his game the most among blake, a-rod and mardy himself. I like Dent’s game more than fish, but fish’s game is quite awesome too. He played good but not great. No one who is playing great serves at 34%. Can you tell me a great performance where the player had 34% serve percentage. People dont win matche at that %. I will be surprised even Pete, with the best 2nd serve ever won a match against anyone with a 34% serve %. much less against a hall of famer of federers caliber. There is no stretching of the truth to say federer was not physically 100% there. It is not like he was beaten by another hall of famer 8-6 in the 5th. He was demolished 6-3 6-2. You seriously think fish could do what novak, nadal, a-rod, hewitt, safin, agassi couldn’t manage in the last 5yrs. Why were’nt the other players not able to restrict fed to under 5 games in any of the 25 + matches they played in 5yrs?

Reference: “His breathing gets heavier the closer the opponent gets to winning sometimes even if it is just a set. We already saw that at the Aus open this year. I will listen to your philosophy on ‘No-excuses’ when you acknowledge such stupid djokvovic antics on the court.”

I am not sure whether you deserve a response for your angry, illiterate ranting (evidence, you used the phrase “stupid”), but just this one time. First off, you seem to be chronically nostalgic about the past. I live in the present and future (2008-2010, not 2006 or 2007). By the way, Djoko IS, not was (past tense), the ATP Race leader in 2008, if you did not know already, and Fed could be out of top 8 for Masters Cup 2008 (he is on today’s date 9th in the ranking, and that is a fact, not something like Djoko-haters’ fabricated “antics”). I don’t believe in hero-worshiping and don’t worship personalities. I care MORE about the sports and how one plays on a particular day than his achievement in the entire history (past). If I were so obsessed about the history, I would have to disregard the present and future players as well as those lesser known great players with no or a few GS, which I cannot do at any moment of aberration.
(1) To come to the point, I don’t care about how someone breaths. Neither I am a doctor nor a social conservative police. I have seen your kind of intellect many times here who would even write a rule for ATP/ITF about how a player should breath. This is high school talk.
(2) I talk about facts, not like your hyper-biased “unbiased” “antics.” And at the AO, if you have lost your memory, Djoko defeated Fed, by strictly following ITF rules of a GS. That is a fact. At IW, Mardy made Fed look like he did not know how to hold a racket (6-3, 6-2, if you forgot the score, and that is thrashing, which I called “immobilzed” in my earlier post). And the fact is Fed acknowledged how well Mardy played. And for my factual information, should I listen to you nobody in tennis (and your narcissism and sadism) or Fed the GOAT who actually played the match?
(3)When you argue against me, collect facts, not opinions from any online magazines, blogs, or journals except that have binding authority like ATP or ITF or ATA, or the like or what the stats say or what the players say in their press releases. Go point by point to refute me with factual evidence, not something like “Djoko breathed heavily” unless that is in consideration to become part of ITF or ATP laws or bylaws. Can you talk like an adult?
(4) When Djoko lost in US Open, I did not make any excuses like you are saying Djoko won because of his heavy breathing. Djoko was supposed to win that match in all accounts. If I were to follow your example, I would be saying, “It is Fed’s angry eyes, unsmiling face, and black outfit on the court that frighten Djoko, so he lost. Wearing a face and outfit like Fed’s should be forbidden from any major tournaments.” That’s how you sound in your post, and that is so high school.
Finally, you have no right to distort my name, which ticked me off. Be a civilized person and stop calling names. Like I did not mention your name above, I prefer that you not mention my name in your posts, either. And thank you for that.

Very well said, Sean!

I mean, even the crowd (which would logically support Mardy) was a bit surprised at what they saw yesterday… Did you notice that?

The point is, Roger was not only playing a total cr.p, but most importantly, he was slow. HORRIBLY SLOW. And not only slow, but (as Sean pointed out) he looked like he didn’t want to move. I’ve seen literally hundreds of his matches, and in some of them he indeed appeared slow, but not this… I saw both the Djok and Murray losses, where he maybe was a bit slower than usual (especially against Djok), but not even close to what I saw yesterday… To be honest, I’m a bit surprised he didn’t even mention it in his post-match presser, but now the match is over, who cares? Excuse or not, I saw the match in its entirety, and from what I saw was Fed in super-slow-motion…

To all the Fed haters: to what extent do you think (but HONESTLY) was Mardy’s game responsible for such a beating? A guy who so far could win only one single set in 5 career meetings against the Swiss suddenly beats him 6-3, 6-2 (!)… Huh? That’s not one or two matches - that’s 5 MATCHES where Mardy was beaten DECISIVELY by someone who’s lost like 20 matches in the last 5 years. Those weren’t any close matches - Fed won them all convincingly! Mardy just ain’t no Nadal or Nalby (of whom you would expect to beat Fed)…

Surely, the guy played some unbelievable shots yesterday (after all, how can you win against Hewitt, Davy, Nalby and now Fed without playing great tennis?), but from what I saw was a slow Fed like NEVER before! I have no problem to admit that even in his losses to Gonzo at TMC, Djok at AO, and Nalby at both Madrid and Paris, he just got beaten PURELY because his opponents played better, whilst he himself DIDN’T play a bad match, but yesterday, he was not only playing a total sh.t, but also moving like a cow on the ice… The guy must be smoking something if he thinks he’s feeling “fine”!

Sean said: “Based on what I saw from Roger a fair number of guys would have taken him out yesterday.” Well, that sounds like an understatement The truth is the guy just didn’t move at all! And if you don’t move, then how on earth can you win a tennis match?

That said, I hope Mardy wins the title. The guy was playing some unbelievable tennis this week (that’s a weak word!), posting wins over Hewitt, Davy, Nalby and now Fed - what a run! Really, it would be such a shame if he didn’t get that icing on the cake… 2 weeks ago A-Rod, and now Mardy - well, I guess it’s not that bad with American tennis, is it?

Von:

Very quickly, I am not rooting for Djokovic. I would love for Fish to win, just like I wanted nadal to win yesterday (You can check Zola accusing me of having personal issues with nadal in the previous thread).

I posted who I feel will win which is very very different from who I actually want to win. Believe me, I am ready to be embarassed thoroughly by Fish thrashing djokovic today but I just cannot see that happening. Same thing with nadal yesterday! I predicted rafa will lose in straights to nadal, but believe me I was wishing for the opposite. I also predicted federer losing to novak in the aussie sf (not in straights however!) but I wish the result were opposite. Same goes for Tsonga and djokovic in the final later! so…..

I definitely want mardy to win today but I still think he will lose in two sets (with atmost 1 being competitive, likely the 1st…. maybe a tie-break!). I will hope for mardy to prove me wrong …. more so for you

Everyone has it’s up and down phase in sport - that’s something what waits for every tennis player - Federer is just sleepy, he doesn’t have the urge to win anymore and maybe he doesn’t won’t to confess that to himself but it looks like his golden times were those when he really wanted something new to feel - but now when he won it all, his inner self is not hungry anymore… but he’s still fighting against that inner need to rest.

I love Djokovic and I hope Kash is right :p Djokovic does have a quality to win anyone if he really do his best.

Kash,

I agree that Fed wasn’t at his best; I also think Fish played well but there can be little doubt that it’s amazing he did as well as he did against Federer with a 34% first serve percentage - it is a shocking loss but it shouldn’t undermine Fish’s good moment, that’s all.

It shouldn’t undermine Fed’s amazing accomplishments either.

I mean COME ON ladies and gentleman!

Fed lost.
Fed will win again.
Fed will lose again.
Fed’s human, even if he doesn’t look it on the court sometimes!
All players have great matches and not so great matches - even Fed, who’s has more great matches consecutively than most players ever. But the monster of expectation can clearly backfire; Fed should be cheered on through thick and thin, especially by his fans. He can’t be expected to win everything, all the time, forever.

To Sean:
>”I’ve read that with mono you can have good days and bad days. In Australia Fed started strong and then had a bad day with Janko and Novak, and I thought he didn’t play well against Blake. The pattern continued in Indian Wells, where he again played well at the start but then suffered another bad day against Fish. Seems to be he now gets two/three good days then a bad one.” - yours comments.

If I understand what you are saying, each time Federer loses, it is not due to the opponent strength, instead it is always a result of some of his sickness?
The bottom line is: It does not matter how Federer plays well or bad, end score is important. Only if he losses than you will pool out the sickness card out…
My advice to you - go back to the math Tipisarevic - Federer, check stats. Is it possible to have that high ratio of winners if he was sick? That match was high quality match, perfer example from tennis book. Do you believe we all have short memory loss,