Roger Federer is a truly beautiful and heroic player. He defeated himself this time;Gilles Simon did not defeat him! He just lost his spirit and nerve for the short duration of the game. I feel for him and wish him a huge comeback. Meditation would probably help him, because he is a great great player and he seemed to just be giving himself negative messages. He will always be the finest!

FEDERER YOU ARE IN MILLION EYES THE MOST DESIRED PLAYER. I DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHY THE COMMENTATORS HAVE TO MAKE SUCH NEGATIVE REMARKS ABOUT FED LOSING HIS NO.

fire Jose Higueras please!!! He hasn’t done anything for Fed. In fact, Fed’s worst loss at RG came after Jose came on the scene. he’s become increasingly inconsistent–when is the last time Fed shanked so many shots? I think the no. 1 ranking is gone for sure, but here’s hoping Fed finds a way to win some despite such a poor year. go fed. sigh.

Sean,

Yeah, Fed’s loss was surprising; I still can’t figure out what caused it. He won that first set so decisively. But in the second set he was already irritated by the crowd, and then Simon was picking up his game by then, so that added to the agitation. But after he got the second break (back) in the final set, I thought he’d close it out. But he just couldn’t. Maybe he didn’t challenge because his earlier challenges were sometimes so far off; that system just doesn’t seem to work for him. Anyhow, it’s a shocker too me. I knew he’d never played Simon but I assumed he’d win after that first set.

the king is dead, long live the king. fed enchanted us (at least me) since 03 to 07. in 08, the mono plus much worse “nadalisis”, got to him. today i realized watching him that he outright completely lost his “mojo”; if he would have any guts, he’ll pull a “henin” and retire as # 1 and have a happy life. i hope he won’t hang around and make a fool of himself with his today tennis which won’t keep him in top twenty. he was a delight to watch…….no more!

it would be nice if Fed’s fans would once in a while give a credit where the credit is due. i would call that sportsmanship or a fair play, but experience teaches us the opposite. there was/is always an excuse for his loss and that is quite annoying.

THIS IS FOR THE COMMENTATORS - PLEASE REFRAIN FROM MAKING NEGATIVE COMMENTS ABOUT PLAYERS YOU DO NOT LIKE AND POSITIVE ONES ABOUT WHOM YOU LIKE. THE FACT THAT WE WATCH TENNIS IS BECAUSE WE WANT TO ENJOY EVERY PLAYER AND EVERY GAME WITHOUT BEING CONTINUOUSLY INTERRUPTED BY YOUR NEGATIVE COMMENTS.

Sean,
I am so impressed by your very timely comments. Almost no other tennis blog does that. congratz!

Of course I am happy that Rafa is closer to No 1. But seeing Fed exit like that was really sad, even for a Rafa fan.

Thinking about it, this is the mental state that Rafa was in for the past 3 years. Coming out of a big disappointment from Wimbledon. He had to shake that off and sometimes it could linger. In contrast, Fed was more Fresh and confident because of his recent win. Now the places are reversed. Rafa is full of confidence and Fed is trying to shake off disappointment. It might take a bit of time, but I am sure he can do it.

RAfa top seed at the open? Can it happen? I hope so!

johnny,

Oh I agree with you, and I, for one, am not a big Fed fan, never have been. However, I still found that loss quite strange. Fed’s healthy again, that was clear from the Wimbledon run, and he was playing good tonight in the first set, but then it was just error after error after error. And he got so grouchy too.

Simon played well and he really held his nerve at the end and fought hard all the way through. So you’re right - all credit to Gilles! That’s a nice win for him and we should give him his due! Thanks for pointing that out.

What can I say? today is a sad day for the king has died.

Federer will still be number one for at least a few more weeks, because all the summer tournaments from this year occur 2 weeks before they occured last year. This is due to the Beijing Olympics. As a result, Federer’s points from Toronto and Cincinnati last year will not drop off yet for another few weeks. But they definitely will drop off soon, and his loss today is a big blow to his hopes of staying number 1.

Von’s quote from yesterday requires no commentary now.

Von Says:

“Gosh, people wants to diminish Nadal’s triumph so much that they shoot themselves in the foot in the most ridiculous way.”

It’s understandable about the excuses concerning the wimby grass — the excuses are emanating from some of the Federer fans who are still in shock over his loss, on what was undisputably his best surface. The rationalizations and/or excuses somewhat help to put a damper on the disappointment and most probably the pain, which obviously stil exists after 2-1/2 weeks.

Federer recently stated that hardcourt is his best surface and is looking forward to playing in the hardcourt season. Now this is a hypothetical question, if Federer should lose in Toronto, on what he has now proclaimed, his best surface, what rationalizations and/or excuses will the members of his fan-dom find to soften the pain? Will it be, the surface’s bounce was too low, high, slick, sandy, et al., and the hardcourt which we all see, is absolutely non-existent — a mirage, and in reality it is, without a doubt, a clay court, as was suggested of Wimby playing like a dirt surface? This is how ludicrous the excuses are now beginning to sound.

Murray’s through - whoo hoo. As is Stan, so one Swiss survived. But Safin really got the bum-end of the rain and scheduling today. The Davydenko and Kiefer match seems to be taking forever.

JCF - it’s true regarding Von’s comment; there are no excuses or rationalizations for that loss. I tried to figure it out myself above but I couldn’t. Fed is just not as accurate as he once was. His timing is off. And mentally he’s in a slump. He has tried to pump himself up after the losses he’s taken this year, but it’s clear that the decline is very real. That’s not to say he can’t have a revival and win many more tournaments, of course. He may even win the Olympics or the USO this year, but right now he is clearly struggling.

And his opponents are outplaying him when and where it matters.

I can only hope that the Federer fans posting here who used to gloat over Andy Roddick’s humiliating losses, laugh at his bad luck, and snicker with glee over his lopsided head to head with Federer, are enjoying eating the biggest piece of humble cumuppance pie they can stuff in their faces.

Now they know what it’s like to watch their main man lose heart, lose his confidence, and have the stuffing kicked out of him every other week, all due to one player who seemed to enjoy ripping his dreams right out of his hands.

It’s not so funny any more is it dear Federer fans? Are you still gloating now? You know what they say about that darn karma. She’s a mean one.

Enjoy your pie. Have another slice when you’re finished.

To:FED ADMIRER:
Yes, You are right,but You should say that when Novak lost in Wimbledon,or YOU think that is only Federer’s fans should be protected from negative comments.

“Federer, in a very rare display, looked about as agitated and irritated as I’ve ever seen him. Up a break in the third set, seemingly back in control and serving at 4-3, 15-15 Federer got an out call along the baseline on a perceived forehand winner. With only one challenge left and following a brief chat with ump Norm Chryst, Federer opted to forgo using the challenge thereby losing the point, and eventually the game and his break advantage. But more importantly, at that point mentally Federer simply lost the plot. A rarity.

Per shotspot replay, the ball was on the line so had Federer challenged he would have won the point and kept his challenge, and maybe things would have worked out differently. Would have, could have…”

If he was that confident, he should have challenged. There is no reason not to. Why hold onto a challenge, even if you might lose it? Is he anticipating that he will need it later, anticipating more bad line calls? Or just confident he would win the game regardless?

JCF,

I was wondering if Fed was humiliated or gave up on the challenging because did you see how far off he was on a couple of those challenges? They were out by a foot. He got one right though after those so maybe I am over-analyzing. However, I know even the challenge system gets in Fed’s head when he’s rattled, and by that point in the match, he was overtly rattled.

karma:

“I can only hope that the Federer fans posting here who used to gloat over Andy Roddick’s humiliating losses, laugh at his bad luck, and snicker with glee over his lopsided head to head with Federer, are enjoying eating the biggest piece of humble cumuppance pie they can stuff in their faces.

“Now they know what it’s like to watch their main man lose heart, lose his confidence, and have the stuffing kicked out of him every other week, all due to one player who seemed to enjoy ripping his dreams right out of his hands.”

Touche. You’ve put into words what’s in my heart. I could kiss/hug you. I hate to agree with you though, because there are some nice Fed fans on this site, but the ugly ones made it awful for us the Roddick fans when Andy lost. The gloating, jeering and cheering was enough to turn my stomach into knots. I would refrain from posting for days after any of his losses to Fed, just so I didn’t have to read the nastiness that ensued after each of Andy’s losses. I still feel his draws were manipulated due to him being American, but that’s questionable.
____________

TO Andrea:

I noticed you’re the first one to post and I once mentioned to you that you might one day choke on your gloat, using your catchy, dumb phrases such as “tasty, tasty”, and “bye, bye Roddick”, “I can’t stand the guy”, “glad to see him out of the tournaments” “Now all the Americans are gone, bye, bye.” Fortunately, for you, I won’t stoop to your level, by writing such, I just for once, hope you understand how other fans feel when their favorite player loses. And, for your information, Roddick has more class than you’ve got in your little toe NAIL. I’ve waited a long time to say this — comeuppance is a b***h, ain’t it?
_______________

And to those who don’t like what the commentators say, just listen to them talk about Roddick or the Americans, and then you won’t think of them as unkind. I like Doug Adler and Robbie Koernig, except when they are commentating on Fed’s matches — they ooze molasses. Robbie Koernig stated tonight that Fed was playing “scintillating.” I wonder, where his eyes were. Not to mention Sean’s article about “Blake and Roddick Stinking up Wimbledon.” Nothing stinks tonight Sean?

I have rarely seen Federer look this shaken, this irritated on court. We can speculate about the carryover from losing his Wimbledon title, Nadal ready to take his beloved #1 ranking and the first time he’s been under pressure both on and off the court for the first time in 4-5 years.

There’s no question Fed has lost a lot of his confidence. He was way off on a lot of his shots - particularly the forehand. At Wimbledon it was his backhand that deserted him, today it was the forehand.

As for not challenging, Federer doesn’t care for the challenge system all that much and he uses it only grudgingly. Besides, he stinks at it, he is usually wrong on his challenges.

Ouch. I think someone owes Von an apology.

“Federer, in a very rare display, looked about as agitated and irritated as I’ve ever seen him.”

Aren’t we forgetting the ‘07 Wimbledon v. Nadal, and the MC Tournament, Fed v. Hidalgo Ramirez in the 3rd set when Fed behaved as if he was experiencing one of his terrible-twos tantrums. How quickly we forget. Nothing was written on those outbursts, but Roddick’s AO outburst at the made headlines, same with San Jose. Selective memory. For the record, Fed more often than not, becomes agitated when he sees defeat staring him in the face. Anyway, all’s fair in love and war, along with might is right and the weakest goes to the wall.

Sean -

Von made an excellent call on you above - are you prepared to answer it? When Novak lost in the first round in Miami, he “laid an egg” in your title; when Roddick & Blake lost at Wimbledon they “stunk up” the tournament in your title; their play was labeled “garbage.”

But when Fed loses, for the second time this year, in the first round, he simply “unravels”; he’s “agitated”.

I think I smell something stinky…no, is it fishy… no, maybe it’s a rotten egg? Hmmm… maybe I am just agitated?

Von,

“For the record, Fed more often than not, becomes agitated when he sees defeat staring him in the face.”

Right again, only we haven’t seen him facing defeat much so he was mainly calm. But my aunt calls him “cranky” all them time whenever he’s losing. Today throughout the match something was clearly bugging him.

If Novak told the crowd “quiet” and got up in the ump’s face about a call, we’d see reems of posts about his arrogance and classlessness. Just as you mentioned about Roddick, Von. But not so for Roger. I do think this is a bit of a double standard that hopefully will begin to dissipate now that Roger’s losing more frequently.

I read tonight that this is the first time since 2003 that Roger’s match loss count has reached double digits for the season, so it puts into perspective his 4 year dominance, and how unused to losing he really is. We’re seeing a different side of him now.

Can anyone tell me if Fed has had enough of tennis? Or, at least beginning to feel like what Borg felt at the end of 1981 and beginning of 1982?
Maybe Fed has “wish” to pile up more slams but not enough “will” to do it. Maybe, he is hurrying up or worrying too much in haste to surpass all previously held record? Is the “agitation” simply an expression of time-is-running-out-I-gotta-do-it-now-or-never?
Is it really that painful to lose the No. 1 position after holding it over 4 1/2 years?
Does he need to achieve anything more after becoming one of the best ever?

I agree with Von about the commentary tonight. The way Koenig was heaping praise on Federer so constantly was unbearable especially given the number of errors Federer was spraying. I love having the tennis channel but I can’t stand listening to Koenig during Federer’s matches as he obviously can’t be objective about him.

People keep changing every minute.Many of these so called rafa fans were fed fans before when he was winning.Now the top guy is rafa so they are all rafa fans……Tomorrow if djokovic beats rafa on clay or something and becomes the top performing player then everyone who used to say that nole is cocky will be like “Oh i was always a nole fan.He’s a great guy”……..one word summary pathetic

Well at least Fed won a small token victory in the match. He ended up the last person to shake the ref’s hand. I always found that part of the match kind of an interesting “alpha dog” fight. I can’t recall how it’s gone down in all of Fed’s losses the last few years, but I can’t recall when he hasn’t insisted on being the last to shake the ref’s hand, and Simon tonight let him have that.

I’ve also noticed that anytime Nadal wins against Fed, Fed will again wait to be last, but Nadal will actually hesitate and motion for Fed to go first so that he can be last and then immediately wave to the crowd.

LeBon:

“The way Koenig was heaping praise on Federer so constantly was unbearable especially given the number of errors Federer was spraying. I love having the tennis channel but I can’t stand listening to Koenig during Federer’s matches as he obviously can’t be objective about him.”

Thanks for reaffirming Koenig’s commentary. Imagine saying Federer is playing scintillating tennis because he won a point where Simon overhit the ball. The worst of them all is Jason Goodall. I have to mute him when he’s commentatating on any of Fed’s matches. his designation for Federer is “The World’s No. 1, as if we’re not aware that Fed is the No. 1 player. He states that No. 1 handle in every other sentence.

Goodall, when Roddick was No. 3, only spoke of the Nos. 1 and 2 players in his comparisons. One day he stated, “We never seem to include the No. 3 player, the American Andy Roddick,in our comparison, only Nos. 1 and 2, I wonder why not?” I was so infuriated, I walked away. Goodall was acutely aware of what he was doing, and then asks of himself, such a stupid question. To me that’s an insult to the viewers and an even greater insult to Roddick. Most of the commentators have NEVER given Roddick credit for his accomplishments, but if he only sounds off due to a bad call, or whatever, they are quick to expound on the negative. Lavish on criticism and stingy on praise. This is one of the reasons I speak up when people state that the press is biased in favor of the Americans — it’s the opposite, and our American commentators and writers are the chief offenders. But who said life was fair. Koenig and Goodall are not Americans so I suppose they are justified. I suppose Adler (american) who is guilty of the same, is not any better.

_______________
Shital:

“Is the “agitation” simply an expression of time-is-running-out-I-gotta-do-it-now-or-never?
Is it really that painful to lose the No. 1 position after holding it over 4 1/2 years?
Does he need to achieve anything more after becoming one of the best ever?”

I posted on this several months ago. It’s a combination of his feeling that time is running out and is placing unnecessary pressure on himself to do it like yesterday — self-induced pressure.

Another is his ego; he has to break all the records, not just break them, but to add another record, ” In the shortest period of time.”

And the last, he’s mentioned he likes being No. 1, because when you’re No. 1, people show you respect and they listen to what you have to say. This, in a way tells me that his identity is wrapped up in his No. 1 status. If, and when, he loses the No. 1 ranking, I believe he will unravel even further. If you noticed when he initially began losing, he would consistently remind the press, “but I’m still the No. 1 player.” That sentence speaks volumes.

You can also add the AO 05 5th set against Safin. There we saw the unflappable, Mr Cool as Ice get flapped. He was cursing a lot, even using the F word.

He does get rattled when the possibility of defeat is imminent, but he’s no Safin or Hewitt. And he handles the pressure situations quite well. He’s one of the best clutch servers I’ve seen. Pete is the only one that’s better.

Shital Green Says:

“Can anyone tell me if Fed has had enough of tennis? Or, at least beginning to feel like what Borg felt at the end of 1981 and beginning of 1982?
Maybe Fed has “wish” to pile up more slams but not enough “will” to do it. Maybe, he is hurrying up or worrying too much in haste to surpass all previously held record? Is the “agitation” simply an expression of time-is-running-out-I-gotta-do-it-now-or-never?
Is it really that painful to lose the No. 1 position after holding it over 4 1/2 years?
Does he need to achieve anything more after becoming one of the best ever?”

He’s not going away until he wins 3 more. Of that we can be sure. This is a slump, but it is by no means the end. He knows he can still win slams, and he’s this close to tying Pete. Pete won his last slam at 31, so Fed still has 4 years. He won’t hang it up just yet.

It would be a sad loss if he did retire. The rivalry right now between the top 3 is as exciting as ever. We’ll lose it all if Fed leaves. I hope he doesn’t.

Ryan Says:

“People keep changing every minute.Many of these so called rafa fans were fed fans before when he was winning.Now the top guy is rafa so they are all rafa fans……Tomorrow if djokovic beats rafa on clay or something and becomes the top performing player then everyone who used to say that nole is cocky will be like “Oh i was always a nole fan.He’s a great guy”……..one word summary pathetic”

Explaining on behalf of both JCF and I, we were very impressed with what Fed did in 2004, and he won us over. At that time, we didn’t know anything about Nadal. Nadal won us over when he impressed us in 2005 onwards. We were fans of Fed first because he proved himself first. We remain fans of both, and now Djokovic too, which we didn’t start liking until this year during his AO run.

It’s a matter of chronology. We aren’t liking a guy because he’s winning. We’re liking a guy because we’ve learnt things we didn’t know about them, and they are doing impressive things.

I want the best for Federer, even though I like Rafa more.

JB Says:

“Well at least Fed won a small token victory in the match. He ended up the last person to shake the ref’s hand. I always found that part of the match kind of an interesting “alpha dog” fight. I can’t recall how it’s gone down in all of Fed’s losses the last few years, but I can’t recall when he hasn’t insisted on being the last to shake the ref’s hand, and Simon tonight let him have that.

I’ve also noticed that anytime Nadal wins against Fed, Fed will again wait to be last, but Nadal will actually hesitate and motion for Fed to go first so that he can be last and then immediately wave to the crowd.”

I noticed that at Wimbledon. Maybe Rafa was getting him back because he wanted to walk out last onto the court, but Fed said no?

“The way Koenig was heaping praise on Federer so constantly was unbearable especially given the number of errors Federer was spraying. I love having the tennis channel but I can’t stand listening to Koenig during Federer’s matches as he obviously can’t be objective about him.”

That happens a lot from commentators about Fed. It’s strange that Koenig continued heaping praise on him despite this 2008 season however. He’s clearly not had the same season as he’s had last year.

Von:

“And the last, he’s mentioned he likes being No. 1, because when you’re No. 1, people show you respect and they listen to what you have to say. This, in a way tells me that his identity is wrapped up in his No. 1 status. If, and when, he loses the No. 1 ranking, I believe he will unravel even further. If you noticed when he initially began losing, he would consistently remind the press, “but I’m still the No. 1 player.” That sentence speaks volumes”

I agree that he values it too much. He abandoned Davis Cup to protect his ranking (which was safe anyway because he had double the amount of points the #2 player had). To me, it’s just a number. The titles are what count. Rankings come and go. They are temporary. Titles remain in your cabinet forever.

“That happens a lot from commentators about Fed.” Cliff Drysdale has been another chief offender in this regard, to the point where he was once waxing poetic about Fed’s back muscles. It was a little weird frankly.

jane:

“Cliff Drysdale has been another chief offender in this regard, to the point where he was once waxing poetic about Fed’s back muscles. It was a little weird frankly.”

Drysdale loves his “Rog”. I suppose because he’s South African and Fed’s mother is South African, but as commentators they should be neutral, and keep their prejudices/bias in check or under wraps. Anyway, we know from what they say and as often as they say it, that they’re all very biased unashamedly, in Fed’s direction.

______________
Giner:

“The titles are what count. Rankings come and go. They are temporary. Titles remain in your cabinet forever.”

I agree that the titles are what count, but unfortunately for Fed, and this is a huge psychological problem, his self-worth is tied into the No. 1 ranking more than the titles. It’s similar to an Admiral who is paid more homage because of his rank than for the Purple Heart, and other medals.

Federer has actually been vulnerable ever since the USO last year where both Davydenko and Djokovic (if they hadn’t had the case of the nerves) should have beaten Federer. Fed knew he dodged a bullet by winning the USO last year by playing (by his usual standards) sub-par tennis.

Now most, if not every player, now goes out to face Fed thinking he has a chance to win. The fear factor is gone for a lot of guys and we are going to see Pissy Rog many more times before the year is over. And I say this as someone who is a fan of Fed’s - but he was crabby tonight, telling people in the stands to “Shut Up” bitching at Norm Chryst….

I didn’t see a video but from the comments, Fed didn’t hide his disappointment and anger.

The last sentence is in reference to his post-match press conference. Fed at one point put his head in his hands after a question from a reporter and snapped at him.

Smith:

“The fear factor is gone for a lot of guys and we are going to see Pissy Rog many more times before the year is over.”

What you’ve stated underlines my point on previous occasions where I’ve mentioned in reply to some of Fed’s fans who’ve stated he’s a classy guy, vis-a-vis, it’s easy to be clasy when everything is going your way. Whenever there’s a pressure situation then the true personality of the person comes to the surface. I’ve seen many instances where he’s snapped and talked down to the umpire and reporters and have gotten away with such, as opposed to another player, who will be crucified for even less. It’s unfair and my blood boils when I see it happening.

I remember the ‘07 Wimby where he was cursing, etc, using the “F” word at the Hawkeye and berating the umpire on several changeovers. Many of his fans selectively tuned it out. Some denied that he would “never do that.”

Also, I was crucified for mentioning that incident wherein he told Djokovic’s parents: “be quiet will you” or something to that effect. I was called all sorts of names.

“but he was crabby tonight, telling people in the stands to “Shut Up” bitching at Norm Chryst….”

I don’t know if you remember this year’s AO when Roddick yelled at the kids in the stands to be quiet and was angry with the Umpire regarding a bad call? Well, that incident caused such a stir in the media and among the Tennis.X posters to the point of ad nauseam. I can assure you that last evening’s incident will be swept under the rug and many will say that it’s a lie or exaggerated. Keep reading, you’ll be surprised at the comments and the denials.

I’m glad to know that even though you’re a fan, you’re not a blind but honest one. Being a fan does not mean one has to stifle their conscience.

I am a Rafa fan.But i like Federer to remain and play his best atleast for next 3 or 4 years.I like to see more Rafa vs Roger thrilling finals.As for being classy,if anyone has seen 2007 wimbledon will know that Federer can be irrational and can abuse.During that match Federer was shouting at the umpire because hawk eye proved Federer was wrong!.But many tennis commentaters were selectively silent about it.Double standards exist.

roger federer has never been strong in the head, and what is happening this year just proves it, of cousre mono didn’t help but for the first time he has a real challenge and he is going down big time, now the new players don’t give the respect that roddick,ferrer,davydenko,hewitt used to,they come out to beat him judging by nadal beating roger the first time they met on hard court,i found it quite amazing for a champion that he is, he is intimidated by nadal so much, it’ s like nadal is so good at 22 that federer seems to think that he doesn’t have a chance anymore,before it was the backhand but even the forehand is deserting him what is he going to do, i don’t know, the funny thing is that his game is detetoriating or has stayed the same wich tells you something about nadal’s game,and roger has weaknesses,backhand,very bad approach,and it seems lose quite quickly now days ok,i ha te to say it but i hope he doesn’t kill himself, you know when the only thing that you really hold dear like tennis goes away what do you when you know you can’t get it back

Watching tennis has become exciting again. the end used to be almost predictable as Roger progressed through a tournment. Now there is hope. I dont dislike Roger, but I got tired of watching him win. I love to watch tennis with personality, that includes Roddick, Murray and expecially Safin. Tennis is better with Marat Safin in it. I love the implosions the rachet smashing etc… it shows he cares. Let us not not moon over Federer loosing but be excited that again there is challenge and games with unexpected outcomes. Woohoo!

Watching the Rogers Cup on Canadian TV is less of a Roger love fest and more about giving cudos to all players when it is due. I too get tired of the lovefest for Fed and it is a nice change to hear commentators with some class.

Yeah, Peter Burwash is in a class by himself all right.

Here is commentator Koening’s article. You can leave comments there.

http://www.tennisgrandstand.com/archives/1441

All tennis players show their emotions when they lose. I remember that first US Open final between Sampras and Agassi, particularly when Sampras was whipping Agassi badly. Agassi was close to tears and simply couldn’t believe he was being beaten by a guy who he thought, “wouldn’t have a great career as a tennis player”!. Likewise, Federer whines when he starts losing. Its either the crowd, or the ShotSpot or some thing. Plus, now we know for sure what Wilander saw was a crucial flaw in Federer. It’s not “mojo” or the lack thereof, he just is not a gutsy player. One “almost” comeback at Wimbledon doesn’t prove anything. Guts was the way guys like Borg or Connors fought off players and come back from near defeat to absolutely rout the competition. When Federer gets rattled, it’s pretty obvious. He just starts shanking shots. In fact, for some reason, his shotmaking has become so insecure, as a fan all you’re expecting is another shank coming up shortly. It’s obviously timing, especially when he comes over the ball on either wing. That shot takes tremendous skill and timing and Federer continues to be off on that. Also, regarding Higueras, Federer’s in a bind. He got him to get help to win the French. He obviously can’t dump him now or else people are going to say he’s just an opportunistic guy. Higueras’ mental make-up as a player was very defensive. All he’s ended up doing is confusing the heck out of Federer.

Jane/Von,

I’m happy to answer.

I don’t remember what I exactly wrote in describing Novak’s first round (or was it second round?) loss to Kevin Anderson in Miami, but if it was that he “laid an egg” then so be it. Because in my mind (and I like to think I call it as I see it) that’s what he did. When you win Indian Wells and then follow it up by losing first round in Miami to a guy who I don’t think was in the Top 100 at the time, I’d call it laying an egg. So, yes, I stand by it.

As for the Americans. Yes, they totally stunk it up at Wimbledon. Blake’s up two sets to one on with a break I think in the fourth to grass God Rainer Schuettler and he still loses. That’s a stinker. Roddick loses to Janko who played well, but I still think Roddick played like complete garbage. Even Andy agreed as much. He stunk it up. So again, I stand by those remarks.

Onto yesterday. Federer actually played pretty well in the first set (much of that thanks to Gilles) before the errors began to creep in the second which was followed by a flurry of forehand errors at the end.

Could I have used the term “garbage” to describe Fed’s play? Perhaps, but I really didn’t think Roger played like garbage really until the very end of the match. I thought Roger was doing a lot of right things early on like playing aggressively (unlike Roddick at Wimbledon who was perched to far back to really do much damage off either wing) but at the end of the day he was undone by his errors and what I think was him really mentally unraveling like we’ve never really seen it before.

After no using that challenge at 4-3, 15-15, how many points did Roger win after that? He unraveled. Mentally, he fell apart.

But maybe Roger “laid an egg”, just like Novak did in Miami. Well, Roger was playing a guy in Simon that I felt was going to really trouble him. Simon had just come off an Indy title and I thought his style could really bother Roger. Plus it was Roger’s first hardcourt match and after Wimbledon there was some question as to his mental state. So this was a tricky match. Whereas for Novak, just what problems should a 100th-ranked guy like Kevin Anderson present to the World No. 3 who is on a tear after just winning Indian Wells? None. Novak should have won that in straight sets, sorry. I know it. He knows it. We all know it. So he laid an egg.

As for the terms, playing like garbage or laying an egg in a loss are in my mind more of a temporary setback. It’s like a bad day at the office. Everyone has one now again. But mentally unraveling, however, is far worse in my opinion. That means things aren’t right upstairs between the ears. A simple practice isn’t going to fix that. And fortunately or unfortunately, depending on what side you are on, I think Roger’s there right now.

Again, I try to call it like I see it. And of course sometimes I do get it wrong.

And why all the hate on Robbie Koenig? Listen just about all the commentators fawn over Federer. You should all be more than used to it by now.

JCF, regarding the challenge he didn’t use. I just think the moment caught up to him and everything caved in. Almost like a panic attack situation. What’s incredible was that it didn’t occur on a big point per se. Fed was up a break, in good shape, 4-3, 15-15. Even down 15-30 with that break he should get through but evidently, at least from my chair, he really fell apart after that call.

It looked to me like the pressure, the moment, the expectations all hit him at once and he vented on that line call.

Yes Zola, I think Rafa will be the top seed come the US Open.

Giner,
I am not saying Fed will or should. In all honesty, I’d like to see him playing his best tennis for a couple of years more, even after handing the No. 1 mantle to worthy and deserving Rafa.
All I am saying is he could be already feeling the Borg-moment when J-Mac ended Borg’s domination of 4 years (1978-1980). Coincidentally J-Mac was 22 at the time in 1981, just like Nadal, with one less slam. After losing to J-Mac at the classic Wimbledon final of 1980, Borg felt “this was the first time that he was afraid that he would lose, as well as feeling that it was the beginning of the end of his dominance.” My guess is Fed must have felt the same way after losing at the 2008 Wimby. In some sense, he must have relieved the Borg-moment. In 1981, Borg lost to J-Mac again at Wimbledon. The same year, after losing to J-Mac at the US Open, “Borg walked off the court and out of the stadium before the ceremonies and press conference had begun. Borg said that his consecutive losses to McEnroe at Wimbledon and the US Open had confirmed that he was no longer the World No. 1 tennis player and that he did not want to be World No. 2.” As we are seeing some early symptoms, I am just wondering if Fed would go that far to react in a similar way if he loses to Nadal at the USO this year, repeating the history. Even if that were the case, the repetition of the history would be with a slight difference (as I am writing this line, I am reminded of a philosopher’s work: Gilles Deleuze’s Difference and Repetition). That difference, I expect, would be Fed’s continuation, not retirement, though, like Borg said, Fed could be feeling the pressure to contemplate and anticipate its coming, even if it were to happen after 4 years at Pete’s age, the benchmark you suggested.

I’m glad the author took time to defend himself from some of the idiocy around here — speaking of, ^^^ put the Deleuze back on the library shelf.

Borg defeated McEnroe in Wimbledon’80, Shital Green, but I get your point.

I think when Fed knows he is not playing great he get cranky, he was struggling with himself yesterday.

Regarding the audiance making noise, it is happening a lot this tournament. In the Verdasco x Bellucci match Verdasco stop and ask for the umpire to remove somebody from the audiance. He only resume play when the guy was scorted out.

Fed is not going to retire anytime soon, first round matches are always complicated, remember that Ramirez-Hidalgo, the same thing could had happen there, it just happened here. Even Djoko after his easy win celebrate it a lot, because they know they have to pass this first rounds, specially changing surfaces.

Spin,
Ref (1): “Write it yourself…if it’s the right thread or not.”
Ref (2): “Oh that sounds awesome.” [sarcastic]
Ref (3): “put the Deleuze back on the library shelf.”

I don’t get it why I am getting these one-line meta-comments from you. In all those three instances, I was talking to a specific person: Dan, Gordo, and Giner, respectively. How does my conversation with others bother you? Why do you have to butt in as a bully and write do-this-do-that authoritative comments as if you were my abusive employer or slave driver?
What did I do to you?
Maybe, I misunderstood you. If so, do you care to explain to me what I missed?

Matt,
Sorry, my bad. I don’t know how I missed the obvious: maybe too much focus on message than on history.
Thanks for correcting me.

To Srini Murty : Who said fed has not come from near defeat.Earlier in clay tourny monte carlo he was 5-1 down in the 3rd set 1st round , came back and reached the final of monte carlo even beating players like djokovic and nalbandian.He also came very close to defeat in wimbledon 2007 but still won it.
As for clay nadal is too good for everyone.Bottomline.Its not like other people can beat nadal on clay and federer cannot.Nobody can beat nadal on clay.

We all think we know what is going on with Roger, but only Roger knows for sure. I am reading Pete Sampras’s autobiography now. I felt I already knew the guy, having read every interview and article ever published about him. But I now realize how little I knew and how HUMAN these athlete icons are. Pete lost his confidence at times and paid dearly for it in key matches. It hurt watching him lose as his career winded down, but you’ve got to stay behind your guy as a fan (You don’t have to debase others to do that, btw). Also, note that Pete did not dedicate his book to tennis. He dedicated it to his family, “worth more than any tennis trophies or titles.”

Rog will bounce back, but even if he doesn’t regain his former glory, he’s done great things and his supporters will enjoy more victories from this champion. Just continue loving him.

And the same goes for those who like the other players.

In the end, it’s just a game.

Sean,

Thanks for your reply. Okay Blake blew his lead. This is the one I “agree” with you on.

Andy made a few crucial errors against Tipsy, but as you said Tipsy played well. Andy didn’t play like “garbage”; it was a tight match. Andy got tight. Plus, Tipsy loves center court and always plays well in those situations; don’t forget, he almost ousted Fed at the AO. So to say Andy “stunk” seems harsh to me.

Novak also fought Anderson tight; it wasn’t like he was bageled or 6-2 -6-2 or anything. A tiebreak and one break made the difference; the thing went 3 sets - the distance. And don’t forget Anderson was on a decent streak; he’d just been in the final in Las Vegas, where he took out Llodra, Isner, Ginepri. We all know that on the day ranking doesn’t mean a lot.

Still - I am NOT saying Novak shouldn’t of won; he should’ve. I agree. He didn’t know anything about his opponent and wasn’t prepared. But in all honesty I thought he played better in that match than against Safin at SW19, where he “unraveled” - or at least his serve did.

I wasn’t taking issue with your “calls” - I usually agree with you, as you know - but just with your wording. It seemed gentle last night - though you were amazingly hot off the press as always.

Frankly - at 51 errors - and cranky from the get-go, that was a pretty garbage-y match from Fed. Sure, the first set looked pretty good; he was handling Simon but Simon was nervous.

As soon as Gilles started to play well in the 2nd, Fed started laying an egg.

Jane,

you said - “Watching the Rogers Cup on Canadian TV is less of a Roger love fest and more about giving cudos to all players when it is due. I too get tired of the lovefest for Fed and it is a nice change to hear commentators with some class.”

I agree - I like Peter Burwash so much; I wish I could hear him call more matches than just every year during the Roger’s cup. He knows when to speak up and when to be quiet, and he always has smart things to say. Also, as you say, he is not biased. Before the Fed vs. Simon match he said Fed’s “forehand” was the shot to keep our eyes on, because as good as it can be, when it goes off, he often loses. Witness the AO semi; his forehand failed him there, as well as in the 5th against Rafa at SW19. It is a timing issue, as I mentioned above.

Looking ahead to today, Soderling, with his big serve, could trouble Novak, Murray vs Wawrinka will probably go to the latter, but it’s hard to say. I think Gasquet & Nadal should get through their matches. Simon? That win could either overwhelm him or give him more momentum. Cilic and Roddick will be interesting - two big servers - but I think Roddick will win. Blake vs Tursunov could go the latter’s way unless Blake wants revenge from last week. Davy should beat Kiefer. So for the most part, with two to or three upsets, I think the higher seeds are through today - if it doesn’t rain again.

federer is never a class act when he loses, we are seeing his true colors come out and it isnt pretty!

to those who have tennis channel is justin gimelstob still commentating?

I’ve watched nearly every televised Federer match this year. He’s not the same player that was ranked number one for the past several years. I don’t know why. Tennis is a delicate mix of physical and mental skills and Roger is shy an important ingredient - confidence. Don’t take anything away from Simon who has been “on” these past few weeks. He played an intelligent match. But don’t be too quick to write off the Fed. A return to form in the coming year will have a lot of experts back-pedaling.

Jane,
Nole just cruised past Soderling in straight sets. Another stinking, egg-laying play for Sean?
I’m looking forward to Nole-Rafa semi. I am already getting restless.

Shital Green,

Yeah - watched that. Good for Nole. He’s got that instinctual sense of when to attack for the break (Fed’s always been good at that).

I won’t count my eggs before they’re hatched, but a Rafa-Novak semi would be sweet. I’d be happy if either won.

It’ll be interesting to see who comes through on the other side now too.

I’m going to err on the side of caution with all this “The King is Dead” stuff. Roger lost to Canas twice last year. One of those losses was a real debacle. But, he bounced back and had a great year. Just about every time I hear a great champion being written off, they come back and surprise you. Pete Sampras’ ‘02 US Open Win, John Elway’s 2 Superbowls, Brett Favre being done 2 years ago, Tiger’s big major slump when he was changing his swing, Nicklaus at 46 winning the Masters, Andre Agassi resurrecting his career on several occasions, Becker in 1996, Connors in 1991. The list can go on indefinitely. I’m not a big Fed fan and I never will be. It seems to me though, that he’s just lost his way a bit mentally. I think he’s become caught up in the whole ranking & points chase and he’s forgotten why he plays tennis. He just needs to rediscover the joy of playing again. Brett Favre looked like he was just having a hoot last season. And the results followed. I kow that some will say that winning makes you feel good and when you feel good, you play well. But, tennis is still a game. It’s about matching your skills against the guy (…or gal) across the net from you. I still think that Federer possesses the best skill set out there. Can he pull himself together? Of course he can. Will he? Well, that up to Roger.

It’s amazing how Djoko is returning better and better, his balls always lay a feet from the baseline or at the baseline. With Fed out this one seems to be his again, unless a certain spaniard continous his winning straight.

Sorry Von,

you addressed the wrong andrea. i do like fed but i do not write sentimental stuff (as you deftly noted) like the first poster did. we can all post what we like here. if you don’t like what i have to say, that’s your prerogative.

there is no comeuppance for me. roger lost in the first round on a match he could have won, but he didn’t. maybe once he loses his #1 ranking he’ll start realizing things have to change.

maybe this will make you feel better; bye bye federer!

bwah ha ha…..

(and speaking of catchy dumb phrases - where did huckleberry come from? gag…..)

SG,
I agree with you: “I think he’s [Fed] caught up in the whole ranking & points chase and he’s forgotten why he plays tennis. He just needs to rediscover the joy of playing again.”

I am actually glad that Fed is in this position, and no I am not hitting him while he’s low or whatever. Thats because the one thing that Fed has not been tested on enough in his career is his character. And in all fairness he has been so damn good and dominant that prevented any such test. But great character has been a measure of champions in the past, like Sampras and Agassi for example, who’ve had it aplenty. If Fed fades away here, we must all affirm here that he is Not the GOAT and leave that title to Sampras and not just because he’s two short, though its unlikely. But its still surprising how crass and irritable he can be when he’s down.

But the reaction of the Fed fanboys is extremely entertaining to say the least. Surely, the days when everyone and their dog would wax eloquent ad nauseam about Fed were the aberration, not now with a few dissing him. Besides the world is not divided into people who hate Fed and love him, there are people who actually enjoy the tennis for its own sake.

Roddick just got broken with double fault in the 3rd game, 1st set. If he does not start getting his serve in, he could be…

Thank you, Roddick, for breaking back right away (2-2),

Roddick just got broken 2nd time. He is in trouble again. He is serving not as well as Cilic.

Gilles Simon is on the way to consolidate yesterday’s victory, serving for match.

Roddick will be self-defeating unless he improves on serve and reduces UEs (mostly long). Cilic is playing phenomenal. He just took the 1st set.

Sorry, Von, looks like Fed’s exit is not going to be any help for A-Rod. He got broken in the opening game of the 2nd set. He just disfigured his racket in frustration. It is hard to watch him losing. Cilic is simply outplaying him, not just getting Roddick’s serve back. It is almost over.

Cilic is proving he’s ONE hell of a new star in the making.

Roddick broke back again I see; I also see Murray is proving me wrong against Wawrinka. Nice to see Andy Murray doing well; I think he wants another shot at Novak, even though they’re friends from the juniors.

Yeah, it is not over until it is over. Roddick reduces his UEs, and Cilic double faults to hand the 2nd set to Roddick. He’s back in the game.

Jane,
Out of my hope, I was/am certain that Murray would beat Wawrinka because Murray should be easier for Djoko in the quarters.

I’m looking forward to Nole-Rafa semi. I am already getting restless.

Me too Shital. I cannot wait!!!!!!!!!!!!

Karma, Von and other ASSinine roddick fans :

You guys have turned out to be bigger donkeys than the Donkey himself!

Karma indeed!

It is not like anyone other than jingoist americans or fed-haters expected roddick to be a factor here.