Oh my but do Federer’s true colours show bright and shiny when he’s not winning all the time. Smashed rackets, tossing water bottles like a petulant spoiled child, not shaking the chair umpire’s hand, and giving sour bitter postmatch interviews. Mmm, mmm, mmm. The chickens have come home to roost. I’m loving every minute of “classy gentleman” Federer’s downfall. You know the saying, karma is a bitch.

April 3rd, 2009 at 10:06 pm

Well, Novak practiced patience on the court today. But he’ll have to dig deep to beat Murray. Let’s hope he’ll regroup and increase the level of his game.

April 3rd, 2009 at 10:11 pm

Bojan, yes, I think he’ll need more than patience to beat a hungry and on-form Murray, who’s beaten Novak 6-3, 7-6 (Canada) and 7-6, 7-6 (Cincy) the last two times they’ve met. And Murray has improved more since then, as Novak acknowledged in his presser. So we’ll see.

I am quite thrilled to see these two in the finals.

April 3rd, 2009 at 10:15 pm

I think, he will crush Mr. Scott on Sunday.

April 3rd, 2009 at 10:42 pm

Did not see how good nole was with federer but Murray was excellent with del potro. I thought del boy played very good match. I would give an edge to Murray.

Nole still holding his number 3 for another few weeks. good luck to him. How long will federer hold to number 2. Needs to wake up quick, the guy is falling apart.

I enjoy murray’s game the more I see him play…the guy is a magician on court.

April 3rd, 2009 at 11:33 pm

Kimmi: Thanks 4 your compliments about Andy M. I think his defensive style of game and his talent have been very underrated. Years ago at Wimbledon I remember Tracy Austin singing his praises about his touch and his instinct for where the ball is going, which you obviously can’t teach. Its taken a bit of time, mainly I feel due to injury, but here he is!
Re DLP last year Andy ended a run of 17 wins and I don’t think DLP has forgiven him.
Also, re Rafa and Roger I’ve also found Andy handles defeat as well as anyone.
re Rafa, rumours are flying round the net that his parents are splitting. Now, this is pure hearsay and the net is a wondeful medium for gossip, so who knows?

April 4th, 2009 at 2:17 am

margot, don’t know if you got my congrats on a different thread, so I’ll offer them again. Re “Rafa, rumours are flying round the net that his parents are splitting. ” Djoko’s parents were purported to be splitting a while back but I see they were together at the matches during this event. Hmmm….

April 4th, 2009 at 2:23 am

This is an exciting time for tennis. Numbers 3 and 4 are only 21 years old, yet here comes someone even younger! Now Del Potro has added some mental steel to his game, he’s formidable, though I suspect he will always have problems with tiredness, because of his size.
It seems we are witnessing the decline of Federer, but I just wonder if something similar is starting with Nadal. We’ve been accustomed to seeing Rafa tired, a little jaded, and maybe injured too, by the time the USO and year-ending championship come round. Here we are, just the start of April, and he’s already had injury problems, and now a loss in just the kind of long, grinding match he usually wins. Perhaps the clay season will see him refreshed, but I do wonder if, as with Hewitt, a physically demanding style is catching up with a still-young man.

April 4th, 2009 at 6:22 am

Regarding Roger Federer, I remember a saying often mentioned during Easter period, “It is finished!”

April 4th, 2009 at 12:14 pm

I didn’t watch the fed nole match. is it true that fed didn’t shake hands with the chair umpire!? after the match.

April 4th, 2009 at 12:14 pm

as much as i dislike fed,not shaking hands with the chair umpire..doesn’t sound like somethin fed would do.

April 4th, 2009 at 12:18 pm

fed is a crybaby. he was never challenged before, that’s how he won 13 slams. he better enjoy them, cause there will be no more, and he did not shake hands with umpire. there is video of it on youtube.

April 4th, 2009 at 4:24 pm

margot – have you seen to photo of Murray and Novak smiling together on the front page of the ATP site; it is a nice photo, particularly I think of Murray – I love these two!! May the best man win tomorrow.

April 4th, 2009 at 6:06 pm

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again. Federer is finished. His awesome skills are diminishing before our eyes. I predict he will not only not win any future slams but not even make the finals.

I’m not a Fed hater. I’m a big fan of his but I do see the writing on the wall.

He can’t last the way Sampras did. His game is more physically demanding and precise. The points are longer. He is losing both attributes quickly.

The 5th set against Nadal in Australia and the 3rd set yesterday were signs of MENTAL breakdown too. Something Federer has always banked on in the past.

Face it. He is finished!

April 4th, 2009 at 7:15 pm

Smashing rackets is pretty ok, but tossing water bottles at the poor ball boy, and not shaking the chair umpire’s hand? That’s a bit low. :-(

April 4th, 2009 at 8:26 pm

And this is someone who again won a sportsmanship award? Easy to be a great sport when you’re winning. Now that he’s losing, he’s either crying or having a tantrum.

April 4th, 2009 at 9:52 pm

what desperate people you really are .what? you have never got angry over yourself ? we are humans we all have moments of anger and federer is one of the most polite and successful tennis players and if you are jealous of him try to achieve even half of his success and stop insulting the king of tennis who is not ded yet not until he shows you what the tennis is realy about .

April 5th, 2009 at 11:43 am

stop it guys i agree with sami that you are desperate people cause only losers insult federer the best tennis player ever and if he smashed his racket or tossed water bottles on the ball boy so what we all get frustarated and angry at some point of our lives especially if we try our best and don not succed that tough and we all have been there so stop making roger look like a criminel by just throwing bottles or smashing his racket

April 5th, 2009 at 11:48 am

sami Says:

what desperate people you really are .what? you have never got angry over yourself ? we are humans we all have moments of anger and federer is one of the most polite and successful tennis players and if you are jealous of him try to achieve even half of his success and stop insulting the king of tennis who is not ded yet not until he shows you what the tennis is realy about .

Posted April 5th, 2009 at 11:43 am

maily Says:

stop it guys i agree with sami that you are desperate people cause only losers insult federer the best tennis player ever and if he smashed his racket or tossed water bottles on the ball boy so what we all get frustarated and angry at some point of our lives especially if we try our best and don not succed that tough and we all have been there so stop making roger look like a criminel by just throwing bottles or smashing his racket

He should be setting a higher example for the young up and coming players. Smashing rackets and tossing water bottles it BRAT like.

Roger Federer is not the best player ever. Nadal will eventually eclipse all his records. Nadal will also win the Grand Slam this year. Nadal’s head to head match ups against Federer demonstrate his superiority both physically and mentally.

Federer knows this. Hence, the childish racket smashing out bursts. He can’t stand to think someone on the planet is better than him. Federer is only the 4th best player now and quickly is plummeting. Like, I said. People are in for a shock when he loses early in the grand slams later this year. What excuse will he use this time? I can’t wait to hear it!

April 5th, 2009 at 12:34 pm

All you Federer haters make we wanna puke my guts out!!!!!

Stop the hate you losers!!!!!!!!!!

April 5th, 2009 at 1:23 pm

doobee doug da dinker Says:

All you Federer haters make we wanna puke my guts out!!!!!

Stop the hate you losers!!!!!!!!!!

I don’t hate Federer. I just think he’s the most over rated tennis player ever. He dominated at a time when there weren’t any great players out there. He was able to pad his grand slam total easy because of lack of competition.

No Borg, Connors, McEnroe, Lendl,Becker, Edberg, Sampras, Or a young Agassi, etc….Just a parade of mediocre players. Good players like Roddick, Safin, Hewitt but not all time great players. As soon as Nadal arrived on the scene Federer was beatable all of a sudden. Coincidence, I think not. He has shown the other players how to break holes in the Federer game and now others are exploiting it.

If Federer had played in any other era he would not have amassed so many grand slam titles. He was just lucky to arrive in his prime at this time when tennis was in transition much like when Courier was #1.

April 5th, 2009 at 2:19 pm

For a grown man, who already achieved so much in this game to act like that it’s just unacceptable. To think you are gods gift to tennis is EGO talking.

Sure we all make mistakes, but for god’s sake own up to them. All i ever hear from him is excuses why he wasn’t his angelic self.

Well to each his own, everyone grows up some day. Welcome to reality.

April 5th, 2009 at 4:23 pm

Federer is definitely a GREAT player. He dominated the sport for a very long time and made other players up their games to compete with him. Nadal etc has met the demand to compete and it’s time for Federer to find a way to raise his game. The other top players did. Everyone gets frustrated, but Federer is in the public eye. He needs to dig deep or get out instead of crying when he gets beat.

April 5th, 2009 at 7:25 pm

Has it occurred to anyone that his back is injured and rather than running away from tennis the way the cowardly Borg did — he is trying to make things work. He has the greatest “sportsmanship” in any sport of all time — how many players get voted “best sportsmanship” by their fellow players while they are Number 1?? In any sport. During the Final champs of ’08 — whoever saw it – for the first time I saw him sit down during the match because of his back and even take a medical Time out re: his back — he has NEVER done that! I think the guy deserves to be admired and respected and not to be hounded by the media – he is a decent man by everyone’s account except by maybe Djokovic and his family ( now those guys are poor poor losers, and poor winners–they have no respect!)

April 5th, 2009 at 10:45 pm

Amanda,

It’s easy to be a great sportsman when you are winning all the time. True character is measured by how well you handle defeat. As we see, Federer isn’t handling very well. He should be stripped over his award. Nadal should get it.

Djokovic and his family get a bad wrap. They come from a war torn country. Djokovic has been disadvantaged and somehow come through. Federer has had everything handed to him on a silver platter. I guarantee if you were to sit at a dinner party with Djokovic, Nadal, and Federer you would see how spoiled a man Federer really is.

Nadal is the far better human being even though he takes performing enhancing drugs.

April 6th, 2009 at 7:30 am

Cindy_Brady

Nadal will be appauled to know someone like you has even used his name on a website. what a pittiful, small imoitation of a person you are. using nadal and Djoko to attack other players and then accusing Nadal of taking drugs!

April 6th, 2009 at 9:57 am

WHY DO YOU FIDHT OVER ROGER FEDERER ?I GUESS IT S BECAUSE HE IS A GREAT PERSON AND IF YOU DO NOT BELIEVE HE IS A GENTELMAN THAN YOU SHOULD TAKE A LOOK AT HIS WEBSITE THERE ARE LOTS OF COMMENTS SUPPORTING HIM AND IF YOU SO NOT LIKE FEDERER THEN JUST LIVE HIM ALONE STOP INSULTING HIM PLEASE

April 7th, 2009 at 9:23 am

would you all just grow up. if federer throwed a racket it s because he has some passion for tennis and if you do not like it s ok cause it s never the end of the world if we do not all agree on one opinion

April 7th, 2009 at 9:30 am

Can you give proof Nadal takes drugs? It would be interesting to see the proof. Otherwise they are just accusations.

Federer is certainly human. We would all fight the same emotions he has if we were in his place. I’m just disappointed he didn’t handle himself better in front of the whole world. People want to see more class than what we saw in his behavior.

I don’t believe he doesn’t have the ability to dig deeper. He’s a great athlete. He’s not done yet…if he can do what he needs to do to get back on top of his game.

April 7th, 2009 at 9:55 am

Laural,

Apparently the accusations are coming from a very miserable and confused mind who can’t decide weather Rafa is taking drugs or is he the best player? or is it ok for the best player to use drugs? Or can someone be the best player if he is using drugs!….

And yes, Federer could have conduceted himself better. I think him and the media are taking each loss very hard. His statements before matches about other players certainly don’t help either. It is rough to see someone with his abilities to go through such a period.

April 7th, 2009 at 10:26 am

I agree it is sad to see Federer struggling like this. He was so great for so long and I’m not ready to give up on him being a great contender. I just don’t understand why when he finally has some competition it affects him so much.

I have just never heard anything about Nadal taking drugs before and it surprised me. I really like Nadal. I am really hoping Federer and Nadal can have a rivalry like Agassi and Sampras did. Federer needs to get it together. Agassi was in the same situation Federer is now faced with and handled it beautifully. He was so great for the sport. I’d hate for Federer to go down with a reputation of being a spoiled brat.

April 7th, 2009 at 10:46 am

of course roger is not done yet
the champ will be back very soon you will just have to wait

April 7th, 2009 at 4:34 pm

How mean can you guys get !! Roger is not finished yet. Just you wait and watch. He’s human after all. He just needs to get the right approach to the competition he is facing these days.

April 7th, 2009 at 11:46 pm

Excuse me, i am just telling this to people who think that Federer is finished and cannot return again to the hall of fame.

“JUST STOP ACCUSING HIM A WAIT A BIT MORE PATIENTLY FOR HIM TO RETURN. HE DEFINITELY WILL. HE HAS A VERY BAD BACK PROBLEM AND YOU PEOPLE CANNOT UNDERSTAND HOW IT HURTS AND HOW IT AFFECTS THE GAME”.

and to people who say he is a cry baby and that it was just by luck by which he won 13 grand slams and there were no good champs at that time.

“ARE YOU PEOPLE MAD????? CAN YOU REACH THAT LEVEL EVEN IF YOU AND THERE ARE ONLY A 100 PEOPLE CONTESTING?? HUH!!! ISI’T IT FUNNY. JUST DO NOT INSULT ROGER LIKE THAT. IT IS NOT EASY TO REACH HIGHTS LIKE THAT. AND FOR HIM CRYING, JUST COUNT HOW MANY TIMES YOU ME OR ANYONE FOR THAT MATTER CRY FOR PETTY REASONS. AND WHEN HE WAS SO CONFIDENT THAT HE HAD GOOD PRACTICE AND THE MEDIA HAD HYPED UP THINGS AND WHEN HE LOST, AND PEOPLE CHEERING FOR HIM, WONT YOU FEEL THAT YOU HAVE LET THEM DOWN WHEN THEY HAD ALL HOPE ON YOU?????????? JUST USE YOUR KIDNEYS.

Roger Federer is and will always remain as the best player in our fan’s hearts and whatever stupid comments you are going to give are not going to affect us, federer or his game. And I am just telling you that when Federer wind his 14th Grand Slam and becomes the greatest player ever, you people are going to LOSE YOUR FACES and HAVE TO TAKE BACK YOUR WORDS.

GOOD LUCK FOR YOU TO ACCEPT DEFEAT

April 8th, 2009 at 12:39 am

Laurel,

Just look where the accusations come from. These guys get tested at least 17-19 times a year. Of course anyone can come on a discussion board and run their mouth about a player. I will only pay attention when there is evidence.

about Federer, I think it is hard for someone who has been so unbeatable for so many years to have rough times like this and the media does not help either. I have read several articles talking about the “Demise” of federer. How soon they forget they were praising him like GOD just a few months ago. I am sure this is hard to take for anyone.And of course those who take pleasure in seeing a champion down just make it worse for his fans. I like Fed’s game. Never a fan of his personality. But I think everyone should give him a break. He is brave enough to stay around and fight. Did we want him to retire like Henin? I don’t. I wan him to be around a play for a long time.

April 8th, 2009 at 2:13 am

oops, my typos. The last sentence should read:

*I want him to be around and play for a long time.
*

April 8th, 2009 at 2:15 am

dear Buddy
1-roger is a growin man
2-he is not making excauses
3-you are not the one who defines what s acceptable and what s not
4-roger is the king of tennis no matter how hard some people try to make him look like spoiled or any of your rubbish so just stop talking about federer that way
and like i said before roger federer will be back soon you will just have to wait until you see the most talented tennis player shining again and again

April 8th, 2009 at 4:57 pm