Federer Can’t Even Reach Estoril Final; All-American Title Tussle Set in Serbia

by Staff | May 8th, 2010, 7:18 pm
  • 152 Comments

In a meeting between the last two champions, Albert Montanes stunned World No. 1 Roger Federer 6-2, 7-6(5) this afternoon at a rainy Estoril Open. ADHEREL

After a two-hour rain delay which postponed the start of the match, the defending champion Montanes notched his best career victory in beating Federer, an Estoril winner himself in 2008.

The 34th-ranked Montanes will face Portugal’s Federico Gil who was a 6-2, 5-7, 6-3.


Since his Australian Open triumph in January, Federer has now gone titless in four straight tournaments during which the Swiss has compiled a grotesque 0-4 record against players inside the Top 40 and he’s been unable to even reach a final at an ATP event like Estoril where Federer was the lone Top 30 ranked player in the field following withdrawals of Gael Monfils and Ivan Ljubicic.

“I’m not worried. It’s too far away. My goal isn’t to win 12 tournaments a year, it is the big events,” Federer said after the 1-hour, 22-minute loss, his 5th of the year.

Federer committed 48 errors in the match and he voiced his displeasure.

“I’m disappointed to have played a match like this, where I got off to a bad start again. I didn’t play that badly in the second set,” said Federer who held a 5-2 second set tiebreak lead. “I had my moments but my movement was a little slow. I didn’t have confidence in my movement. I have put in a lot of work.”

Federer now heads to Madrid as the top seed at a tournament which features the best Spanish claycourters like Rafael Nadal, Fernando Verdasco and David Ferrer.

“I’m lacking matches,” said Federer who begins his French Open title defense in just over two weeks. “I’ll keep practicing hard again. Conditions will speed up in Madrid and Paris. I must take positives into the next few weeks.”

In Serbia, for the second straight week Sam Querrey and John Isner (“Quisner”) will play in Sunday final, and this time it’s against each other. Last week they paired to reach the Rome finals where they lost to the Bryans. Today they each won their semifinal matches to give the U.S. its first all-American claycourt final since Jim Courier beat Andre Agassi at the 1991 French Open.

Isner posted a strong win over Stanislas Wawrinka 7-5, 7-5. Querrey hammered 18-year-old Filip Krajinovic 6-1, 6-2.

Over in Munich, the top two seeds, Marin Cilic and Mikhail Youzhny, will slug it out for the title. Youhzny advanced easily in straight sets over Petzchner while Cilic worked hard to beat Marcos Baghdatis 3-6, 6-2, 6-3.

Federer-Montanes Highlights and interview:


You Might Like:
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Roger Federer Putting in the Not So ‘Hard Yards’ in Estoril
Del Potro Withdraws From Estoril
Nicolas Almagro Wins First Title Since 2012 In Estoril Beating Pablo Carreno Busta
Federer, Djokovic in Action; ATP Previews

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152 Comments for Federer Can’t Even Reach Estoril Final; All-American Title Tussle Set in Serbia

ron Says:

I can’t wait to read the tedious Federer defenders explaining how he actually wanted to lose Estoril.


Ben Pronin Says:

Interesting that Federer notes that conditions will speed up with Madrid AND the French. Is it because Estoril is particularly slow? The French has been sped up? Or both? Very interesting.


gjc Says:

I’m a Nadal fan myself.
However the staff may want to proof-read their work more carefully.


skeezerweezer Says:

Ok, I am sorry Fed fans, everyone who knows me knows I am a avid fan of Fed.

Enough is enough….

“I had my moments but my movement was a little slow. I didn’t have confidence in my movement. I have put in a lot of work.”

WTF is that?

You put in a lot of work but can’t move your feet properly to hit the ball? WTF?

Either you can move your feet or not. MOVEMENT is essential. Can’t move properly, can’t hit it properly!

His excuses sounds like a the sound of the wind blowing the other way…..you can’t hear it.

Focus? Motivation? As long as he keeps losing and the fashion that he is the questions may become more a reality he is going to have to face. I have faith in the guy but this is not how to prepare for a major…

Yes, I am disappointed in him. As a fan, I don’t have confidence that he is going far in ANY tourney right now. Do you? If you do, paahlleeease tell me you IMO’s based on sound factual thought! I am all ears…..:)

Out :(


skeezerweezer Says:

On another note, 2 Americans in a Serbian final! When is the last time that happened? On clay no less…..:)

Sorry Fed fans with the last post…..frustrated :(


grace Says:

The press of course will be dreadful. As I have said in another post, Roger still has won the most important tittle of the season.Last year we were in a worst situation, and the next two months turned out alrigth.All players have slumps but great players as Roger and Rafa(he was almost a year without a tittle)all of a sudden rise their game and make a come back. Go Roger!!!


sc0rpionGL Says:

Roger didn’t find an excuse for himself. A loss is a loss. How about wait until Madrid and FO before trashing him like this?

@skeezerweezer: Roger said he put in a lot work in training but he was disappointed that his movement was slow during match play. I know it’s yet another WTF match but maybe just give him a bit more time to figure out stuff? Roger was pretty frustrated himself and he seemed to not trust his shot selection and movement. He fell before but he always rose like a phoenix from ashes and flew high again , I know this year since IW/Miami/Rome/Estoril it seems even worse but still he won the first GS this year. Maybe it’s good to send positive vibes to Roger and hope that he could figure out his stuff soon?


andrea Says:

hmmmm….not too sure about this latest result with fed.

with so many UFE’s still plaguing his game, it seems unthinkable that he will reach the semis, nor the final of the french open.

i know we all debated last year about his decline of game but how many more times can he come back and dominate?

maybe the GS’s are where his lucky leprechans come and out shine?


Colleen Says:

I had it in my mind that Federer might drop to Montanes. His draw at Madrid is fairly fluffy which should help him out. Also, he will have the luxury of playing himself into form at the French. Odds are he won’t be meeting a dangerous dirtballer with enough game to beat him at least until the last 32.

That said, he definitely looks vulnerable…I just don’t think old Carlos Moya or Benjamin Becker are the ones to do anything about it.


Twocents Says:

skeezer,

Fed’s goal is to have 5 matches before FO. He got 3 in Estoril. Expect him to pass round 2 at Madrid.

Cut Fed some slack: he had lung infection and missed court time.


Anna Says:

I doubt Carlos could beat Fed even in his present state, but then there’s Wawrinka after that and either Youzney, Gulbis or Roddick in the quarters, and Ferrer, Baghdatis and Cilic in the semis (Murray’s there too, but his game is about as off as Roger’s at the moment). That doesn’t sound fluffy to me though/


Skeezerweezer Says:

Thanks everyone for the IMO’s. Appreciate it :)

Two cents,

Where did you find the lung infection thing? This was happening the last 2 months?


Twocents Says:

Skeezer,

Fed withdrew from Dubai last minute citing lung infection. All he said was that doc said no tennis for two weeks at least. No more details, as with all his other physical issues.

Bagy, Berdy, Ernie are all very good players, and Montanes solid clay courter. Fed can’t win all the time.


contador Says:

imo Skeezerweezer,

i thought a break for dinner would help my mood. however, i remain grumpy about the tennis situation in madrid.

sure, i am a gulbis fan and that means one must have NO expectations whatsoever. But i at least have been able to count on federer. i’m “lost” Skeezer

under normal circumstances, yes, federer’s draw would appear “fluffy.”

no draw is fluffy for federer. oh, i like that…a new nickname for summer-“fluffy for federer” thanks Colleen. lol..

fluffy for federer….sounds good.

this is awful. i can’t pick federer. he simply can’t be trusted to win against anybody atm, i have to think he can win over the winner of becker v moya. but nothing is for sure, even with a match like that! and wawa or benneteau the french fed killer?

all i can do is laugh, otherwise… cry.

c’mon champ!


Skeezerweezer Says:

Contador,

I am grumpy too, lol, but from the Vino!

Well we at least can look forward to the “Lost” final May 23! Yahoo!

Fed had is “fluffy” draw in Estoril

Listen, I will be the first one to eat my cyber tennis hat if Fed is playing possum like some suggest, or no worries he always plays great in the slams. I am not buying it. Yes I am giving the guy a break. If he stops today in my mind he is still GOAT, and can’t take away his accomplishments. But if your going to play, play, if not, don’t play. If you’re struggling, then show it, you’re the King! If any of you watch the AO final as an example an watch ANY of the last 4-5 tourneys tell me, does he really look focused? What happened in a couple of months? Murray and Fed must have went out to the same party after AO that must have lasted a month and are both still recovering from the hangover…..

My bad, call me out gang, that is ok….just my take :(. It’s not like we haven’t had a lot of positive vibes up here for the Fed…..


Kimmi Says:

I agree its difficult to imagine the fed winning against anybody at the moment. I will not be too suprised if he lose to becker/moya or wawrinka but I will not be suprised either if he goes all the way to the final and win the whole damn thing.

I know his game has to click sometime but big question is, will it be in madrid ?

C’moon the fed..we have been here before…


dc Says:

All it will take for Fed to win is to click.
What makes him click, only he knows, perhaps.
As mere spectators, we may speculate that the slams make him click and well he may in May.


madmax Says:

Refer to the main article:

Staff, Fed isn’t TITLESS! he is “title less!” (since AO).

“has now gone titless”. (did make me giggle though!). There is a UK phrase over/cliche “tits up!”, when things go wrong! (the irony!).

Okay, so have had a reasonable night’s sleep and feel better.

If anyone can pull a win anytime, anywhere, it’s the fed.

How much does he want it though is the key? It’s all mental.

Federer is THE best mover in tennis. He can shake those hips and do salza whilst cooking an italian dish and balancing a tray of drinks on his head!

so he just didn’t shimmeeeeee enough yesterday. Watch the tapes rog, watch the tapes and you will see your movement wasn’t that brilliant.

Contador, didn’t you say something about lung infection residue some time back? could that still be affecting his game in your professional opinion?

So c’moon!

Skeeze!

fed fans unite and do what another poster suggested, sending those positive federer vibes out to him, show him the lurve.

That’s what i am doing now. love the man.


Ezorra Says:

Can you guys imagine how easy for Federer to defend his points next year. As oppose to Nadal who managed to reach sf in almost every tournament he entered after AO, Federer on the other hand lost early in almost all tournaments he entered from AO until now. In other words, Nadal will have loads of points to be defended next year.

Despite everything that has happened to Federer this year, he’s still able to maintain his number 1 rank until now. This means being no 1 as long as he can and winning slams are maybe his major priorities at the moment. I’m not saying he lost those matches intentionally but what I’m trying to say is that he may put less focus to win the titles if they are not jeopardizing his number 1 rank or they are not slam title.

My theory is Federer will start to play his best in Madrid, FO, Halle (maybe) and Wimbledon. Then he will continue the mediocre style of play in Toronto and Cincinnati (enough to keep his number 1 rank) and will try to win US Open a few weeks after that. He may also play his best tennis in London (WTF) because his great nemesis, Nadal has nothing to defend there. By March 2011 (after AO), Federer will play tennis with zero pressure because all he needs to do is just adding points into his pocket.

That said, Madrid and FO will tell everything. We’ll see…


madmax Says:

may be, just may be Ezorra, it’s all part of a cunning plan? muwwwwhahahahahaha!!!!!!

Just wish Federer all the best because he is the best. (am believing he is in a bit of a lull, that’s all).


InMyOpinion Says:

Federer has never been a genius, his luck is running out, that’s all. Let’s give some due credit to Montanes, and the more Federer loses his credibility in the locker room, the more the players will take the challenge to him.


Janadev Says:

we all are thinking that fed wil marvel only at slams at this stage of his career, but without proper match practise I really doubt that, but any way Madrid and FO wil tell the real status of Fed’s game and mental state


madmax Says:

janadev, yes. have been watching some of fed vids over last 12 months – can someone seriously get worse in that short amount of time, after achieving so much.

may be the pressure of the “calendar slam” is what is in the back of his mind. But I still believe in federer. I know he will come through. I just know it.


InMyOpinion Says:

It’s nothing to do with the pressure of the calendar slam weighing on him, he’s won the AO before so it’s not the first time he’s been in this position.

Players are just getting the better of him now that his luck has run out. It does’t look like he’ll win anymore tournaments this year, and may drop outside the top 5.


Reabirth Says:

I will never understand some overreaction whenever Federer loses a match.

The guy is aging for god’s sake and he’s in his late twenties, it’s normal to lose more and more matches against guys against whom he never lost when he was on top. This can be explained by several things: physical decline, loss of motivation because he has achieved all his career objectives, family life etc …

I think the Swiss still has a few titles of Grand Slam in him, that’s all one must know, the rest is discussion of alcoholics in bars.


madmax Says:

Blank,

I found this from cbs news:
as per our discussion yesterday and the points system (ish).

Federer likes to say that he plans to play well into his 30s. But I wonder if that will be the case, if he continues to lose focus — and tournaments. Particularly if his ranking drops and he starts meeting top players in the quarterfinals instead of finals.

This time last year there was a lot of drama over whether Federer would be able to tie or beat Pete Sampras’ record of 14 grand slams. Particularly as a surging Rafael Nadal had tumbled Federer from his perch at the top. I think many of us were looking forward to a long campaign where Federer’s mettle would be tested as he soldiered along on his quest, finally achieving it after much heartache and effort.

Instead, Roger snapped his fingers, waved his wand, and ran off three grand slams rat-a-tat-tat — The French Open, Wimbledon of 2009 and the 2010 Australian to set his mark at 16 grand slams.

Federer is now a player who has done it all, achieved everything, and will go down in the record books as the greatest tennis player of all time. He is closing in on Pete Sampras’ last laurel, the player to hold the No. 1 ranking for the most weeks cumulatively. Pete was No. 1 for 286 weeks, and Roger this week is at 280. Even if he loses in the first round of the French Open, Roger is so far ahead in ranking points that he will beat this record in another six weeks.

So the question remains: How will Roger keep himself motivated when the only goal is to keep piling onto records he has already exceeded?

Is Roger Federer out of gas?


madmax Says:

InMyOpinion:

Players are just getting the better of him now that his luck has run out. It does’t look like he’ll win anymore tournaments this year, and may drop outside the top 5.

how do you work that one out?

He is going through a tough time, admittedly, but he is certainly not over and out. he has broken everything there is to break, but dropping out of the top 5 by the end of the year? No, i dont think so. I think he will achieve the year end No. 1, with another couple of slams in the bag, it’s just going to be tougher for him to grind it out.

I hope I am wrong. Because it’s just the problem with motivation right now. Age? Nope. Montanes is older. Luby is older. 31/2, Llodra is older. All three guys won tournaments this year and they are not in the league of roger federer. there is always hope.


blank Says:

Hi madmax: IMO, Fed will get the motivation if this happens: when everyone (esp. Nadal) starts kicking his ass few times. Losing to unknowns is one thing and getting a drubbing from Nadal is another. Losing to the arch rival will be embarassing to Fed people will start to question his real superiority. That will wake him up. We will then see the real Fed. I hope he is all ok in time for Wimbledon.

Nadal, please help Fed.


blank Says:

Correction*: “…Losing to the arch rival will be embarassing to Fed ‘and then’ people will ‘also’ start to question his real superiority…”


blank Says:

It cannot be the age. At least not at this instance. Age issues are more gradual…at last year’s FO, WIM, USO and this AO, did anyone notice anything age related that was affecting Fed? So I don’t believe for a moment that he may have grown too old during the time b/w AO and Indian Wells this year.


dc Says:

whats with this Age theory.
3 months back he whipped everyone and now suddenly he is old.
I don’t buy the family theory too – you don’t quit your career because you have kids


InMyOpinion Says:

Madmax you think Federer will end this year as No 1? – DREAM ON. The new kid on the block as Nadal’s rival is Gulbis.


Dory Says:

As I saw in one of his interviews, even Masters 1000s don’t matter that much to him. ATP 250 must be practise. But that’s where he’s wrong. He’s going to lose this French Open to someone before the semis and break that magical record.


Skorocel Says:

Fed fans, don’t be sad! Roger’s current form maybe sucks, but it clearly shows an UPWARD trend, LOL! I mean, isn’t it great? IW 2nd round, Miami 3rd round, Rome 2nd round, and now a semifinal in Estoril! One more tournament (Madrid) to squander, and then when the FO rolls by, he’ll be just about ready to take the title home, believe me! LOL and LOL :-) Can’t even remember when he last had such poor results in 4 back to back tourneys… This suckz!


Skeezerweezer Says:

Skorocel,

Always can count on you to throw in the funny sarcasm, lol.

Seriously I am almost thinkin like you nowadays but then I would here it from my fellow fans “oh ye of little faith”.

He still has 16 GS titles, can’t take that away, among other records…..:)


Skeezerweezer Says:

IMO on the age train here……

So let’s see ….January? What is it now…..May? So 3-4 months after an outstanding run to win a Grand Slam he got old all of the sudden?

Not buyin that one …

Next excuse…


InMyOpinion Says:

Federer will not defend the 5000 points up to and including Wimbledon. If he loses early in Madrid, he will pull out of RG.

Federer has lost his tennis mojo, and he ain’t going to get it back. He should retire before it gets too embarrassing.


Skeezerweezer Says:

“InMyOpinion Says:

…..If he loses early in Madrid, he will pull out of RG.

Federer has lost his tennis mojo, and he ain’t going to get it back. He should retire before it gets too embarrassing.

Be careful what you wish for…..fed fans remember these kinda posts :)

That said, I think everyone knows he is not doing to well at the moment…


Andrew Miller Says:

Ok, I’ll reserve judgment on Federer until the French Open, which will prove whether he is reserving all his energy until Roland Garros or whether his match toughness and skills have atrophied.

Pete Bodo posted on tennis.com that Federer fans should panic based on how Federer is losing matches these days – how he’s making his opponents look like Roger Federer (having chances to lose, but pulling out victories in the end or closing the door on opponents’ comebacks, or merely self-destructing).

Out of deference to Roger Federer, as a fan I’ll wait to see what happens at Roland Garros – he yet has time to find his groove, and he is the best player of all time (which just reinforces the possibility that he’ll find his groove in short order). I’ll say he is playing the worst tennis in seven years before entering a grand slam, but there’s still Madrid and three out of five, in a big atmosphere, should get him to remember

“hey, I’m Roger Federer! I enjoy the competitive battle, I look forward to winning this match.”


madmax Says:

Skorocel Says:
Fed fans, don’t be sad! Roger’s current form maybe sucks, but it clearly shows an UPWARD trend, LOL! I mean, isn’t it great?

you’re funny skorocel. made my day. And yes, i guess if you look at it that way, then Roger is “on fire, baby!” yesssssssssss!!!!

InMY,

no,no,no. I think wishful thinking on your part my fearless friend. We are talking about federer here.

I know that one day, and I am saying, one day, that “magical/never to be repeated/ time in tennis will come to an end. I think in many ways, that is what will make me sad. Because seriously. 23 CONSECUTIVE semi final appearances. It’s just unbelievable. I don’t think that will be this year.

And am afraid InMY, Roger would NEVER withdraw from a slam – that shows me you don’t know the guy. He has NEVER done that. Too proud and Too champion minded. If he continues to reach the slam finals for this year, I’ll be happy. If he doesn’t, he’s still the best to me. I really think it is too early to be writing his obituary though. It’s Federer we are talking about. He’ll go one day, but on HIS TERMS.

I look forward to the next 7 years watching him play, going out at the age of 35, and perhaps another 2 years at the top!

Go Federer!


madmax Says:

(I don’t think that will be this year —-that this will be broken—–)*23 consecutive finals* and counting.


madmax Says:

Andrew Miller,

is it 5 matches he has played already on clay?

He got to QF’s in rome doubles? Does that count or not?

I read Bodo’s article. It’s a little gloomy, but there are plenty out there that are not.

I remember in 2008, when his obituary written and posted, and looked what happened. I hope he reads this blog to see how his fans are reacting and it fires him up. Am sure he will have read Bodo’s comments (but Bodo isnt always on Fed’s side some of the time), have read some stuff from him which is just – well – untrue.


jane Says:

Fed’s fans, if it’s any consolation, Montanes just won the Estoril title, again.

Also, though I was hoping Cilic would win, kudos to Youz for winning Munich on his third (time’s a charm) try!

Isner and Sam still battling in Belgrade…


tennislover Says:

“Even if he loses in the first round of the French Open, Roger is so far ahead in ranking points that he will beat this record in another six weeks.”

That is not quite correct. Roger has to perform well at RG and Madrid in order to break Pistol’s record. Given his woeful recent form, I won’t bet my house on it. Nadal can and should win Madrid and RG. That will take his tally to 8700 points. Roger has to earn more than 1270 points from these two events to stay ahead of Nadal after RG and tie Pistol’s record. That means a semi final at RG and a final at Madrid or a final at RG and some points at Madrid……

Nadal will probably win queens too and even if Federer wins Halle, he will require some more cushion from Madrid and RG in order to ensure that he remains the no.1 after Halle/Queens. He should ensure that he ties the record or breaks it around this period because if Nadal is no.1 after RG or Queens,it may take a long time for Roger to do it and one never knows if he will get another chance. Nadal can create a bit of a gap between him and Roger after Wimbledon since he has a lot to gain there and in most of the events after that right up to the tour finals.

Of course, Roger can find his form and make all this irrelevant even if Nadal does not slip up somewhere along the way.


Voicemale1 Says:

What’s happening to Federer these days is something that’s happened to every player in every era. There comes a point when you simply don’t win as much as you used to. Every single player goes through the “downward sloping” trajectory on the back end of their career. Go through the history of tennis – it’s not tough to find. Chris Evert once said, rather famously, that when you get older as a player “you have more bad days” than you did earlier in your career. It’s as simple as that. Life catches up with us, whether we like it or not.

Physically, the recovery from matches takes longer than when he was 24. The stiffness in the legs and in the back starts to linger. And let’s not forget the most important element: Federer is now a dad. For anyone who doesn’t have kids, especially new ones, it’s no mystery that things in your life that once mattered most now take a back seat. A tennis career has a shelf life; your kids are forever. It’s not as important to him to go for everyone’s throat in a match like he did when he was young, hungry and put a target on the backs of all the guys he wanted to beat when he was a baby-faced kid. Losing matches back then meant: ranking points lost, titles going somewhere else, creating a sense of invincibility squandered. Back then those were what he sought – his career WAS his life. Now when he loses a match there’s a silver lining. He gets to be with his kids. It’s the kind of thing that can play on motivation and hunger to win. Most parents I know would literally lay down their lives for their children. Federer strikes me as that kind of guy. I think I can safely say he would never literally lay down his life for a tennis title. He’s got two people in his life now he would die for..and that changes your view on what really matters on this earth. Especially when you have the kind of money and career Federer has. Don’t underestimate the effect his kids have had on his life.

The most disturbing thing about Federer’s losses is the manner in which he lost them. The Match Points squandered. His control of the Gulbis match blowing the kid off the court in Set 1 and then the wheels came screeching off. And yesterday to Montanes he led 5-2 in the Tie Break before Alberto reeled off 5 points in a row to close out match. At some point he was in control of the matches to win or at least extend them, and then..pfft. Since all of the losses are matches that essentially got away from him, he’s not generating what he’s always had working for him before taking the court: The Fear Factor in opposing him. That element of his game is in a coma right now. No one is afraid of him these days, and that loosens them up to play some of their best stuff.

It’s not just one thing that’s precluding Federer from going on his customary scorches these days, but a combination of a lot of things. And again, this has happened to every player in every ear. It’s inevitable.


jane Says:

Whoops – not sure where to put this, but again, congrats to Sam for winning in Belgrade; they’re playing “Born in the USA” : )


jane Says:

Since VM1 eloquently brought up the topic of children, and how they change us, just thought I’d say “Happy Mother’s Day” to all the mothers who post here. Have a good one.

————

VM1 says: “At some point he was in control of the matches to win or at least extend them”

This is true of his matches on hard court versus Berdych and Bagdhatis also. He had match points in both, I believe.


InMyOpinion Says:

Federer should retire whilst he is still No 1.


madmax Says:

Voicemale,

an excellent post.

InMyOpinion,

a predictable post.

Jane,

Mother’s day in Canada? The same in the USA? Our Mother’s day in UK is March 15th.
Been and gone. But yes, Happy Mother’s day to all mothers here.

Well, a slight consolation I suppose with Montanes winning. And at age 30 too! Good for him!


Voicemale1 Says:

Jane:

Thanks for the reminder: Happy Mothers Day.


sheila Says:

if federer loses early in madrid and @ fo then i will ? his decline. until then i sit tight & hope he pulls out another gr8t tennis season. he didnt look like he showed up for most of the montanes match, no disrespect to montanes as he played really well. i think @ slams is where we will find out where federer is truly @


guy Says:

madmax, the reason for the major doubt whether fed would match/ top sampras’ record was simply because nadal looked unbeatable. and fed had no answers. add to that murray/djoker were threatening[who knew they would both turn out to be head cases]. the doubt was was valid.

in the end federer was a very lucky man.

federer didn’t just ‘wave his wand’ and win everything. actually what happened was nadal got injured and couldn’t defend rg and wimby. otherwise no rational person would actually believe federer would have 16gs by now, let alone the french. the truth is nadal, just as federer did around the same age, finally ripened and became the best player on tour.

following nadal’s exit, federer proved nothing except he was better than the others. which was nothing new.


Skeezerweezer Says:

Yes, Happy Mothers Day to all the beautiful woman posters up here. And a special happy one to Fed’s mom, lol, for giving the game of tennis a class act :)


madmax Says:

guy,

You are entitled to your opinion. Rafa lost fair and square at RG so please dont make excuses and try to give some credit to Soderling for pulling off the shock of the tennis world (and by the way, this is what has been reported Guy, over and over again). Fourth round at RG, soderling beat rafa. look at it any way you want to. Fact.

In relation to wimbledon, Guy. That’s a different story.

Everyone benefitted by Rafa’s withdrawal at wimby. All the top 5.

What did you want fed to do? go out in the early rounds because rafa withdrew from Wimby? C’moon. Be reasonable. Rafa has won, 1 wimbledon –

before Rafa’s withdrawal, fed had won 5 wimbys. So please. Federer is the best on grass, and that hasn’t changed. With or without rafa.

Federer has worked damned hard for the whole of his tennis career to bring federer fans the world over some superb, magical tennis.

So he has had a bum few tournaments.

You can’t argue with his records Guy. They stand the test of time, whichever way you want to look at it. He’ll beat Sampras’s record and go on to win a further 2 may be 3 slams before he is done.


NELTA Says:

guy Says: what happened was nadal got injured and couldn’t defend rg and wimby.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Yeah right. He tried to defend the FO and got beat fair and square. Rafa played the same as he did against Soderling in Rome which was very good. Soderling had 5 break points in Rome and couldn’t win one of them. At the French Soderling only had 6 break points against Rafa in all 4 sets(21 service games) so Rafa actually gave Soda fewer opportunities to break serve at the FO, but Soderling converted 5 of the 6. So his knees were good except on those 5 break points he lost? Or maybe thoughts of his parents divorce suddenly popped into his head on the big points as some other Rafatards have said. Also, Soderling served great, not a single double fault in 4 long sets.

Fed did his part and took out the guy who knocked out Rafa.

As for the #1 ranking this year it is quite possible Rafa will take over the top spot by Wimbledon. If it happens then the credit goes to Rafa for all the winning he has done lately. Only a spiteful jerk will come on here and say Rafa is lucky that Fed is playing poorly.


Ben Pronin Says:

Nelta says, ” Or maybe thoughts of his parents divorce suddenly popped into his head on the big points as some other Rafatards have said.”

That’s not fair. Something like that lingers in a person’s mind no matter what they are doing. Nadal could’ve been legitimately depressed for all we know, which could explain the mental doubts.

But I’ll go with Nadal not benefiting from excuses as long as we all admit Federer wasn’t troubled by mono at the 08 Australian and subsequent Dubai.


Andrew Miller Says:

Federer has a shot at Roland Garros, and frankly that’s what he cares about – how well he’s playing at the Slams. It’s three out of five. Anyone can play lights out at Estoril. But as we all know, Roland Garros aint Estoril.

As for the grass – my hunch is that only a few know how to play well on the stuff and Roger Federer knows Wimbledon’s lawns as well as, or better than, the lawn mower that keeps it trim. Roddick and Nadal may have a shot (in a full five sets, in the fifth) if Federer’s playing like he has since winning the Australian but it is only a shot, Federer is the best grass player of all time.


Andrew Miller Says:

Ben – Djokovic of AO 2008 would beat Djokovic 2010 and Federer 2010.


Andrew Miller Says:

Man – where did that Djokovic go.


skeezerweezer Says:

RE: NELTA post @ May 9th, 2010 at 4:01 pm

I was going to reply to “guy” but saw your post. Thanks for saving a ranting post by me. Well said!( except I would not have added the sentence Ben mentioned in his post….but that’s just me :-) )

Ben,

“But I’ll go with Nadal not benefiting from excuses as long as we all admit Federer wasn’t troubled by mono at the 08 Australian and subsequent Dubai.”

Why?

I won’t go with any excuses for anybody who makes a decision to play. You wrap up the injury, take some meds, whatever and don’t whine or make excuses. You don’t think players don’t play hurt? Happens all the time. You enter, you play, you play to win, no excuses. If you think you’re injured and can’t compete or compete at the level you want, don’t enter! ( Doesn’t count for players who actually get injured DURING a match, that is obviously something different ).

Out,.


skeezerweezer Says:

Andrew Miller,

“As for the grass……”

IMO I am just worried for that tourney for Fed’s serve. If he is got that going, he’ll be fine…..:)

uh…I hope :)


skeezerweezer Says:

madmax,

Seems like posters come out of the woodwork to take a guy down when he finally, seemingly, in a slump. must be the jealousy factor. But your right, 23 consecutive semi’s, 16 GS titles, those will never be taken down or taken away. They are the facts. What is not to like about he guy anyway? Does he touch his nose too much? I mean….c’mon!

:)


Andrew Miller Says:

skeezerweezer – i kinda think the only potential problem standing between Federer and another Wimbledon title this year is the development of a grass allergy between now and the final.


Ben Pronin Says:

I’d take Sampras over Fed on grass.

I’d take early 08 Djokovic over his current shellshacked-form, too.

Skeezer, I know they hurt all the time. Mono isn’t exactly a “hurt” kind of injury though, and you don’t get it midway through a match. I don’t really see why you said “why.” You answered why, “You wrap up the injury, take some meds, whatever and don’t whine or make excuses.” There you go.

I think it’s a bad sign that Federer is so reliant on his serve. Especially considering it’s so up and down. Just goes to show how poor his baseline game has been.


skeezerweezer Says:

Andrew,

LOL! Agreed :)


skeezerweezer Says:

Ben,

I guess I answered my on “why” question :)

I should have added even “not feeling well”. Let me put it another way. If your not feeling up to playing at the level you expect of yourself, either don’t play, or play and don’t whine about it.

“I think it’s a bad sign that Federer is so reliant on his serve. Especially considering it’s so up and down. Just goes to show how poor his baseline game has been.

Very true. Although your comment for sure will hold water on clay but Wimby you can get farther in the tourney with a dominating serve…..no?


skeezerweezer Says:

BTW Ben,

I take Fed over Sampras on Grass. Wanna play Topspin 3 and find out? LOL


InMyOpinion Says:

Federer will be suffering from nerves next time he goes on court because he’ll be so scared of being knocked out early, that alone will be a disadvantage. I can’t see him getting beyond the 2nd round.

If he doesn’t retire now, he’ll lose the respect he has built up as a great tennis player, better to stop whilst at the top, then he can hold his head up high, otherwise people will only remember his losses to journeymen.


thark Says:

quick logistics question:

in terms of the scheduling, i noticed that some of the tournaments overlap by a day or two. what happens, for example, if a player who is scheduled to play on the opening day in madrid ends up making the final in estoril?


Ben Pronin Says:

Thark, I’m guessing the second tournament will push the guy’s match back, but I’m not 100% sure.

Skeezer, Fed’s relying on his serve is a general problem. What happens if it’s not clicking on the grass? He’s got nothing. Btw, I don’t like TS3, I’m a Virtua Tennis guy.


skeezerweezer Says:

InMyOpinion,

“If he doesn’t retire now, he’ll lose the respect he has built up as a great tennis player….”

You’re poster name says it all, here is my opinion.

Fed, who is already called by his peers, both past and present, as the GOAT, who holds presently 23 consecutive semis ( a record ), 16 Grand Slam titles ( a record ) at age 28, will go on to win more titles, more slams before he hits 31.

He will also do this with 2 kids, a wife, continue to do charity work, exhibitions, commercials, endorsement deals, and fly to the tournaments in a private jet, saving time to do fine dining and shopping before and after each tournament.

Just my opinion.

My only beef? I wish I could travel with him……


skeezerweezer Says:

Ben,

Well there is your problem. Your playing the wrong video game. TS2 Fed wins every time against Sampras on grass…dude VT is old school anyhow….:)lol


Ben Pronin Says:

No way, VT10 is awesome. I don’t like the game play of TS3. I think it’s dumb.


skeezerweezer Says:

Ok. Your on. VT10 has online right? Catch me up there when you can I go by my poster name……I will be looking for you, Ben Sampras!


Ben Pronin Says:

Sorry I think it’s VT09. Using the year in the name really confused me. I don’t have the game, though, my friend does. But when I get home next week I’ll ask to play it and then we’ll play.


Rsutherland Says:

Ah, Nelta…? You say ” Only a spiteful jerk will come on here and say Rafa is lucky that Fed is playing poorly”.
OK, so then how does one classify another who call Nadal fans Rafatards if not ‘spiteful Jerk’?
Filling in the blanks for that classification may be too easy for one with a 3rd digit in their IQ, however, you may give it a try.
Really, this rivalry stuff ….


skeezerweezer Says:

Yeah I just checked it’s 09.


skeezerweezer Says:

Rsutherland,

After my re-read of that I do not support name calling myself so I regress in the “spiteful jerk” part, as well as the sentence mentioned in an earlier post.

However, NELTA’s overall point was not out of line and this “rivalry stuff” is what makes for some great lively debates/discussions up here, as long as there are no “low blows”……no?

I mean isn’t “Filling in the blanks for that classification may be too easy for one with a 3rd digit in their IQ,” just joining into that kind of stuff?

Just sayin…..


Andrew Miller Says:

Federer said he wants to play London 2012, two years away, which would put him at 30-31 years old. Retiring after that tournament would make more sense, and I would think he looks at that as more realistic. You wonder what his plans are, and to some extent I’d bet it depends on what his endorsements look like (in order to set up his family and himself – he’s a paid athlete after all!)

He probably sees 2012 as the end of his career. We probably have him around for a few more years.


Rsutherland Says:

skeezerweezer – probably more ‘vengeful jerk’ than spiteful, but touche and noted.


skeezerweezer Says:

and much respect to you Rsutherland….:)


Rsutherland Says:

And in terms of rivalries, yes, they can be informative (I have learned quite a bit about tennis) but also redundant (endlessly so) and personal (I have been guilty too)
But also rivalries also become venues for those who’s lives are not quite fulfilled enough to ride on their own intrigues, hence the need to put too much at stake in some stranger doing all the work.
Fortunately for me as a tennis lover who only gets momentarily riled by the comments of others, Tennis-x (after sifting through all the my-guy-is-better-than-your-guy stuff) is informative (occasionally even on a physiological level) and sometimes entertaining, even if only fleeting.


Rsutherland Says:

sorry for the typos – took some stuff called somatomax – an on- the-market human growth powder that created a high similar to GHB high (don’t ask how I know). Do any of you athletes or athlete-knowledgeable sorts know of this? Gawd!!!!


skeezerweezer Says:

Rsutherland,

“Ditto”

Re: GHB, WTF? Yes I heard you take that stuff your b@lls shrink to “be bee’s”.

….ok….j/k…. sorry can’t help ya


Andrew Miller Says:

Actually, I think the end of Fed’s career will be here sooner than anyone wants it. The tennis world is now getting used to Fed/Djokovic/Nadal not winning everything.


Ben Pronin Says:

I think Nadal is going to be number 1 for a few years. He’s always been dominant on clay and you can always count on him to accumulate a massive amount of points from IW-Wimbledon. Outside of that, he will only need to be consistent, not stellar. He can be stellar, but if his knees require him to really cut down, I think he’ll still have enough points to be number 1. And he’s only going to be 24, so 2-4 years at number 1 sounds reasonable. The reason is that his rivals are head-cases. Del Potro is even more injury prone than Nadal. Djokovic and Murray are too up and down. And the rest of the up and comers are also up and even more down. Oh and Federer will always be a force but he’s too inconsistent to be number 1.


skeezerweezer Says:

Ben,

Rafa has his own problems except on clay ( so far ). I respectfully disagree. I don’t expect Nole or Murray, along with some up and comers, to stay down and not challenge Nadal. Thjey have already proven he is very beatable ( except Clay ).

Rafa has a one dimensional game that works wonders against Fed. But I see cracks in the armor tactically, and I think the tour guys know it. Not that he is not King of Clay, but the other surfaces. Plus, his type of play is all about movement, and one gigantic FH. He runs and plays very hard. He has chronic knee issues at a very early age. Number 1? Maybe….but not for very long if that….


Ben Pronin Says:

Nadal is on his way back to number 1 right now based on points and based on form (then again he’s always been number 1 on clay). And the telling part is this is after an injury-ridden year. Now Nadal is taking better care of himself and his body so hopefully he won’t be skipping too many more slams in the future. So I think he’ll be fine in that regard. As for his rivals, I’m not saying they won’t challenge him, but not enough. Yes they can beat him outside of clay, but not always. Djokovic, for example, has a good record against Nadal off clay. He’s 6-3. Whereas Nadal is 9-0 on clay. But besides that, you can expect Nadal to pick up 2/3 Masters on clay and the French 95% of the time. With Djokovic, Murray, Delpo, etc, you don’t know when, where, or if they’ll be winning slams on a regular basis. There’s a lot of unpredictability off of clay where a lot of players can and will split the titles. I almost forgot Roddick. He’s also still playing his best tennis and will always challenge on the faster surfaces, but he’s not going to dominate on them.

Nadal’s game is not 1-dimensional. I’m not going to explain this one, just watch his match against Murray in Australia this year. Both of them were hitting shots I’d only ever expect from Federer. It was amazing.


tennisfansince76 Says:

i guess I have to give props to Montanes. He’s scrappy, a good mover, a good clay courter. but i just watched a youtube vid of young master Roger playing a small, scrappy clay courter who was a great mover named Guillermo Coria at Hamburg 2004. at that time Coria was as good a dirtballer as there was in the world and Raj carved him up like a thanksgiving turkey. and check out the movement by Raj. simply awesome. where has that roger gone?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUnCOhMV-1U


tennisfansince76 Says:

“Ben Pronin Says:
I’d take Sampras over Fed on grass.”

Which grass? the old Serve and Volley grass or the new baseline friendly surface. I’ll take Pete on the old wimby and roger on the new stuff. and i’ll take the newer surface. i definitely don’t miss the serve heavy style of lumbering dinosaurs like kraijek at the Big W.

I’d take early 08 Djokovic over his current shellshacked-form”

is that a combination of shell shocked and shellacked? if so no wonder he is slumping! ;]


Andrew Miller Says:

No props to Isner and Querrey for the Serbian triumph? Americans dont win on red clay and certainly not outside Davis Cup. Yet Querrey and Isner surprise again.

I officially say: they are the future of American tennis. By next the end of this year or by the French Open of 2011 they may even eclipse Andy Roddick as the best U.S. tennis players. Call me crazy but these guys seem hungry and don’t seem to crumble under the expectations of being the 2nd/3rd best U.S. players.

I think they’re competitive and ambitious (and if it sounds like I am calling out James Blake, I’m not. James, you definitely made U.S. tennis interesting. However, the scoreboard says these guys are quickly becoming the U.S.’ best players, which automatically puts James Blake at the distant fifth best U.S. player behind Mardy Fish).


Andrew Miller Says:

(Blake might have to kiss goodbye to his Davis Cup role – forever. Maybe he’ll be captain in the future, but I think his spot is gone…sayonara).


skeezerweezer Says:

tennisfansince76,

Thanks for that link……good stuff :)


dc Says:

Fed has no motivation to win these non GS tournaments.

It’s like asking Einstein to be excited about participating in a physics contest.Einstein would aim straight for the Nobel prize.

Same is the case with Fed, he’s aiming for the slams.


Ben Pronin Says:

Andrew, I agree. Seems like the Americans play well on the Serbian clay :)

But I love what I’m seeing from both of these guys. And they are inching closer and closer to Roddick. But it’s tough to say who’ll be better, Roddick isn’t exactly on a fade away path, quite the opposite in fact. I would love to see any 3 of these guys take home a slam soon. Nice to see Querrey-Isner building up a good rivalry, too.


Ben Pronin Says:

Tennisfan, thanks for the link. It’s official, Federer is not as good as he used to be and I miss the way he used to play.


Desirai Says:

He has lost focus OR the curse of the AO title.


Desirai Says:

dc Says:
Fed has no motivation to win these non GS tournaments.

It’s like asking Einstein to be excited about participating in a physics contest.Einstein would aim straight for the Nobel prize.

Same is the case with Fed, he’s aiming for the slams.
_________________________________________________

The problem IS if he is not careful eventually this jacked up sort of play will show up at the grand slams.


Desirai Says:

InMyOpinion Says:
Federer will be suffering from nerves next time he goes on court because he’ll be so scared of being knocked out early, that alone will be a disadvantage. I can’t see him getting beyond the 2nd round.

If he doesn’t retire now, he’ll lose the respect he has built up as a great tennis player, better to stop whilst at the top, then he can hold his head up high, otherwise people will only remember his losses to journeymen
____________________________________

Seriously, who care about stuff like this. Federer can play until HE decides it is over and if that turns out to be 45 year old so what. End of story.


Skeezerweezer Says:

Ben,

As a Fed tennis fan, re: the link I say “Ditto”


Skeezerweezer Says:

Andrew,

Agreed no less in Serbia. How far away is that from USA? A friggan long way. Way to go Isner and Querry. BTW, in there college days they played doubs together, unstoppable!


Andrew Miller Says:

Maybe there will be one last hoorah for Blake?


Andrew Miller Says:

Ben, I agree. The Isner-Querrey rivalry exists and takes place on foreign soil no less. It’s almost a throw back to the 1990s when U.S. players faced off in big tournaments in Europe.


madmax Says:

Ben,

Morning.

How incredible it is that after a few bum tournys, Ben, you can say this:

But I’ll go with Nadal not benefiting from excuses as long as we all admit Federer wasn’t troubled by mono at the 08 Australian and subsequent Dubai.

May 9th, 2010 at 4:16 pm

Listen Ben. Everyone in the tennis world knows about Fed’s mono. Doctor put a statement out, but really. this is very “old” news. I think it was contador that gave a very thorough analysis of both mono for fed and later, an assessment of lung infection, but for now, we talk about mono. Glandular Fever. Google it Ben. See what it tells you.

Secondly, you talk about Rafa’s parents divorce and how this affected him at “possible key moments” of his match – that may be so – but I would like to draw your attention to Federer’s first wimbledon win, when his coach, Peter Carter, died in a car crash in South Africa, it “COULD” have destroyed federer at that time, BEFORE he went into Wimbledon and I wouldnt be surprised if that still doesn’t haunt him now. How can you get over the death of someone totally? Not possible. You NEVER get over it, you just GO AROUND it.

So please. Stop with the rafa parents divorce affecting rafa. They both attended Rafa’s matches since the divorce so it seems an amicable affair. They put their son first in terms of putting aside their own differences and going to watch him play.

And what is worse? Two warring parents at each other throats in front of their children? or an amicable divorce (seemingly), otherwise why would they sit in the same box?

Yes, of course, divorce must be horrendous for Rafa. But you know. he is a grown man, with his own life, travelling around the world, with a stable girlfriend there. he loves his family, his friends, he wont leave (so he says), his family location because he has strong family ties.

Mono was not an excuse. It was a fact.

Finally, I remember reading an interview (google it Ben), on Fed’s feelings about Peter Carter, they spent 7 years together, he was a driving force in the early part of Fed’s career. His death could have been hugely damaging to Fed’s mental state (and probably was for a while). But Federer dug deep at Wimbledon 2003, and that is when the tears flowed, – especially for Peter Carter).

Everyone has their own personal issues in life, but we all try and be professional in our careers and do the best that we can. All of us.

Federer no doubt will be having talks with his team about how to progress in Madrid. I think he going to come back and shut all the doubters up once again. why wouldn’t he?

C’moon Federer!

And by the way, I know that one day he will stop playing, but i really think that everyone is writing him off unnecessarily.

Cheers Ben.


madmax Says:

Ben,

also to say that Federer relies too much on his serve and hasn’t got any other shot as part of his game “words to that effect” – well. I can’t believe you’ve said that Ben. I need some caffeine!

Ben:
“Skeezer, Fed’s relying on his serve is a general problem. What happens if it’s not clicking on the grass? He’s got nothing.
May 9th, 2010 at 5:28 pm”.

Fed’s got “nothing”. Ben. This just isn’t true.


Ben Pronin Says:

Saying he’s got nothing may be a bit of an exaggeration but I think the point is clear. Federer’s ground game has been practically awol for a while now. He has the drop shot but he can’t hit it every single time. I don’t even get why you’re offended. Is it not true that Federer has been playing poorly and his constant need to rely on his serve to bail him out isn’t a good?

I know all about Carter and Federer. I don’t think you can compare it to Nadal and his parents, they’re different situations. There’s no nice way of saying this but Carter’s death sparked Federer’s fire. Federer has said that the death of his coach put things in perspective and his mastering of tennis in the following years was a result. Similar to when Gulikson died and Sampras played his heart out in 96 French Open in an attempt to dedicate the win to his coach. That’s not like parents splitting up.

It really doesn’t matter whether Nadal was having problems or not. It’s a double standard to say that Nadal, who subsequently withdrew from Wimbledon, was perfectly healthy when he lost to Soderling. But Federer, who never withdrew from any event, was bother by mono. They either both had problems or they both didn’t. They played their matches, so I don’t care if they had problems or not, it’s not an excuse.


Dan Martin Says:

Federer is certainly struggling. Why he is struggling is really guesswork at the moment. If he gets another 3+ matches this week and gets to head into Paris with 7 or more tune up matches maybe the 3 of 5 set format that gives him more time to play through rough patches will aid another deep run. At this point, I am a bit mystified, but also think that decline is not out of the question as the underlying cause. Maybe winning Oz took some hunger out of the equation that won’t kick back into his mentality until he is back at a slam, but I think the idea of turning things on and off like this is not practical for any player even guys in the top 5.


Ezorra Says:

What happen to Monfils? He looks skinny on those chicken legs!


madmax Says:

Ben,

Rafa has played with dodgy knees for pretty much his whole career. If he was not fully fit (and he said he was “fit” prior to FO (I’ve just read his interview piece before the 2009 FO, you cant just make it up that he wasn’t fit? So you know better than rafa do you?) – Rafa lost. As Nelta’s post above said, give some credit to soderling. soderling played exceptionally well in 2009 and especially at the FO, and it was only right that he was able to reach the final, after taking rafa out, and fed capitalised on his own talents to take soderling out.

Who knows whether federer is in decline? We have been hearing this argument since before 2008 USOpen. I dont take offence at all to it Ben. You misunderstand me, (difficult sometimes when you just see words on a web). It’s just that to say federer has nothing else in his game – is rubbish. sorry Ben, but it is.

If Rafa says he was fit for the FO (go read – it’s all out there, PRIOR TO FO, I dont know why people keep bringing this up?).

Federer is struggling, as was Rafa. do you remember the obituraries for rafa as soon as he withdrew from Wimby and his poor performances at the WTF, a loss of all matches – was terrible for him. I didn’t think for one moment that that would be it – and I really mean that – because I know that Rafa would work through his injuries and that is why I admire him so much.

But you know, with federer, these losses to players outside of the top ten are awful. I dont know why this is happening. Does federer even know himself?

I guess with rafa’s situation, his row of losses (I can’t find my stats right now, written them all down), to federer, murray, novak, soderling, roddick, youzhny (I think), on a match by match basis was truly awful for him –

All players have their slumps – I just hope that it isn’t too late for Federer to turn this around. He’s done it before, i suppose it depends on how strong his desire is.

And as for you mentioning about his fire to win, well Ben. Listen to yourself. A death is final. A divorce isn’t. of course there are going to be residuals on both sides, but equally, the divorce of rafa’s parents, could have served something different for him?

In other words:

“I’m not going to let my parents divorce affect my game”. The divorce could have served to burn his desire at that time too. So your argument doesn’t work if you are just using that for fed, then use it for rafa.

Do you think that Federer should retire Ben, World No. 1, at this stage of his career? or do you think that he has been here before and will overcome this?

Cheers Ben.

Dan, I am mystified too. I guess this year will be a telling of all sorts really, not only for Federer, but for novak, murray, gulbis, berdyche, baghdatis and montanes – when they face roger again. How will roger react?


Ben Pronin Says:

I think Federer has enough flash in the pan moments left. I don’t want him to retire nor do I think he should.

I’m not saying Nadal wasn’t fit. I’m saying it’s a double standard. Even if Nadal was fine heading into the French, his knees could have flared up at any moment afterwards. Recall this year’s AO where he was fine until he tweaked his knee. I’d still say he was pretty fit until one bad moment.

When you say, “Rafa has played with dodgy knees for pretty much his whole career,” it further enforces my point that Nadal is capable of coming back from injury time and time again. He was in a bit of a slump 08, too. He got demolished by Tsonga, Djokovic, and Davydenko in the first 3 big hard court events. He went on to overthrow Federer in the next few months. But Federer is getting older and he is, inevitably, declining. He’s doing it in an odd, up and down, kind of way, but it’s happening. No matter what you say, he’s not the player he was in 04. He’s slower, less coordinated, and definitely less motivated. He’s still Federer, and with that I’m fairly certain he’ll be a top contender until the day he retires, but that doesn’t mean he’ll be number 1 forever.

The ranking system is point based. Remember in 05-07 when Nadal had more points at the number 2 spot than just about every other number 1 ranked player had ever had? Because he dominated the clay. But he was number 2 to the guy who was a close second on clay, and dominated everything else there was to dominate. Federer isn’t dominant anymore. Nadal still dominates on clay. Nadal will have his years at number 1.


contador Says:

likewise a double standard when fans accuse federer of not having mono and/or back issues and deny he was not able to play at 100%.

that said, there are reasons but no excuses. if rafa enters a tournament with psycho-emotional issues and knee problems, tough luck, he entered. and the same goes for federer. and anyone else.

as for year(s) at #1 for nadal, we’ll see. not saying federer will remain there but there are others. albeit, many of the “others” are looking a bit “lost” in various ways but i think roddick is looking tough for rafa to beat on grass or hc. rafa is not such a force to be reckoned with after clay season.


Voicemale1 Says:

Let’s be clear on why The Majors suit Federer more than these other tournaments: there’s a day off in between matches for most, if not all through the tournament. That extra day give you the time to recover from matches, and the older you get the more precious that day off becomes. Ask anyone who’s played when they get older, especially on the ATP.

And again, Nadal would have been #1 through most of the last 5 years but for the unfathomable career of Federer. Nadal has the kind of surface dominance that guarantees a bunch of points each year. It’s like Sampras: his prime “year” essentially ran from Wimbledon to the US Open – and his indoor season was usually pretty consistent. He’d occasionally break through and win the title in places like Indian Wells & Miami, but his whole clay season was basically a vacation. Federer has set the bar so incredibly high on what a #1 Season looks like. It’s worth keeping in mind that Sampras dominated, but it was a shadow of the way in which Federer did. It’s a cruelty for Nadal that his dominance looks more like that of Sampras and yet was denied a longer stay at #1 because of the extraordinary achievements of Federer. And that’s the only reason.


montecarlo Says:

@ Voicemale1

Excellent post. Thats why I believe that once Federer’s level goes down in Slams Nadal will still have a good number of weeks as world No.1 and also a bunch of year ending World Number 1 Ranking under his name.

I can’t see anybody challenging Nadal during clay court season and he can continue to pickup those 5000 clay court points for atleast 5 more years (if knees permit).

Right now there are so many Hard court contenders that apart from Federer no single person will be able to dominate them completely and even if Nadal doesn’t win those Hard Court Biggies he will always be there towards the end of those tournaments picking up valuable ranking points.

So although I believe Nadal will win many other Grand Slams apart from French Open but even if he doesn’t win them he can still maintain the No. 1 ranking by winning only French Open every year.


Ben Pronin Says:

Montecarlo, that’s exactly my logic.There’s no special rule that says the next number 1 has to super dominate like Fed did.


janadev Says:

to keep it simple –though Nadal didnt win FO and didnt play Wimbly last year, stilll he was No.2 for most of the time as he just won one GS(AO 2009) and the three masters he won..

The so called other contenders could not catch Nadal till he didnt lose the GS points…


madmax Says:

Voicemale,

Your post is brilliant.

Ben, of course. I do want to make a point. Federer’s doctor (sorry to be repetitive here, but I dont think you are understanding what I am saying? – may be I am wrong?).

Mono is NOT an excuse. It’s a reason. (as Contador said). If you have Mono Ben, you have it. He paid his price in terms of points around that time. Apart from that, equally, rafa’s not made an excuse. His “pain” is real. His knees are temperamental. Who knows what will happen, but you always wish the best for any athlete so that the men’s game of tennis can be sustained at such a high standard.

I have found a statement which ROger made today, and I am posting the link. Read it and make of it what you will. I feel really positive for some reason. I like my gut instinct Ben.

But – one thing. Rafa was not injured at the FO. He said he was “fit” enough to be play and he did. Credit to Soderling.

http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/322954,federer-clay-confidence-high-despite-lack-of-results-so-far.html

contador, I have just seen your post to me on the the other thread (only just checked it, so will respond).

hope you are well.


montecarlo Says:

@ madmax

No Rafa was injured and there was serious doubts whether he will play or not

Read this-

http://www.eurosport.fr/tennis/nadal-genou-touche_sto1952750/flashnews.shtml

There was whole discussion about this on MTF. Even Federer and Verdasco have openly said that Rafa lost that match due to bein injured.

Read this for more

http://www.menstennisforums.com/showthread.php?t=144512


madmax Says:

montecarlo,

thanks for that – but that was “after” the assessment of his knees.

This is what rafa said when he lost to soderling at the press conference.

The four-time defending champion lost to Robin Soderling of Sweden 6-2, 6-7 (2), 6-4, 7-6 (2) in the fourth round Sunday, ending his record 31-match winning streak at Roland Garros.

“When one player plays bad, [he] must lose,” Nadal said. “[It] was my fault. … I didn’t play my best tennis and for that reason I lose.”

Soderling, seeded 23rd at this year’s tournament, ran Nadal ragged on center court with his hard serve and booming forehand.

“I played well today, but I think I played some even better matches in my career,” said the 24-year-old Soderling, who called Nadal “the greatest clay-court player of all time.”

“I worked good with my forehand, and my backhand worked well, as well.

I worked my backhand flat and tried to go around and hit my forehand. I think I played exactly the way I wanted to play before the match. I served well, extremely well, and that really, really helped me today.”

Nadal has dominated the French Open since his first match on the red clay at Roland Garros.

“He didn’t surprise me because I know how he plays and how dangerous he can be,” said Nadal, who said he failed to attack Soderling. “I didn’t play aggressive.”

In his 31 previous matches, he had lost only seven sets — the last one coming against Roger Federer in the 2007 final.

“He can’t feel good right now,” Soderling said.

Nadal had won three of the last four major titles, missing out only on the U.S. Open. Because he won the Australian Open, he had been the only man with a chance to complete a Grand Slam.

He had also been trying to become the first man to win five straight French Open titles.

On Sunday, Soderling wouldn’t be goaded into saying anything bad about Nadal.

“I’ve been answering these questions now for two years. I mean, I’m feeling pretty tired of this,” Soderling said. “He’s just another player on the tour.”

Defending his Wimbledon title will be Nadal’s next major goal, but that will come after a little rest and relaxation.

“Right now, my preparation is for the swimming pool at my house,” joked Nadal, who was also trying to become the first man to win five straight French Open titles. “Give me three more days.”

Cheers.


montecarlo Says:

No that wasn’t after the assessment of the knees. the news is dated 26/05/09 after Nadal’s match with Marcos Daniel.

Nadal lost to soderling just 4 days after this.

And Nadal never blames his physical problems for his defeats. So there was no way he was going to bring that issue in that post match interview and that three day reference in the end was probably aimed at the knee tests which he was going to undergo after the defeat.


madmax Says:

Right. thanks for that Monte. if that’s the case, then really, do you think he should have played?

Your first link was in spanish (so couldn’t read it) and your second link was a discussion forum – where people were conversing on the issue.

I understand and appreciate what you have posted Montecarlo, but I just feel if he was really, really bad, then he shouldn’t have played/couldn’t have played. But I do take your point.

Thanks.


mike Says:

Today they each won their semifinal matches to give the U.S. its first all-American claycourt final since Jim Courier beat Andre Agassi at the 1991 French Open.
uh no….im pretty sure agassi and roddick had a final in houston


Ezorra Says:

source:
http://www.tennis-x.com/xblog/2008-03-07/393.php

In February the Swiss fell ill for the third time in the last six weeks, and tests in Switzerland and Dubai revealed the disease. Federer failed to win a title in January or February of 2008, the first time since 1999 he came up short of a tour title in the first two months of a season.

“The doctors said I must have had it for at least six weeks, which went all the way back to December,” Federer told the New York Times. “When I heard it was mono, I was actually even more happy to have made the semifinals of the Australian Open, because probably a doctor would have said, ‘You’re not allowed or can’t play.’”

——-
Same goes to Federer, if you feel sick, why should you play in the first place?


skeezerweezer Says:

madmax post @ May 10th, 2010 at 2:44 pm & @motecarlo

Maxi,

You know my stand on this, and I totally agree. Not fair to take a solid win away from Soda pop. I saw that match like 4-5 times and no one can tell me it looked like Rafa’s knees were bothering him in the least. IF his knees bothered him that bad, he shouldn’t have played, right?

Then like you said why play? You enter, you play to win. If your hurt, don’t play.

Professional sports players play hurt all the time….and win. And they lose. In the end it is there choice.

He made his decision, and owned up to like a man and admitted in the presser he got beat by the better man..

out


skeezerweezer Says:

madmax post @ May 10th, 2010 at 2:44 pm

“exactly” :)


skeezerweezer Says:

Ezorra,

“The doctors said I must have had it for at least six weeks, which went all the way back to December,” Federer told the New York Times. “When I heard it was mono, I was actually even more happy to have made the semifinals of the Australian Open, because probably a doctor would have said, ‘You’re not allowed or can’t play.’”

——-
Same goes to Federer, if you feel sick, why should you play in the first place?”

Interesting you found this. So what your saying is that Fed didn’t know he had Mono but played anyway? So he did not know how bad his condition was at the time, only that he wasn’t feeling well, but decided to give it a go anyway. LATER, after 6 weeks, Docs tell him he has HAD Mono and could have told him not to play? Interesting indeed…


skeezerweezer Says:

Re: My post May 10th, 2010 at 4:11 pm

same goes for Fed or any other player…..


madmax Says:

Skeezer,

I was going to say exactly the same thing.

There is a difference here Ezorra…
Firstly, Rafa “knew” of his injuries and made a decision to play, which to my mind, meant he was fit enough to play the next match, even if he was not playing “his best”. He said as much in his presser, that Soderling was the better man.

Rafa’s decision.

Secondly, Roger “felt” something was wrong, but wasn’t sure what, but played anyway. THEN got diagnosed, and found out he had mono.

There is a difference.


skeezerweezer Says:

Maxi,

We must have had a MARMITE mind meld moment :)

Inside joke…


jane Says:

madmax: “Roger “felt” something was wrong, but wasn’t sure what”. I thought initially they diagnosed Fed with food poisoning yes? He was in the hospital for tests and whatnot, because I remember he didn’t play Kooyong because of it. But then he decided to play the AO anyway.

Similarly, during Rafa’s Madrid semi with Djok he had to stop play and get his knees strapped up. He must’ve suspected the tendonitis was flaring, but I suppose he wasn’t about to not try and defend his FO title in a week.

Both lost: Fed in a later round than Rafa, but let’s not forget that Tipsy had Fed on the ropes at the same stage Rafa went out, in the round of 16.

I don’t see that much of a difference between the two cases to tell you the truth. I think both guys probably went into these respective events – AO 08 and FO 09 – knowing that something was “off” (in Rafa’s case not only the knees but his parents’ divorce) but both, being dedicated champs, decided to try their bests and give it a shot regardless. I don’t think it was a mistake for either to play and at least try to defend their titles.


skeezerweezer Says:

Depends on how thick you cut your bread….

Rafa KNEW exactly what he had and was dealing with to make a decision prior to playing.

Rog didn’t, therefore making a decision and playing with an “unknown”

Whatever I guess….


jane Says:

“Depends on how thick you cut your bread….” LOL, as long as there is no marmite on it, I’ll take it sliced any ole way. : )

Yeah, whatever.


Andrew Miller Says:

Rankings courtesy of the ATP page. It’s official: Blake is the 4th best U.S. player at a lowly #70,

followed by #98 Mardy Fish and #100 Robby Ginepri.

Not to be overcritical, but the rest of the U.S.’ best are #106, Taylor Dent, notorious Wayne Odesnik at #113, and then the “supposed future”: Jesse Levine at 118, Ryan Sweeting 124, vet Kevin Kim 139, Donald Young 146, Michael Yani 150, Bob Kendrick 158, Ryler Deheart 176, Kuznetsov 179…and down from there.

1 Federer, Roger (SUI) 10,430 0 19
2 Djokovic, Novak (SRB) 6,765 0 21
3 Nadal, Rafael (ESP) 6,480 0 17
4 Murray, Andy (GBR) 5,565 0 17
5 Del Potro, Juan Martin (ARG) 5,545 0 18
6 Davydenko, Nikolay (RUS) 5,235 0 24
7 Soderling, Robin (SWE) 4,805 0 25
8 Roddick, Andy (USA) 4,780 0 20
9 Verdasco, Fernando (ESP) 3,735 0 26
10 Tsonga, Jo-Wilfried (FRA) 3,220 0 25
11 Cilic, Marin (CRO) 2,900 0 23
12 Ferrer, David (ESP) 2,695 0 25
13 Youzhny, Mikhail (RUS) 2,420 2 27
14 Gonzalez, Fernando (CHI) 2,385 -1 21
15 Ljubicic, Ivan (CRO) 2,320 -1 25
16 Berdych, Tomas (CZE) 2,100 0 26
17 Ferrero, Juan Carlos (ESP) 2,095 0 25
18 Monfils, Gael (FRA) 2,040 0 24
19 Isner, John (USA) 1,800 2 23
20 Haas, Tommy (USA) 1,730 -1 19
21 Stepanek, Radek (CZE) 1,715 -1 21
22 Querrey, Sam (USA) 1,710 0 28
23 Wawrinka, Stanislas (SUI) 1,600 0 22
24 Robredo, Tommy (ESP) 1,595 0 26
25 Simon, Gilles (FRA) 1,485 0 23
26 Bellucci, Thomaz (BRA) 1,457 0 27
27 Monaco, Juan (ARG) 1,425 0 25
28 Baghdatis, Marcos (CYP) 1,415 3 24
29 Kohlschreiber, Philipp (GER) 1,400 -1 27
30 Melzer, Jurgen (AUT) 1,360 0 28
31 Hewitt, Lleyton (AUS) 1,355 -2 20
32 Lopez, Feliciano (ESP) 1,340 0 26
33 Montanes, Albert (ESP) 1,325 1 26
34 Gulbis, Ernests (LAT) 1,324 1 23
35 Almagro, Nicolas (ESP) 1,315 1 26
36 Karlovic, Ivo (CRO) 1,295 -3 22
37 Benneteau, Julien (FRA) 1,129 0 29
38 Hanescu, Victor (ROU) 1,105 0 30
39 Garcia-Lopez, Guillermo (ESP) 1,104 1 31
40 Troicki, Viktor (SRB) 1,075 -1 29
41 Tipsarevic, Janko (SRB) 1,040 0 25
42 Petzschner, Philipp (GER) 995 3 30
43 Berrer, Michael (GER) 944 1 29
44 Chardy, Jeremy (FRA) 910 -1 32
45 Andreev, Igor (RUS) 885 5 30
46 Becker, Benjamin (GER) 879 0 34
47 Zeballos, Horacio (ARG) 868 5 30
48 Mayer, Florian (GER) 865 1 26
49 de Bakker, Thiemo (NED) 858 -1 24
50 Cuevas, Pablo (URU) 847 7 28
51 Chela, Juan Ignacio (ARG) 839 3 30
52 Schwank, Eduardo (ARG) 825 3 31
53 Kubot, Lukasz (POL) 824 -11 22
54 Llodra, Michael (FRA) 824 2 23
55 Seppi, Andreas (ITA) 815 -8 30
56 Mathieu, Paul-Henri (FRA) 805 -3 23
57 Sela, Dudi (ISR) 780 1 27
58 Rochus, Olivier (BEL) 769 1 29
59 Giraldo, Santiago (COL) 764 2 25
60 Greul, Simon (GER) 750 2 33
61 Mayer, Leonardo (ARG) 747 2 26
62 Dolgopolov, Alexandr (UKR) 734 3 23
63 Starace, Potito (ITA) 732 -3 30
64 Robert, Stephane (FRA) 727 2 27
65 Serra, Florent (FRA) 720 -1 32
66 Chiudinelli, Marco (SUI) 720 2 26
67 Stakhovsky, Sergiy (UKR) 719 0 26
68 Nieminen, Jarkko (FIN) 707 1 24
69 Falla, Alejandro (COL) 705 1 23
70 Blake, James (USA) 700 -19 20
71 Luczak, Peter (AUS) 691 0 34
72 Lacko, Lukas (SVK) 683 0 26
73 Korolev, Evgeny (KAZ) 680 0 29
74 Schuettler, Rainer (GER) 667 1 28
75 Golubev, Andrey (KAZ) 658 1 30
76 Clement, Arnaud (FRA) 644 7 29
77 Marchenko, Illya (UKR) 640 2 21
78 Fognini, Fabio (ITA) 630 2 29
79 Istomin, Denis (UZB) 620 2 31
80 Malisse, Xavier (BEL) 617 4 22
81 Beck, Andreas (GER) 615 4 26
82 Gasquet, Richard (FRA) 605 4 24
83 Beck, Karol (SVK) 601 4 25
84 Gicquel, Marc (FRA) 599 -2 21
85 Russell, Michael (USA) 598 -11 23
86 Hajek, Jan (CZE) 597 10 27
87 Granollers, Marcel (ESP) 588 2 33
88 Brands, Daniel (GER) 577 -11 31
89 Massu, Nicolas (CHI) 576 3 35
90 Ram, Rajeev (USA) 576 3 28
91 Lu, Yen-Hsun (TPE) 575 -13 30
92 Mello, Ricardo (BRA) 575 2 21
93 Riba, Pere (ESP) 574 5 37
94 Lorenzi, Paolo (ITA) 566 1 32
95 Przysiezny, Michal (POL) 565 2 27
96 Gimeno-Traver, Daniel (ESP) 558 3 31
97 Anderson, Kevin (RSA) 544 -9 28
98 Fish, Mardy (USA) 540 -8 21
99 Daniel, Marcos (BRA) 532 -8 25
100 Ginepri, Robby (USA) 532 2 22


skeezerweezer Says:

Andrew Miller,

Sorry you must have found a typo there, I got the real ATP rankings from WTF! Network, although only the top 20…

See Below,

1 Federer, Roger (SUI) 10,430 0 19
1a Weezer, Skeezer (WTF!) 10,339.99 0 19a
2 Djokovic, Novak (SRB) 6,765 0 21
3 Nadal, Rafael (ESP) 6,480 0 17
4 Murray, Andy (GBR) 5,565 0 17
5 Del Potro, Juan Martin (ARG) 5,545 0 18
6 Davydenko, Nikolay (RUS) 5,235 0 24
7 Soderling, Robin (SWE) 4,805 0 25
8 Roddick, Andy (USA) 4,780 0 20
9 Verdasco, Fernando (ESP) 3,735 0 26
10 Tsonga, Jo-Wilfried (FRA) 3,220 0 25
11 Cilic, Marin (CRO) 2,900 0 23
12 Ferrer, David (ESP) 2,695 0 25
13 Youzhny, Mikhail (RUS) 2,420 2 27
14 Gonzalez, Fernando (CHI) 2,385 -1 21
15 Ljubicic, Ivan (CRO) 2,320 -1 25
16 Berdych, Tomas (CZE) 2,100 0 26
17 Ferrero, Juan Carlos (ESP) 2,095 0 25
18 Monfils, Gael (FRA) 2,040 0 24
19 Isner, John (USA) 1,800 2 23
20 Haas, Tommy (USA) 1,730 -1 19


skeezerweezer Says:

Andrew,

Agreed about Blake. He was fun to watch, WTF? Well we have the 3 musketeers led by Rocket Man, Isner & Querry :). Let’s see what kind of “noise” they can make this year….

PS: Tommay Haas, USA? Really? I thought he was from Germany….


Kimmi Says:

Hahahahahahahah (rolling on the floor) hahah Skeeezer LOLZ

So eventually you decided to reveal your real ranking..i thought I will never know!!!


skeezerweezer Says:

Oops typo there myself. Meant 10,329.99, hope Fed doesn’t get p!ssed at me…..Sorry dude, wasn’t tryin to dig ya and type more points than you :)

Or wait…maybe I was…..WTF! :)


Kimmi Says:

skeezer- you were OK, 10,339.99 did not pass fed. but for sure it deserve a ‘1a’ ha!


jane Says:

skeezer, you’ve ousted Djoko at number 2?? Well good for you man! I look forward to watching your matches on WTF network! lol.


Kimmi Says:

This giraldo guy is starting to make a name for himself. He beats Kohls today. Good for him. he is 59 in ranking now, he should be rising up slowly but surely.


skeezerweezer Says:

Jane,

No knock on you and Nole, maybe I should have put myself at “2a” lol…:)

However, if they BOTH don’t start playing better, I’m taking the top spot!!!!!!! :)


jane Says:

Skeeze, would love to see you at the top… on the other hand, it would be nice if Nole and Fed got their mojos back. ; )


madmax Says:

Jane,

just read your above post, and I still feel that there is a difference. As skeeze said, Rafa “knew” prior to making decision to play.

Fed didn’t. That’s the difference.

and it has nothing to do with the shared marmite affection!!!!!

but take your point just differ from it, jus’ saying :)


manfid Says:

well…
gulbis was playing really good, even had nadal on the line.
montanes was defending champion and won the title, besides… rain delays always is a gamble as how affect players game.

so… im worried, but just not so much.

federer had past the times when he can beat anyone playing bad… those times are in the past for a long time.

and he is just practicing, so… who cares? right?


Ben Pronin Says:

Skeezer, how do you play 19a tournaments? Haha, I didn’t know that was possible.


Anna Says:

Ben & MC – You boys are right on the money with Rafa holding the #1 ranking within the next couple months. Rafa has been incredibly consistant on clay for 6 yrs now, but what alot of the posters here don’t get is that he’s very consistant on hc as well. Rafa has been in the semi’s or final of every hc event this year except AO, and as you say that kind of consistancy along with his clay supremacy will keep him at the top for a good long while. The other guys will probably spread the wealth pretty evenly, which is all the better for Rafa. I also believe that as long as they continue to watch his schedule that the knees will not be an issue for years to come.


Ben Pronin Says:

Nadal hasn’t lost before the quarterfinals at a Masters event since Hamburg 2008.


skeezerweezer Says:

“Ben Pronin Says:

Skeezer, how do you play 19a tournaments? Haha, I didn’t know that was possible.”

Well, it’s more than 19, but less than 20, thus “19a”.

I played 1/2 a tournament(which equals the “a”)in the “Himalayan Open” back in Feb. Too bad the other players didn’t know about it. WTF? Where were they? They missed out…..

I got 9000 points for winning that. Thank you ATP.

Had too wear an oxygen mask though with a tank on my back (Altitude).

Had to play a Llama in the finals. I know, weird, but the tourney rules clearly state “trained animals” can play. Ever seen a Llama play tennis?

He had me early with the racket in his mouth, swinging left and right with a weird neck motion that created Rafa like topspin. I couldn’t get over that whole look of the thing, but I upped the oxygen in my tank at the right time to clear my mind to get over that, and I won in the 3rd set TB, 300-298.

Hey, it was a tough match…. don’t no one tell me I don’t deserve my current ranking and points…….


Lion Says:

nadal has not played a full season since ever!

keep dreaming rafatards about rafa’s being no.1. i doubt el-itchy-butto will play beyond his 25th b’day.

the future belongs to djokovic or delpotro. Federer ain’t going anywhere. He will play even after pick-@ss-oh retires.


Ezorra Says:

“Whether I’m No. 1 or No. 2, we’re not quite halfway through the year. I’m keeping my feet on the ground and working like always. My objective is to play day by day and continue to play as I am playing. We’ll see what happens.”

– Rafael Nadal

I’m Nadal fan and I don’t care whether he’s no 1 or 100. I like him because he is RAFAEL NADAL, not because he is the no 1 player in the world. Vamos Rafa!


Skeezerweezer Says:

Ezorra,

Now that is a true fan! Kudos to you :)and nice quote from Rafa :)


It’s On: Roger Federer v. Rafael Nadal Sunday in the Madrid Tennis Masters Final Says:

[…] For Federer, what an astounding difference a week makes. Last Saturday the tennis world was abuzz with further rumors of the King’s death following his shock straight-set loss to Albert Montanes in Estoril. […]

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