French Champ Federer to Show on Grass at Halle?

Tough decision to make, although the Fed is capable of winning Wimbledon without Halle.

June 7th, 2009 at 9:59 pm

I think Fed will be floating at Wimbledon…Halle or not. He’s now won all the majors. He knows he’ll break Pete’s record of 14 majors very soon. He’s heading into the US Open (his best surface) after Wimbledon. Federer will be a beast the rest of this year at least. I wouldn’t wanna’ play this guy on tennis court made anything right now. Fed is very much a confidence player. He becomes more emboldened by his own success. A free wheeling confident Federer on grass? He’s a lock for SW19 right now. The serve, the passing shots, no Nadal. What player’s going to beat Federer right now? On grass, only Murray has a faint chance. And he’ll be feeling the home crowd pressure that undermined Henman. I wouldn’t be surprised if Fed ran the table on all the big tournaments the rest of the way.

June 7th, 2009 at 10:08 pm

“Murray has a faint chance. And he’ll be feeling the home crowd pressure that undermined Henman.”

But two things… first, Murray is better than Henman. Second, the pressure doesn’t bother him, so far anyhow. He seems to like the attention. And he’ll be hungry to win a slam, at either Wimbledon or the USO. I wouldn’t count Murray out so quickly.

Plus, remember that Federer has a little bundle of joy on the way. I don’t know when the baby is set to arrive, but when she or he does, it may affect the rest of Roger’s season. Babies are life changers.

June 7th, 2009 at 10:39 pm

I dont think Murray has any chance against Roger on grass.

June 7th, 2009 at 11:01 pm

Good to see Haas game is coming back. He gave Roddick a scare in Madrid and also Federer in RG. He will always be a dangerous floater.

June 7th, 2009 at 11:11 pm

Why not NachoF? I don’t know that he has a great chance, obviously Fed is still the favorite, but no chance at all?

June 7th, 2009 at 11:12 pm

Murray ? What has he done or achieved ? Just because he had beaten Federer in some insignificant tournament people are blowing his name like some great tennis player. I have no doubt he will improve progressively but can he ever be a great champion like Roger Federer ? No I don’t think so. Look at Roddick, he used to beat Roger Federer in the early days but not anymore and Murray cannot even compare his achievements to Roddick, let alone Roger Federer.

June 8th, 2009 at 12:27 am

haha, jane, you are right… I guess he has some chances….. I meant to say that Federer would be the heavy favorite.

June 8th, 2009 at 12:45 am

From now on, no one (including Nadal) wants to stand across the net with Fed, he will be swinging freely and confidently without anymore pressure. Welcome to the new Fed, fearless, confident and pressure free. I think he will win Wimby and US Open this year, and may God have mercy on the rest of the tennis players after that!

June 8th, 2009 at 1:56 am

Federer played some tough 5-setters at the FO, but he seems like he still has a lot left in the tank so playing Halle doesn’t seem like it would be overly taxing on him.

It will be interesting to see how Murray performs at Wimby – especially if he ends up meeting Federer at some point. He’s definitely a much improved, fitter and more focused player than a year ago. However, I’m not entirely convinced that he’s improved that much that he can be considered one of the favourites.

I’m a bit confused about Santoro – didn’t he retire last year? Changed his mind, I guess. Not that I mind – his style of play is very entertaining. He tends to always meet Federer in the Slams, though, which is a bit of a tough break for him.

June 8th, 2009 at 3:05 am

Federer is a free man. He’s satisfied history’s demands, secured his reputation as one of the all-time greats, and can now afford to play purely for love of the game. Whatever he accomplishes now is a bonus.

Grass is his best surface. Since he won Wimbledon the first time, the only person who’s pushed him to five sets is Nadal in the final. Last year, after recovering from mono and being beaten in Australia and Paris, he cruised to the final without dropping a set. Nadal went up two sets to love and Federer leveled the match, fighting off two match points. It took everything Nadal had to eke out the one break of serve in the fifth set and serve it out.

This year, healthy, happy, and fit? He will roll over anyone standing between him and the trophy, Nadal, Djokovic, Murray, or whoever.

Up until Madrid I had the sense that Federer was still hesitating to engage Nadal, but now he will be far more confident and ready to meet any challenge.

June 8th, 2009 at 3:28 am

Fed’s come to a point in his career where he has nothing left to prove. There is no bigger challenge left now at this stage.For sure, maybe he could have beaten Borg’s record at wimbledon but that kinda evened out after nadal lost in the french. From now on Fed’s soul is set free….he can wander and do watever he wants on the ATP tour. From now on its kinda like a video game where the whole game is over and now the protagonist can roam around freely doing watever he wants.

June 8th, 2009 at 3:49 am

Fed has become ghost of tennis, he can appear and dissappear wherever and whenever he wants, he can win everytime he wants it.

June 8th, 2009 at 5:02 am

Tennis court becomes spooky everytime Fef appears.

June 8th, 2009 at 5:04 am

Roddick never used to beat Federer.

June 8th, 2009 at 5:23 am

St4r5 Says: may God have mercy on the rest of the tennis players after that! I’d never wish as such! ;-)

June 8th, 2009 at 5:58 am

Sorry St4r5, I mean to say I’d never wish like you had on this thread!

June 8th, 2009 at 5:59 am

Fed has done a hell lot of hard work this week and at first, I thught yesterday that he must skip Halle. But now I think he needn’t skip Halle, just go there and hit a few balls with the guys over there and in the way just have a little practice. He needn’t give his all to win there, all that he needs is just show up and may be get sorta couple of matches under his belt before Wimbledon!

June 8th, 2009 at 7:19 am

http://savannahnow.com/node/735150. May be some’ll find it interesting!

June 8th, 2009 at 7:24 am

Not so fast, people! Seems like everyone is proclaiming another stellar season for Fed right now, whilst discounting Nadal almost completely… Mark my words, if Nadal’s to play Wimby, he’ll do EVERYTHING in his power to defend his crown, EVERYTHING! Surely, Fed’s shed one helluva big burden off his shoulders in that yesterday’s final, but that doesn’t automatically mean he’ll suddenly appear “more relaxed” on the courts… Remember, he still has to win that one elusive 15th GS trophy which will move him above everyone, including Sampras, and that in itself can be a disturbing thought (though, if we had to be honest, it will take a minor miracle for Fed to not win it)… And should he once again meet Nadal in the final, no matter how “relaxed” Fed may appear, the bigger pressure will still be on HIM, not the Spaniard!

In my opinion, if Fed can somehow settle the score with Nadal & co (remember, he’s 1-5 vs Nadal, Djoker & Murray in 2009!), then we can indeed say he’s FULLY back. Let’s not forget that Nadal beat him at SW19 and AO, and that these 2 losses BADLY damaged Fed’s reputation as a possible GOAT (if there’s such a distinction in tennis, that is)…

Anyway, he’s certainly got an open road in front of him in the next couple of months – there’s no doubt! Nadal’s the defending champ at SW19, Toronto & the Olympics (the points for which will automatically drop, btw), so rankingswise, Fed certainly has a shot to regain that No. 1 spot. But will he turn the tables with the Spaniard & co? That’s another question…

June 8th, 2009 at 7:31 am

@Skorocel – only time will tell! You’re absolutely right though, the competition is very deep and thankfully still very young, so there will be many intriguing battles the rest of the year!

June 8th, 2009 at 7:45 am

@Skorocel,

I agree that Fed definitely still has some work left to do (winning the 15th GS title, etc.), but I’m not sure how badly the losses at Wimbledon and the AO to Nadal hurt his reputation over the long haul. In the end, the discussion almost always comes back to major titles, and until/if (and that’s a big “if”) Nadal eclipses Fed’s record there, I don’t think those two losses will stand out so largely — especially considering Nadal’s loss at the French. Certainly a much bigger loss, I think, in terms of history.

June 8th, 2009 at 8:03 am

“Remember, he still has to win that one elusive 15th GS trophy which will move him above everyone, including Sampras, and that in itself can be a disturbing thought”

Look, fed himself said that he can play with peace for the rest of his career. So there u go….He has shown that he is undoubtedly the best in the open era.Grand slam no.15 is just a bonus.

June 8th, 2009 at 8:14 am

Don’t think Rafa’ll have that much of an easy time from now onwards if he faces Fed coz now Fed’ll really not be under that much pressure ever again after winning at Roland Garros. Baby will also be a good thing to happen to him. And from what I saw in the clay season, I’ve to say that Djoko’ll not be that much under pressure against Rafa on hard courts and that won’t make Rafa’s life any easier either coz both Murray and Djoko are more than capable of taking three sets away from Rafa in a HC slam and in grass also we can expect to be Djoko to be a greater threat this year than any previous year. However as I’ve said in another thread, I don’t think Djoko/Murray will beat Nadal at Wimbledon but expect much more struggle for Rafa this time around. On hard courts I certainly feel Djoko’ll beat Rafa more than once this remaining HC season. On hard courts, these Djoko and Murray fellas are completely different animals!

June 8th, 2009 at 8:28 am

Jane,

Babies may be life changers but these people aren’t like us. They’ll have a nanny for sure. Look at Tiger. He seems fairly un affected by fatherhood in terms of professional success.

June 8th, 2009 at 8:31 am

a few years ago roger has said that the main reason he was winning was that he has the momentum. He was very confident playing anybody. Nadal started destroying that confidence with the help of murray and jokovic. But after the us open 08 , the finals in australia, the win in madrid. And the win in roland garros he is starting to gain that momentum back. His 14th grand slam title has removed the biggest pressure of his carreer. So what do i see now? Fed will take wimbledon and the us open and the no. 1 ranking from nadal. Then he will retire next year and enjoy family life

June 8th, 2009 at 8:42 am

SG: I read John McEnroe’s autobiography recently “You Can’t Be Serious” (really good read for tennis fans). In it, he explains that marrying tatum o’neil and the subsequent birth of their first child forced him to take most of 1986 off after sublime 1984 and 1985 campaigns. Once he came back in early 87 he went on to win another three titles but was never the same player again. John and Tatum had all the resources one could want but it was the constant tug of being away from his children for long stretches at a time that were so distracting.

June 8th, 2009 at 8:53 am

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,12111_5368824,00.html I liked this article too!

June 8th, 2009 at 10:23 am

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/tennis/frenchopen/5470984/French-Open-2009-Roger-Federer-proves-nice-guys-can-come-first.html

June 8th, 2009 at 10:26 am

L really liked the previous two articles whose link I have posted. I’m sure Fed fans’d like ’em!

June 8th, 2009 at 10:31 am

Anything Fed wins NOW is just gravy. He could retire tomorrow and many would argue he is the greatest ever. The pressure is off him.

He can swing freely and let his natural talent flow through like never before. It’s very likely he will end the year #1 and again hold 3 of the 4 major titles.

Nadal really has the pressure!

June 8th, 2009 at 10:38 am

must read stuff for tennis fans : http://bleacherreport.com/articles/193923-how-nadal-is-hurting-helping-federers-career

June 8th, 2009 at 10:47 am

Joe, I read “You Can’t Be Serious” and maybe that’s why I think the experience of having a child will in fact be a factor.

Admittedly, Fed’s not one of my favorites; however, I do think I am being biased when I say that I think people here are forgetting how much Federer had to struggle throughout the FO to win that title, and he didn’t face his “primary” competition. Acasuso, Haas and JMDP all had him in the ropes; I have never seen him pushed so hard in a slam. The biggest hurdle was JMDP, a top five player, and that match could’ve gone either way, especially if it wasn’t a break-through of sorts for JMDP, his first slam semi. The fact that Federer won proves how strong his will was to get this final missing slam.

Also true is that fact that he’s excelled on grass more than perhaps any other surface, so that would support the notion that he’s the favorite at Wimbledon – especially if Nadal doesn’t play.

But everyone here is writing like Fed has returned to his playing level of 2006, and that he’s now going to win every title in sight because he has confidence, and I really, really think that remains to be seen. After all, after his USO 08 title, he didn’t win in AO 09.

And there are a lot of hungry up-coming players.

It’s true, Fed could swing freely, etc, and that may lead into another winning streak. But he could also feel less motivated due to the win, or due to the birth of his baby, or feel the pressure to continue to win.

Anyhow, just some thoughts.

June 8th, 2009 at 10:56 am

Oops I meant to say “I do NOT think I am being biased” – maybe others will think that’s the case, which is okay. I am just trying to be realistic.

June 8th, 2009 at 10:59 am

Jane, I am, in the words of McEnroe during the broadcast yesterday, a Fed freak. The good will created via his historic win yesterday has bouyed the hopes of many a fed fan including me. I agree with you though that it may be premature in annointing him king.
McEnroe thought his days of blowing everyone off the court were past him.
Really few if any athletes have maintained the consistent level of excellence and dominance that fed has demonstrated over the past five years. I would love to see him win wimby and the ao this year but his bundle of joy could derail him. Being a parent of two I will say that the first six months are pretty easy. All they do is sleep, poop and eat. When my oldest turned four that me and my son started having seperation anxiety. You start to have those what is the meaning of my life conversations in a hotel in dayton oh.

June 8th, 2009 at 11:32 am

jane Says:

“But everyone here is writing like Fed has returned to his playing level of 2006, and that he’s now going to win every title in sight because he has confidence, and I really, really think that remains to be seen.”

I think you’ve definitely made valid points here. With regard to his playing level of 2006 or so, I certainly don’t see how he can ever regain foot speed he’s lost since then due to age. What I think bodes well, though, is that he’s probably already lost the bulk of the speed he’ll have lost between then and his early thirties, and he’s evidently still able to compete with the best. Also, the back issue (which he’s stated has been a factor on and off throughout his professional career) may be something that worsens with age, or it may become a relative non-factor due to revised and preventative/supportive conditioning. Hopefully for him, the mononucleosis will not resurface, but that is another possible consideration. Of course there is also the rise of the young guns (and Nadal, obviously, assuming he overcomes the latest injury) to contend with as far as “dominance” goes.

On the psychological side, while he may be swinging more freely from now on, it’s also reasonable to question whether he’ll actually experience a bit of a lull after having finally accomplished such a long-standing and heavily weighted goal. Such a pattern of performance is not an uncommon response.

I can’t even begin to speculate about what effects the birth of his first child may have; that seems to affect athletes on a varied and very individual basis.

Regarding how much he “struggled” or how hard he worked to get to the final, I would surmise that we may have just been seeing the effects of what was for him unparalleled pressure to achieve the result which he eventually did. Well, that and JMDP, for example, played maybe a few of the best sets of tennis I’ve ever seen come from his side of the court.

However the cookie may crumble, the past two weeks have left me extremely excited for the all too short grass season.

June 8th, 2009 at 11:35 am

Joe,

” The good will created via his historic win yesterday has bouyed the hopes of many a fed fan including me.”

For sure, Joe, and I don’t mean to rain on your parade. I was only trying to weigh in realistically, acknowledging the multiple possibilities in which this win could result. I don’t think it’s as crystal clear as some make it out to be; then again, maybe it is. We’ll soon find out.

“the first six months are pretty easy. ”

Really! Not for moi! My son had colic and was a screaming little monster, in the sweetest sense, of course, for the first 4 and 1/2 months. Pure torture. I just bounced him and never slept. I was so insane that I’d be standing in a line up at the grocery store *without* him and still be bouncing and rocking side-to-side. LOL. What a train wreck!

June 8th, 2009 at 11:58 am

Ra,

“that seems to affect athletes on a varied and very individual basis.”

This is true. And as someone else mentioned, wealthy athletes have the benefit of nannies and additional help 24/7, which will lessen the load. But the emotional factor is the x-factor. It depends how attached one becomes right away or later …

“JMDP, for example, played maybe a few of the best sets of tennis I’ve ever seen come from his side of the court.”

This is also true. But it may mean that this was the beginning for him; he will know how close he was and bring that confidence to a next meet up. And the other top three have all had wins, and Roddick has been close twice this year. So the invincibility aura won’t come back with one win, imo.

“all too short grass season.”

Indeed! As sensationalsafin said on another thread – grass is easy on the eyes. But why is it such a short season?? I wish there were at least 1-2 more events leading up to Wimbledon. The calendar really could use some rejigging.

BTW, I notice you got both song allusions on the other thread “hey joe” and “jane says.” Ty had recently commented on the latter, and I mentioned to him that I saw Jane’s Addiction live during the first Lolapalooza in 91. What a blast.

June 8th, 2009 at 12:03 pm

Jane raises a really good point concerning the motivation of Fed. Though he may try to make himself believe that he is very motivated, he at some point may very well start being a little less concerned about tennis. For me, it’s very much logical to expect him to win the Wimbledon straight away after his FO triumph. But on the other hand, even I have started to feel(though I may be a nonsense to some degree) that now, even if he loses to Rafa at a slam or to guys like Murray or Djoko at the MS tournaments, he won’t care about it anymore. FO win probably would, in a very subconscious or mysterious manner, push him to that position where while wins may not excite him, losses may not bother him either!

June 8th, 2009 at 12:03 pm

huh, do you think there is a positive side to not letting losses bother him anymore? There could be. He won’t be so bothered, smashing racquets or whatever, when his game is off. Sometimes I think that calmer more even keel mindset is a plus for tennis players. But again, this is an individual thing. if a player can use the anger, frustration, whatever, to spur him on, then the emotion can be a motivator.

BTW, it’s not that I am anti-Fed or a Fed hater or anything. I can see a lot of good in him. And anyone can see how important he has been for the sport of tennis and what a great player he truly is. I just never attached to him for whatever reason. In addition I have this innate tendency to cheer on the underdog, and he’s rarely been one so … you get the picture.

June 8th, 2009 at 12:13 pm

I believe Federer is moving more into the Sampras mode and concentrating all his energy on winning the majors. If he gets a master’s event here or there than it’s just frosting on the cake. IMO, his only motivation these days are the slams.

No one will care in 50 years if he won Madrid or Cincinnati. But they will care if he won Wimbledon or the U.S open 6 or 7 times.

June 8th, 2009 at 12:25 pm

Dan, What is the spread between his weeks and number 1 and Sampras’s total? Just curious.

June 8th, 2009 at 12:34 pm

I thought this quote from Federer post match is great.

“In tennis, you can lose although you’ve played well; you can win although you’ve not played great tennis. Everything is possible. You need to make the good choices at the right time, and this is what I managed to do here. I’m very proud.”

Especially in five sets matches its very true.

June 8th, 2009 at 12:34 pm

Federer says he still cares a lot for the game and I believe that. He said he feels nerves and all these feelings because he loves the game so much. And considering what he’s done after so many wrote him off, you know that Federer really wants to play tennis. I have no idea how the baby will affect him, I don’t think anyone does, but hopefully it won’t worsen his play. I could understand if he skipped a few tournaments after his baby is born, but I don’t see the baby as something that’ll make him play worse.

June 8th, 2009 at 12:38 pm

Martin: The ’08 US Open wasn’t such an easy draw. He had to go through Novak in the semis and Murray (who’s had his number) in the final (albeit his first final). So I think mostly in slams he makes the draw work for him. It doesn’t just happen. In best of three matches other players have much better chance, bu for now, getting him in slams is a very all order.

June 8th, 2009 at 12:48 pm

Jane: I totally agree with you. I should have actually tried to present myself in a more clear way, I mean you exactly described in words what I was trying to say. I just meant to say that Fed may go into a stage , albeit subconsciously may be, where he might just start taking things casually and not in as much fiercely competitive spirit as some would expect! In other words, at some point, bad if it is sooner, he may lose his hunger for victories, slams and stuff without realising it. It is already becoming more and more obvious from his statements that the element of disinterest has already taken roots within him, extending itself to the MS events, slowly but surely it may also spread its grip over his GS campaigns too. However it’s only my personal opinion!

June 8th, 2009 at 2:41 pm

I believe federer will win 1-2 more wimbeldons……1-2 more us opens….1 more australian open…..and 1 more french open……He should end his career with 17-18 majors……I believe Rafa will end his career with 10-12 majors….6 French Opens…..2 Wimbeldons……1 us open…….2-3 australian opens…….Let me know what yall think!

June 8th, 2009 at 3:57 pm

Cindy_Brady Says:
“I believe Federer is moving more into the Sampras mode and concentrating all his energy on winning the majors. If he gets a master’s event here or there than it’s just frosting on the cake. IMO, his only motivation these days are the slams.”

I totally agree with you on that. The one achievement he may want is to win is a full collection of all the Master’s events. I’m not sure how close he is to achieving this, but it may be a little extra goal at the back of his mind…after the Slams, of course. And, even though it’s still another 3 years off, I think Federer will still want to push for an Olympic singles gold medal.

June 8th, 2009 at 4:02 pm

sports fan Says:
“I believe federer will win 1-2 more wimbeldons……1-2 more us opens….1 more australian open…..and 1 more french open……He should end his career with 17-18 majors……I believe Rafa will end his career with 10-12 majors….6 French Opens…..2 Wimbeldons……1 us open…….2-3 australian opens…….Let me know what yall think!”

I think your estimates for Federer are fair. With his style of play, he’s going to have many more seasons ahead of him. Barring catastrophic injury, the only other factor that may affect his retirement would be his child (children change so many things, including priorities) and motivation (when you’ve achieved everything you’ve ever dreamed of in tennis, it can be hard to continue motivating yourself).

So you think Rafa is only going to win 2 more French Opens? I think he’s going to win more than that if his knees hold up and he doesn’t miss any FOs because of injury. I think it’s fair to say, though, that although he starting winning Slams at a younger age, he will have a much shorter career than Federer. I’m not actively hoping for this, of course, because I’m a fan of his, but I think it’s something that is to be expected given his demanding style of play.

June 8th, 2009 at 4:07 pm

Federer needs to win Rome, Monte Carlo, Shanghai, and Bercy to have all the Masters. Before I thought he’d definitely do it. Now I think it’s a tall order with all the young (and even old) players. As for the singles gold, you bet he still wants that.

Federer said he’s still going to play until atleast 2012, so I’d say he can potentially win the next 3 or 4 Wimbledons and US Opens. Actually, same for the AO. As for the FO, I haven’t yet fully grasped the idea that he’s going to be the defending champion next year, so he could win another one, maybe.

I don’t know about Nadal at the US Open. But he could win anothe 1 or 2 AOs, probably 5 more FOs, and maybe 1 or 2 more Wimbledons. But we’ll see. No use in guessing, clearly, it’s impossible to predict the future of tennis.

June 8th, 2009 at 4:08 pm

Thanks sensationalfin – that’s a pretty tall order for Federer to complete his Master’s collection. It’s tough because they are best-of-3-setters, and that’s when it is much easier to knock Federer out, especially if his energies are focused on winning Slams and not the smaller tourneys.

June 8th, 2009 at 4:18 pm

Oops – I meant, sensationalSAFIN – sorry about the typo of your screename.

June 8th, 2009 at 4:20 pm

I’d like Fed to win 18, but I think he falls one short of it and retires with 17 GS.

June 8th, 2009 at 5:29 pm

Roger is the man……… yes, he will show up at Halle and more importantly, he will win it again…. Grass and Roger are the perfect couple!!!

June 8th, 2009 at 5:57 pm

According to the Wimbledon.org site, Federer will be deciding tomorrow (Tuesday) whether to play Halle or not: http://www.wimbledon.org/tennisnews/article_A8882581244474422A.html

June 8th, 2009 at 7:45 pm

Is Fed playing Halle? Any word yet? I am assuming he will, but just wondering.

June 9th, 2009 at 11:26 am

Fed will not be playing Halle:

http://www.gerryweber-open.de/en/current-news/news-gerry-weber-open/?id=3505

They just announced it on the tournament’s site. Probably a smart move, given that he’s hungry for Wimbledon and wants to be in top form there.

June 9th, 2009 at 1:00 pm

Fed did the right thing by opting out.

June 9th, 2009 at 3:28 pm