Roger Federer Faces Dominic Thiem In Stuttgart, Del Potro Also In SF; Big Servers Rule In Den Bosch

Muller upset the top seed David Ferrer 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(5) to reach the semifinals
—
OK..that’s an upset, ok.

June 10th, 2016 at 11:38 pm

Play interrupted by rain :(.

June 11th, 2016 at 7:55 am

No bad feelings grass lovers, but watching Dr Ivo / Muller is like watching paint dry. I don’t know why would anybody pay to watch it, it should be the other way around, to give some incentive to people to come to watch it. No CC match can be as boring as (some) grass court matches and this is SF, I can’t watch it anymore..

June 11th, 2016 at 7:57 am

Jun,

Hiw was that match, I was following result but couldn watch since my provider decided Dr Ivo / Muller is more interesting then Roger / Thiem.

June 11th, 2016 at 8:00 am

There was another forum where anti-Federer people would refer to him as a serve-bot, which I thought was one of the most idiotic lines of thinking I had encountered in awhile.

Thiem was choking away the second set but regrouped in the tiebreak, though Fed had a match point on his own serve. Very up and down match. But nice one-handed backhands from both.

June 11th, 2016 at 8:05 am

Thank BBB, and don’t get me wrong, Dr Ivo is the nicest person, but watching two of them is not really nicest experience..

June 11th, 2016 at 8:09 am

Oh I agree. I meant that Ivo *is* a serve-bot, and I don’t enjoy it either.

June 11th, 2016 at 8:20 am

Both players back on the court now warming up. Thiem up by a break. Can he close this?

June 11th, 2016 at 9:17 am

thiem wins. what a choke from fed

first he is 0-5 down in the 2nd and makes the hard work to level and had two MPs (one on his serve ) only to lose the tie breaker

then 4 Bps in the 3rd, cant convert and gets broken

how many matches he wants to lose from winning postions. disgusting.

June 11th, 2016 at 9:27 am

for what then come back from 0-5 down. why not let it go and make the breaks in the 3rd?!?!?!?!??!

June 11th, 2016 at 9:28 am

Wake up and saw Fed won first set and as tiebreak second. Now saw that Thiem just won having saved MP. 2 in a row for him and beating Fed on grass.

Hope DelPo joins him in the final.

Well, this end the #2 weed for Wimbledon debated, Murray will clinch it. His draw in Queens looks good also.

June 11th, 2016 at 9:29 am

He did it. Thiem beats Federer on grass. Thiem looks really dangerous on grass. Don’t think anyone wants him in their QF’s at Wimbledon.

June 11th, 2016 at 9:32 am

thiem peaking vs old mugs (nadal and fed) but cant cope with nole.

June 11th, 2016 at 9:35 am

^^ because Nole is better than Nadal and Federer!

June 11th, 2016 at 9:38 am

Let’s bet that Roger is going to say “I am happy where my game is atm.”
He is like broken record.

June 11th, 2016 at 9:41 am

sad to see as a fedfan that he has developed into a choker.

still remember that match vs Kei in Miami 2014 where led by a ser and a break (twice) and still lost. or the match vs roddick in 2012 at miami. streamrolled him in the 2nd and had 3 Bps at the start of the 3rd.

have to admit now, he wont win a GS. cant see it. too many lapses. ground game is gone. serve not reliable anymore.

he had a fantastic career. accomplished everything he had to. now he can play for fun.

June 11th, 2016 at 9:46 am

Fed Express,

I wish your words were true. But, Federer is to good not to keep threatening at majors. He still has time this year and next year. Until someone other than Djokovic beats him at majors, Federer will be a threat.

June 11th, 2016 at 9:50 am

thiem is the real deal. novak had to play super clean and super aggressive tennis to beat him in the way that he did at the FO. it’s worth watching that match. it had a really electric quality because the crowd were so into it. and you could see – wow, this kid is GOOD. so now he has wins over rafa on clay and fed on grass. not something everyone can say, that’s for sure.

June 11th, 2016 at 10:21 am

Thiem is objectively top5 or even top3. Thus, Federer has done well today when considering his long break.

June 11th, 2016 at 10:23 am

also, thiem is not #7 in the rankings, #5 in the race, and #2 (behind novak) in match wins this year for nothing!

my only worry for his is overplaying; he could burn out or get injured if he isn’t careful.

June 11th, 2016 at 10:24 am

Jane,

I agree. But this week I think it was important for Thiem to play. The reason why I say this is because when I looked at the rankings, Thiem is barely ahead of Berdych, Raonic and Gasquet. The points that he gains this week will make sure that he stays in the top 8 for Wimbledon.

June 11th, 2016 at 10:31 am

For anyone who things age doesn’t matter that much – you should have seen this match today.

Fed had flashes of brilliance, no doubt, but just couldn’t sustain it. He looks OLD on the court now, especially after the first hour. He’s almost 35, what else do you expect?

Posters saying his game is now better than it was 10 years ago – yes, for a few minutes every hour it is. But not for a majority of the hours after the first hour. The errors now are just horrendous.

Of course, Fed himself will never acknowledge this – he’s like a politician, keeps on repeating the rhetoric. His level had dropped even in 2007 relative to his 2006 level. This is 2016.

Losing to Thiem is bad. He has a LONG way to go to win a slam – and he beats Fed on grass. Wow.

June 11th, 2016 at 10:37 am

Don’t know where I read it, but it is being said that Thiem’s worst surface is grass!! So now he’s off to Halle to prove otherwise. Gosh, he’s never off the court.

June 11th, 2016 at 10:39 am

Federer will lose early at Wimbledon this year.

Retirement time, his ranking are going to now just slide down. He and his buddy Nadal should open a fishing business.

June 11th, 2016 at 10:39 am

James,

I hope you are right. Let’s see how Wimbledon plays out. He didn’t make a lot of errors on the way to the final of Wimbledon last year or at the U.S. Open last year. So he can pull it together for majors when he needs to for sure. I still think he is rusty and working back into form. I’m not reading to much into this week. If I went by this week, Federer wouldn’t even be making the QF’s of a major ever again. That’s why I won’t take what I saw this week very seriously.

June 11th, 2016 at 10:40 am

James,

I noticed for the first time in Australia this year and again today as well, that his movement does look a little bit off. He doesn’t look as explosive this year, as he did last year. I don’t know if it’s enough to stop him from beating most players. But it might be. It’s so hard to predict these things. Every time someone says: Federer is done or Nadal is done, they come back and prove everyone wrong. That’s why I won’t believe it until I see it.

June 11th, 2016 at 10:46 am

Halle will be a big test. If Federer loses in Halle, I don’t see him getting to the Finals of Wimbledon this year.

June 11th, 2016 at 10:49 am

Fed hasn’t won a slam in 4 years. Nadal’s last one was 2 years ago. Who have they proved wrong about being done?

June 11th, 2016 at 10:52 am

i think edberg and fed’s new racquet allowed him a renaissance in 2014-15, but from the start of this year, of course he’s been plagued by both injuries and illness. big setbacks. not to mention losing edberg, who seemed to bring fed a new more aggressive approach – and maybe an extra edge, having his childhood fave in his box.

June 11th, 2016 at 10:52 am

James @10:37, well I just hope that you’re not comparing Feds stated best in 2015 with his injury induced rust in 2016.

Don’t you? Or do you.

June 11th, 2016 at 10:53 am

Coming back from a long layoff, this was more of an informational tournament for Roger. Losing to the 7th ranked player isn’t so bad, regardless of surface.

June 11th, 2016 at 10:55 am

Federer is a better player now than a decade ago, but he is against much better field than he was then. Balls he receive in 2016 are faster, better placed and have more spin than those in 2006. One looks as good as one’s opponent allows him.

June 11th, 2016 at 11:01 am

James,

Federer lost to a player that was better than him in Djokovic. Federer would have 20 or more majors if Djokovic wasn’t in the way to stop him. One player stopping him, doesn’t exactly show that Federer is done. I don’t agree with you on this one.

June 11th, 2016 at 11:03 am

Daniel

Where is the Draw for Queen’s. I’ve tried…there’s a button but even when I hit “Singles” it opens at Doubles and says the Doubles draw hasn’t yet been completed??????

June 11th, 2016 at 11:04 am

If this, if that. If I had a nickel for everytime someone mentioned “if”…..

Fed’s “stated” best of 2015 – well, it wasn’t good enough. He wasn’t even close to beating djokovic in either of the two slam finals. While he may have played better in 2015 than in 2013, a big part of it was the racket.

As for saying that he is better today than he was in 2006 – again, you are missing the point. He can probably play for some time at a level that is higher than in 2006, due to the larger racket – but he can’t sustain it any more, the consistency is not there, the errors are too many, mental strength is lacking. He looks washed out after 90 minutes. So when you make judgments, you need to look at all of these factors, not just a few sparkling rallies.

Fed is the best 35 year old tennis player, EVER. I am quite certain of that.

June 11th, 2016 at 11:16 am

Fine experience for Thiem, great lessons learned, wonderful progress. You lose 5 games in a row to a Legend In His Day, don’t unravel, be mentally tough and regroup. Rafa came into the Tour like that. It too Djokovic several years.
You face match points against that Legend, dig in, play him just like any other foe.

June 11th, 2016 at 11:25 am

James,

You can’t use the “if” statement with the racquet then if your are going to us it for anything else. He had better numbers leading up to the final of the U.S. Open than he ever had in his career. Meaning less errors than before. You can’t use, well if Federer had the same racquet as today he would have made less errors back in the day and been better. The facts are, that’s not what happened. So your if statement gets thrown out the window for anything else. If that’s what your wanting to use.

June 11th, 2016 at 11:31 am

It’s amazing that Thiem beat Nadal and Federer this year when Federer and Nadal both had match points. That’s impressive.

June 11th, 2016 at 11:33 am

J-Kath,

I could open even in my ATP app on my phone. Murray gets Mahut first round, which could be tricky, but he handles big serves like none. But even so, for first match on grass is dangerous.

Then maybe Bedene and Simon QF. Semis either Cilic, Gasket, Dimitrov or Dolgo

DelPo has Isner first round, Raonic has Kyrgios first round as well and Wawa gets Verdasco, all on the bottom half, which seems more loaded.

Think Murray is virtually in another final, can’t see those players troubling him much, the ones in bottom half have more fire power.

June 11th, 2016 at 11:38 am

Halle draw just out and Fed gets 2 easy rounds, than Goffin or Coric QF, Troicki or Berdy semis. Seems a pretty easy draw for him to reach another final.

Kei, Thiem, Karlovic, Fritz (who took a set off Fed in Stuttgart), Kohlsh are all on bottom half.

June 11th, 2016 at 11:40 am

Also, Fed will already move 2 positions in ATP race rankings to #13 and if he reaches Halle finals he goes to 11, if he wins Halle depending on how Berdych and Kyrgios (Queens) he could be #9 pre Wimbledon. pretty close to Goffin.

Thiem will move past Kei to #4 in race and next week in Halle they will have a potential semis clash.

June 11th, 2016 at 11:46 am

Roger had 2 matchpoints today! He was very close to a straight sets win.

A point or two, here and there, decide the outcome of matches as close as this one. Today, it was Dominic-105 vs Roger-106.

June 11th, 2016 at 11:51 am

Grass allows this things, matches are really decided by a few points and you have to protect your serve more carefully because 1 break could cost a whole match. As was the case for Fed in final set.

Clay is almost impossible to go to an entire match without being broken, even in the wash to wins the big 4 have they so serve. Once you go down 0-30 or 15-40 break is almost sure. Grass you can be 0-40 down and still recover with three good serves (not necessarily aces). Things are more unpredictable because serve is more valuable. On clay serve is just to start the point basically, on grass is a real weapon. Also slices are a weapon whereas on clay it’s used to disrupt the rhythm or as a defense shot.

I love that grass season is right after clay so we can see these differences between surfaces and playing styles.

June 11th, 2016 at 11:59 am

Thanks Daniel.

June 11th, 2016 at 12:04 pm

Thought this was a good start for Fed to build on. Theim has proven he can play and has had a wonderful 2016 so far. It’s not like Fed is not in all the matches he played here, the scores showed he is still competing.

June 11th, 2016 at 12:35 pm

Agree Skeezer, he can still compete…but he needs to git r done in straights,…….3 might be too much..after all he is no spring chicken. A slam would be difficult for him imo…..I think Thiem is the one to watch out for….a very impressive young man!!

June 11th, 2016 at 12:54 pm

It was certainly a very close match – could not be closer and Fed actually won in the points department, but what was he doing losing 2 match points? What happened there?

I mean, first of all, dying when Thiem was 5:0 up in the second set, then, what resolve Roger showed to pull it back – mental magnificence. So close. Could easily have gone either way, but Thiem. The real deal. Now this is what we have been waiting for, ‘the next generation’.

He is going to be a hard player to beat. That is for sure.

Oki, yes, and I agree/am hoping that Fed is saving the energy though for Halle, and then on to Wimbledon.

Not long to go.

Where has Hippy gone these days Oki?

June 11th, 2016 at 1:32 pm

as long as thiem doesnt beat nole and murray sometime soon i am not convinced he is the real deal.

beat well past their prime all time greats so far. thats it

June 11th, 2016 at 1:44 pm

I don’t know – Federer’s out of practice with being in tight competitive situations. I wouldn’t read too much into one match.

June 11th, 2016 at 2:19 pm

FedExpress – Fed plays well enough to keep making semis and Finals appearances against the field, Rafa was very close to being in full form in Barcelona, MC. It’s not like that they transfomed into some sort of Donald Youngs against Thiem. Wins against players like Goffin, Fed, Kohlschreiber, Nadal and moving solid into the Top 10 already prove Thiem is “the real deal”.
May be that Dominic may wait a bit before he ever beats Andy of Novak. But that should not obscure he is here, now. And capable of big wins.
And it seems, capable of big wins on all surfaces and showing early signs of being an Ironman like Laver, Connors, Lemdl, Fed. and Nole 2.0/ Just plays and plays and doesn’t get injured and freaking loves it all.

June 11th, 2016 at 3:15 pm

Warriors! 3-1, up next; Monday.

June 11th, 2016 at 3:23 pm

I think she has a new moniker being Willow! I am so glad she decided to come back…..not m any of us Rafa fans left….I’m sad to say. But there’s a new sheriff in town….officer Djokovic! Lol

June 11th, 2016 at 4:27 pm

Did I hear somebody said this was good showing by Roger, really? You people are delusional, this is his best surface and yet he played three sets against #65 and just won, played two TBs against #200+ player and just won and lost to Thiem on his worst surface. This was first tournament on grass for all these players, and how the tune is changing when Roger is losing to Thiem, Thiem is no more this or that as his fans said after Nole beat him at FO, but on the oposite, Roger fans are singing praises to Thiem now…let me guess…of course he just best the GOAT.

June 11th, 2016 at 5:57 pm

^^^”..beat the GOAT”

June 11th, 2016 at 5:59 pm

jane,

You are absolutely right, Nole played 100% focused and perfect match in order to beat red hot Thiem at FO at his best surface, it wasn’t that Thiem played badly, he wasn’t allowed to play better due to Nole’s accurate and probably best showing at FO.

June 11th, 2016 at 6:02 pm

Wogboy

You were absolutely right. These are comments from Roger:

“I can play better.”

His goal was to “win two matches this week.”

“It went surprisingly well.”

“I was pleased the way I was playing.”

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
PS: There’s a shocking article on Nole that I’m not going to post.
Wonder if you know what I am referring to? Yes? or No? Will do.
@ OKIEGAL
There is an excellent article on Maria which essentially endorses our collective view of the situation and believes the 2 years are way over-the-top. Didn’t post because thought it might start it all up again.

June 11th, 2016 at 6:26 pm

JK,

Thanks for the feedback, I think this was “informational ” or whatever tournament for Roger..;)

No, I don’t know anything about any shocking artical, though nothing surprises me anymore to be honest.

June 11th, 2016 at 6:30 pm

Meanwhile, Djokovic is sort of on vacation. Had his official opening of Eqvita. Did another “selfie video” describing the food and beverages, the thought behind the decor, the business and staff people working it. Also introduced his business partner, head cook, and his private chef when he is back home. Prices were decent, factoring it is in Monaco. His ambition is to have Eqvitas in multiple locations in many countries. Named some other restaurants nearby as great places to dine or take out, and thanked them for being so supportive of his and his wife’s efforts.

From Friday: https://www.facebook.com/djokovic.official/posts/1160551560664360

Was going to video his breakfast, chia seed pudding and buckwheat pancakes. Found his wife stole his order of the pudding and was eating it somewhere else in the restaurant. Funny bit ragging on her, the little thief, funny response in gestures back at him. She kept it.
Explained the name was something they thought up based on equilibrium, its abbreviation eq in medical and sports parlance. Means balanced life, and food and nutrition a key part of it. Novak set it up from the start to be a dog and kid friendly restaurant.
Worth a look at if you are a Djokovic fan.
Not a word was said about anything tennis related.

June 11th, 2016 at 6:32 pm

The British Honours:

After bestowing maximum honours on any major business leader who will openly state they want to stay in Europe, our PM suddenly remembered Scotland and bestowed an OBE on Jamie Murray for his doubles success.

Yawn.

June 11th, 2016 at 6:34 pm

And on Leon Smith, Captain of the Scottish (sorry, meant British) Davis Cup.

June 11th, 2016 at 6:35 pm

I just read that Federer asked organizers to reschedule his match with Thiem so he could watch soccer match Switzerland / Albania.. is he for real? They didn’t obliged.

June 11th, 2016 at 6:39 pm

‘lost to Thiem on his worst surface.”

Apparently some here don’t follow Tennis. Federer has been injured, more so than anytime in is career and has lost more time off the court than any other time in his career as a result.
So yeah, getting back to match shape playing ANY match and being competitive is something to build on.

June 11th, 2016 at 6:42 pm

CF1,

Nole is back in Belgrade on short holiday.

June 11th, 2016 at 6:42 pm

No, we follow basketball, particularly when certain tennis player was writing tennis history, and yet we call ourselves tennis fans..

June 11th, 2016 at 6:43 pm

“I just read that Federer..”
Instead of saying you read it, just post the link, otherwise it is just more false propaganda from the Fed jealous clan.

June 11th, 2016 at 6:44 pm

Use google translate, from Serbian TV station, govermant one, they lie only when they praies and defend government, so you can consider the news accurate and trustworthy:

http://www.rts.rs/page/sport/sr/story/38/tenis/2349316/dobra-i-losa-vest-za-rodzera-federera.html

June 11th, 2016 at 6:51 pm

J-Kath “PS: There’s a shocking article on Nole that I’m not going to post”

That’s quite a tease,Kathy.
My guess would be an article today by
a New Zealander named Mark Reason, an embittered Fed fan. Writing the usual on how Novak has a pathetic need to be loved, but it is Federer who is loved globally..And some drivel about how Djokovic is like Hillary Clinton – not charismatic, no joy in their jobs, etc., etc.

BTW, I liked a recent article explaining Scotland is actually a chunk of America, torn away from the N American Plate 400 millions of years ago. Making Scots the 1st Native Americans, predating the Siberians crossing through the Bering land strait. (And further news that the Scottish ice pack hunter people are the most likely source for Euro DNA found in Indian tribes on the East Coast and Canada.
Could explain something about those neo-Murikans that had to have Hadrian’s Wall built to keep them out of civilized lands south…

And you probably know of the speculation that GRR Martin was inspired by that Wall, and modeled the Game of Thrones Wildlings after the early Scots

June 11th, 2016 at 6:56 pm

Chrisford1

The article should have said America is a chunk of Scotland. Don’t believe everything you read. And yes, Scots do have a relationship with Serbia. Ah yes, those civilised lands to the south…I know all about them.

Off to bed. Hope I sleep well – and you too.
Ciao.

June 11th, 2016 at 7:32 pm

OK Skeezer

It was just false propoganda. But surely you recognise his style – unmissable. PS: Don’t hate him but tired of hearing every time he sneezes.

June 11th, 2016 at 7:35 pm

Dave,read my 11.16 post again – I didn’t use IF for anything other than pointing out what others are doing.

Fed can’t play well in the third hour of a match. That’s a fact. in both the slam finals last year, he hung in for two sets, then just couldn’t

AGE.

June 11th, 2016 at 8:50 pm

James,

Fair enough. I can agree with that. The thing is that during his 2 runs to the finals of Wimbledon and the U.S. Open he didn’t have to play much over 2 hours in the 6 matches leading up to the finals. Djokovic forces that extra time out of him. No one else seems to be able to do that. That’s why I say he is still good enough to beat anyone other than Djokovic. So my point is that in the future if Djokovic was to be upset by someone else before the finals, it wouldn’t surprise me one bit if Federer was the one to benefit from that upset and win another major. That’s what I feel at this point.

June 11th, 2016 at 9:04 pm

the us open 2014 was his best shot really. but even then he coudnt take advantage

June 11th, 2016 at 9:40 pm

FedExpress,

He was playing better in 2015 and seemed to be more comfortable with the racquet. He had a much more confident run at the 2015 U.S. Open. That was a golden opportunity in 2014 though.

June 11th, 2016 at 9:48 pm

BTW James, I have exclusive rights to call Roger “old”, since I said that after his MC match, he looked old, grumpy and out of place, that was the first time since I’ve been watching Roger that I realize he is is pushing himself more and more but body says “I don’t want to do it any more, 18 years on tour is enough, I want to play with kids in park instead of playing with this kids on the tennis court”. He reminds me now on those boxers who could retire on time, but kept coming back just to be beaten, badly.

June 11th, 2016 at 10:04 pm

Baby Humble aka Timmy Boy is keeping up the family name. Good job, kiddo.

June 12th, 2016 at 12:03 am

@Wogboy

The only difference between the old boxer and Fed is that Fed has been to more slam finals in the last year than any other active player has been in their entire career, Other than Stan and the other big 3 of course. I think he will stick around and reap the dividends of the weakest of all weak eras in the history of weak eras.

June 12th, 2016 at 2:04 am

“Retirement time, his ranking are going to now just slide down. He and his buddy Nadal should open a fishing business.”

Hahahaha…good one, James, but that will never happen. Could you imagine Rafa and Roger on the same boat fishing? You have Rafa sitting there quietly trying to smile while the narcissist Federer talks on and on about how great he is until Rafa finally has enough and throws Roger in the water! Lol!

June 12th, 2016 at 2:53 am

Chris Ford, you talk about Scottish ice pack hunters. I’ve never heard of that and I googled and coudn’t find anything about them. Can you provide a link?

June 12th, 2016 at 3:09 am

Fed is still a legitimate top 5, even top 3 player (except on clay). (that itself speaks volumes about how weak this era is).

But we all know that there is a big difference between being No 2 or No 3, and being No 1. Murray hasn’t been No. 1 EVER, maybe never will. Far fewer players have been No. 1 than have won multiple slams. Even Becker managed No. 1 for just 12 weeks or so, if I remember correctly.

So Fed can hang around, get to some semis, even finals. But winning a slam? Nah, that ship sailed to Mallorca long time ago.

I do think he is GOAT, at least for now.

June 12th, 2016 at 3:31 am

kjb,

It doesn’t seem that he is ripping any benefits apart of being embarrassed tournament after tournament this year, but as long as he is happy with his performance and using them as informal tournaments I am happy for him to stick around as long as possible so No1e can build even better head to head.

June 12th, 2016 at 3:32 am

@Wogboy

I don’t think he sees it that way. I think he loves playing tennis, he loves the tour. The last 3 slams hes played in has been final-final-semi. I don’t think he is embarrased at all by that. The real embarrasment around here is your lack of tennis knowledge and uninformed opinions.

June 12th, 2016 at 3:40 am

JKath,

hahaha

Quote your source please because as usual, this is your interpretation – just watched the video of Roger’s post match and read the transcript – here it is

http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/federer-stuttgart-2016-sf-reaction

Let’s have a sprinkle of reality shall we.

Absolutely Roger should have won that match. He didn’t. Thiem was fantastic. To make the switch from clay to grass so quickly shows he is not a fly by night.

106 points to 105, (I have never understood this), however, additional match practice is what Roger needs. 100%. If people like you want to bang on about age, about lack of, then wow, what a human being you must be.

Roger came back from injury, what did I expect? Of course, I expected Roger to win everything in sight, why? because he is Roger! Then I thought to myself, hey, hang on a second. be realistic. He needs match play, match practice in order to see the shortcomings in his own game and I think that is a more believable route to be fair. It also helps the psyche to believe that Roger is still a force to contend with – grass being his best and most successful surface.

That is not to say that Thiem did not cause an upset, he did. However, when things are put into perspective and you see how close the match was, it simply was not a blow out, when my man dug deep in the second set, I thought, here he comes, he is going to do it, this is what fairytales are made of.

That match point, I held my breath, but it was not to be. Alas. Nevertheless, Roger is realistic.

“Any match you lose is disappointing. But to lose when you have match point means it was a close one”.

I would agree with that one.

“We both had our chances throughout. After coming back from 0-5 in the second, it was tough to lose the tie-break”.”I could have played better at some of the big moments. At the same time, Thiem came up with some really good shots when he needed them. It’s just unfortunate. It’s just a matter of working hard and maybe things will go my way next time”.

Spot on Roger.

Federer also underlined the importance of additional match practice.

“Things went surprisingly well this week. Conditions were very fast, so thats why you saw a lot of tie-breaks, lots of close matches. I probably didn’t serve my very best and I need to cut down on some mistakes in my game, but that comes down to not playing a lot”.

“I want to be in a position to talk more about my matches, rather than the way that I am training coming back from injury. Im happy that it is in the past, and I am looking forward to the second half of the season”.

http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/federer-stuttgart-2016-sf-reaction

Bravo Roger! An honest assessment of your position right now.

Looking forward to seeing you at Wimbledon and shutting the mouths of the uneducated and uninformed. JKath, you do show your lack of knowledge at times.

But then I guess you love doing this, such is your hatred for Roger.

Oh, and Wogboy, your comments are just disgraceful and disrespectful at the best of times. Nole would be ashamed to have a fan like you, because you really are not a fan of tennis. And Wogboy, you talk about Roger being old and boxers come back. Two things. Age is a number, secondly, Roger never went away! What a troll you are. What a hater. Get a life Wogboy, learn some respect. Too late for you I guess?

James, I agree with you. I think there is a huge difference between No.1 and No.2, Nole and Murray, but then Nole is just way ahead of everyone and most definitely in a league of his own. I think he will go on to beat the 17 slams that Roger currently holds, bar injury, he is unstoppable.

June 12th, 2016 at 4:18 am

skeezer Says:
“I just read that Federer..”
Instead of saying you read it, just post the link, otherwise it is just more false propaganda from the Fed jealous clan.

June 11th, 2016 at 6:44 pm

Skeezer,

You beat me to it. Here is the link and it is nowhere near what J-Kath quoted, because of course, it isn’t what was said.

Here it is for you:

http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/federer-stuttgart-2016-sf-reaction

June 12th, 2016 at 4:19 am

https://www.quora.com/Why-do-most-people-love-Roger-Federer-so-much

For J-Kath and Wogboy – a ‘match’ made in heaven.

June 12th, 2016 at 4:28 am

kjb,

It is good to have somebody who knows how Roger sees the things and has inside information, not just from his team, but inside Roger’s head, stick around we need you.

BTW, remind me what has he won since Cincy last year, Basel and..?

June 12th, 2016 at 5:10 am

I just hope Halle will not roster Roger to play when Switzerland is playing their next match at European Championship, that wouldn’t be fair.

Madmax, I love you😘

June 12th, 2016 at 5:14 am

There was some really good play in that match. As long as Roger can produce that, I for one will be watching him. And for the record, I am a Novak fan, an Andy fan, and a Stan fan as well. Guess I just enjoy good tennis.

June 12th, 2016 at 5:30 am

Rafa and Nole leads their H2H against “Ballerina”. Both are better athletes then Roger.

June 12th, 2016 at 5:48 am

Congrats to Mat4 for France :P..even if he foes not care ;)
Congrats to Margot for Wales ;)

WB,

Switzerland will play Romania next.hehe

June 12th, 2016 at 5:52 am

P.S. Have also to congratulate Thiem for his win against Roger, on Thiems worst surface :)

June 12th, 2016 at 5:54 am

So happy that Novak won the French Open after all the heart breaks he had over there. My prediction jinx worked,haha. Congratulations Djokoooooo, good lad. Novak is the only top player who is not playing any grass tournament yet again. Is there any reason why he doesn’t play grass tourney’s before Wimbledon?

June 12th, 2016 at 5:59 am

Hi Anki,

Thanks for the jinxing thing ;)
Last time Novak played another grass tourney befor WB was in 2010, and he lost. He’s more succsessful at Wimbledon since 2011, without to take part at another grass tournaments, except Boodles

June 12th, 2016 at 6:06 am

I watched the match on YT. Federer looked good, but he didn’t return well. It was obvious that he lacked matches. Thiem played OK, but nothing exceptional.

The weak era argument — I wrote many times what I though of it. Just like Fabrice Santoro, I’d say that players were never as professional, as good as they are now.

Put Federer out of the equation in 2004-7, Djokovic now, erase Rafa from clay, and what would you get? Great rivalries, many players with 3-7 slams… strong eras?

I could write a much longer post, with names, but I am tired of repeating the same things all over again — that Hewitt was a fearsome competitor when he was no 1, that Safin was the player of the future, a blend of power and technique never seen before, that Roddick was unstoppable for years, etc. etc.

——————————–

I wrote about players longevity on another thread. When technology doesn’t change, players last longer. If Federer and Djokovic remain healthy, and Rafa recovers his health, they will be able to win slams like Laver, Rosewall or Gimeno. Not because they play in “weak eras”. But because they are that good. And how good they are, you can check it here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_Era_tennis_records_%E2%80%93_men's_singles

June 12th, 2016 at 6:14 am

Hey Van Persie,
Yeah, may be it works well for him. I hope Nole is not complacent after winning almost everything. He needs to aim for the golden slam ;)

June 12th, 2016 at 6:18 am

@VP:

It’s not that I don’t care. But recently, a player spat when the national anthem was played. I don’t care for a team with such players.

June 12th, 2016 at 6:31 am

VP,

I think we hit the nerve;)

Merge Romania (is that how you say?)

June 12th, 2016 at 6:55 am

Ranking is not just an outcome of playing against one player – its playing against the whole field. Sampras couldn’t even maintain a top 10 ranking in 2001/02, at 30/31 of age. Fed is No 2, No 3 at 34, almost 35 years of age. that reflects the overall competition, not whether there is one player that is winning everything.

Top players never concede anything in reality. Fed is a master of that. His interviews have always been – Oh, I got very useful information from this loss. I have been hearing this for 8 years – since his shellacking by Nadal at 2008 FO final. THe only top player who honestly reflects, some times, is Nadal, who has often said after losses that he lacked confidence, etc. So I don’t give any weight to what Fed said after this loss – what else is he going to say?

We’ll see. Lets see Halle, but more importantly, lets see what happens at Wimbledon. It will all be clear in 3-4 weeks whether Fed is just a really good old player or does he have a slam left in him. I think its the former.

June 12th, 2016 at 6:59 am

@WB:

There is an omerta about les Bleus. Recently, Eric Zemmour told it on TV and I was shocked. Try to find it on the net, you will be shocked too.

June 12th, 2016 at 7:30 am

mat4,

I don’t know what to google, trying but nothing comes up?
To be honest I was worried well before start that something bad will happen during championship in France, just some inside feeling that something very bad will happen, hopefully I am wrong.

June 12th, 2016 at 7:45 am

I’ll explain you by mail.

June 12th, 2016 at 8:05 am

@WB: sent.

June 12th, 2016 at 8:17 am

WB, It should be Hai Romania, like Hajde ;)

June 12th, 2016 at 8:19 am

Ok VP,

Hai Romania

PS
I googled and “merge” turned up from somwhere, you can’t trust google..:)

June 12th, 2016 at 8:28 am

mat4,

Thanks, I am still away but I can access the mail.

June 12th, 2016 at 8:32 am

Wow what a hateful piece from the fed biased media. Such fandom and jealousy knows no bounds.

“No, we believe in Federer. Look at the two men move. Djokovic almost minces back to his chair. Federer prowls. It is another problem for Hillary. Hubby Bill could move mountains with his gentle tread. Billbo was absurdly charismatic in his prime, but Hillary wobbles about like a made-up doll.

There is maybe hope for Nole and Hillary. There are people out there who say we can learn how to be charismatic. Olivia Fox Cabane, who charges firms like Google more than a $100,000 a year for her services, says, “It’s all about learning to play chemist with your brain. If you’re able to flood your body with oxytocin [the love hormone] whenever you want, your body language will be transformed. People will want to be near you.”

http://i.stuff.co.nz/sport/opinion/80930802/No-recognition-no-joy-no-charisma-with-Novak-Djokovic-and-Hillary-Clinton

June 12th, 2016 at 8:36 am

These are taboo topics. But I hope you understand now why I just don’t care any more for the North-African national team.

June 12th, 2016 at 8:39 am

Don’t worry elina, another butthurted fedfanatic, you have few of the on this thread, they can’t handle the truth.

That writer is Kiwi, btw, do you know why the birds are flying upside down above Kiwiland…it is not worth shitting on it..;)

Disclaimer,
Aussies told me so and I am not an Aussie..

June 12th, 2016 at 8:47 am

WB, “a merge” means “to go”, but we do not use it like it is used in English, or “aller” en Francais :)

June 12th, 2016 at 8:47 am

Anki, yep. Nole needs also that Gold Medal ;). Hope he will be motivated after RG

June 12th, 2016 at 8:51 am

P.S. for WB. We use “a merge” only in order to express a movement from point A to point B.

June 12th, 2016 at 9:05 am

Before I go out, me mates are waiting for me in the pub, I’ll tell you another Kiwi joke, Aussies have pleanty of Kiwi jokes:

Two Kiwis are riding horses along the fence line of their property and find a sheep with it’s head stuck in the fence.
One bloke jumps off his horse and, of course as most Kiwis would, has his way with the sheep. When he was finished he said to his mate: “Right, your turn!” His mate jumped off his horse and stuck his head in the fence.

Hava a nice day, me mates are calling me..

June 12th, 2016 at 9:07 am

According to Mr Laver, we have a new GOAT!

12 slams in the golden era, 4-in-a-row. Quality OVER Quantity any time!

YEAH!

June 12th, 2016 at 9:22 am

Federer will put this loss behind him very quickly and work on his game. I hope he is around to win a few more tournaments prior to his 36th birthday. That would be awesome!

Dear oh dear Elina. It is always such a shame when opponents feel they have to belittle others. I guess you must have been bullied in a previous life, perhaps? need to get back at your virtual buddies.

Wog boy, the sentiments are reciprocated. You are such a sweetheart…thank you. xoxox mwahhhhhh

June 12th, 2016 at 2:07 pm

@ 5.14 am
Good on you Klaus.
A good sentiment.

To Madmax @ 4.18am.
Dream on Madmax

June 12th, 2016 at 2:39 pm

@Madmax
http://www.thenational.ae/sport/tennis/i-can-play-better-says-roger-federer-after-falling-to-do

This is close to to the original article I read last night:
Includes:
“It went surprisingly well”.

“I was able to play 3 Difficult matches in a row” (slight derivation from the 2 in original article).

“I was pleased by the way I was playing.”

“Clearly I can play better….”
….
Cheers.

June 12th, 2016 at 2:55 pm

I think Federer floats above the court like no one else, but I don’t find him charismatic in the least. What a strange article.

June 12th, 2016 at 4:46 pm