Preview: Federer Goes for No. 10 at ATP Halle Gerry Weber Open

Good draw for Fed. But he has been jinxed here before. Get er done Maestro!

June 17th, 2018 at 11:39 pm

I Think he will get it, love that picture BTW ….

June 18th, 2018 at 4:06 am

https://twitter.com/jane79591745/status/1008681440546996224?s=21 Too true.

June 18th, 2018 at 10:50 am

Not impressed with going for 10. Can he skip one and go straight for No. 11?

June 18th, 2018 at 10:57 am

He needs 12 more to break Jimbo’s all time record in the open era……109……..Jim’s match wins 1256-279 losses (81.82%) Wiki is so knowledgeable! Fed wants these two stats on his resume baaad, me thinks! He seems to be in good enough health atm to get r done. I think 40 yrs old is his retirement age goal he has set! We will see!

June 18th, 2018 at 11:58 am

Okie chances are he will do it too, hes not retiring anytime soon so its only a matter of time, the titles record will be pretty soon, the match wins will take a little longer though ….

June 18th, 2018 at 12:08 pm

Giles it seems that those tweets are from a very bitter fan, thats all ill say ….

June 18th, 2018 at 12:14 pm

Willow. Lol. It would seem so. Anyway, just thought I’d pass them on.

June 18th, 2018 at 12:17 pm

^why post it then?
#jealousmuch?

June 18th, 2018 at 12:20 pm

^^ Just to keep you in the loop! Lol

June 18th, 2018 at 12:30 pm

Willow…. he’s going for it. I don’t think retiring has even entered his mind. Still has records to break (a broken leg is probably the only thing that could impede him from accomplishing this effort) I honestly believe he will do it. Regarding his longevity, as I’ve said forever, he’s got perfect athletic genes…..DNA…..whatever you want to call it, freaking amazing!!

Regarding Rafa……..after all his injuries and clawing himself back to #1…… freaking amazing also!! Now Roger has #1 ranking back. So bottom line, these two are “The Bees Knees”…… well Rafa’s knees haven’t been the best……maybe I should have said they’re the “Cat’s Meow” ….. lol…..but whatever…..I’m sure you get my drift…….

June 18th, 2018 at 12:38 pm

“Here we go loop-d-loop, here we go loop-d-lie”🎶🎶🎶🎶 A very fitting song atm! LOL

June 18th, 2018 at 12:43 pm

Wawa winning in Queens, good for him. Maybe he can get a string of wins this week.

For Fed to have a shot at Jim’s 109 he will have to finish this year with 102. Menaign winning half (4 of the next 8) tourneys he will play this year, inlcuding Halle this week. THan he will have 2019 and 2020 to win 7 or 8 titles.

Unless he statr playing bunch of 250, because as it stands he plays onle 1 250, 3 500 (Rotterdam or Dubai; Halle and Basel) and the rest is HC Amsters, Slams (non RG) and WTF. Hard to see him keep this same stats ext year and 20′. Will depend on his second half of the seaosn, whcih he started with right foot last week.

Its possible, but still a long shot. This year can detemrine his real chances for real.

June 18th, 2018 at 12:45 pm

Okie your a funny lady, but yeah i do get what your saying, thanks for the congrats on FB too by the way xx

June 18th, 2018 at 12:49 pm

I’ve have always been a proponent of considering the competition when looking at someone’s record. It’s one of the reasons I really like Nadal. He built his reputation taking out Federer, Djokovic, Murray, Wawa & DelPo in their prime along with a lot of others.

However, it does seem like there’s a little bit of a double standard. Federer may have several 250 Level titles as part of his resume. So what? Beating Cilic, Kyrgios and Raonic on the way to a title is a damned impressive accomplishment. Who cares if it was at a 250 or not? During Nadal’s 2017 USO run, he didn’t really face a murderer’s row like that to get win that title. He played DelPo, but other than that, his draw was practically equal to what he might expect at a 250 level tournament.

June 18th, 2018 at 12:50 pm

Nadal also, may be micro managing his schedule more. This year not playing HC swing after AO, made him fresh for clay where he basically duplicate last year resuls. Now let’s see if he stays healthy for second half, which apart from USO is not his best part of the season. Each year he gets older and injurys can creep in anytime. End of last year to Mimaim he was injured for 5-6 months or so. But this year he is way fresher, so he can have a more healthy second part.

June 18th, 2018 at 12:51 pm

He might not reach Jims 109 titles this year, but he will get it sooner or later, the match wins will take longer however ….

June 18th, 2018 at 12:51 pm

Few things that are almost certainties not possibilities.

1. Roger will break connor’s record of 109 titles by the time he will retire.
2. Roger will retire after 2020. So we have Fed playing for three years. Very rarest and precious time for tennis and the fabs before the inevitable moment arrives.
3. Fed’s game is still shaky with considerable ups and downs. He needs to up the tempo and play with much more intensity to win Wimbledon, Halle, Cincinnati and USO- And, for me this is realistic goal for Fed and he can achieve it if he plays with required improvements.

June 18th, 2018 at 1:37 pm

Tennis Lover,

It depends on draw and his health. Halle and Cincy are best of 3 fast courts. If he runs into a Cilic, Raonic, Kyrgios or DelPo serving great it could go to a third set tiebreak, and there is almost lotery. He is 1-2 this year in third set teibreak, so the margins are really thin.

In Slam I agree, a day rest in between do wonders for him these days, he is heavy favorite and most likelly will play 3 easy roudns in Wimbledon beofre things start getting intersting (depending on his draw). He could get a Murray, Djoko, Kyrgios or Raonic R16. Halle could be “easier” as is grass and he alrady got a good draw. But cincy with last 4 roudns back to back may take a tool on him. Last year in 5 mathc in Montreal his back gave up and it cost him in USO also.

But so far, until somebody actually takes a set off him on Wimbledon, he is the heavy favorite.

USO is way more Open. But for sure he is targeting the tourneys you mention.

June 18th, 2018 at 3:53 pm

Federer’s braking Connors record of titles is the only thing that matters most to him. Competitive as he is, is not speculation. It’s common sense. But some posters here are still interested if he’s number one again or not. As if the seedings would change anything to pursue that goal. Bollocks, bollocks, bollocks.

And if Nadal don’t play Wimbledon, it’s also Ok. He’s got a Us Upen to defend (when his game and body will come together after as rest) and still he’s better suited to face a challenge than he would face on grass, where his explosive footwork of yore is paramount. Not for nothing CEMENT is called the Big Equalizer when it comes to surfaces. ALSO, he would try to get another Slam to get closer to Federer.

There comes a certain age where is really about smart scheduling, not the points in the ranking. For some reson, people here have trouble to understand where common sense lies.

June 18th, 2018 at 5:38 pm

Giles: Your Twitter link. Assuming that is believed to be Jane – used to be on TX – ?? Doesn’t sound like her – the language/style is so different from what I recall.

June 18th, 2018 at 5:42 pm

SGI

It doesn’t matter if it’s a 250 or 500 tournament. Connors played a lot of those. Those are sanctioned tournaments, not challengers. A record is still a record. Connors still holds it.

I wouldn’t mind if Federer plays some of those in order to get it. What’s the sin? It’s the only thing left to be challenged on the ATP!

Forget about the obtuse thinking here. I agree with you. The midget mentality here is that they avoiding each other. It’ll never change.
I remember why I left this website long time ago I wouldn’t want to let it happen again, although after the French, I’ve been second guessing that decision. Nobody argues about tennis anymore. It’s just fandom BS juvenilia. Boooring…. Still, there are people willing to talk interesting things instead of feuds.

This link, you’ve all should read it. I’m not always in the same page with this guy. But he’s speaking for a lot of us here. Certainly me: http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2018/06/roger-federer-rafael-nadal-grass-schedule/74747/

June 18th, 2018 at 5:58 pm

Daniel!…”End of last year to mimaim”…What’s “Mimaim”?…I think about it till my hair grows white…but cannot find the meaning!

June 18th, 2018 at 7:36 pm

Daniel!…”End of last year to mimaim”…What’s “Mimaim”?…I think about it till my hair grows white…but cannot find the meaning!

——————————————————————

It is ‘Miami’.

June 18th, 2018 at 8:18 pm

Oh!..It’s MIAMI!!…Hehehehe…Very slow of me!!…Hehehhe…Thanks Topspin!

June 18th, 2018 at 8:29 pm

AndyMira, not even me when I read your question found out what is was, by reading it. Thanks Topsoin to clarify LOL

June 18th, 2018 at 9:06 pm

chofer,

There is 2 things for Federer outside increasing his Slams tally of course: the 6th Year End #1 to tie Sampras as co-leader and the Connors total titles records.

To be honest, the 6 Year end #1 to me is a way greater achievement than having the total titles record. As you pointed out, Connors played a lot of small tournaments and eras change. The # ranking is the intimate standard of consistency and quality over last 52 weeks.

This year the #1 is a huge for Federer and realistically his last chance, as he has a better shot than last year. Why? Because Nadal won less points. This time last year Nadal already had 7000 pts whereas this year he has 5000. Fed has 3300 and last year he had 4040. So the gap for him to overcome is smaller. He always wins more points than Nadal after RG, even last year he did so, but as the difference was too big he could not achieve it. Thats why it matters so much and as they are changing positions back and forth, it show that its a reality for him.

June 18th, 2018 at 9:15 pm

Great article chofer. Agree 100% with it!

June 18th, 2018 at 9:30 pm

Hahaha…Daniel!…You’re funny!!…Only HR & U can make me smile or laugh on TX u know!…And u did it with no intention of doing it!!hehehe….

June 18th, 2018 at 10:11 pm

That Tignor piece was great, for once. His points on Rafa and Roger are 100% accurate, imo. But I wish he had pointed out and discuss another crucial point about both them.

Fed at this point cannot afford any kind of physical setback whatsoever. Any sort of injury will spell retirement loud and clear. So, it’s only wise to avoid the tournaments where the likelihood of body stress and injury is highest.
He is the guy whose ratio of played/missed GS tournaments is among the highest and that too is after 20 years on tour with 20 slams + 7(? to lazy to check) finals. So, he doesn’t owe anyone anything, he can choose to play what he pleases.

Exact same thing can be said of Rafa, though he is slightly younger and has had a little more frequent injuries;but he started winning GS at 17. So, he too has effectively earned himself the right that Fed has possessed for the last few years now.

Now, idiots and morons can be found at every corner on both Rafa and Roger fan camps; you can guarantee that. One apparently leaves TX another pops right up. It’s never free of them. And, all they do is keep screaming nonsense and insults (basically at every occasion) on missing the tournaments where their favorite is the apparent favorite on his favorite surface .
They are not tennis fans.

June 19th, 2018 at 1:04 am

I think Roger’s unspoken goal is an Olympic singles gold.

June 19th, 2018 at 4:13 am

J-Kath from Giles twitter link, i think whomever it is sounds very bitter, because its not the Novak show anymore, i remembering a while back getting crucified when i raised the subject of that poster by one Novak fan, and also about a WTA players weight, yet his friend called Serena an ape just recently, yet nothing said about that, seems to be posters are selective about whom they have a go at go figure, enough said back to tennis, great to have Andy back with no expectations ….

June 19th, 2018 at 8:41 am

J-Kath his fans dont regard it as being important ….

June 19th, 2018 at 8:42 am

Yep – Andy – feeling a bit nervous – just hoping he doesn’t limp off – will also be interesting to see Nole’s status. Right now I wonder about Grigor….Andrew Castle yapping about him being No. 1 – as one of the young ones – Grigor is 27 – he’d better get a move on, me thinks.

June 19th, 2018 at 8:49 am

Fed already triple BP and not converting.

June 19th, 2018 at 10:11 am

Break point conversion is something where Federer is weak and Nadal is legendary. Hope Fed’s team brings this issue in front of him and pushes him to work on it

June 19th, 2018 at 10:22 am

Federer now up 5-4 in the 2nd set after breaking Bedene. Almost there!

June 19th, 2018 at 11:12 am

Willow,

About Serena being called an ape: if you mean me, I nicknamed her Godzilla, due to her latest looks and costume at the FO. Godzilla is not a ape. King Kong is an ape.

June 19th, 2018 at 11:58 am

Andy is playing decently. Good start, even if he loses.
Did not see Nole, but Dimi- Nole should be a good one, for a 2nd round.

June 19th, 2018 at 12:02 pm

Andy is indeed playing decently VP., but Nick is playing like a plonker.
Yes, was very happy Gorgeous Grig beat Mr Whyaren’tyouanightclubbouncerwiththose Shoulders?

June 19th, 2018 at 12:09 pm

Yes, Nick not very impressive but Andy is not embarrissing himself out there. Eben if he loses today, it is a good start

June 19th, 2018 at 12:12 pm

Agree there. Very promising providing he is OK in the morning.
Berd out, not surprising. Anderson out, surprising.

June 19th, 2018 at 12:16 pm

Kyrgios takes second set breaker and will serve first third.

Coric crushing A Zverev in Halle.

June 19th, 2018 at 12:39 pm

Interesting how useless Kyrgios looked vs Murray till todays match.

June 19th, 2018 at 12:50 pm

Nadal could also reach 100 titles. he is on 79 titles. Djokovic might not after the slump in 2017.

June 19th, 2018 at 12:53 pm

For Nadal to reach 100 titles he would have to play SA clay swing in 2019 and 2020. It’s not a norm for him to win multiple titles after clay season and its hard to see him winning 4 European clay titles per year for next 4 years, next 2 possbile but at 35/36 almost impossible.

June 19th, 2018 at 1:13 pm

Good match. Expected Andy to give up in the 3rd but he’s in the match, fighting

June 19th, 2018 at 1:28 pm

British introduce the “Power of Low Standards” at a young age. Every Brit I know said, “Not bad for first match in a long time”. So naive.

June 19th, 2018 at 1:48 pm

I would love for images of TX posters to accompany their comments….so we could pass judgement on how we all look too……….

June 19th, 2018 at 2:14 pm

Raonic out. Shoulder injury, yet again.

June 19th, 2018 at 2:16 pm

Okie exactly ….

Van Persie Serena wore the outfit for medical reasons, Godzilla is still taking things to a personal level, and i was pulled to bits for saying about a WTA players weight by a friend of yours, as i say all depends on whos giving or taking the insults, enough now back to tennis ….

June 19th, 2018 at 2:22 pm

HR: I’m in tears – I’ve been your friend thru thick and thin and in return U use your rapier to puncture my enthusiasm for the return of Andy Murray….unless I have an apology that is heartfelt, you are off my Respect List.

June 19th, 2018 at 2:41 pm

Willow,

Serena is a public person, I found that outfit completely ridiculous and I felt free and still am to say thw same. Don’t care the reason she wore it. Tennis is a sport and that costume did not offer her an very athletic look.
Anyone with a different opinion on this matter, might feel free to “pull me to bits” on TX. I just replied, because there was no rasist intention in my comment. Was superficial, but no racist! Huge difference

June 19th, 2018 at 2:45 pm

FedExpress: Be careful – believe it or not there is natural justice in everything.

June 19th, 2018 at 2:47 pm

I can have fun about Fed, Rafa, Djoko and others here, when I have good reason to do it. Why am I not allowed to say anything about Serena? Would be positive discrimination and I should keep quiet out of pity for her, because she is black?
You keep on mentioning racism when it comes to Serena, so I could assume, you have a racist background in this case.

June 19th, 2018 at 2:52 pm

^^ for Willow

June 19th, 2018 at 2:52 pm

Van Persie your entitled, just like im entitled to say what i did about a WTA player, i didnt insult you personally, i didnt say you were racist i just didnt think it was very nice, but i was insulted personally by your friend, big difference, im not trying to win an argument by having the last word, so anyway lets talk tennis ….

June 19th, 2018 at 2:56 pm

While I know facts can be quite dangerous, Giles/Willow, here are two facts that contradict what someone on Twitter probably emotionally lashed out with re: Federer’s titles:

1) Only 15% of Federer’s titles were won at 250 events. Over half of his titles have been either Grand Slams, Masters 1000s, or YECs.

2) It’s wrong to suggest he vultures 250 events for the #1 ranking. Federer has assumed the #1 ranking 5 times in his career after winning a tournament. While the last two ascents have been on the heels of 250s (Rotterdam and Stuttgart, both this year), the other 3 were on the heels of Grand Slam wins: AO in 2004 and Wimbledon in 2009 and 2012. (In May of this year, he held the top spot for 1 week but wasn’t actively playing.)

Nadal has similar numbers, for what it’s worth. Only 11% of his titles are 250s, and he’s assumed the #1 ranking 7 times in his career. 2 of those times were for winning a major, and one was for winning Rome and Canada each. (He’s become #1 on 3 occasions during weeks where he either did not play (1) or did not win the tournament (2).)

June 19th, 2018 at 4:34 pm

TMR, Rotterdam is an ATP 500;-)

They are both equal on times as #1, 6 each.
Fed is on his 6 stint as #1: 2004, 2009, 2012 and 3 this year. Nadal also has 6 stints: 2008, 2010, 2013, 2017 and 2 more this year (after Miami and after Rome).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ATP_number_1_ranked_singles_tennis_players

June 19th, 2018 at 4:55 pm

Also, not to pick on A. Zverev, but for a kid who has shown some aptitude on grass with two runner-ups at Halle the last two years and a 4th round showing at Wimbledon last year, a first-round loss to Coric in Halle is *really* bad. Coric has won only 3 matches in his CAREER on grass! Yikes.

June 19th, 2018 at 5:06 pm

@Daniel: thanks for the catch! I stand corrected.

June 19th, 2018 at 5:07 pm

Here’s what Sascha Zverev had to say post match:

“There is not a lot to analyse about this match – I only trained once on grass beforehand and played one doubles match. I probably had the most difficult draw in the first round. Now I just have to train. Before the match, I tried to think about always feeling good here in Halle on the Centre Court. But that was completely different today. The longer the match took, the better I got. I thought, if I get a break at 4:5, I might be able to turn the match. But that’s the way it goes”, the shooting star of the ATP World Tour stated. “The most important thing is for sure, that I didn’t get any problems with my hamstring. That was all good. Now we will get into the Doubles proper. But we’ll just have to wait and see how Mischa is. He seemed to have injured himself a little”, Zverev added.
https://www.gerryweber-open.de/en/news/article/herbe-auftaktniederlage-fuer-alexander-zverev/

I didn’t know about a problem with his hamstring but so soon after a busy clay season for him, going deeper than ever at FO, I should think he might be physically and mentally tired. Hope this is is a good thing to give him time so he can rest, recover and get ready to make a deep run at Wimbledon. Go Zev!

June 19th, 2018 at 5:48 pm

Embolisms are very serious health problems…. the minute I saw Serena’s attire for tournament play, I knew immediately why she was wearing a compression suit……..for her health’s sake.

June 19th, 2018 at 5:56 pm

For those who are blessed with HBO, there is a fantastic documentary on Serena and all that she has went through. Would highly recommend that. Did not know all of the physical issues she had to go through. She is very lucky to have a baby!
—-
Fed is #1 giles, deal with it and have a good sleep knowing that :)

June 19th, 2018 at 6:53 pm

Okiegal you are right.

But not everyone would recognize it or even care to know more. It was a compression suit and worn because as she says, she worries about embolisms all the time after what she has been through twice nearly losing her life. But the people who were making fun of the outfit were absolutely clueless and it’s their decision, apparently, to remain stubbornly narrow minded. Maybe because their fashion sense is so high they’d prefer to bleed out from a busted clot than to wear something as hideously practical and necessary as compression garments. How shocking she went right out there on Center Court in public (gasp)! Should have stayed home, eh? lol It’s not the 1950’s.

You can be sure Serena could care less about the critics writing about it and having laughs on the matter. She’s going to do what is best for her health while working to get back to her best fitness and high level of tennis.

June 19th, 2018 at 6:58 pm

The Mind Reels i have nothing against Federer, or with or any other player playing smaller 250 tournaments, i was just curious about that twitter link just to clarify ….

June 20th, 2018 at 1:34 am

Jalep /Okie well said great posts ….

Jalep thanks for the link ….

June 20th, 2018 at 1:38 am

It will be interesting to see what Serena wears at Wimbledon. Presumably the same suit but in white.

June 20th, 2018 at 2:09 am

@ Jalep…… Great comment…….Serena has had her woes for sure……scary stuff!

@Skeezer..::.. I watched the HBO production of Serena…. it was very enlightening. You are so right, she’s very fortunate to have Olympia. Lots of worrisome moments during the birth of her child.

June 20th, 2018 at 2:33 am

Thanks Willow!

June 20th, 2018 at 2:34 am

“It will be interesting to see what Serena wears at Wimbledon. Presumably the same suit but in white”

Will be Moby Dick then
Since Serena would laugh at this, I will keep on making her smile :)

June 20th, 2018 at 4:12 am

@Willow: I didn’t think you took issue with any of it, so no worries. I mentioned you in my comment only since you’d been swapping posts with Giles on that Twitter post!

June 20th, 2018 at 7:45 am

Jeez Sascha, you don’t out your brother’s injury.

June 20th, 2018 at 8:51 am