Realise there's plenty of Fed fans around here, but I've always preferred Rafa myself.
Another great tournament by the champ, and a great final too. Sensational tennis by both players.
And the Djoka was, as we've come to expect, very respectful and sportsmanlike in his defeat.
Well done lads.
I still say the Fed's best is the best ever (that I've seen) - even if Nadal psyched him out.
I still say the Fed's best is the best ever (that I've seen) - even if Nadal psyched him out.
Feds great era was unbelievable. Not now. He got flattened in 4 sets by Robredo, who only won 4 games in three sets against Nadal. Federer is not Federer. He is just a good tennis player. I just can't see him winning another grand slam. Such a shame though. Well done to Nadal, even if I never liked the guy. Novac is the only guy I have hopes to deliver special performances if he can get his head around it. He is young enough.
I still say the Fed's best is the best ever (that I've seen) - even if Nadal psyched him out.
Feds great era was unbelievable. Not now. He got flattened in 4 sets by Robredo, who only won 4 games in three sets against Nadal. Federer is not Federer. He is just a good tennis player. I just can't see him winning another grand slam. Such a shame though. Well done to Nadal, even if I never liked the guy. Novac is the only guy I have hopes to deliver special performances if he can get his head around it. He is young enough.
No doubt the Fed has lost his mojo this year.
The loss to Robredo, well not the loss per se but the limp manner of the loss confirmed that to me. Not forgetting the shocker in R2 at Wimbledon.
Believe me, if you want a sporting role model for your kids, you can't go past Rafa. THE most humble man in victory and the most gracious man in defeat, but the most fierce, yet fair competitor in battle.
A few years ago he came to the Oz Open on the back of victories in the French, Wimbledon and US, therefore going for the Slam. He cruised into the 4th round and pull a hammy against David Ferrer, but played out the match.
At the press conference afterwards, he had every reason to be totally pi$$ed, but refused to use the injury as an excuse. In fact he got quite irate when it kept coming up in the questions. (I got the Rafa stare at one stage!) His catch cry was that he was beaten by a better player on the day....end of story!
Man love??? Rafa!!
In my opinion he needs to do one thing. He needs to decide whether he is going to burn out, or just fade away. If he decides he doesn't want to just fade away he needs to leave the game for a short while. Have a break of say a month. Then do nothing less than getting the best crew around him to train, and prepare a last battle of say 16 months. Learn every players skills and learn how to beat them with creative tennis. Real fair dinkum creative tennis. Just the way footy clubs do with our form of the game. Train for strength, stamina, endurance, speed, power, and develop a double handed backhand.
Do this every day (with rest days too) for at least 3 months. Only play as a training form against ex-players to develop this new tennis style. 2 against one on the court if required. then come back and attack 5 grand slam majors in a row, with an attempt to win at least one if not, 2 or 3 of them. Develop a game plan that involves lots of chip shots over the net, volleys coming to the net and run your opponent off their feet. Get super fit. Super fit. Not the way he is now. Fed sweats in every game I have watched him in 3 years now. Yes, that's right he sweats. He never use to sweat. Why ? Because he didn't want to. He was a machine and he never felt pressure. Will he do all this above ? No. Therefore he will just fade away. Such a shame from my favourite all time hero. I still have a signed cap, so it is nice trying to remember the old games.
As for humble no man can ever match humble with Agassi. No man, and never.
Sampras was the greatest player I had seen, until I conceded that Federer had overtaken him. As for Rafa, he's a super player who is closing on Fed. His clay court supremacy does lessen his overall record purely by numbers as clay is a specialist surface unique to only one slam.
Rafa would be better served if he stopped pulling his jocks out of his arse after each point.
Personally, I think Federer played in a fairly soft competition for a fair chunk of his career. Nadal was the first to really start challenging him, and the Djoker after that. In some ways, their emergence made him become a better Tennis player, but prior to that there was not a lot challenging Federer for the number one mantle, and I always had this idea that he was simply the best of an ordinary bunch. I could be wrong, and people might restate to me how incorrect that is, but that's my opinion.
You think about the names that were floating about winning the odd slam, and you see Safin, Roddick, Hewitt, and you just think to yourself that the 90's seemed to have so much more competition. Agassi was struggling to keep up with the elite of the game in the 90's yet in the 2000's when he was almost in his mid 30's he made a charge up the rankings again. Many will state that perhaps he started taking things more seriously then, but I just seem to remember thinking that the Tennis circuit was not what it once was, and that the stars were fewer and further apart.
develop a double handed backhand
Is this a joke? (serious question).
There are plenty now with single handed backhands at the elite level - Wawrinka, Almagro, Gasquet..... 2 US Open semi finalists right there.
Fed's issue is that he is too passive in points.....
He recently tried a move to the 98 sq. inch from the 90 sq in. bat - he must stick with that too.
Federer has one of the best single-handed backhands in history, but he has commented that the double-handed backhand is the way to go now. He said that's the shot his son will learn. For him, it's not worth transitioning so late in his career.
Lendl was the greatest player ever, used the small headed racquet against some of the best players tennis has seen in Edberg, Becker etc and pantsed them quite often. Brilliant player.
Federer's single back hand only becomes a problem against the left handed Nadal's heavy top spin cross court forehand. The higher he had to play the backhand the less control he has.
Roger is 32 now and is clearly near the end, I wouldn't be surprised if doesn't play on next year.
Lendl was the greatest player ever, used the small headed racquet against some of the best players tennis has seen in Edberg, Becker etc and pantsed them quite often. Brilliant player.
Actually he came out even against them. Edberg had a 14-13 record over him and he had an 11-10 record over Becker.
For him, it's not worth transitioning so late in his career.
It would be impossible to make such a change and for it to improve his game....
Federer's single back hand only becomes a problem against the left handed Nadal's heavy top spin cross court forehand. The higher he had to play the backhand the less control he has.
That's true, MBB, but the double-handed backhand as employed by Djokovic and Murray gives them the ability to slide into their backhands with the weight on the back foot, and it can be hit slightly behind the contact point needed with a single-hander. That's why they can generate so much power despite being forced to run wide. It really becomes a mirror image of the open stance used with the forehand. So Federer's single-hander means he misses out on that tactical advantage. If he wants to hit with topspin, he transfers his weight onto his front foot and then has to start moving back to his right to cover the next shot, but Murray and Djokovic can hit a topspin backhand from the back foot with the front foot to the side and already in position for a drop step or crossover step. Literally, they are a step ahead of the Fed.
Lendl was the greatest player ever, used the small headed racquet against some of the best players tennis has seen in Edberg, Becker etc and pantsed them quite often. Brilliant player.
Actually he came out even against them. Edberg had a 14-13 record over him and he had an 11-10 record over Becker.
Yep so quite often, not all the time. ;)
I remember watching a semi-final Lendl vs Edberg Aus Open quite some time ago and I was honestly the only person in the whole stadium going for Lendl. Edberg served for the match in the fourth set but Lendl broke back and won the fifth was so good giving it to everyone in the stadium as he clawed his way back. Unfortunately he lost the final in four sets to Becker from memory.
TBH I don't watch much tennis nowadays (not like i used to) so I'm not the best judge of today's players.
Agree with Agassi in his second career about his humbleness. In the first he was a brat.
The grace of Fed on the court is amazing. Loved both Lendl and Edberg in the 80s (and Miloslav Mecir)
At 27 and supremacy on clay and within 4 slams of Fed, he may just catch him .
Still remember the epic Wimbledon final from some years ago. Amazing game, amazing accomplishments from two incredible players.