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2008-05-13 15:45:00
Roger Federer has won a tournament in 2008. One. In Estoril – that's in Portugal for those of you have never heard of it. The list of players who have beat Federer this year include Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, which isn't so surprising. What is surprising is that the list also includes Mardy Fish and Radek Stepanek. But for those of you who are asking yourselves "What in the world is happening to Roger Federer???", be comforted. Roger has offered an explanation. He said that the reason his results have been a little strange this year is because he is now focusing on Masters events and Grand Slams and not playing many other events. He feels his tennis is "normal" again.
Great! I can understand that – he wants to win the big ones, to get closer to Sampras and those 14 Slam titles. There is just the veriest little glitch in that explanation. Don't worry if you missed it – thousands would. Only a person with a keen eye for the smallest of details would notice that Federer has won precisely ZERO Masters events and Grand Slams so far in 2008. If it's true that he has now lost to Fish and Stepanek (in the very events he claims to be focusing on) because he is saving all of his "best" tennis for the big tournaments, one might suggest that perhaps a change in strategy is in order.
The truth, of course, is that Federer is struggling. Chances are that he is not going to win Roland Garros this year, but that is not really different than it has been. Despite Nadal's second round loss in Rome, he is still the heavy favorite going into Paris - especially since his early departure last week was due mostly to the blister he was sporting on the ball of his foot (no disrespect to Ferrero intended). The clay court season has never really been Federer's. But grass? Grass is Federer's home. Wimbledon is where he broke through in 2003, and it is the place he could always count on. For this reason, I think the grass court season (all three weeks of it) will tell quite a bit about where Federer truly is in terms of form. My prediction is that we are going to see a different Wimbledon champion for the first time since 2003.
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Not a mention about the mono? Seems a pretty important detail to me. Don't think that it didn't have an affect on the Australian open outcome. It has also thrown off his usual routine. Since he has been healthy again he has played well, sporadically showing his top form. When he is on, no one can touch him. With more time, and more convalescence, he will return to his winning ways.
I would have mentioned it if he had stopped struggling with results when he got better. He didn't, so my conclusion is that most of the losses are not mono-related. Certainly not the Fish and Stepanek losses, which are the most troubling of all.
Well last year he came off Australian open ,winning it, without losing a set in the whole tournament. And then he goes to have defeats against Canas. Having only a single title before Hamburg which was Dubai. How can you be sure that , Federer even though in full form was not just having a 'Canas' moment with Stepanek. The only change in the field is the rise of Djokovic, not necessarily the slump of Federer.
All I have to say is that we'll have to wait and see. Obviously, he lost to Volandri last year too, which was a fluke loss. But he lost to Roddick, which you have to admit is more than a bit strange. He lost to Fish (???!!!). They can't all be flukes. If I'm wrong, so be it and best of luck to Roger.
I am a die hard Federer fan, still it's hard to argue against your point, the FedEx is certainly not playing normal. I am afraid his downfall is ineviteable, it's not possible to keep up his level forever. I thought he struggled somewhat also last year, althoiugh he still was able to pull it off in most cases. I think that he is starting to realise there is a life outside of tennis as well, kind of like Björn Borg did in the early 80's, and therefore not as motivated as say two or three years ago. Still he is going to be able to pull some amazing stuff off when he is on his game.
I totally aghree with you ricfol, he does'nt have the hunger. It seems that his attitude when he starts to flounder is"Whatever!" Andre Agassi went through a drought but he worked his a88 of and surpassed his physical stamina with grueling training to become a more rounded player. Adversity elevates some and deflates others.
i agree with the writer of this article to a good extent.Federer is beatable nowdays contrary to 05-07...he is performing well in patches and i also xpect a new wimbledon champion thsi year,either in the form of nadal or djokovic.However,federer has a grass court streak of ni thnk 58 matches so he is damn tough on grass,his confidence there is skyhigh and a his game plan and movement on grass is almost peerless.For the french i thnk federer will not b able to win it once more,nadal is the heavy favorite for me,no matter how eearly he losses in hamburg.1 week if rest after hamburg will recover his blistered feet and he'll be almost invincible as usual to beat at roland garros.Djokovic is surging nicely and is certainly a threat to nadal's crown but if he have a rafa nole match at frernch nadal will dispatch him in 3-4 sets!!!!! but we shud remember guys,its 2008 AND EVERYTHING SO STRANGE HAS BEEN HAPPENING TSONGA HUMILIATIND NADAL,FISH AND RODICK DESTROYING ROGER!!!!!!
I'm in no way downplaying Federer's grass court streak. But I'm also mindful that the last time he was on grass, Rafael Nadal was a hairsbreadth away from snagging the title from him. And that was when he was in form. I don't know if Nadal has another run to the finals in him. I would have said no last year, and I would have been wrong. My feeling is that if Nadal wins the French, he has a good shot at Wimbledon.
i don't think roland garros has anything to do with wimbledon but your argumentation is right.if nadal could give that much trouble to an in-form federer,he can do much better this year.but federer in grass is clearly from another planet.
I think Roland Garros has EVERYTHING to do with Wimbledon. Nadal is a confidence player. The more confidence he has, the better he plays. Rolling right into Wimbledon after winning Roland Garros is an enormous benefit to Nadal. And I have this feeling that if Nadal had managed to snag WImbledon last year, he would have played a better summer hard court season. Just a hunch.
I don't agree with you Cheryl, when you say that FedEx was in form during that Wimbledon final last year. I thought he played a very very mediocre match by his standards and the only thing that saved him in that match, besides the good run in the end of the fith set, was his serve and nothing but the serve. On a different note, what's the reasoning behind putting the punk Djoker, seeded No. 3 on the same halft as the No. 1 seed? They did that in Monte Carlo as well as in Rome and it certainly doesn't make any sense. The No. 2 and No. 3 seeds should be in the same bottom half, and the No. 1 seed should have the privilige of having the No. 4 seed as the second highest seed on his half! They seem to have gotten it right in Hamburg, but what about the Roland Garros?
I was more referring to his general form, not his form in that particular match. Nadal's game makes Federer play poorly. But in general, Federer had a good Wimbledon last year. And he was playing MUCH better then than he is now.
ricfol - the #3 and #4 seeds always have a 50-50 chance of being on the same side as #1, and the also a 50-50 chance of being on the same side as #2. They don't "put" Djoker on one side or the other.
It would get VERY old VERY fast if Djoker and Nadal were on the same side. Then Federer would always get worthlessly easy draws all the way to the final like the one he has this week in Hamburg.
Let's all be fair, Federer is not a machine! It's true expectations are very high when he's on any surface especially grass, but we all have our bad hair days. He deserves to lose a game...a set...a match...a masters...a grand slam...as well as WIN them! He will one day be #2...#3...#4... but I just hope he will continue to play like Andre did for his fans whatever his position maybe. EVERYONE in the tennis world was shocked when Henin announced her retirement and we're all part of the great pressures that make their lives NOT LIFE! I just hope no more depressing surprises!
Well compared to the Wimbledon 2006 final, or compared to the matches between the two at the Masters Cup events in 2006 and 2007 I still think that FedEx played below par in that 2007 Wimbledon final. I agree that Nadal frequently and successfully disrupts FedEx's game but when in form FedEx has been able to overcome that. Losing a set to Juan Carlos Ferrero, as in the 2007 Wimlbedon, doesn't sum up to being in form as far as I am concerned.
ricfol - I hate to say it but assuming that a player is out of form just because he "lost a set to Juan Carlos Ferrero" at Wimbledon is simply laughable. You have to actually watch the match yourself and look for the quality of it to decide how or why someone (in this case Federer) lost a set. In case you were wondering Ferrero played great in a 3rd round drubbing of James Blake and 4th round straight-set win over Tipsarevic. So just assuming that Fed must have been out of form in order to lose a set to Ferrero makes no sense whatsoever.
Did I say he was out of form "just" because he lost a set to Ferrero? No I did not, I used that as an illustration to make a general point about FedEx playing so and so in the 2007 Wimbledon in general and particularly in the final. If you actually look at the quality of play, as you very wisely point out as the way to measure someones form, I didn't think it was particularly good. I think you have to bench that particular 2007 Wimbledon final against Jet Boy against other non-clay matches between the pair. Conclusion FedEx did not play particularly well. The thought of Juan Carlos Ferrero taking a set from FedEx when on top of his game is ridicolous, especially not at the Wimbledon!
ricfol - no, I don't even bench that against other non-clay matches they have played. I bench it on one thing and one thing only - the MATCH ITSELF! I watched all 5 sets with my own eyes and that's how I decide who was out of form and who wasn't. Nothing else has anything to do with it.
So you are saying how the person has played before is irrelevant, you simply look at the particular match and don't care about the person's track record or the level of play he i usually capable of?
ummmm, what?
What I'm saying is I watch tennis. I don't just assume that someone played good or bad based on how they played against someone else on an entirely different day.
Are you asking if someone's track record is relevant in terms of deciding who you think is going to win a match? Of course it is - and you would know that if you've ever read any of my articles / match previews.
Ricky, you're obviously very brilliant... although your comments may be slightly inconsistent. The historical level of performance is actually a very relevant data when assessing whether someone is in form or not and I do think most people would agree on that.
We're obviously talking about two different things. OF COURSE past results (what you refer to as historical level of performance) is relevant to determining whether or not a player is in form. In fact, it's the ONLY thing that's relevant!!!!! All tennis fans HAVE TO agree on that!
What I am talking about is an INDIVIDUAL match!!!!! You can't say someone played bad in a match just because of what he or she did yesterday if you didn't even WATCH the match in question. You have to WATCH the match in question in order to assess form on THAT GIVEN DAY.
Now are we on the same page?
We definitely need to get the forum going ;-)
Point of the year by Gameplay :-)
I rest my case, finally we see eye to eye on this. Let's hope for a great final weekend on Sunday. You rock Gameplay!
As many have commented, Federer's "apparent" slump raises eyebrows... there can be many factors involved. I recall his uncharacteristic outburst against Djokovic's camp's talking during a match. I can't recall seeing Federer visibly rattled like that before in recent memory. Even losing in the semi-final to Safin on his knees he showed more poise! At his age and this stage of life, the near-perfection of his mind/body/technique will sooner or later go off the boil. Is this the time? Only time will tell... If Federer is truly focusing on Masters and Grand Slam events, his year-to-date performance has been zero (as someone noted). With hungry players ranked at numbers 2,3, and 4 nipping at his heels, and astounding public expectation, media pressure and his own on his shoulders, it's remarkable Federer isn't having a nervous breakdown. Federer is king; long live the king.
everybody forgets that roger has illness name is mono
?f ? do not remember wrong mario ancic and justine henin could not play because of the same illness for six or more months
but roger did prefer to play instead of resting
in this year ? watched all the matches which roger lost
especially ao and dubai ? think everybody could understand his illness from his face and now mono's last effects are in his cheek and ? understand that mono is going from his body.
this is very important thing, think once when we are ill we do not want to do anything and can move in a comfort for a while.
? think roger managed his illness very very well
after this time he will be better
another point the players who did beat roger like fish
where are they?
they did beat sick and powerless roger
and they played their best when their oppenent was roger
after they did beat roger, they lost in the next rounds expect nole
so ? believe that most of them did beat roger by chance
handan - Federer had mono five months ago
he is over it
now YOU need to get over it - and admit that he is just getting outplayed
As far as I am concerned some of you guys are really chicken. Why are you so pessimistic? Federer reached the Final in the three last tournaments and, in my opinion, in his two last performances against Nadal, there were only slight differences (if you watched the matches!). Moreover, you guys have to understand one thing: This guy has been No. 1 in the world for longer than anybody ever. No doubt, he is sometimes inhuman! However, it is a matter of fact that this will change one day. (Personally, I don't think this year). So, why don't you stop worrying and enjoy his play???
On the other hand, I really have a problem with those of you who think that this illness is just minor setback. Of course, he got over it before he lost against Stepanek or Fish. But, have you ever activated your brain a little bit and thought that it might need time to catch up with his former shape??? If you follow a bit the tennis world, you should know how close levels are under the top 100. What I'm trying to say is... if you aren't at your best fitness, your legs will never be that quick, you will never hit the ball that precise and the probability to lose against any top 100 player is significantly high. Furthermore, it goes without saying that if you don't feel at your best, your mental condition is automatically worse.
Have any of you had mono? A rough time. I had mono last year and I thought I'd never be well again. High fevers, the inability to walk at times, I barely moved for 2 weeks and was less than 100% for at least 6 months.
I think it's very impressive that Fed made it to the AO semis in such a condition and does show he is a quality guy for going out there knowing he wasn't in the best condition.
absolutely agree with Paeduu..with everything written there. Let's leave Federer alone and enjoy the mathes and root for our favourites
absolutely agree with Paeduu...with everything written there. Let's leave Federer alone and enjoy the RG and root for our favourites.
:))))))) sorry....snark...
Cheryl Murray is an avid reader and writer. She has two small children and one husband who doesn't understand her obsession with tennis, but indulges...
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