Cheryl: Thanks for the article. I think the straight sets demolition by Federer in the final was just another reason why Tennis needs Nadal. In fact for all his GrandSlam finals, Federer has never been pushed to 5 sets against anyone except Nadal. Federer usually wins his slam finals in straight sets or 4 sets (with an easy 0,1,2 set) when he's not facing Nadal. So yeah, if Nadal continues to be troubled with knee issues or retires prematurely, I can see Federer winning 20+ slams!

All credit to Federer for pulling out the victory at the French Open. Arguably he was playing his worst tennis from 2005-2009 this year at RG, but he still won. He was so right.." I don't have a clay problem..I have a Rafa problem""

Boos to Djokovic and Murray for not living it to the seeding. Especially to Djokovic for going down in straight sets to PEHK. What kind of champion does that?

Regd. the crowd behavior, the less said the better. I remember Nadal-Soderling match and the crowd actually cheered when Nadal had the nasty fall. They were also cheering Rafa's unforced errors! And then again in the Federer-Haas match, they were cheering Haas's unforced errors! French crowd is fickle. It's the worst grand-slam crowd. There've been soo many instances in the past few years against other players too. I don't even want to go there.

And like you said, nothing in tennis is ever a given. That's the beauty of the game :)

the French crowd badly wanted federer to win. Now that he has, maybe they'll be a little more kind.

I'm not sure Cheryl. They've never really liked Nadal: Right from 2005 in the Nadal match against Grosjean, which still remains on of the weirdest examples of crowd behavior, I've seen. It's happened to other players too. Here's a good link which has a collection of crazy behavior by the French crowd (over the years):

http://www.gototennisblog.com/2009/06/01/french-open-rafael -nadal-victim-to-famous-french-syndrome/

thanks cheryl , I was worried about you
yes , all what you've said was right.
the crowed , even monfilis talked about this , he mentioned that they wewe cheering roger as ferench and its difficult to get the crowd support against player like him , as well said del potro.
but poor Rafa , they weren't polite at all! what they have done was awful actually ,
just be fair ! but no they reallyshowed a very bad attitude ,

back :)

I think Rafa was shocked ! why would they treat him like that ! I don't think that he ever thought about the reason they may not love him despite his kindness and his love to thier championship and city .

about uncle toni , yes , he was shocked with his nephew loss and the crowd attitude m, he was worried about his feeling thats why he said what he said , nothing matter him as Rafa I think :)

something I thought about , is Soderling at the final , he was really happy for Roger ! lovely scene actually , every body was happy , and that would hurt my feelings alittle bit I f I was in Rafa place , they didn't miss him at all :(

after all , may be asa you said , may be next year he will get more support after roger finally taking the trophy :)

interesting article cheryl...here's another take on the clay courts of PA....REEEE.....
and the reason why federer has achieved so much....as well as the incredible rafa.....its made me realise even more how difficult it is to win this tourny....from what i've read...and how few players have actually achieved this...even the 'greats'......

For Agassi, as well as for many other great players in the history of the game, the French Open or ?Roland Garros? proved to be the toughest nut to crack. It took him 11 attempts and three trips to the championship match until he finally won in Paris. Even in his lucky third appearance in the singles final in 1999, he decisively lost the first two sets to the unseeded Ukrainian Andrei Medvedev before rallying for the five-set victory at age 29-seven years after winning his first Grand Slam tournament title.

Clay court tennis is in some regards a different form of tennis as it requires different footwork-a ?sliding-into-the-ball? approach. The clay surface slows the velocity of the ball enough to give players on the defensive just a little more time to save a passed shot that on a faster surface would otherwise be a winner. Changes in temperature as well as variations in humidity levels provide for constantly changing playing conditions. Warm weather dries out clay courts and makes them play faster and favors the more aggressive players than when it is cold and moist, when the courts play much slower and favor the more defensive-minded players.

These extraordinary-and unpredictable-conditions explain why the French Open seems to always have the most unlikely champions of all four of the Grand Slam tournaments. The clay courts and the conditions create an environment where a larger pool of players become potential champions of the event as opposed to Wimbledon or the US Open. Some of the greatest serve-and-volley and aggressive-style players have routinely left Paris defeated. Yannick Noah?s ability to play an aggressive style of play and defeat the defensive clay court style of Mats Wilander in the 1983 French final still seems like a minor miracle.

More than half of the 23 players who were ranked No. 1 in the world rankings entering 2007 do not have a French Open title on their resume. This includes Boris Becker, who reached the semifinals three times, Pete Sampras, who only reached the semifinals on one occasion in 13 attempts, John McEnroe, who lost a painful final to Ivan Lendl in 1984 after a two-sets-to-love lead, and Stefan Edberg, who led Michael Chang two sets to one in the 1989 final before losing.

Jimmy Connors, who was either denied entry or did not enter the tournament for many years, is also part of the group of all-time greats without a French title. Other notables on the list include John Newcombe, Arthur Ashe, Patrick Rafter, Marat Safin and Lleyton Hewitt. Although Federer?s professional career began with 11 straight defeats on clay courts, he never allowed himself to become discouraged. In France, where he experienced the least amount of success of the Grand Slam tournaments,

Federer constantly made reference to the fact that he grew up on clay courts and that this was ?his surface? too. He had after all won three titles on clay at the German Open in Hamburg and proved repeatedly in Davis Cup play that he could compete with anybody on clay courts. However, to date, he was unable to even advance as far as the semifinals at Roland Garros.


Federer may have arrived in Paris with a season?s record of 41-2 but he expressed caution before his seventh French Open. ?The first rounds here are always treacherous,? he said in a modest tone that was sometimes missing from previous years. ?I?m not thinking about winning this tournament.?

He arrived in Paris directly from Portugal and had the privilege of being able to practice every day on the Centre Court at Roland Garros-the Philippe Chatrier Court-where he suffered many of his most devastating losses as a professional.

Federer?s excellent pre-event preparation and the tutoring from the now 60-year-old Tony Roche paid off. He won the first five matches of the tournament without dropping a set to reach the semifinals for the first time in his career. ?It?s almost going a bit too quickly for me,? he said of his relatively easy jaunt to the semifinals.


However, waiting for Federer in the semifinals was none other than Nadal-whom he faced for the first time on a clay court. The young Spaniard was full of self-confidence and entered the match with a 22-match win streak. Due to a rain delay, as well the five-set match between Argentinean Mariano Puerta and Russian Nikolay Davydenko in the other men?s semifinal, Federer and Nadal did not take the court until 6:20 pm local time in Paris.

Federer struggled from the start and was troubled-particularly off the forehand-by Nadal?s extreme topspin. After losing four of the first five games, Federer surrendered the first set 6-3-his first lost set of the tournament-as he had his serve broken an incredible four times. He managed to win the second set 6-4, but remained unusually nervous and committed nearly twice as many mistakes as Nadal in the third set. Nadal led 4-2, before Federer broke back to square the set.

After Nadal held in the ninth game of the third set, he clinched the third set-and a two-sets-to-one lead-with a cross-court running forehand winner. Darkness started to fall in Paris and Federer was irritated. He seemed to be in a rush and requested the match be suspended due to darkness. The chair umpire did not allow it. Federer was flustered and Nadal took control of the match as he broke Federer?s serve in the eighth game to take a 5-3 lead and closed out the 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory one game later. ?I started the match off badly and ended it badly,? Federer summarized. ?I played well in between but all in all, that was not enough.?

Like at the Australian Open when Federer was defeated by Safin in the wee hours of the morning of Safin?s 25th birthday, Federer was again a birthday victim at a Grand Slam event. This Friday-June 3rd-was the 19th birthday of Nadal-and like Safin-he would go on to win the tournament. In an exciting final between two left-handed players, Nadal defeated Puerta, who, as it turned out months later, tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs and was suspended from professional tennis.

The more time Federer pondered the loss to Nadal, the more positives he drew from it. He proved to himself and others that he had what it takes to win the French Open, despite what he thought was his worst performance in the later stages of a Grand Slam tournament. He was convinced that this loss to Nadal would be a learning experience. He now believed he could win the French Open and achieve the rare career Grand Slam. Another positive to temper his mood was the fact that the French public took a liking to him and rallied behind him during his matches, most notably against Nadal. ?It was fantastic how they supported me,? he said. ?It was almost like a victory for me because it?s not easy to win the crowd in Paris.?

Since Federer?s semifinal showing was a vast improvement from his third-round loss the year before, his grip on the No. 1 ranking rose to a record 6,980 points-giving him almost twice as many points as the No. 2-ranked Hewitt. Federer nonetheless maneuvered himself into a startling situation. He only lost three matches during the year but he stood empty-handed in Grand Slam titles. If he were to fail at Wimbledon as well, the only opportunity for a title remaining would be the always unpredictable US Open.

His statement from the previous fall that he would be satisfied in 2005 with just one Grand Slam title suddenly took on new importance.

cheryl,I agree with most of the article,especially the part about Uncle Toni and the French crowd.This crowd is the worst Grand Slam crowd I've ever seen and it's not just against Rafa,it's against some other players as well.But I really think that Uncle Tonis should have never ever said something like that,it will only harm his nephew even more next year in Paris.
However,I don't agree with your argument about Roger's not getting enough credit.Are you sure about that??? Since that Sunday (the day Rafa lost),all I read and hear is about Roger,how he's gonna win next 25 Grand Slams,how he's gonna be no.1 again and stay there for more 100000000000000000000000000000 weeks etc.
Hope Wimbledon will be more competitive.I can't stand another Grand Slam being an easy victory for Roger.In the absence of a "fit" Rafa,I hope Andy and Novak can step up to the plate and challenge Roger.

you misunderstand, sisterofnight. I am not saying that Federer doesn't get enough attention. He has always had that in spades. What I meant was that the mental part of his game is often ignored, and it should not be.

well,I'm not the biggest fan of Roger but I don't think one can doubt the mental toughness of a 14-times GS champion and it shouldn't be ignored,yes,you're right about that.
But I can see where it's coming from.Until this GS (or maybe last year),Roger has never had "fighting" wins,he was either winning very easily or losing.He didn't have to show his fighting spirit or mental strength unitl last year when things start to get tough.And this RG has defintely showed that part as ironically,he won his first RG by playing his worst tennis for a couple of years...

I never quite understood the disdain of some people when they proclaimed that Roger had "easy wins" for most of his Grand Slams, "walk in the park" blah blah. I'm literally scratching my head in puzzlement - so is it somewhat his fault that he wasn't challenged? Why does it make his wins less significant just because he wasn't playing a player like Rafa-Pete-Nole-Laver-McEnroe-Agassi-Borg combined? Instead of saying he wasn't challenged and players like Safin/Roddick/Hewitt/Nalbandian were crap, why can't people just say that Roger is, to put it mildly, GOOD?

Anyway.

Great article, Cheryl. Like you, I'm appalled at the French crowd as well. It's perfectly okay to cheer for good shots but to cheer at errors is just plain lame, stupid and childish. It's like pointing and laughing at someone who just fell down on the street. French just don't like Rafa and I don't even know why. It's not just Roland Garros, I seemed to recall Rafa being booed at Paris Masters last year. Maybe it's the whole historical spin between Spain and France but then again, Verdasco/Robredo didn't get booed, did they!?

That being said, Uncle Toni should also know when to shut up. :)

well it is over....federer finally has his 14Th slam.(congrats fed fans)
now maybe when rafa wins again he will get to enjoy his victory without having to feel like he took sometime from federer.
maybe now everyone will stop trying to analyzes how to beat rafa

i do feel as if toni should have not said anything about the French but what's done is done....hopefully like rafa said,now that he has lost maybe they will cheer for him when he goes back.

it is just that RG was not the same after Rafa left.i am not saying this because i am a Rafa fan .it is just that none of the top guys were there with fed.
i mean.. if in the final ...he had to really fight to earn the slam it would have been more exciting but ....what ever ...that is that.

I agree with you Cheryl, that the crowd at RG was horrible towards Rafa. I also agree that Toni lashing out in the press was not exactly the best move. But let's face it, if the crowd is already booing Rafa for being a winner, or for getting hurt at paris-Bercy last year, then what difference does it make what Toni said? They are going to boo him regardless which IS stupid in my eyes. If they don't like the fact that a Spaniard kept winning the FO, then they should've put a "No Spaniards Allowed" sign up at registration. But they can't treat him any worse than they already have, no matter what Toni said.

The French loves someone who speaks...well, French. They love their own language (and themselves) so much that few of them learn to speak in another language. And Federer being a French speaker gets their nod of approval over other players who can't. I remembered travelling part of Europe from London through Paris to Switzerland and Italy. Guess what, on both sides of France, English is spoken but try and speak English to a French and they will frown upon you as if "how dare you speak to me in that filthy language!"

LOL cable.

True about the French though. When I was in Paris a couple of years ago, I armed myself with a few broken French phrases and used that when I need help. When the French saw that I was "making an effort to speak their language", they are more than happy to switch to English if they're comfortable. But if I approach them in English, it's like *blank stare* and yes, "go away you non-French speaking cretin!"

Kinda reminds me of the Japanese, too. :D Way proud of their language. But then again, most Japanese cannot speak English anyway.

LOL... I am a big fan of Japanese and French language. But Japanese people do not hate non-Japanese speaking people, they just dont know English.

Nice article and I was sad from Noody's post that no one missed Rafa in the finals where they celebrated and even Soderling was celebrating. Maybe Rafa's too brutal for most people to love. I definitely thought he has a lil bit like Hewitt with the constant 'Vamos' which probably is a turnoff for some of the crowd.

torres9, in all honesty, Rafa is nothing like Hewitt. Hewitt, for the lack of a better word, is a complete prat, especially at the height of his success with Wimby and USO slams. The guy is just completely full of himself, pretty much unbearable on court and off court. Now that he's losing, he seems to conduct himself MUCH better lol. But I couldn't hate Hewitt too much, he got me into tennis after all.

Rafa in my honest opinion, CAN come across as a little arrogant on-court with his Vamos and fist pumps and occasional dirty looks at opponents, but I think that's just the way Rafa conducts himself on court to build his own confidence. Off-court he's a gracious gentleman.

Again torres, I have no clue what you've been watching, but Rafa does NOT say Vamos "constantly" as you'd like to think. You (and other fed fans)say they love it when Fed says "Come On" to fire himself up. That's exactly what Rafa is saying TO HIMSELF, except he says it in Spanish. So evidently the difference is that Rafa doesn't say it in English or French.

I feel this interivew with Pierre Pagannini deserves to be here.(courtsey of RF.com).
You admire him?
- Yes, yes, I admire him, I am not ashamed to say. He is unique, he never ceases to prove it. I am fortunate to know the public persona but also the man that he is every day, and both sides of him impress me. I think this is really one reason why people love him: they come to appreciate him, precisely because there is this union between the person and the player. And there is all this work he does for so many years, both on and off the court. So many things that are invisible. That's maybe why today he has a legitimate right to be particularly happy, because he knows what effort he had to put in. It's a little bit his own secret.

? Is it difficult to be tough in the physical preparation with someone as sensitive and endearing?
- I do not need to be tough with him, it?s the exercises I propose that are hard. And then he is not obliged to do them, he wants to do them! Because he knows why. He always needs to know why he does things. But of course they must be based on relationships of trust.

- Being the physical trainer means being friend, father, brother, (don?t understand the last word) ...
- There is a group around Federer, and everyone in it has a well defined role. And since the people around him are his friends, there is a dialogue that he sets up. Everyone has the right and the opportunity to leave their role in this internal dialogue, but professionally everyone assumes their responsibilities vis-à-vis Roger.

- Where is the great strength of Roger Federer?
- Tennis is athletic, but if there is no head to guide all this, it can go nowhere. Federer the man has Federer the player under control. That?s his strength, that?s why he is a great champion. People also recognize that, without it having to be explained clearly, but he is the boss, the master of himself, and this is so important! It?s up to him to manage and to know what goes well today, what goes worse, in different settings/parameters. It?s there that he is so strong, he is unique.

- What can he further improve?
- We must live the present happiness, while anticipating. He put in a great effort, he must now recover, prevent injury, take into account the change of surface. Roger lets us know [how he feels] and we propose to him things to do, each one of us in our field. I think that in tennis, it takes a lot of dialogue because in it there is more subjectivity than in other sports that are more rhythmic or repetitive.

- In 2004, you told us, "I hope those who elevate him to 7th heaven today will still be there to support him when things don?t go so well."
- When one sees the past year, what has been said and written, that's something. He was bedridden with a stomach infection for eleven days [at the AO?08], and then he had mononucleosis. Some started to bury him, I say some, while in my opinion 2008 was an extraordinary year at the human level. He had to fight with limited physical resources and what he achieved is incredible. This is I think that impressed me most.

- With him pleasure is a motivation...
- Without pleasure, without a smile, he is dead. He loves life, he is made to create. Usually, at least as they say, artists are people less well structured and organized than others, and they say that people of structured and organized nature lack ?spark?. Roger has both the structure and the spark.

- Roger Federer will soon be a dad. Is that a concern for his career?
- No, no! It is normal for him to be a father, and for Mirka and him to be married. It?s his achievements in tennis that are abnormal, meaning exceptional.

- Is he the same now he was as the beginning of his success?
- If we just take his Grand Slam victories, he had 14 chances to change, if it were his nature to let glory go to his head. He is the same, but more mature than when he was 20 years old, obviously.

- What have you learned from him?
? I?m not going to make a list ... What I keep, is that with Séverin Lüthi, Mirka, and really close friends of Roger, we really form a loyal group together. It seems trite but being around someone like him and being loyal as we are, it's beautiful. He is also that.

One thing about Roger that seriously dosent get enough credit is his consistency.
He's made like-20 consecutive slam semis and finals of each slam atleast three times(only man to do so.).Thats just ridiculous.
Last year he had mono(yes,it was minor,but still) and the amount of hard work he put in off-court was insane..just unreal..so he could be fit and play at top level.
For some reason however,Roger isnt allowed to be sick.Pretty much everyone took him for granted for so much time.Why?because he is the most consistent player we've ever seen atleast when it comes to GS.

awesome article and i agree with everything, thx.

Apparently Rafa said, just b4 RG, that Wimbledon is his favourite tournament....the French would certainly not appreciate that!

jyannis,you misunderstood me.Yes,some Grand Slams have been a walk in the park for Roger but that doesn't downgrade his achievements. He's just too good for most of the people and that's why his dominance. But as a tennis fan,I always call for exciting and nailbiting matches,not like the ones like RG final this year. As a Rafa fan,I didn't like last year's RG final either when Rafa hammered Roger. I'm just saying and wishing it for the sake of tennis.

janhavi, thanks for sharing that. Makes for good reading. :)

sisterofnight, point taken! And I agree with you on wanting tennis matches to be nail-biting and exciting, much like the Roger/Rafa finals for Wimby and AO (not so much French eh), or at least a very tight 3-setter. Sorry for the misunderstanding.

thanks janhavi, I really enjoyed reading the article you posted. It has given me some insights into Roger Federer I was not aware of before. :) Roger Federer is a "GRAND Champion"! His demeanor both professionally and in private for/from most people "demands" and "deserves" our respect. I am proud to be a fan of such an individual. May he go on having fun, and WINNING for yet many more years...

Two of the many things that really touched me were-
1) On the final day,the crowd gave a standing ovation to Roger just as he was walking on to that court before the match...very touching
2)Our BBC reporter saying Roger is one of the greatest champions he had ever seen and then adding a little overstatement which was quite cool -"Almost everyone loves Roger Federer"..He along with his two other correspondents, was so ecstatic.They could barely hide it.
Also,from what I heard-Roger got a standing ovation when he walked into the Press Conference room..but since I dont have the confirmed news I wont add it.to the list .but I think its true because one of the journo was like "We arent allowed to applaud during the PC but you deserved it" or something along those lines. :D.
And for the first time in so many months-I felt like reading every tennis article I possibly could manage to read .

I always thought Rafa is a young, lefty Hewitt with an extreme grip. Considering Hewitt owned Fed those days, it is not surprising that Nadal won against Fed on clay so many times. Fed just dont like to rally and has a bad record against counterpunchers.

Hewitt lost his intensity after some injuries and marriage and probably disappointment of losing to Safin in AO2005. Nadal's vamos always remind me of Hewitt's 'Come on'. Full of intensity.

i just don't understand! this thread started out ...talking about the article that Cheryl wrote.
then it turns into all this long drawn out conversation about federer.
what is it! does every thread have to have federer in the conversation.

janhavi,I'm glad that those BBC commentators said "almost everyone loves Roger Federer" instead of "everyone loves him" like that presenter said in the trophy ceremony in Melbourne.He said for Roger "everybody's favorite" and at that time,I found it very disrespectful to Rafa.Mind you,not everybody's favorite has to be Roger...

alik,I think you have to get used to it,there's nothing else you can do.Everybody will be talking about Roger for the next ten years,so what can you do???

alik..I guess we're sharing our reflections from the FO...and yes, *shock* *horror*
its something positive about Roger for a change.

Alik, 3 of the 5 points of this article is about Roger. The other 2 is about Nadal.

Cheryl, u should have written perfomances of Djokovic and Murray in my opinion.

cheryl ...i loved the article ..i think you did a good job on it . The one things fed showed me throughout this RG is his never say die attitude which i think is amazing. I agree he does not get enough of credit for it but i think its because there is just so much to talk about with regards to the amount of skill he brings on to court considering the type of winners he produces .

There is no such things as a sure thing ? o hell yes ...nothin is for sure considering how many of the underdogs were going for broke during most of their matches . I think the guys outside of the top 10 are catching up with the top seeds and they are proving it in GS's . Wimby is going to be another roller coaster .

Toni ..should learn to shut up ...nuff said.

French crowd ...well ...no comment ...they were nice to fed .

Fed winning RG ....one word ...magical ...

C'MON !!!

I fully agree about Fed: he has shown an even greater desire and ability to fight in this tournament. Not that he was not fighting these last 18 months, but I was hoping to see him fully assume that fight that will be his in the third phase of his career, when fewer matches will be as sure a win as they were in 2005-2007. Good on him: we're going to see plenty more trophies go his way.

About the French crowd I'd like to offer an informed opinion. Although I live far from Europe now I grew up in Belgium and took many trips to Paris and the rest of France then. I've also been back many times since. I grew up loving the French (and other) language(s) and culture(s). I've experienced time and again that as much as I love many aspects of the culture and way of life, some half of the people in France, and especially in Paris are quite bruttish in the way they treat strangers, especially foreigners. I have personally heard them admit as much about themselves. Less so in Southern France and other parts of France. I could write many personal stories... and they happened even while my French was impecable and I could almost be taken for a Frenchman if it weren't for speaking with a slightly different accent.

So I am quite convinced that a large part of the awful treatment of the French Open fans of not only Nadal but many other players is down to the nasty behavior some half of them display in many areas of life. Any of you who have lived / travelled in France enough or lived nearby would probably agree.

And I am equally convinced that another big part of their treatment of Nadal right from his first French Open is down to their centuries old antipathy towards the Spanish. It's quite consistently there, e.g., on French TV. I experienced the same against Belgians when growing up there, albeit less so as those two countries were never military ennemies quite like the French and Spanish. I suspect that the fact that Spain, after Franco finally gave up the ghost, has catapulted itself onto the world stage with an olympics, with international trade, science, culture, tourism and fantastic achievements in sports has only aggravated the matter for the French.

I can't think of anyone who's playing has done more for the French Open in the last decade than Nadal. OK, Nadal and Federer combined, but Nadal especially. For crying out loud, Nadal is the modern Bjorn Borg. And came pretty close (perhaps down to the knees, in the final analysis) to surpassing Bjorn's incredible four straight trophies streak.

I understand a crowd that roots for an underdog, it happens all over the world in any sport. It's a good thing. But this is something else. What if Nadal was equally the favorite but came from Berst, Toulon or Arles? How would they treat him then? Not only for bringing them glory but also for bringing the French Open deep into the awareness of millions of spectators around the world. They would fall over themselves in adoration. But, alas, he is from the other side of the mountains.

So if after 5 years of this Uncle Toni, in a radio interview in his own country, vents a little frustration, I think it's understandable. Criticizing him for these few comments, while saying "well, the FO crowd is just like that, you've got to understand", is disingenious. Put yourself in his shoes... would you forever stay only on the high road?

Forgive me for the long post above... you are not obliged to read it :-).

But for those of you who have, I'd like to add this. I might sound very down about the French. In fact, I continue to love much about them and their culture, a love that started in early childhood. I, in fact, liked and continue to like much of the culture so much that it took me many years to gradually admit also the other perceptions I have, about the extreme rudeness some part of them display so easily.

chlorostoma,very nice post about French culture.

fedexfan,of course the French crowd was very nice towards Roger,nobody argues that.The issue is they were terrible and partial towards other players and I find it wrong that you ignore it just because this behavior wasn't towards your favorite player.

Thanks chlorostoma that was a fantastic , insightful and informative post. It nice to get an impartial and pragmatic post regading this topic instead of it being based on whether you like or dont like Nadal.

To me i can understand where Uncle Toni is coming from i mean u imagine your nephew or your brother or sister falls or slips and instead of the people around them feeling concerned they clap, laugh or jeer. Its disgusting behaviour and i find it unacceptable irregardless of who they are or the player they are doing it too. I wouldnt even wish such a behaviour on Soderling and trust me i trully dislike his character. The truth about it is people should put themselves in there shoes (i mean Nadal & Uncle Toni) and then tell me truthfully that if it was to happen to someone closely related to them, on a street corner let say, that they wouldnt feel the same way. (And then imagine it on a stage a thousand times bigger....not nice is it.)

No TopDog, it really isn't nice. Then again, nobody ever guaranteed that sporting crowds would be nice.

chlorostoma @ 5:41 PM: Excellent Post! Thanks for your insights.

Rafa falling down awkwardly on the clay, and the crowd jeering and clapping will be an indelible memory from RG 09.

"stay there for more 100000000000000000000000000000 weeks"
LOL

janhavi, thank you for that lovely interview with Pierre.
chlorostoma, thank you for your intimate insiders' insights.
I'm a history geek wtih French on one side of my family and Spaniards on the other and people used to laugh at me when I said the French crowds' disrespect of Rafa was centuries old -- especially when he kept coming there and winning. Have people forgotten that he was also booed late last year when he retired from his match in Bercy?
I think people may be more inclined to believe now, as you've lived there and seen it.

Roger is a longtime champion with the classical game and the native ability to thank the crowd in colloquial French as well as English. I think they favor him almost as much for that as they do for his brilliant tennis.

Cheryl, thank you so much for your article.
I hope I don't repeat too much of what you've said.
The thing that frustrated me most about Roger last year, once he seemed to be recovered somewhat from his illness -- and, ironically, one of the abilities at the center of Rafa's genius -- was his apparent outright refusal to adapt his game.

His attitude seemed to be that it was just so superior to that of other players that he shouldn't have to change anything about it, or about his training methods, to win.

(I'm sure it's partially a stubborn Leo "I am a gracious king, but I am king" thing. My favorite uncle, born the same day as Roger, is much the same way.)

But to win RG?

He FINALLY
1) admitted that he needed to become more fit, differently fit for the different surface, and - as Mr. Paganini testified - therefore did different, challenging fitness training to prepare himself; and
2) added a forehand drop shot to his shot repertoire.
He's never said he liked that shot before, and irony of ironies, it won him several points at critical junctures in critical matches.

(Did you see it? Did you love it?? I think that's my favorite new shot of Roger's.
*sorry, lost my head there for a minute*)

And so ... he won!!!

I was especially elated to see him take out the man who beat Rafa, though. Because Robin deprived me of my *FEDAL* final and, as you say, Cheryl, Roger and Rafa make magic. There is no tennis like it.

Here's to their matches, and many more.

I read an article saying Fed adjusted his game especially for Nadal. He actually 'adjusted' his game. Wow, considering his game was so superior that he need not change it for 5 years.

1) He increased the efficiency of down-the-line forehand because he knew that if he faced Nadal, he would not win long rallies which Nadal will ultimately attack his backhand with heavy topspins and in this case, the only way out is to run around his backhand and hit a down-the-line forehand into Nadal's backhand for a straight winner. Any less and Nadal will just simply give a backhand cross court which Fed will leave wide open

2) He practiced drop shots because serve-and volley is not efficient againt Nadal who has so much time to give a passing shot especially on clay so the getting Nadal to the net will bring him out of his comfort zone way back from the baseline

3) Practicing rallies as evident against Delpo,Haas and Soderling as he needs longer points on clay

4) Polishing his serve which will be the key against Nadal and giving really slow kick-serves so that counter-punchers cant feed of the pace of the ball and give a good return.

I think if he meets Nadal and stay mentally strong and provided that Nadal can't come up with a countering strategy, Fed should have a good chance to win against Nadal if they did met in the final.

But Nadal was out in 4th round so too bad, I guess.

sisterofnight12 , i had 'no comment' about the crowd reaction for nadal simply because I do not really know what happened . I had a few friends attend that match and they said that the booing or support for soderling is simply because they ( the crowd ) do not like nadal...its not cos he is a spaniard ...its not racist ...its nothin but the fact that they dont like him.....his on court personality is not something they like . These were thier (my friends) observations . Then there are other observations that it has to do with his nationality and what not ....

Frankly ...i DO NOT KNOW ...and I have no comments . I am not one to start bad mouthing the french crowd when everything is speculation .

If they were booing because he was a spainiard ...then I am against that .

But if its simply because they dont like his game or personality on court or because they just soooo love soderling ...well ....thats their prerogative .. again ...not here to start a war . im just justifying why i had no comments ....its simply because no one knows the truth .....

chlo...what a cultured lady you are!......enjoyed reading your post as well as mara...but chlo..i would not have compared rafa to bjorn borg in terms of game and style...i would have thought that they were complete opposites....i was just interested to find out why you thought this?

Also...i had read that one of the reasons why the crowd dislike rafa was the fact that he kept picking at his shorts....they see this as really bad manners in terms of tennis etiquette....so that was another interesting slant on perhaps the reasons why they booed nadal on court (very unsportsmanlike in my view)....but like another poster said here earlier...it's all part of the game....and i guess you have to have the mental strength to overcome this.

Watching the USO last year, every player that played against roddick (you know how much of a homeboy he is over there...), was booed....clapped....(not in a positive way)....and so it happens to all players...

All crowds can be fickle.......as you well know.....

yeah all crowds can be fickle....i agree wid malteser1.....parisians always have disliked rafa,i wasnt surprised when he was jeered at!!!!

thats y i like wimby more........ppl der are more knowledgeable,well behaved........nd r fair

VAMOS RAFAAAAAA!!!

to everyone who commented on my posts in this thread: thank you

to Cheryl:
I find myself agreeing with virtually everything you write on this site. But I have to disagree on this question re the French crowd here: it goes way past just not being nice. It is far more extreme, as well as discriminating against various cultures and nations than that.

Re the comment that the French crowd does not like Nadal because of his on-court habits: I don't buy that at all. First of all, the crowd is made up of countless individuals and I don't think any of them can speak for all of them.

More importantly: it is just a bit of rationalisation of their initial response (reaction) when he first came on stage years ago and the attititude towards him that has not changed. They also started describing him with various analogies in the press back then that mixed some admiration with a lot of resentment and hatred (IMHO). I think that from the start they just could not stomach that such a great athlete came to such heights so well ... because he was Spanish.

The French admire a man who is very energetic, vital, feral almost. Belmondo, if your remember him, for example. One of the strongest current examples is the actor Gerard Depardieu who because of this has enjoyed enormous success for at least 4 decades now. This is why they would totally go ape over Tsonga if he was winning grand slams, Monfils too. By rights they should like Nadal for the same reason, and also because he shows his emotions transparently, honestly at many moments in interviews - not unlike Depardieu's transparent vulnerable acting. Ahh... but the rub is ... he is, alas, from Spain.

BTW: chlorostoma is a name related to one of my hobbies. I didn't mean to suggest I was a woman. Nature did not make me of that better persuasion :-).

If you haven't yet read the part in mara's post of @4:36 am about her French / Spanish upbringing, have a look.

No one is saying that every French person has these strongly antipathic views of the Spanish... but as an entire culture and for many inidividual French persons and crowds that is the case. Not much love lost between the French and the English either, by and by, and that too has a very long history.

Of course there are many, many people in all these countries that very much are not like that.

chlo...could you reply to my post about why you think rafa's game can be compared to borg?

I cannot see it myself?

LET the French boo Rafa 'till their lungs burst.... Next year, they will make it even louder for sure. I just hope most of the French players be included in Rafa's draw in FO'10, so he would have all the pleasure in crushing all of them in the presence of their beloved countrymen! What a wonderful sight it would be!!!

malteser,
sure. Sorry, I meant to answer your question and I guess I forgot in the midst of my (yet again :-) long post.

I didn't mean to say Borg's and Rafa's game are that comparable.

It was about Rafa dominating clay and the French Surface as much as Borg did, and that they both started winning this trophy very young. It's such a tough tournament to win once, let alone twice in a career (go, Federer, go... I think you have a good chance on a double career slam).... let alone four times in a row (both of them) or six times in a career.

mara,

About the French liking the fact that Federer addresses them in fluent French. And liking him because of his incredible game and the fact he was a winner. All true. While the French like the viral man, they also like the refined, intellectual man and Federer has great intelligence and world class.

Many of the French I've met gave me the impression that they will appreciate it more or less if you speak fluently in French with them and think themselves quite superior if you don't. But make no mistake: these same individuals will not place a fluently French-speaking African, Belgian or Swiss at the same level as themselves. Often I got the same surprised comment while visiting there: "but your French is so good!?", as if only someone with true blue French blood could master this beautiful language.

The truth of fluency in language - something not obvious if you live in a mono-lingual country but dead obvious if you live in a multi-lingual country - is that all it takes to learn several languages well is immersion, motivation and lots of time. Something children immersed in multiple languages have plenty of.

I think that for lack of a French number one tennis player the French will adopt a French speaking Swiss number one. But a Spaniard coming each year to beat the adopted prince? Mais non! And for this Spaniard to become number one in the same year Espana wins the soccer world cup, cycling and the Davis Cup? Trois fois non!

I'm enjoying this thread, thx everybody
agf25agf, heheheh, lol man(girl?) - I also like it when the draw presents the opportunity for Nadal to dispose RG of local players - I live in Belgium and get french tv so the sooner the french players are out of the tournament the sooner one can see a match on tv which doesn't include a french player. :)
They will boo him next year for sure. Perhaps even more. He just needs to isolate himself from that. So far he's been doing it pretty well (amazingly well I'd say!). Can you imagine what it must be like to play in a place where some people (lets not generalise) are constantly booing all your mistakes and falls? That's just not possible.

Hey Shireling,
I still have my Belgian citizenship, though I've been living away for more than 25 years. Goeiendag ! Bonjour !

What do you think of my 'accusations' against many (not all) French people? I mean, it's been a long time since I lived in Vlaanderen, although I've often been back there, to France, to Spain and the UK. Do you think the French might think they are against Rafa the individual while imho they are actually against the Spanish player and the Federer obstructor.

Hahaaaha... I am completely out-classed on this thread in as far as speaking French or Belgian. But I do what it's like to be the brunt of French ridicule! lol! I interact with them, groups of them sometimes and I can tell you, I do not meet their standard as to spoon, knife and fork...chuckles. Oh well. I L-O-V-E my 82 yr old Brest born landlord though and he loves me for at least attempting to speak Francais! I find they like a semblance of that 'something, something' and an ability to laugh when being mocked. lol!

Since Fed now has a Muskateer Cup, not Plate, maybe they'll cheer Nadal next year.
You just never know....things can change

Did they BOO all Spanish at RG? Or just Rafa? That might say something but who knows.

( I Love France and Spain )

Roger Federer is adopted by US Open but not at first...not against Agassi or Roddick.

I hope a Fedal happens in NYC b4 they retire. That would be worth the scalped ticket!

Must

I actually dont think that Toni Nadal's comments will make things any worse for Rafa.. they could not get any worse. The crowd was baying for Rafa's blood this time and next time will be the same. Rafa will have to find a way to play without letting it bother him.

Fedexfan: You said you did not want to badmouth the French crowd based on speculation, buddy, were you watching?? Did you hear them cheering when he fell, did you see them yelling Robin, Robin, when the previous day no one gave a damn who Robin Soderling was?
It was a disgrace and I dont blame Uncle Toni for finally breaking his silence. Rafa himself sounded wistful about it saying "maybe someday the crowd will cheer for me" . A 4 time champion there having to say this... it is really sad!!!

Had to come back and say thanks to Malteser for your 6/10/09 8:48 pm post

And Jyannis that was a lovely inside look at Federer many do not understand: 6/11/09 4:49 am...nice, thx

chlorostoma: thanx 4 your knowledgeable posts, most interesting. I love France and have been there many times, including to RG last year, wonderful countryside, wonderful food, wonderful people... except...Parisiens whom generally I find very rude. Perhaps you could say that about other city dwellers, Londoners aren't known for their manners. If you go outside Paris and attempt to speak French, people are warm, friendly, charming. I also mentioned b4 in this thread, that Rafa said b4 RG that Wimbledon was his favourite tournament! Not a good move! That being said I've watched hundreds of matches where mistakes and double faults have been cheered. It's not nice but happens, also crowds love underdogs and a good fight!
Also glad you mentioned history! Us European countries have been fighting each other for centuries, that's what makes the EU so remarkable. Old hostilities are very close to the surface, I won't go on about who the British hate, just watch a football match or two.

well,it's not new for Rafa to say that Wimbledon was his favorite tournament.Even when he won RG for the first time,he said "yes,I'm very happy to win my first GS but I wanna win Wimbledon" at which at that time everybody was laughing.

wimbledon is everyone's favourite tourny...cos the brits are soooo 'refined...' having said that......no doubt the 'boo...ers' will be out when the less favourite players are playing...'tho likely to be more of a whisper at wimby....sssshhhhhh!

I dunno why but I hate watching Wimby matches because I cant see the ball too clearly and also the court gives me the headaches with its green and white and yellow texture. I prefer USO and indoor court where Fed brilliance is well visible.

If you guys think tennis is bad, I have no idea what you'd think of badminton. In the tournament I attended recently, they cheer even when the players are playing for a point (don't ask me why the umpire didn't even have a mic to shut them up with), and cheer just as loudly after every point for the player(s) they support score, unforced error or not. I can't claim to have ever heard the French crowd, but I'd bet the badminton crowd I saw was more brutal.

faem, that's funny. what country r u from?

torres....and zoey......i found this article...from Tiger woods....so apologies for it being so long... but it is well worth the read...Top Banana!

..and torres....you need to get yourself sky HD....it is all so very clear and you won't ever worry about green/white/yellow texture again! £36 per month.....it's well worth it!

When Roger Federer won the French Open last Sunday to complete a Grand Slam résumé, much of the tennis community rejoiced along with him, in Paris and throughout the world.

Meanwhile, one of Federer's biggest fans was glued to a television set in Dublin, Ohio, where he prepared to pad his own Hall of Fame dossier. Tiger Woods did not tune in just to pass the time, either.

"I talked to Roger a couple times before his match," said Woods, who admitted supplying plenty of body English and shouts of encouragement that nobody heard before Federer beat Robin Soderling for his 14th major triumph -- tying Pete Sampras' mark of Grand Slam singles titles.

When it was over, and before Woods rushed off to practice for the fourth round of the Memorial Tournament, he sent Federer a text message offering congratulations. This week at Bethpage Black, a beast of a public course in Farmingdale, N.Y., Woods will be defending his U.S. Open crown.

If Woods wins, it will be his 15th major conquest -- three shy of Jack Nicklaus' record -- affording Federer a chance to return the favor. Rest assured that even before Tiger tees it up Thursday, his Swiss pal will be on the cell phone or keyboard.

"We don't see each other that much," Woods related, "but we stay in touch."

Whether two icons in these vastly different individual games ever have forged such a long-distance friendship is unknown, but what seems unique about what transpires now is that Woods and Federer might be remembered as the best ever at what they do -- if, indeed, such designations do not already exist.

After Federer finally mastered the clay-court surface that had haunted him -- albeit with nemesis Rafael Nadal eliminated -- Sampras graciously offered, "this just confirms it ... it certainly puts Federer in a class by himself."

Meanwhile, back on his native turf, Memorial host Nicklaus was saying what he always has said: "I had my century. Now Tiger can have his." The Golden Bear seems resigned to the likelihood that his standard will be shattered by Woods, who is only 33. Still, upon leaving Ohio, Tiger reminded everybody that Nicklaus is "the greatest golfer ever."

Federer and Woods have participated in commercial endeavors, but as the latter stated, they are separated by many time zones. Occasionally, giants converge. When Woods played in Miami a couple of years ago, Federer was there for a tournament. He went to the golf course, somewhat incognito, walking outside the ropes.

Federer said he just wanted to be a fan, not unlike Woods, who arrived at the locker room on a Sunday morning of a bygone Western Open, hours early for his round. Woods had to monitor Federer at Wimbledon. He sat transfixed by a TV, while fellow golfers watched him watch Federer.

Tennis has had its brats, but neither Federer nor Nadal apply. Similarly, in Woods, golf is blessed not only by arguably the planet's most famous athlete, but also by a superior ambassador for the sport. He and Federer are kindred souls beyond their genius.

A couple of hours after Woods shot 65 to win the Memorial last Sunday, Federer texted kudos, no doubt from a party in Paris that still was breathing Monday morning.

"This is cool," Woods mused. "I really like Roger. He hits shots nobody else can hit."

Where else do you hear that? Whenever Tiger tees it up.

zoey....morning to you honey.....

I definitely agree with Tiger that Fed hits shots nobody can hit. This is the very reason why I am a fan of Rog. So many beautiful shots. Every video of his sick shots is a showcase of the full use of imagination by a tennis player.

zoey: I watched it in Singapore.

G' morning to you Malt. rather, evening there, morning here.

L-U-R-V-E Tiger, man. He is why I try golf . Federer , tennis. Maestro's of their sport who usually make it all look effortless and have the mental strength to keep winning, pull out incredible performances on their 'bad' days.

Faem, that would be tough watching if you had a favorite...lol

What wonderful, insightful posts Cheryl has inspired. Thank you all! I especially enjoyed janhavi's Pierre Pagannini article.

I did not see the Rafa/Soderling match, so I can't comment on what happened. It sounds like it was brutal. Poor Rafa, and having to deal with that on top of injury. I bet the mental anguish far outweighed the physical pain. Hopefully, Rafa will see a kinder, gentler crowd next year.

I can't wait for Wimbledon to start up! I'm hoping Roger, Rafa, et al give us a great show. It just might be a wild ride!

deuce,
it's true there is are many differences between Parisians, again, generally speaking, and non-Parisians in France. But even the people I met in the South said about themselves, without being prompted, that they are bruttish :-). Anyway, I've made my point: the situation is as if every time Federer played in a country that hated the Swiss for centuries he would be booed etc left and right no matter what he did. Enough said about this.

I very sorry to read so many bad things against French people?

The French crowd did not booed Nadal. Only a few people did but as you may know (or maybe not as I can read) One guy shouting out loud make more noise than a hundred quiet. That what happens on the Soderling- Nadal match. A quarter of the crowd was against Nadal, like always, a quarter was for Nadal, and the rest was just watching a tennis game. Guess what part of the crowd was the most audible? Specially on tv (who was in the stadium that day ? I was)

They are no anti-Spaniard felling in France , that is a non sense a bit stupid. Lots of Spanish tennis player are very loved in France, Carlos Moya, Verdasco, even Sergui Brugera after is 2 Wins was encouraged. Saying that French don?t like Spain is a bit ignorant (no offense). French love to travel in Spain for holidays, loved their food, culture and country. No jealousy, no aversion at all.

Saying that French people hates foreigners is although not very cleaver. Its true many of ours don?t speak very well English, and I must admit that other European country such as Scandinavian does better than us in this field. Do English people can give any lesson in that matter ? not sure.

What bored French people (me first and I speak English) is when someone in your own country start talking to you in English without any introduction and without any effort to speak a bit slowly. Next time you travel in France, try to slowly asked "Excuse me, Do you speak English" You will see that many people will gently try to help you.
Imagine that in england I asked you the closed underground station in French ? And if you don?t answer me, what dos it means ? That you don?t like foreigners, Or that you are to proud to learn French?? A bit silly don?t you think ?

And yes French are proud of their country and language, Who is not ?

Read this interesting article in French, you'll understand lots of what happens in that Nadal lost?

http://www.tennistalk.com/fr/actualites/20090603/Toni_Nadal_s e_plaint_du_public_de_Roland_Garros_

P.S I guess you all speak French because being able to criticise that hard a culture and a country, probably means that you have the language knowledge? No ?

P.S ² My apologises for that poor English level and all that grammar faults, I do my best.

spoonie ...u did well to make ur point .
I agree with u ..i never thought that the support for soderling ( or lack of support for nadal) has anything to do with the nationality of the player ...
I think it just had all to do with the players themselves ...

C'MON !!!

Bonjour spoonnie,

First of all: I meant no offense. I tried to always say "a large number of" instead of implying "all" French people.

Personally I have never addressed anyone in France in English. I grew up speaking French (in Belgium) long before I learned English, and consider French my second mother tongue (we moved to Belgium from another European country when I was 5).

The rudeness is widely known and acknowledged. Personally it took me years to admit the reality of it to myself because I, like you, and many other nations, love the French language, culture, food, cities, and many other things besides.

The pretty common bias against Spanish sportsmen by French commentators is something I witnessed on several holidays to France and Spain while watching sports on French channels. Living in France that bias may be much harder to notice as it is the norm. (In my opinion).

The bias against Nadal specifically has been widely written about and discussed for a long time, not just this year. I gave my own opinions, as informed as I can make them, in the posts here. I may be wrong about them, but have given my reasons.

By the way, do you remember George Brassens' song "Les gens qui sont nes quelque part"? An excellent commentary on the general theme behind our discussion here.

I love Brassens, Chlorostoma - maybe his famous "gorille" will visit RG next year and deal with the undesirables in the crowd as only the gorille knows how!

chlorostoma, do you really think that a entire culture or contry can be rudeness ? If so, why do you think French people are more rude than others ? It is a real question and I dare to have an explanation. Maybe I missed the point ?

I have travel a lot, (not only as a tourist) and I never met people more or less friendly than is other place. It is always a question of comprehension don?t you think?

On the Nadal-Soderling match, people were encouraging the one who was supposed to louse, just to have o thigh match. When you pay an expensive ticket, you don?t want to have a score like nadal vs Hewitt. So the crowd has cheered Robin to do his best to push Nadal to play his best tennis, but no one was expecting the Spaniard to lose.

I don?t like when people applause fault or error, and the minority who did it on Nadal should be blamed, but not because it was Nadal. I condemn this behaviour for all players, not only when stars are victim of it. The think is, I have heard this kind of comportment on every grand slam, and that is not linked to nationality I am afraid.

See you...

Hi spoonnie,

Re the French Open treatment of Nadal, many people, and not only anonymous blog commentators like you and me, have pointed to a lot of the crowd pretty consistently being 'against' Nadal, over the last 5 French Opens. The thread here is about why that might be.

Regarding the French and rudeness, let me say again, I never used to think about it, since starting to speak French ... which was about 40 years ago. It did not occur to me until a trip to Paris about 10 years ago when a) my Parisian born and raised uncle and aunt pointed to it, and b) in conversations with strangers in cafes and restaurants Paris and at the Cote d'Azur SEVERAL times French people VOLUNTEERED this information without my wife or me even bringing up the topic.

It is not exclusive to the French, but once you start to look closer at it, it is very pronounced.

I can assure you in my case it is not a matter of comprehension. I did not want to make any of these discussions about me. I only mentioned my background in my first post above to show that, while I may be wrong, my opinion is informed by many years of speaking French and immersion in the French culture. Even though it's been a long time that I spoke French every day I was paid for several translations of academic papers from English to French and French to English - on sociology.

There are a number of countries in Europe I've lived in (Belgium) or travelled to where even in today's changed society the level of respect and politeness is much higher. As it is in Canada, my country for the last many years. Certainly, in many parts of France this is also the case, but in Paris a lot less. At the Cote d'Azur and in the Marseille we found an incredible mixture of politeness and rudeness.

I can't claim to know WHY the Parisians don't like Nadal. I don't know if it's just because he's Spanish, if it's because his "manner" offends or if it's simply that he has stood in the way of Federer winning the thing for so long. My personal opinion is that it is some sort of combination of the second two.

As for not booing him...well, they've actually done that before too. But cheering his first serve faults, which is how they've resorted to treating him, amounts to the same thing - and he knows it. I really believe they hurt his feelings. The problem is that as a sporting crowd, they don't HAVE to be polite, and the complaining from the Nadal camp will only make it worse.

I may be wrong, but I think that the recent comments by Nadal and Toni will make no difference with just those people in the crowd who've been consistently rude against Nadal (and there are far too many of them). That's the type of people they are. Not entirely unlike the worst third or quarter of soccer fans across the North Sea.

Perhaps they are less against the other Spanish players... but then none of those have presented any real threat to Federer nor have had the audacity to win the Coupe des Mousquetaires.

So I think that Nadal's 'manner' is an excuse, a rationalisation, no more nor less.

Standing in Federer's way is certainly a big part of it. Being Spanish just aggravates it so much more.

Cheryl, I think that this is the first time I have ever posted something borderline political here or anywhere else on the net. And I was not planning to. I just tried to explain observations I've made about the Spanish and French, that have often been made outside of the tennis world, and that some posters here who live in France have made as well.

chlorostoma, don't worry about it. I don't have a problem with your observation. I am not European, so much of the intricacies of country-to-country relations are somewhat lost on me.

Reminds me of 1974 India-South Africa Davis Cup final when India in principle refused to play the then South African regime due to its certain policies. But that was a long way back and on a larger scale. By the way looking forward to see them play again in September.

The closer Federer got to breaking Pete's record the tighter he got. The reason he did not win as many tournaments last year was partly because of the mono but I believe it was because he was closing in on Pete's record. He started to choke because he wanted to badly to break the record. He 'lost' his serve because he was tight. Same thing with the FO - he wanted it so badly. He said in an interview that he knew he could beat Nadal when he arrived in Madrid and he did. He was tight during the FO but found a way to struggle thru and won. At Wimbledon his serve was back and and he was playing like his former self. He has done what all champions do, find a way to win even when not playing at their best - find a way to break records even when they get humiliated and everyone loses faith in them. Now everything he wins from here on is icing on the cake.

@Tenten......... wow ........very well said.......

Specially the last line........everything from now will be like cherry on cake........bonus...... we have been telling this since he won FO........ one which he was desperate for as well we were ........

He was under pressure due to mono n back problem last year .......and the hopes of his trillions of fans and the media ........pressurized him more n more.......he did very well to reach 3 GS finals last year with that injury n tremendous fans n media pressure.....won 1 GS........finally ...........but now how ever he has done wt he was supposed to do .........rite......

Now he is completely tension free....... playing grrrrrrrtttttttttt tennis with full of confidence ............. he will continue this for sure ........ rite......

He is backy to no.1 spot again...... which he loved more than n e thing !!!!! oh this guy has so many records...... never ending list !!!!! lol

hE iS bAcKy hOmE tHe wOrLd nO.1........... (m lovin it)

Go Roger Go..........