congrats to nole for taking the title!! great job!!

Fed and Nole said it all. :)
Congrats, falcon!!! :)

Well if you watched the Swiss Davidoff Indoor Open and witnessed Roger Federer?s defeat / mauling, from Novak Djokovic, you kind?a gott?a ask the question?has ?Jokie? got Roger?s number?or has Roger just lost some of his competitive spirit? After Djokovic won the last set 6 ?2 it pretty well answers the question, ?Does he think he can win?? This man Djokovic is going be a steam roller power house from now on and with a forehand like he has, coupled with a ?I?ve beaten the best now?, attitude, you can bet you?ll see him at the top of the heap in the next few years.
The question is, what happened to Roger? A bigger question is, what happens to any top champion after a while. I mean, how do you keep being the best, after you?ve done for so long. You gott?a say sometimes, ?Oh what the heck, I?m just tired of all this ?Winning stuff?, being the best, proving myself, coming from behind to win, I?m just going to relax and let down, my trophy room is too full, I?ve got too much money in the bank, FAGATABOUTIT!
Maybe that?s where Roger?s mind was last Sunday, and you know what?I don?t blame him. He needs a vacation, but you haven?t seen the last of him, ?cause after a little while in Margaritaville, he?ll be back and look out, HE will be the steam roller, and don?t get in his way!
We still love you Rog.

Keep you eye on the ball,
Roger ? Tennis Pro

it takes a bit of audacity to slay the dragon in his cave, but don't think fed should feel shocked. after all, he has so many records under his belt already and will probably set some new ones soon.

I'd beg to differ with Djoker and his fans. He didn't play his best in that match and Fed was back to Miami's lousy form for some reason. He completely mis-hit so many forehands it was terrible. Djoker has a lot of talent but I think both of them were just off yesterday and it was an ugly match to watch. I think next year Djoker will pass Nadal if he keeps his focus and Fed should be fine just wish he could be consistent like in his prime years of '04-'07.

Well, I also believe Roger is a bit (just a bit, mind you) weary and a bit distracted. It was interesting to me that in one recent interview he discussed a conversation he had with his wife, Mirka, about how he thinks he might want to play doubles. He went on to say how she encouraged him and such, but I can't imagine the Federer of two or three years ago investing his precious time and energies in doubles playing. It's a small thing, I suppose, but it shows he's thinking beyond his singles career and may be wanting to mix things up a little. All I can say to that, if it's true, is Go Roger! But I also believe he'll be back strong in the Grand Slams...he may be saving himself (and his health) for them, as next year's will be especially tough with all the new up-and-coming talent. In any case, 2010 will be a fascinating year for us tennis fans!!

fed himself said he was outplayed but few of his fans continue with the excuses. just give djokovic the credit already. ch18 this entire forum knows you hate rafa, no need for the one liner in every post of yours. do yourself a favour and get a new record. fans like you demean his achievements. instead of being scathing of nole's win, you are better off giving kudos to fed for his sporting comments over his loss.

Oh, you're so right, homos, that full credit for the match definitely goes to Djokovic...while he had his poor-play moments, he was generally far more focused and simply outplayed Federer throughout the entire thing (even the second set that Federer won was tied at 4-4, I believe, before he was able to take it). It's just that many of us are interested in how Roger will be playing his top tier peers nowadays given his excruciating loss to del Potro at the Open and his extended break afterwards. But Djokovic has also been improving over the past year and is poised to do extremely well in 2010.

I'm just brutally honest. Ricky Dimon said also that was the worst match that these two guys have played against each other. I'm not making excuses. Yes he obviously was outplayed. I call them like I see them and Fed played poorly ; Djoker just played less poorly and consequently deserved to win. I've got no problems with Djoker or his fans. He's very talented and I think he will win more Grand Slams in the future.

chr18 I believe you! I alo agree that this was the worst match between Nole and Fed and I also agree that Nole, who was not at his best outplayed Federer who was even worse. I also agree that Nole was the better player and deserved the win. Before I was a Nole fan, I was a Federer fan and admired his game and achievements and still do! Now for the past two years, I've been a devoted fan of his not just because I am originally Serbian, but because I believe that Nole is the only only that can match Federer's talent and beautiful tennis style. When I make this statement I am actually talking about tennis style only not achievements. Nole has ways to go to even come close to achieving what the Great achieved. All I am hoping for at the moment is, for Nole to keep on being consistent and stay healthy and of course keep on improving his game and already improved fitness. His confidence is slowly coming back and he is in a great position to achieve a lot in 2010. Is he really going to do it? Well we can only hope that he will do it, and his true fans believe in him, to the end! As Nole fans will say: In Nole we trust!!!!!

The first set was painful, second set better, by time third set rolled around, it was blardy 3AM my time and I had to get to the hospital by 8AM the next morning so I gave up. But watching a recorded stream, I gotta say Fed's forehand REALLY just went on a vacation and never came back throughout the match. He was rather a disaster, I admit, and he seemed distracted. Nole to be honest wasn't playing his best tennis either, but he played well enough to win.

Kudos and credit to Nole for hanging in there and usurping Roger at his home tournament...kinda ouchie for Fed but Nole deserves it, muchly so.

arailic, I really like what you said about Nole's style! He does pull off shots that are amazing and graceful and a reminiscent of Federer's but at the same time maintaining his own style. He is really wonderful to watch, his athleticism is great since we all know about his asthma and generally inferior health. And Nole is an all-court player - I think OllyK said he loves the hard court the most - but undeniably he's immensely capable on grass and clay, being one of the few players that has reached semis of all the Slams.

Rog broke through when he was at Nole's age now - so I'm really looking forward to what I think are Nole's prime years ahead. Basel is a nice achievement for Nole so I'm excited to see what lies ahead for Paris and Tour Finals. :)

Thanks chr18 and arailic: seriously bad match
When you watch two players whom play great offensive game you kind of expect a higher level of tennis than the one we saw, simply it wasn?t the case.
The question is: what keeps him wanting more? After the win in wimbledon the fight and the waiting for the number 15, then Cincinnati happened because he wanted the win against Murray and Novak so much ,then he beat him again in USO in the best way a win can happen, so basically the motive is going to be the factor in the next few months: well he didn?t win Paris master ever, and he lost the TMC last year after painful matches, I hope this is strong motive for him to make the move!'
i hope there will be no more bad day in the office

i dont think this match is a big deal at all. so what djokovic beat Federer in the final
set of the final match at Basel, a 250 point tourney. Fed hasn't played a tournament since Davis Cup right after the Open, and it usually takes a him a while to get back into his groove. Plus he did take the 2nd set against Djok and reached the final. The important thing is that he has mastered Dokovic in all the important matches (i.e. Grandslam matches) that they have played since Djok's lone victory against Fed at the real stage in the Aussie Open in 08. So give Fed a break. 2 out 3 sets is not his cup of tea these days and his record at grand slams is still 500 times better than djok and everyone else on the tour. But i would like to see Djok step it up next year and think he will win at least 1 grandslam in 2010. He is getting back to his old level and that's good to see.

i want another federer vs nadal final!

i miss the good old days when these two guys would just turn it on for young and old!

they have only played only a handful of matches this year!

other rivalries are great to see but federer vs nadal is THE greatest rivalry, its the ultimate.

we got so used to federer vs nadal finals, but since there hasnt been many this year im starting t miss it.
u dont realise how much u miss those matches until they are gone!

it was sad they couldnt meet in the US open finals this year to complete their rivalry!
it would have been an absolutely epic match.
they always put on a spectacle for the viewers all around the world.

PLEASE BRING BACK FEDERER VS NADAL FINALS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

just a correction to my previous post: basel is atp 500 not 250...but my basic point still stands...i also would like to see nadal vs fed. more exciting than any other matchup!