Cheryl, do you mean Fed's qtr in Rome is kind? (not Miami :)

i was going to ask the same question rafterfan. It isnt kind at all. but wondered if she could give further clarification?

as there will be many roger/rafa fans on this thread, I found this from another poster, Sam, who has also provided a link.

This is what Fed had to say about Rafa. Clearly shows how much he respects him.

??
?I was surprised to hear that everyone thought that Rafa was not playing so well,? said Federer.

?He surely should have won Qatar in January because he was playing so well over there and for those who saw the match against (Nikolay) Davydenko (in the final) he was clearly the guy but Davydenko got lucky, saved match point and played incredibly in the third set,? said the Swiss.

?Things would have been very different going into the Australian Open but then he pulled out injured (in the quarters) and so everybody gets negative.

?So even if he wins everything after that then people are not going to be happy because the focus is on the Australian Open.

?So I think that there was a little too much negativity around Rafa and I went through the same thing (last year).

?It?s true, 11 months for a player like him is a long time without winning a title but you?ll have to assume that once the French Open was on and the clay season on, then he would be back on again.?
??

Fed and Rafa have tremendous respect for one another.

Link to the article.
http://www.soccerway.com/news/2010/April/25/foolish-to-write -off-rafa-says-federer/.

Roger will also be playing doubles. Here is his schedule for tomorrow"

COURT 5 start 1:00 pm
[WC] P Lorenzi (ITA) vs A Montanes (ESP)
J Benneteau (FRA) vs [15] S Querrey (USA)
Not Before 5:30 PM
[WC] Y Allegro (SUI) / R Federer (SUI) vs J Brunstrom (SWE) / J Rojer (AHO) - Possible Court Change


I'm thinking someone should let clayking know. He was concerned enough attention wasn't being paid to doubles, and I mentioned it gets more attention when the high-profile singles players are playing.

Nice article, maxi.

I wish Roger and Rafa's *fans* would have as much respect for each other as the players do (especially as a FEDAL fan).

I hope that Fedfans take note from their idol when they are slagging Rafa off and ignoring the fact that his lack of form was due to injury after injury last year, and personal problems.

mara,
the actual problem is people give attention to doubles only when fed or rafa or top singles players are playing.. why can't we speak of doubles as it is when the best guys play.. why can't we discuss when bryan bros and zimonjic/nestor (the equivalent of rafa-roger match) battle it out..
you yourself are quick to inform me when a player who is ranked outside top 1000 in doubles rankings ( irrespective of past accomplishments) plays a match, solely because that guy is no. 1 in singles.. that's exactly my concern..
i am not blaming you or anyone for that matter.. everyone got their likes and dislikes.. but tell me mara, would you have even cared for it had roger not been there?

Thanks for the great article maxi. Clearly Roger Federer is a good man both on and off the court. It was very good to hear/read Roger speak this way in favour of Rafa. Very positive stuff. EXCELLENT! Good for tennis too. :) Now it's our turn (Roger fans) to cheer our fav who is back again! C'MON!!!! Let's go Roger! Let's go!! :)

i think its the fans interest. doubles don't draw as much attention, emotions and intensity as singles do and doubles can be over too quickly. this is only what i think. i've bene to grand slams where doubles matches just don't seem to pull the sort of crowd that singles matches do even if low rank players are playing singles. similar to womens game not attracting as much interest as the mens maybe.

even if rafa plays doubles, i may find out the score but it doesn't interest me as much as if he were playing singles, even in an exhibition.

i wonder how other fans feel about doubles.

LOL. Yes, I meant Rome, not Miami. I DO think Federer's draw is kind. As I said, Cilic isn't exactly a huge clay-court threat. That being said, there is always danger lurking in the first tournament on any new surface.

wow, Gulbis is playing so well! He is great! This match is all about winners from both players! how enjoyable...

nothing from this match is about winners from Baghdatis. Thats for sure.

Bagdy did play better in the first set, although it does not show in the statistics...Gulbis was too good today..great win for him...and I loved those drop shots...

Gulbis is through, fed is playing doubles today, great that he is getting some practice in.

So fed v gulbis - wednesday? should be interesting.
No problem with the article. I thought it was great. Roger is such a star.

Maxi - Federer and Gulbis are scheduled for tomorrow, not Wednesday.

clayking - I think it's good to generate awareness any way one can. If it has to *start* with "more visible" players participating, so be it. But that's just my opinion.

"you yourself are quick to inform me when a player who is ranked outside top 1000 in doubles rankings ( irrespective of past accomplishments) plays a match, solely because that guy is no. 1 in singles.. that's exactly my concern.. "

Well, fine then. I won't do it any more.