Fed To Only Play At 100%

marc45 · Feb 23, 2009

been away a couple of days...can't believe nobody titled a thread about this....found it on tennis.com ticker (i'll try to get the dubai paper link)...fed told a dubai paper

"I'm only going to play when i'm 100 percent fit, whereas last year i played many matches where i wasn't feeling great. That's going to make a big difference for me, both now and for the following years."

sounds like his schedule will be trimmed further www.tennis.com
click on "ticker" on the left side and scroll down to fed item .... still searching for the paper, that's all i have

edmondsm · Feb 23, 2009

Well, thanks for the link. Now brace yourself for the barage of "arrogant Federer excuse" posts.

veroniquem · Feb 23, 2009

Well, we'll see what difference it makes. In 2009 so far he played 2 tournaments and he lost both of them. I assume he was at 100% since that's his new condition for playing, right?

TennisandMusic · Feb 23, 2009

That's...an interesting statement. Not sure what to make of it.

LanceStern · Feb 23, 2009

I think that's a smart thing for Federer to do.

The competition is getting tougher and hungrier. It would not be smart for him to try and best these younguns at less than 100% (especially Djokovic or Murray, and definitely Nadal).

Plus it's good for his longetivity. He'll be able to play longer if he doesn't play at less than 100%. It'll be proper recovery time for his body rather than trying to bang it up at 85%

edmondsm · Feb 23, 2009

veroniquem said:
Well, we'll see what difference it makes. In 2009 so far he played 2 tournaments and he lost both of them. I assume he was at 100% since that's his new condition for playing, right?

Not necessarily. You don't skip a slam because your back aches a little bit when you get out of bed in the morning. Maybe he felt fine on the court, but at his age you need to start really listening to your body. If you're RF and your back still aches every now and then, it is better to take time off and do physical therapy then just jump back into the fray and play small tournaments.

iriraz · Feb 23, 2009

Probably he will play at 100% fit only in smaller tourneys but slams and masters i doubt he will skip them even if he is not in the best of shape.

shadows · Feb 23, 2009

This decision sounds like it's taken with an eye towards longevity, if Roger wants to keep playing professionally for many years yet he's got to be considering the state of his body and how he can carefully manage it to get the most out of it.

zagor · Feb 24, 2009

TennisandMusic said:
That's...an interesting statement. Not sure what to make of it.

Translation,I'm old(in tennis terms)and will have to pick the spots when to give my best as I can't give 100% at each tourney given the fact that I'll turn 28 this year.In short he'll try to do what Sampras did succesfully his whole career,focus on the big ones.

Atleast that's how I understood it.

Cesc Fabregas · Feb 24, 2009

Federer in making exuses for his loses shock.

tahiti · Feb 24, 2009

Fed as far as I'm concerned hasn't got anything left to prove. To only play when he's fit, well I presume he's only going to go for Grand Slams for the big points. Sure it's wise. But missing out on match practice won't fix what he wants I think.

TennisandMusic · Feb 24, 2009

zagor said:
Translation,I'm old(in tennis terms)and will have to pick the spots when to give my best as I can't give 100% at each tourney given the fact that I'll turn 28 this year.In short he'll try to do what Sampras did succesfully his whole career,focus on the big ones.

Atleast that's how I understood it.

Well that's pretty depressing considering the fact I'm 28.

I was just referring to his motivation for saying something like that, that's all.

mandy01 · Feb 24, 2009

veroniquem said:
Well, we'll see what difference it makes. In 2009 so far he played 2 tournaments and he lost both of them. I assume he was at 100% since that's his new condition for playing, right?

difference as in difference of apporach.Thats how I read it atleast.

DecoTurf · Feb 24, 2009

zagor said:
Translation,I'm old(in tennis terms)and will have to pick the spots when to give my best as I can't give 100% at each tourney given the fact that I'll turn 28 this year.In short he'll try to do what Sampras did succesfully his whole career,focus on the big ones.

Atleast that's how I understood it.

I agree. Although many people think Federer does not have anything to prove, he definitely wants to get the all time slams record and to a lesser extent, the no.1 ranking back.

Nadal_Freak · Feb 24, 2009

Another excuse from Fed. He is on a roll so far this year.

mawashi · Feb 24, 2009

What's wrong with that? A punishing schedule that breaks down virtually every pro isn't something a pro looking for longevity would support.

I say good that he does it... Hope Nadal adopts it too.

mawashi

Sentinel · Feb 24, 2009

Without details, it probably means he will resume competition when 100% fit from his back.

There's no excuse there. And not much to read into either.

vtmike · Feb 24, 2009

veroniquem said:
Well, we'll see what difference it makes. In 2009 so far he played 2 tournaments and he lost both of them. I assume he was at 100% since that's his new condition for playing, right?

Just because he was at a 100% doesn't mean he HAS to win the tournament... :roll:

vtmike · Feb 24, 2009

Nadal_Freak said:
Another excuse from Fed. He is on a roll so far this year.

Not surprised you say that...Don't really expect anything else from you...what exactly is the excuse here?? did he say he lost the AO final because of his back??
Infact Nadal is the one who has made several excuses after his loses to Murray!

caulcano · Feb 24, 2009

iriraz said:
Probably he will play at 100% fit only in smaller tourneys but slams and masters i doubt he will skip them even if he is not in the best of shape.

Federer will probably miss a few masters as well. A big 2 fingers-up to the ATP organisers may not be a bad thing.

P_Agony · Feb 24, 2009

vtmike said:
Not surprised you say that...Don't really expect anything else from you...what exactly is the excuse here?? did he say he lost the AO final because of his back??
Infact Nadal is the one who has made several excuses after his loses to Murray!

Nadal is letting the injury timeouts and quitings make all the excuses.

Nuke · Feb 24, 2009

How can Federer know far in advance what weeks he will be 100%? Does this mean he will enter the tournaments, but drop out at the last minute when he's not feeling up to snuff?

bluetrain4 · Feb 24, 2009

For players who are getting older (in terms of tennis) I think focusing on a smaller number of tournaments is smart. I'd rather have top players playing good tennis for larger number of years, than having them play packed schedules over a shorter number of years.

Granted, he didn't really need to include "like I did last year" in reference to not playing when he was 100%, since that comment can be interpreted (or misinterpreted) as an excuse.

miyagi · Feb 24, 2009

Wow you lot a pathetic as soon as one mentions Fed you then have to insult Nadal as soon as the other mention Nadal you have to insult Fed.....

Bunch of over hormonal women you should be ashamed.....

It's Fed career who cares if he only plays when he feels he's 100%!!! Maybe he feels this is how he can give his best?

Turning Pro · Feb 24, 2009

Fed was 100% v 75-85% Nadal at the Aus Open and STILL LOST.

sureshs · Feb 24, 2009

Turning Pro said:
Fed was 100% v 75-85% Nadal at the Aus Open and STILL LOST.

No, since by definition he is never 100% when he loses - he is still recovering from a bad back from late last year

tangerine · Feb 24, 2009

Fed To Only Play At 100%

Good luck to him with that. After several years of playing competitive tennis at the highest level I don't think his 27 year old body will ever really truly feel 100% again.

Topaz · Feb 24, 2009

Nadal_Freak said:
Another excuse from Fed. He is on a roll so far this year.

Gosh, seriously...you're like clockwork now.

Nadal would be smart to also adopt such a schedule. If he did, maybe he wouldn't burn out at the end of the season like he has done EVERY SINGLE YEAR SO FAR.

Turning Pro said:
Fed was 100% v 75-85% Nadal at the Aus Open and STILL LOST.

And, where are the links to prove those stats?

edmondsm · Feb 24, 2009

tangerine said:
Good luck to him with that. After several years of playing competitive tennis at the highest level I don't think his 27 year old body will ever really truly feel 100% again.

Which is why it's smart that he is going to (or sounds like he's going to) really limit his schedule. He's made it through the meat of his career, got 13 slams, it's all gravy from here on out IMO.

veroniquem · Feb 24, 2009

miyagi said:
Wow you lot a pathetic as soon as one mentions Fed you then have to insult Nadal as soon as the other mention Nadal you have to insult Fed.....

Bunch of over hormonal women you should be ashamed.....

It's Fed career who cares if he only plays when he feels he's 100%!!! Maybe he feels this is how he can give his best?

Sorry but the statement itself sounds silly. It seems to imply that last year he lost tournaments because he wasn't playing at 100% in them. And there are some tournaments (at least slams) that you just HAVE TO play even if you feel 90% or 80%. Does he mean he won't play RG or Wimbledon if he doesn't feel 100% at that time? I doubt it. All players have to play sometimes while not being at 100%, it's just life on the tour, everybody has to deal with that fact, that's why even the best players have poor performances sometimes, that is not something that can realistically be avoided. Federer already plays (relatively) few tournaments compared to other players (about 18 vs 20+ for most players), I don't think he can afford playing even less if he wants to remain competitive at the top. Plus does that mean that he's announcing ahead of time that when he plays, he will be in top form and so one can expect him to do extremely well in every single tournament he enters from now on? Way to put unnecessary pressure on one's shoulders! Why would one want to do that to oneself? Unreasonable IMO.

veroniquem · Feb 24, 2009

mandy01 said:
difference as in difference of apporach.Thats how I read it atleast.

Bad approach from a realistic point of view. If Federer starts playing fewer tournaments than what he's been doing (about 18 a year), he 's gonna drop in the rankings and how much of an advantage will it be for him to maybe have to play his nemesis (Nadal) before the final? Plus he'll have twice as much pressure to do well in the fewer tournaments he enters, not a good idea when one is already showing difficulties handling that pressure. If that's the only plan Federer has for a successful long career, I'm afraid it's bad news for his fans... Hopefully it's just something he said without thinking too much about it as he definitely wants to stay #2 as long as possible (and I think he could if he plays a normal schedule).

mandy01 · Feb 24, 2009

veroniquem said:
Bad approach from a realistic point of view. If Federer starts playing fewer tournaments than what he's been doing (about 18 a year), he 's gonna drop in the rankings and how much of an advantage will it be for him to maybe have to play his nemesis (Nadal) before the final? Plus he'll have twice as much pressure to do well in the fewer tournaments he enters, not a good idea when one is already showing difficulties handling that pressure. If that's the only plan Federer has for a successful long career, I'm afraid it's bad news for his fans... Hopefully it's just something he said without thinking too much about it as he definitely wants to stay #2 as long as possible (and I think he could if he plays a normal schedule).

Oh come on...you're taking it too far.Its not like he's playing only slams.His implication was clear-he just wants ot stay healthy for as long as possible.And if its possible to skip a tournament for his health's sake,then why not? He's skipping tourneys that arent costing him much.

fps · Feb 24, 2009

all that stuff about playing into his mid-thirties and competing for years to come was always gonna be bravado once he started to feel his age a bit. hell i'm 24 and i play 2 days in a row on hard courts and it doesn't feel *that* great.

jackson vile · Feb 24, 2009

Good for Roger, he is getting smarter. Hopefully he changes his lifestyle further.

fastdunn · Feb 24, 2009

zagor said:
Translation,I'm old(in tennis terms)and will have to pick the spots when to give my best as I can't give 100% at each tourney given the fact that I'll turn 28 this year.In short he'll try to do what Sampras did succesfully his whole career,focus on the big ones.

Atleast that's how I understood it.

me too. in fact, he successfully paced himself from 2006-2007 when he started to put more weights on slams. his plan unfortunately derailed a bit with mild form of mono in 2008. it is still slight set back since he made finals of last 4 slams! therefore, i think there is no reasons why he stops his plan to keep adjusting his schedules...

Nadal_Freak · Feb 24, 2009

Topaz said:
Gosh, seriously...you're like clockwork now.

Nadal would be smart to also adopt such a schedule. If he did, maybe he wouldn't burn out at the end of the season like he has done EVERY SINGLE YEAR SO FAR.

And, where are the links to prove those stats?

You don't see the arrogance and excuse making in Fed's comments? He is saying he lost many times last year because he was not 100%. Another example of not giving the opponent credit. You *******s just won't admit this was an arrogant thing to say.

edberg505 · Feb 24, 2009

Nadal_Freak said:
You don't see the arrogance and excuse making in Fed's comments? He is saying he lost many times last year because he was not 100%. Another example of not giving the opponent credit. You *******s just won't admit this was an arrogant thing to say.

I bet if someone were to take a poll here and try to find out who the most annoying person on this board is; you would be the overwhelming winner. No one would even come close. Well, I guess if you have to be the best at something...

Nadal_Freak · Feb 24, 2009

edberg505 said:
I bet if someone were to take a poll here and try to find out who the most annoying person on this board is; you would be the overwhelming winner. No one would even come close. Well, I guess if you have to be the best at something...

You are totally changing the topic. This topic is about Federer's arrogance in saying he lost because he wasn't 100% bs. Please stay on topic.

edberg505 · Feb 24, 2009

Nadal_Freak said:
You are totally changing the topic. This topic is about Federer's arrogance in saying he lost because he wasn't 100% bs. Please stay on topic.

I would stay on the topic if you would too. Because the quote clearly didn't say that he lost all his matches because he wasn't 100 percent. That's some crap you spout out about Nadal. You are just trying to get people all riled up like you always do. Nothing new here I guess. Carry on, it's what you do best.

Nadal_Freak · Feb 24, 2009

edberg505 said:
I would stay on the topic if you would too. Because the quote clearly didn't say that he lost all his matches because he wasn't 100 percent. That's some crap you spout out about Nadal. You are just trying to get people all riled up like you always do. Nothing new here I guess. Carry on, it's what you do best.

..."whereas last year i played many matches where i wasn't feeling great. That's going to make a big difference for me, both now and for the following years." - Federer

He didn't say all matches but many matches definitely says something about how he wants to think is still on top. All he has to do is play less according to him.

I think he'll be disappointed that is not all he has to do.

edberg505 · Feb 24, 2009

Nadal_Freak said:
..."whereas last year i played many matches where i wasn't feeling great. That's going to make a big difference for me, both now and for the following years." - Federer

He didn't say all matches but many matches definitely says something about how he wants to think is still on top. All he has to do is play less according to him. I think he'll be disappointed that is not all he has to do.

Ah, I see so only Nadal can play when he isn't 100 percent, but when Federer claims that he does it he's a liar? LOL

miyagi · Feb 24, 2009

veroniquem said:
Sorry but the statement itself sounds silly. It seems to imply that last year he lost tournaments because he wasn't playing at 100% in them. And there are some tournaments (at least slams) that you just HAVE TO play even if you feel 90% or 80%. Does he mean he won't play RG or Wimbledon if he doesn't feel 100% at that time? I doubt it. All players have to play sometimes while not being at 100%, it's just life on the tour, everybody has to deal with that fact, that's why even the best players have poor performances sometimes, that is not something that can realistically be avoided. Federer already plays (relatively) few tournaments compared to other players (about 18 vs 20+ for most players), I don't think he can afford playing even less if he wants to remain competitive at the top. Plus does that mean that he's announcing ahead of time that when he plays, he will be in top form and so one can expect him to do extremely well in every single tournament he enters from now on? Way to put unnecessary pressure on one's shoulders! Why would one want to do that to oneself? Unreasonable IMO.

I'm afraid what is silly is every single opportunity you and Nadal Freak taking HUGE pride in jumping on Fed's back like you are somehow helping Nadal...

Here's a thought maybe he wasn't being literal....perhaps he excluded the slams when he was saying that....to be honest who the hell cares....Fed has managed to stay at the top without your advice this far so I doubt he somehow now needs you!

I'm by no means a Fed fan but this is just rediculous....just showing how childish you are....

veroniquem · Feb 24, 2009

edberg505 said:
Ah, I see so only Nadal can play when he isn't 100 percent, but when Federer claims that he does it he's a liar? LOL

First Nadal is younger and is more eager to constantly improve than Federer (Nadal doesn't think of himself as the God of tennis), which means he'll be more likely to win matches when he's not 100%. Second, AFAIK Nadal has never said anything about only playing at 100%, I don't think that's a realistic possibility on the pro tour.

Serve_Ace · Feb 24, 2009

Nadal doesn't think he's the god of tennis, but you fan sure make him sound like one!

THERAFA · Feb 24, 2009

federer didn't look 100% in the us open last year in some matches but i'm sure he's glad he played :mrgreen:

koalakoala · Feb 24, 2009

It does not give too much information here. I only hope his back is not a serious and lingering problem.

IMHO, tt is really wise for Federer to focus on Grand Slams now. Ranking should not be his priority anymore when he grows older. Focusing on wining as many GS as possible before retiring is top priority.

veroniquem · Feb 24, 2009

miyagi said:
I'm afraid what is silly is every single opportunity you and Nadal Freak taking HUGE pride in jumping on Fed's back like you are somehow helping Nadal...

Here's a thought maybe he wasn't being literal....perhaps he excluded the slams when he was saying that....to be honest who the hell cares....Fed has managed to stay at the top without your advice this far so I doubt he somehow now needs you!

I'm by no means a Fed fan but this is just rediculous....just showing how childish you are....

Wow for a non-Federer fan, you're certainly getting on your high horse here! Every top player is being scrutinized here, when Nadal made a comment about too many hard court tournaments he was torn to pieces on this board as people interpreted that wish in all kinds of negative ways and I'm fine with it as long as I can participate in the debate. That's what the board is for: discussing everything related to tennis players.
Federer may have been on top for a long time but he's not anymore, he lost his #1 spot. I find it normal that people want to give advice or think about things that would help him along for his career (coach, psy, game changes or whatever), I also find it normal when people do it in the form of criticism (like what he should avoid doing when playing Nadal). Of course Federer will never read this board, we're all aware of that. It doesn't mean we should never discuss it between us. To me it's a fun thing to do, it's not like I expect to influence Federer or any other player with it, it's for my own pleasure of arguing about it with other people who share my interests.

koalakoala · Feb 24, 2009

sure

veroniquem said:
First Nadal is younger and is more eager to constantly improve than Federer (Nadal doesn't think of himself as the God of tennis), which means he'll be more likely to win matches when he's not 100%. Second, AFAIK Nadal has never said anything about only playing at 100%, I don't think that's a realistic possibility on the pro tour.

Federer and Nadal are one generation apart and hence at different stages of their careers. They have different goals. Is this so difficult to comprehend?

THERAFA · Feb 24, 2009

koalakoala said:
Federer and Nadal are one generation apart and hence at different stages of their careers. They have different goals. Is this so difficult to comprehend?

interesting sentence because people keep saying rafa nadal needs a lighter schedule not federer and some say rafa nadal will get injured and stop winning slams and even retire soon lol lmao :mrgreen:

miyagi · Feb 24, 2009

veroniquem said:
Wow for a non-Federer fan, you're certainly getting on your high horse here! Every top player is being scrutinized here, when Nadal made a comment about too many hard court tournaments he was torn to pieces on this board as people interpreted that wish in all kinds of negative ways and I'm fine with it as long as I can participate in the debate. That's what the board is for: discussing everything related to tennis players.
Federer may have been on top for a long time but he's not anymore, he lost his #1 spot. I find it normal that people want to give advice or think about things that would help him along for his career (coach, psy, game changes or whatever), I also find it normal when people do it in the form of criticism (like what he should avoid doing when playing Nadal). Of course Federer will never read this board, we're all aware of that. It doesn't mean we should never discuss it between us. To me it's a fun thing to do, it's not like I expect to influence Federer or any other player with it, it's for my own pleasure of arguing about it with other people who share my interests.

I'm a Nadal fan!

I've highlighted the important bit in all what you have said....you seem to like the sound of your own voice way too much as far as I'm concerned.

Yes he's no longer #1 but if you think what you are doing is classified as giving advice I think that is laughable because lets be honest who is listening to you dribble on?

I don't mind criticising someone if it is called for however you are just being an ass for the sake of it yet you think there is some kind of nobility in doing so!

The problem with people like you is some other idiot slags off Nadal and you think that is a green light for you to go ahead and do the same to Fed....As if you are the great defender of Nadal. Then we can't discuss anything because it becomes a flaming war in about 5 posts

Just grow up and have a sensible unbiased debate and perhaps you may be taken a little more seriously however at the moment every single comment that flows from you mouth is either A) Guaranteed to worship Nadal or B) Degrade Fed.

Fed is far from my favourite player not even in my top ten but BS like this has got to stop!

Fed To Only Play At 100%

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