Federer takes Monte Carlo wildcard

newpball

newpball

Legend
jones101 said:
Federer takes Monte Carlo wildcard
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As long as it is fair game he should be very welcome, may the best man win!

But marketing money surely wants to see him do a semi or finals, to "save tennis", because 'Jo Blow' only knows about F so F's got to win, come hell or high water.

I am worried another perfectly great tournament is going to be ruined.
 
Vensai

Vensai

Professional
Start of the clay season. This tournament should give us some idea of how the rest pans out.
Anyway, it's nice to see Roger Federer competing at Monte Carlo again.
 
Bartelby

Bartelby

Bionic Poster
From the point of view of the rules, it may be always more advantageous for Federer to opt in rather than opt out.
 
President

President

Legend
Sid_Vicious said:
Well lets see what happens. Federer lost every match to Djokovic at the Masters level since 2012. So even if he is in Djokovic's draw, Nadal has no reason to celebrate as Federer isn't winning. Federer has played this event 2 times in the last 5 years and was knocked out by Wawrinka and Melzer.
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Those matches were years ago. Every match is different, let alone every year (think about how long even one year is, and then think about how many years has passed since those matches!), and I think his new racquet can really help him out on clay. Lately he has just been getting overpowered on clay, and that shouldn't happen to a guy with his RHS. Now that he is on a level playing front, a guy like Tsonga won't hit through him on clay. We'll see though.
 
S

Sid_Vicious

G.O.A.T.
President said:
Those matches were years ago. Every match is different, let alone every year (think about how long even one year is, and then think about how many years has passed since those matches!), and I think his new racquet can really help him out on clay. Lately he has just been getting overpowered on clay, and that shouldn't happen to a guy with his RHS. Now that he is on a level playing front, a guy like Tsonga won't hit through him on clay. We'll see though.
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C'mon President, are you Robbie Koenig? He immediately brings up the racquet the moment Federer wins a backhand rally. :)

Overall, I do think the racquet helped him a lot, but I will keep an eye out for what you said. He has been getting smacked around on clay quite a bit. The RG QF last year was such a travesty. Hope it works out. However, I haven't seen Federer play good ball at Monte Carlo since 2006.

Nice Coria avatar.
 
President

President

Legend
Sid_Vicious said:
C'mon President, are you Robbie Koenig? He immediately brings up the racquet the moment Federer wins a backhand rally. :)

Overall, I do think the racquet helped him a lot, but I will keep an eye out for what you said. He has been getting smacked around on clay quite a bit. The RG QF last year was such a travesty. Hope it works out. However, I haven't seen Federer play good ball at Monte Carlo since 2006.

Nice Coria avatar.
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I think Federer should have switched racquets around 2008 honestly, I think he could have done a lot better in 2009-2011 considering that he wasn't THAT old (Nadal and Djokovic are approaching that age now, and they are clearly less talented IMO). He lost some explosiveness and RHS, and the bigger racquet could have helped compensate a lot. Not saying the bigger racquet would have helped him necessarily in his prime though.

I do think he will be a lot better on clay now than he was for the last two years or so, but there's a reason they play the matches of course.

Coria was such a phenomenally talented player, he could be a bit of a d*** at times but he made clay court tennis an art form of the highest order. IMO, a much better player to watch than Roddick, Hewitt, or Safin. In the early 2000's, I always preferred clay court tennis and guys like Coria were a big reason why. Even now, IMO the best quality tennis is often on clay. Wish Coria hadn't gotten the service yips, with his ground game he could have been a serious contender throughout the 2000's on clay and even on hard courts as they slowed down over the years.
 
Federer20042006

Federer20042006

Banned
I'm guessing the tournament director (s) told him they would like him to attend to help out the event, and he agreed.

I doubt it has much to do with points or preparation.
 
S

Sid_Vicious

G.O.A.T.
President said:
I think Federer should have switched racquets around 2008 honestly, I think he could have done a lot better in 2009-2011 considering that he wasn't THAT old (Nadal and Djokovic are approaching that age now, and they are clearly less talented IMO). He lost some explosiveness and RHS, and the bigger racquet could have helped compensate a lot. Not saying the bigger racquet would have helped him necessarily in his prime though.
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I think it is definitely something that might have helped him. I hope this doesn't trigger an alarm in the Breakpoint Cave :lol: , but a larger frame definitely can help even the best players. Sampras said that he used Andy Roddick's racquet during an exhibition match he was amazed at how much easier it was for him and it made him think that he should have tried something different in his career to give himself the extra edge.

Now, a guy like me, I was delusional. I played with a K90 for the past three years (and I played fine with it) thinking a different racquet wouldn't make a difference. I ordered a Babolat PDR and serving with it feels like cheating. Should have used this from the start. :lol:

I liked watching Coria play on clay as well, but I have different tastes. Its a blast watching giants like Nadal, Djokovic, Federer and Coria faceoff on the red stuff, but most of the matches are just left and right hitting IMO.
 
President

President

Legend
Sid_Vicious said:
I think it is definitely something that might have helped him. I hope this doesn't trigger an alarm in the Breakpoint Cave :lol: , but a larger frame definitely can help even the best players. Sampras said that he used Andy Roddick's racquet during an exhibition match he was amazed at how much easier it was for him and it made him think that he should have tried something different in his career to give himself the extra edge.

Now, a guy like me, I was delusional. I played with a K90 for the past three years (and I played fine with it) thinking a different racquet wouldn't make a difference. I ordered a Babolat PDR and serving with it feels like cheating. Should have used this from the start. :lol:

I liked watching Coria play on clay as well, but I have different tastes. Its a blast watching giants like Nadal, Djokovic, Federer and Coria faceoff on the red stuff, but most of the matches are just left and right hitting IMO.
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Yeah, I fully expect this thread to get to 20 pages now if BP gets wind of it, but facts are facts. The majority of pros use 98-100 head sizes for a reason, it gives the perfect blend of pace, control, and spin.

I think clay court tennis can seem to be left-right-left-right on the surface, but there is so much more than that if you really get into the nitty gritty of the matches, especially if you watch matches of players who grew up on the surface. A lot more than hard court, which is actually the really one dimensional surface IMO. Subtle angles, explosive topspin, and longer points just naturally appeal to me more I guess.

It's easy to spot the difference in point construction and stroke mechanics between players who were raised and built their games on clay (Nadal, Federer, Djokovic) and those who did on hard court (Roddick, Agassi). Not saying one is better than the other, but the former appeals to me more. The ironic thing is that Federer has always desperately insisted that he is not a claycourter and never will be, but that forehand doesn't lie. His game may work even better on grass than clay, but his point construction and stroke mechanics (that wristy backhand!) are straight out of the claycourt playbook! All just my opinion of course, I expect to get jumped on now by a bunch of Fedfanatic fast court purists haha. Funny because I've always considered myself a Fed fan, but lately I always seem to be defending slow court tennis and players.
 
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S

Sid_Vicious

G.O.A.T.
President said:
The ironic thing is that Federer has always desperately insisted that he is not a claycourter and never will be, but that forehand doesn't lie. His game may work even better on grass than clay, but his point construction and stroke mechanics (that wristy backhand!) are straight out of the claycourt playbook! All just my opinion of course, I expect to get jumped on now by a bunch of Fedfanatic fast court purists haha. Funny because I've always considered myself a Fed fan, but lately I always seem to be defending slow court tennis and players.
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I have to disagree here. Federer really isn't a claycourter and never will be. His backhand and forehand might be whippy and wristy, but he will never be caught dead playing tennis like Gasquet. He doesn't like looping groundstrokes back and forth and is constantly looking to win points on his own terms. You can't be a claycourter at heart and then spend the first three years of your career competing for nothing but indoor carpet and hardcourt titles. Even in 2003-2004,which were good years, Federer played many claycourt matches like he was an amateur on the surface. He had to work very hard to become a fantastic claycourter IMO. It didn't come easy.


Its funny to hear people say that Federer would love lighting fast surfaces all the time. Even Sampras didn't enjoy playing on those surfaces as he liked to have rhythm from the baseline. Federer was one of the many players who complained that he disliked the carpet surface used at 2005 TMC as it did not "take his spin" well. You are not alone in defending modern tennis. Yes some surfaces are excessively slow, but you know what? I much rather see that then servefests. I heard all this hype about Krajicek "destroying" Sampras at Wimbledon 1996 and then I saw it and it was one of the most agonizingly boring "upsets" I have ever seen. You can even read articles from back in 90s about how dire WImbledon matches had become.
 
P

PMChambers

Hall of Fame
If he plays, he could win. If he doesn't he definitely won't win.

He should play, his Mrs will love the shopping and drinks at Djokovic's house. He could pee in his pool to get revenge for recent loses.

As long as he makes the SF it's a win. That only 4 matches so should not be physically imposing and he should make a SF for 360 points.

I think Wimbledon will seed him higher than his ranking so points aren't really needed for Wimbledon as much as USO where they tend to go with rankings for seedings.
 
abmk

abmk

Bionic Poster
Sid_Vicious said:
I think it is definitely something that might have helped him. I hope this doesn't trigger an alarm in the Breakpoint Cave :lol: , but a larger frame definitely can help even the best players. Sampras said that he used Andy Roddick's racquet during an exhibition match he was amazed at how much easier it was for him and it made him think that he should have tried something different in his career to give himself the extra edge.

Now, a guy like me, I was delusional. I played with a K90 for the past three years (and I played fine with it) thinking a different racquet wouldn't make a difference. I ordered a Babolat PDR and serving with it feels like cheating. Should have used this from the start. :lol:

I liked watching Coria play on clay as well, but I have different tastes. Its a blast watching giants like Nadal, Djokovic, Federer and Coria faceoff on the red stuff, but most of the matches are just left and right hitting IMO.
Click to expand...

The bigger racquet is clearly more forgiving and helps with the power/defense.

The main doubt I had was the touch factor - that the touch would go down drastically , but he seems to have that in control as well now ...
 
abmk

abmk

Bionic Poster
Sid_Vicious said:
I have to disagree here. Federer really isn't a claycourter and never will be. His backhand and forehand might be whippy and wristy, but he will never be caught dead playing tennis like Gasquet. He doesn't like looping groundstrokes back and forth and is constantly looking to win points on his own terms. You can't be a claycourter at heart and then spend the first three years of your career competing for nothing but indoor carpet and hardcourt titles. Even in 2003-2004,which were good years, Federer played many claycourt matches like he was an amateur on the surface. He had to work very hard to become a fantastic claycourter IMO. It didn't come easy.
Click to expand...

agree ....


Sid_Vicious said:
Its funny to hear people say that Federer would love lighting fast surfaces all the time. Even Sampras didn't enjoy playing on those surfaces as he liked to have rhythm from the baseline. Federer was one of the many players who complained that he disliked the carpet surface used at 2005 TMC as it did not "take his spin" well. You are not alone in defending modern tennis. Yes some surfaces are excessively slow, but you know what? I much rather see that then servefests. I heard all this hype about Krajicek "destroying" Sampras at Wimbledon 1996 and then I saw it and it was one of the most agonizingly boring "upsets" I have ever seen. You can even read articles from back in 90s about how dire WImbledon matches had become.
Click to expand...

no player is truly completely comfortable on a lightning fast surface. Every player, including Sampras & Federer need some room for returning. Both were more comfortable on a medium-fast surface than a lightning fast one ....
 
clayqueen

clayqueen

Talk Tennis Guru
I don't think Federer is going to miss any tournaments because of the baby because I think the baby is due in July, the stand down time between Wimbledon and Canada.

Federer wants points because he would dearly love to kick Stan off the #3 spot. I'm sure he doesn't enjoy, for one minute, being called the Swiss #2.
 
A

adil1972

Hall of Fame
a tennis joke, as a die hard federer, agassi and seles fan, i am entitled to half of their prize money

LOL
 
mandy01

mandy01

G.O.A.T.
Steve0904 said:
I don't know if I like this. He should be ok, but I hope he doesn't wear himself out. Other than that, he can pick up some more ranking points, but I doubt he'll go all out. Don't think he should really. I could see him playing/winning a couple matches and then losing.
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He may not be playing Madrid if the baby is due late April. I think that's why he's playing MC. To make up for the ranking points lost. Hence, I think he should give it his best shot.
 
sbengte

sbengte

G.O.A.T.
mandy01 said:
He may not be playing Madrid if the baby is due late April. I think that's why he's playing MC. To make up for the ranking points lost. Hence, I think he should give it his best shot.
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Darn, I forgot that Madrid and Rome have now switched schedules.
Agree on the reason why Fed is skipping MC , but it will be a shame if he skips Madrid. That is one clay masters he has won the most and where he had decent chances to make it deep.

It has already been said before but Fed should have waited until retirement before complicating his career further by having a third kid !
 
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SpinToWin

SpinToWin

Talk Tennis Guru
President said:
Yeah, I fully expect this thread to get to 20 pages now if BP gets wind of it, but facts are facts. The majority of pros use 98-100 head sizes for a reason, it gives the perfect blend of pace, control, and spin.
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Djokovic, Berdych and Murray: Real 95.
All Six.One users: 95
Stan: 95
Del Potro: 95

95 is actually one of the most popular head sizes.
 
P

Pistol Pete

Semi-Pro
As someone noted, roger is playing because Mirka is due and he will have to miss either Madrid or Rome. That's the reason for taking the WC.
 
President

President

Legend
Sid_Vicious said:
I have to disagree here. Federer really isn't a claycourter and never will be. His backhand and forehand might be whippy and wristy, but he will never be caught dead playing tennis like Gasquet. He doesn't like looping groundstrokes back and forth and is constantly looking to win points on his own terms. You can't be a claycourter at heart and then spend the first three years of your career competing for nothing but indoor carpet and hardcourt titles. Even in 2003-2004,which were good years, Federer played many claycourt matches like he was an amateur on the surface. He had to work very hard to become a fantastic claycourter IMO. It didn't come easy.


Its funny to hear people say that Federer would love lighting fast surfaces all the time. Even Sampras didn't enjoy playing on those surfaces as he liked to have rhythm from the baseline. Federer was one of the many players who complained that he disliked the carpet surface used at 2005 TMC as it did not "take his spin" well. You are not alone in defending modern tennis. Yes some surfaces are excessively slow, but you know what? I much rather see that then servefests. I heard all this hype about Krajicek "destroying" Sampras at Wimbledon 1996 and then I saw it and it was one of the most agonizingly boring "upsets" I have ever seen. You can even read articles from back in 90s about how dire WImbledon matches had become.
Click to expand...

I was more refering to his use of heavy spin and a focus on the inside out forehand as his main weapon. Of course, he was never a rallying type player but I think the difference in stroke mechanics and tactics between Federer and guys like Agassi or Sampras (although they have two very different styles) are due to his upbringing on clay. For sure, his game was initially (and still) more effective on faster surfaces. I think he is kind of a hybrid, a claycourters basic strokes (albeit an aggressive version) combined with a fastcourters instincts. His first Masters title did come on clay, though. I guess my point is that his upbringing on clay is very obvious, when you compare him to players who were raised on hard courts like Agassi, Henman, and Roddick.
 
ubi1

ubi1

Banned
urundai said:
He may but if he that stops him from entering tournaments, he might as well retire now.

He should tattoo Stan's "Ever Try, Ever Fail...." and plough on.
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He's only in it for the free points want the No.3 ranking before the RG!
 
urundai

urundai

Professional
ubi1 said:
He's only in it for the free points want the No.3 ranking before the RG!
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While he might pick some free points to immediate ranking, I don't think there is a big difference between #3 & #4 in ranking.

He is going to take some time off, when the baby (or babies) are due. My thinking is that he is playing more tournaments early in the season to gain points for a potential WTF entry.
 
wangs78

wangs78

Legend
He must be feeling good physically and wants to stack some points to make sure he is in the top 4 for Wimby.
 
S

sureshs

Bionic Poster
I don't think MC pays app fees. It seems to be a small event with guaranteed attention from the rich crowd in the area.
 
E

Ecoplex

Guest
His playing there will assure record breaking attendance/ticket sales.
 
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