That was something indeed. If somebody puts them on youtube, I'll watch that at least once again, yeah.
Unfortunately I had to go to class right after the match started. What happened? I see that he lost the match, but what happened in the last 3 games?
Clay court tennis is muggery.
Gulbis did play a poor service game when fed had been nowhere near his serve that set but give credit to fed for getting the balls in play.
This was feds first game on clay and gulbis played very well. Huge forum overreaction nothings changed there then...
I'm convinced Federer lost on purpose, or didn't put any real effort into winning. At his own service game at 5-3 he saved 2 MPs with brilliant FHs, and looked like he's back, then he breaks Gulbis to 5-5 (with a bit of help from Gulbis) and then plays the most miserable game I've seen in a long, long time from Fed (this was beyond shanking, it was Federer wanting to miss).
Same ol' excuses from the Fed fans whenever he loses.
At least we don't all yell "he was injured" every 10 seconds.
I'm convinced Federer lost on purpose, or didn't put any real effort into winning. At his own service game at 5-3 he saved 2 MPs with brilliant FHs, and looked like he's back, then he breaks Gulbis to 5-5 (with a bit of help from Gulbis) and then plays the most miserable game I've seen in a long, long time from Fed (this was beyond shanking, it was Federer wanting to miss).
I'm convinced Federer lost on purpose
I never believed in those tanking theories. I thought every player gets on the court to win, but federer last 3 games... come on. Gulbis choked away 6 match points (several double faults and easy forehands), federer didn´t win them. Then Federer plays even worse the next game and seems like he doesn´t want to fight in the last game. It seemed like he didn´t want to win. Anyway, why would he tank the match? He could have said he´s injured or something, come on. Thats too weird. Maybe he was afraid of getting spanked by nadal...
Well, i've just seen an interview with him from Miami where he was actually ASKED the question whether he doesn't try in Master series events and he said "people who say that are wrong"....
But for every match Federer loses you're saying he WANTED to lose them. Like...every single match.
Then we can reference the mono debacle of 08-09. Not that you said that, I just meant in general.
Man you are really pissed off about this loss aren't you? I don't think I've ever seen you so vitriolic in general.
Not really. It's like if you are accused of stealing something and then come up with the brilliant idea of crafting an alibi involving murder.Same ol' excuses from the Fed fans whenever he loses.
People who think that Gulbis could be a future #1 are pretty blind in my opinion.
He is talented but he has no mental game at all. The way he played the last 3 games was awful! Only crazy juniors try to ace you in a second serve on MP. He did try it twice! Sorry but that is just far from being a future #1 material
It was so so clear to everyone that Fed let him win (and I am far from being a Fed fan).
Jesus Christ. I hate this phone
People who think that Gulbis could be a future #1 are pretty blind in my opinion.
He is talented but he has no mental game at all. The way he played the last 3 games was awful! Only crazy juniors try to ace you in a second serve on MP. He did try it twice! Sorry but that is just far from being a future #1 material
It was so so clear to everyone that Fed let him win (and I am far from being a Fed fan).
Not really. It's like if you are accused of stealing something and then come up with the brilliant idea of crafting an alibi involving murder.
If Fed lost on purpose, it's disgraceful. An insult to fans, his opponent, not to mention the people that paid money to see him play in Rome. Weren't people booing him at the end?
I completely agree with you mate. IF he really tanked this match, then WTF is he thinking, when this tourney would have been a great lead up session for FO. There are still more tourneys to come, however its disappointing as I fully expected hime to trump Gulbis even on his "bad day".
Woke up this morning to hear it on the radio.. Man I was shocked to say the least.
Were you shocked every year,Mate?
Federer results at Rome past 4 years:
Rome 2007- lost to Volandri
Rome 2008-lost to Stepanek
Rome 2009-lost to Djokovic
Rome 2010-lost to Gulbis
You got that right, Sangria. As much as fans are polarized to the extreme around Fed and Rafa, I think there's something in common for all of us: We want to see them play against each other, it has been a long time (prediction: I anticipate a lot of Fed fans pointing out it's not Fed's fault Rafa has virtually dropped off the radar for the past 11 months.)I completely agree with you mate. IF he really tanked this match, then WTF is he thinking, when this tourney would have been a great lead up session for FO. There are still more tourneys to come, however its disappointing as I fully expected hime to trump Gulbis even on his "bad day".
Woke up this morning to hear it on the radio.. Man I was shocked to say the least.
And the reason being that he doesn't even try? Or is there anything else I'm missing? Why not just drop those tournaments then?Losing to Nole in the SF of a clay court Masters is not shocking, but otherwise I agree.
There are a number of tournaments now in which Fed almost systematically loses in a shocking way. Paris is another good example obviously, you could make a case about Canada, Miami and IW too I guess.
Well, i've just seen an interview with him from Miami where he was actually ASKED the question whether he doesn't try in Master series events and he said "people who say that are wrong"....
And the reason being that he doesn't even try? Or is there anything else I'm missing? Why not just drop those tournaments then?
I guess you are right. After a while losses will become the norm, and that's what will be expected from Federer in this type of tournaments.I don't know the reason. But we shouldn't be so shocked about those losses, I guess.
Two things.
First, Roger is one stubborn man. You miss something like 11 first serves in a row and it never occurs to you to take a little something off? Who is his serving coach -- Sharapova?
Second, I said it before and I'll say it again: Gulbis will be No. 1 someday. After his US Open loss to Roddick, I made that prediction. Oh, sure. Gulbis made me look like a fool for a couple of years there, what with his impulsivity and lack of good sense.
But he showed us something today. He fell into his usual pattern of Endless Dropshots (which worked yesterday against Baggie).
Then he stopped, collected himself, and hit the darn ball. The Gulbis of 2 years ago would have hit 50 more unsuccessful dropshots.
The other thing was his not imploding after failing to serve it out. He went back to playing solid shots rather than trying to hit harder and harder. He actually constructed some points, did you notice?
Yep, Gulbis is on his way for sure.
And the reason being that he doesn't even try? Or is there anything else I'm missing? Why not just drop those tournaments then?
It's simple. He believes he is the best and has to win tournaments. And he is trying.
But winning matches at the top level always requires complete mental and physical dedication, huge amounts of "blood and sweat". It is a stress on the mind and body that the mind and body naturally reject, and only one's strong will and big goal can force one to sacrifice everything and stay razor-sharp for years.
There are no big goals left.
There are some artificial, made up goals like "beat this particular record, and then maybe that particular record, and then dance for me, baby", but it's really an icing on the GOAT cake. It is much less real for him than his family, new emotions, new values in his life. He has all the fame and money a man can dream of.
Now, what else is worth killing yourself for?
Very balanced and insightful post, thank you. I see some of your points, but I guess what I don't get is why does he even enter these tournaments then. Does he just consider them as training for Slams now?It's simple. He believes he is the best and has to win tournaments. And he is trying.
But winning matches at the top level always requires complete mental and physical dedication, huge amounts of "blood and sweat". It is a stress on the mind and body that the mind and body naturally reject, and only one's strong will and big goal can force one to sacrifice everything and stay razor-sharp for years.
There are no big goals left.
There are some artificial, made up goals like "beat this particular record, and then maybe that particular record, and then dance for me, baby", but it's really an icing on the GOAT cake. It is much less real for him than his family, new emotions, new values in his life. He has all the fame and money a man can dream of.
Now, what else is worth killing yourself for?
More money, more booze, more GOAT cake icing, pride?
TheLoneWolf said:Does he just consider them as training for Slams now?
TheLoneWolf said:the only thing left for Fed to fight is Nadal
Is he just trying to avoid Nadal at this point?
You make reasonable points. I still wonder (just wonder) if a little part of Fed doesn't want to humiliate Rafa at RG, or at least to decrease the H2H gap. But I guess there is no way to know for sure. Fed has obviously achieved more based on raw titles than anybody else so far. Just wondering if this is enough for him or not. Speaking from own experience, I know that when I achieve a given goal I'm almost immediately looking for some other target. Everybody is (and especially athletes are) goal oriented."How much more do I want?" - R.Federer to the press, after losing to JMDP at USO'09
He was asked this question. The response was that he believed that tennis was not just about 4 tournaments, he cares about the other events in his schedule as well.
He did beat Nadal, several times on all surfaces. Now what - chasing the H2H stats? Nope, he is not that obsessed to devote his career to beating one player, or all players who have been successful against him (Andy Murray, etc.).
This is not personal, and moreover, it depends on too many things beyond his control. Federer was there in the FO'09 final, but Nadal did not show up. Federer was there in the Wimbledon'09 final, but Nadal did not show up. Federer was there in the USO'09 and AO'10 finals, but Nadal did not show up. Nobody knows how many times they can play in future and on what surfaces, so chasing H2Hs is pointless. It is what it is.
Unlikely, since he won their last match last year. I believe he is at the point where he needs to pick an important goal to inspire and drive him or call it a career. And it cannot be one man - tennis is a game played against the whole tour.