Federer's last year
 

There is no way someone like Federer is going to be able to handle not playing in grand slam finals. He's an egomaniac and, Wimbledon aside (possibly), has no chance of anymore slams. He's slowing down and his footwork is nowhere like as good as it was. I can't see him dropping to seeding 5-8 and not calling it a day.

He's doesn't have to worry about dropping to 5, he's currently 2, and Ferrer isn't climbing above him.

What is your title implying? That Federer's last year is 2013? It will be hard for him to drop to 5 to 8 when he is making grand slam semis on average. Ferrer won 7 titles last year and still could not break into the top 4 that year even with Nadal out for so long.

It amazes me, the absolutist nature of tennis fandom statements on these forums. There are lots of rounds played in a match, momentum shifts, mental gaffes, etc. Federer has the experience/intangibles to pull off a 7-6 set win while playing crappy, as we saw multiple times yesterday. Yet somehow a tough five-set loss against the younger player in a semifinal means he will never win a slam again.

Federer would have won no slams after 2008 and Nadal none after 2009 if they had mindsets like yours.

I knew threads like this would be started after this morning's match. Federer competed very well this morning, and could have won the match with the flip of a coin. The fact that he came back to win that 4th set shows a lot by itself. I agree that his chances of winning another major other than Wimbledon are not great, but if he can still make the semis of them and get to the finals or win Wimbledon, there's no reason he can't play 3-4 more years. The only question is if he wants to.

as long as he is regularly reaching semis and some finals I think it's not a bad thing to continue. that means on a good day he can still win a slam.

however if he starts to drop out earlier with regularity he should call it a career

I love Roddick's quote about this.

“If I win one, it’s like career appreciation day. Then if I lose one, it’s like we should take him out in the field and shoot him in the head.”

Besides the fact that A-Rod is adorable, it also never ceases to impress me that the most vitriolic of these statements come from fans that do little more than sit on their butts ad infinitum in front of the TV.

I'm no tenista, but I was a state-ranked HS athlete and danced in a national company. I overtrained yesterday -- we really worked hard -- and as I was kind of doubled over in pain post-workout a friend reminded me that it was pretty much nothing compared to what the current professional athletes go through.



Did people see the picture of Serena's ankle that she tweeted?

:shock: :shock: :shock:

There's no way I'd go through what she goes through. And despite that they get very well-compensated for it, they go through it to entertain us.

Haters need to take a seat.

I've been having this argument with people about why should Federer retire for the past 3 or 4 years now.
I remember Federer experimenting with his game at Toronto 2010, I think it was, playing a more aggressive shorter point game and honing that style for longevity.
Well it's worked and he's here to stay IMO for another couple years at least.
Won Wimbledon 2012 beating Djokovic and Murray, WTF final, took Murray to 5 sets at AO 2013, still beating practically everyone else with ease.
And I think he's enjoying his tennis.
He can still give Djokovic and Murray a run for their money. They need to be on top form to beat him.

My point was not intended as any great negative comment on federer. He's had an unbelievable career and possibly the GOAT. My question is more, if you are used to winning absolutely everything, at what point does reaching the semi final cease to do it for you. Realistically, he's not beating lance or Andy again in majors, and if nadal comes back to anything like top form, he's become the David ferrer of the top 4. Hard to take if you're the GOAT. Borg couldn't even take being overtaken by McEnroe.

Well it is one of the reasons he has surpassed Borg.

Federer is going to stick around until the next Olympic because he wants another try to win singles Gold. If he wins he will retire happy having attained all his goals. And if he doesn't win, he will retire with the unfilled dream of having won everything possible except the Olympic singles title.


Right now ranking doesn't mean much to him.

If they make the courts a little quicker at Wimby again, Fred will be a very good chance.

Even the 3 roadrunners in the top 4 won't be able to sustain 40 shot rallies on a quick grass court.

The guy turning 32 is currently losing to 2 people on the planet only. How is that not good enough escapes me.

You're missing my point.

When you are used to winning everything and being nr 1 year after year, getting beaten by even one guy has to hurt, never mind 2. If nadal comes back, he's likely to be nr 4 - the guys a winner and a competitor and he will never win another major. That's enough to send champions into retirement usually.

I know he says ranking dont matter but if he wants to win slams he needs to be in the top 2 ,i dont see him beating murray and novak back to back to win slams anymore and when(if) nadal returns its only going to get tougher if he is seeded 3 or 4

Perhaps one should count ones blessings. Perhaps you could learn something from it.
You don't know that.

I actually think the fact that Federer was clearly not at his best (obviously it's harder to find that level consistently now) but still took the match to 5 when he was outplayed for the majority of the match!

He isn't the favourite to win a slam this year but he's right in there as you say consistently making semis it wouldn't take much to happen for him to win one as long as he feels he can win I am sure he will keep playing!

I'm not the one with umpteen grand slams.
Federer is finished as a slam winning force. I'm afraid that's pretty clear.

Exactly. And you are not the one doing a sport he loves at the highest of levels travelling the world with his family.
You don't know that.

No doubt, he's still in the mix.

However, if he wants to do win a slam this year he'll need to serve much better, serve is the most important shot in tennis as Fed and Novak found out last year when they lost to Isner at DC and IW respectively.