Federer was playing better in 2008

[drakulie]

Originally Posted by Cesc Fabregas

Not really. In 08 he didn't have the luck of Nadal being injuried at RG and Wimbledon, he is playing the same really this year.

you forgot to mention the US Open this year, the AO open, and every single match he has ever played. Yes, even the ones he played when he was a little kid.

[JennyS]

Originally Posted by drakulie

you forgot to mention the US Open this year, the AO open, and every single match he has ever played. Yes, even the ones he played when he was a little kid.

Nadal was injured before he started playing!

[drakulie]

Originally Posted by JennyS

Nadal was injured before he started playing!

Yeah, when he was in the womb, daddy and mommy had sex, and as a result of all the poking going on, it injured his abdomen, and gave him tendonitis in the knees.

[JennyS]

Originally Posted by Cesc Fabregas

Not really. In 08 he didn't have the luck of Nadal being injuried at RG and Wimbledon, he is playing the same really this year.

Federer's losses to players outside the top 20 in 2008:

1. Mardy Fish, 98: 3-6, 2-6
2. Radek Stepanek, 27 : 6-7(4), 6-7(7)
3. Gilles Simon, 22: 6-2, 5-7, 4-6
4. Ivo Karlovic, 22: 6-7(6), 6-4, 6-7(5)

2009: NONE

[JennyS]

Originally Posted by drakulie

Yeah, when he was in the womb, daddy and mommy had sex, and as a result of all the poking going on, it injured his abdomen, and gave him tendonitis in the knees.

LOL. Poor baby Rafa:P

[Tsonga#1fan]

Originally Posted by veroniquem

How is that? In 2008 he made 3 slam finals out of 4 and didn't win a single master, in 2009 he made all 4 slam finals and won 2 masters. Whatever drop there is in his game, it's slight, major drop off hasn't happened yet and there's no reason to think it will happen in the near future unless his back gets worse or his motivation deserts him.

......or other up and coming players younger than him continue to improve. Face it, it is inevitable, it happens to everybody.

[matchmaker]

It is all in the head I guess. Technically speaking, I think he wasn't any better in 2009 than in 2008, but the fact that Nadal crashed out of the FO and then could not play at Wimbledon paved the way for a boost in confidence.

At the beginning of 2009 Fed was frankly playing like crap. He seemed to have lost all his confidence with the racquet breaking incident against Novak as culminating point. I really wonder what a fresh Nadal would have done to his confidence.

Anyway, Fed is still a helluva player, but he is beatable as Delpo showed. His prime is over, but he is still a major threat on any surface.

[JennyS]

Originally Posted by matchmaker

It is all in the head I guess. Technically speaking, I think he wasn't any better in 2009 than in 2008, but the fact that Nadal crashed out of the FO and then could not play at Wimbledon paved the way for a boost in confidence.

At the beginning of 2009 Fed was frankly playing like crap. He seemed to have lost all his confidence with the racquet breaking incident against Novak as culminating point. I really wonder what a fresh Nadal would have done to his confidence.

Anyway, Fed is still a helluva player, but he is beatable as Delpo showed. His prime is over, but he is still a major threat on any surface.

But all of his losses this year came mostly to players in the top 10. There hasn't been a "Mardy Fish" loss this year.

[Tsonga#1fan]

Originally Posted by JennyS

But all of his losses this year came mostly to players in the top 10. There hasn't been a "Mardy Fish" loss this year.

IMO, those losses to top ten players are going to become a little more frequent. I mean, Federer isn't dead yet and he can still be a threat on any surface (I can't ever imagine another French in his future), but a changing of the guard is under way as bad as Federer fans don't want to accept it.

[mandy01]

He's playing differently..and I think its much much better than last year.
He's added a few things to his game.Its not very high risk but still effective.His got controlled aggression on his FH whereas last year he was just trying to smack winners.He's running around his BH more when it comes high to him.Hell,his BH is holding up so much better even when the hig ball come-He's taking it down the line-he's really worked on that and its holding up much better now.
He is approaching the net consistently and more importantly his second serve is so much better as is his first serve.
He's moving better,getting to balls he couldnt get to last year.He's added the drop shot as weapon which IMO has been fantastic addition to his game.I know he used it last year but this year its so much more effective.
His net approaches are not as hesitant,he's going there more confidently and with less fear of being passed.
Thus,2009 is def. better.

[bruce38]

To compare the level of a player is not just looking at the results. Sure Fed made 3 and 4 finals in 2008 and 2009 respectively, but the manner in which he made them was not the same as in previous years. For people who actually watch the matches, one can easily see Fed's level has dropped off quite dramatically. His results still being as good as they are, are a testament to how much better he actually was than the rest of the field, including Nadal. It is only now with Fed's level no longer the same that Nadal can have a fighting chance at winning non-clay majors.

[mandy01]

Originally Posted by bruce38

To compare the level of a player is not just looking at the results. Sure Fed made 3 and 4 finals in 2008 and 2009 respectively, but the manner in which he made them was not the same as in previous years. For people who actually watch the matches, one can easily see Fed's level has dropped off quite dramatically. His results still being as good as they are, are a testament to how much better he actually was than the rest of the field, including Nadal. It is only now with Fed's level no longer the same that Nadal can have a fighting chance at winning non-clay majors.

I agree he was pushed at both FO and Wimbledon but that happened last year as well.
IMO he's playing smarter tennis this year.Sure,he isnt going to be playing at his peak level but its a lot better in 2008 when he really couldnt move well at all and was just really struggling to find his range.
He played some good tennis in patches but thats been the case this year too.
Overall I think him being in better shape this year has helped him to play better than last year though he is nowhere close to his best.

[jackson vile]

Roger is same or worse this year than last, FO was all but handed to him and he almost lost to Haas and Delpo there. Then Andy Roddick almost beat him at Wim.

So if Roger is playing better than that must mean the rest of the feild is much better as they are having better results against Roger. Which means the feild was weak perviously

You can't have it both way.

[Steve132]

Originally Posted by jackson vile

Roger is same or worse this year than last, FO was all but handed to him and he almost lost to Haas and Delpo there. Then Andy Roddick almost beat him at Wim.

So if Roger is playing better than that must mean the rest of the feild is much better as they are having better results against Roger. Which means the feild was weak perviously

You can't have it both way.

EPIC FAIL.

Federer lost four times to players outside the top 20 in 2008. He had no such losses in 2009.

If you believe that majors are "all but handed " to particular players you don't know much about professional tennis.

You can't draw any conclusions about the strength of the field from one's player's performance in two years. But I guess that logic is not one of your strong points.

[akv89]

Originally Posted by jackson vile

Roger is same or worse this year than last, FO was all but handed to him and he almost lost to Haas and Delpo there. Then Andy Roddick almost beat him at Wim.

So if Roger is playing better than that must mean the rest of the feild is much better as they are having better results against Roger. Which means the feild was weak perviously

You can't have it both way.

Federer is doing significantly better against the field this year than the last. He was struggling against guys outside the top 20 throughout the year last year. That hasn't been much of an issue this year.

[abmk]

2009 easily

[P_Agony]

Federer can't play a few great matches in a row nowdays. Although I would say he's more consistent in 2009 than in 2008. However none of those years, game wise, comapre to the greatness that was 2006. I have never seen a player so dominant as Fed that year.

[veroniquem]

Originally Posted by drakulie

you forgot to mention the US Open this year, the AO open, and every single match he has ever played. Yes, even the ones he played when he was a little kid.

Yes, let's talk about AO this year, poor Fed wasn't lucky enough to avoid Rafa then...

[P_Agony]

Originally Posted by Cesc Fabregas

Not really. In 08 he didn't have the luck of Nadal being injuried at RG and Wimbledon, he is playing the same really this year.

Stop being a fanboy, Nadal isn't the only part of the equation. The fact is Federer had some horrible losses in 2008 for other players not called Nadal, and to people he usually owns: Roddick, Fish, Blake, Karlovic, Stepanek. This year his losses, other than to Wawrinka, all have been to top 10 players, and all in very tight matches. Fed's record over top 10 players is fairly good this year as well.

[veroniquem]

Originally Posted by Tsonga#1fan

......or other up and coming players younger than him continue to improve. Face it, it is inevitable, it happens to everybody.

Believe me, I want it to happen! (I'm not a Fed fan at all) but I just don't think it's happening at the moment. He's still posting dominant results. Sure things can change fast but right now he's been a finalist in all 4 slams and the 2 finals he lost were 5 setters. Doesn't look like a sharp decline to me, no matter how you spin it.