Which are your top 5 Federer match victories and why?

[ARFED]

In chronological order:

2001 Wimbledon-Sampras- he showed the world the kind of player he was going to become

2004-Us Open-Hewitt- a pure demolition

2006-WTF-Blake- the backhand exhibition

2011-French Open-Djokovic- this is the best one for me, in my opinion the greatest single victorie of his career, perhaps not the most meaningfull because he didn`t lift a trophy but a true sign of his greatness, beating an on fire player against all odds and you could tell just by looking his expressions during that match how badly he wanted it

2011-WTF-Nadal- this is by far the most helpless i have seen Nadal in any match, i know about the surface and conditions not suiting his game but Fed just took his game to another level that day, and just watch in awe how he handled Nadal`s topspin and took the ball on the rise like it was nothing

So, what are your choices??

[zagor]

Originally Posted by ARFED

In chronological order:

2001 Wimbledon-Sampras- he showed the world the kind of player he was going to become

2004-Us Open-Hewitt- a pure demolition

2006-WTF-Blake- the backhand exhibition

2011-French Open-Djokovic- this is the best one for me, in my opinion the greatest single victorie of his career, perhaps not the most meaningfull because he didn`t lift a trophy but a true sign of his greatness, beating an on fire player against all odds and you could tell just by looking his expressions during that match how badly he wanted it

2011-WTF-Nadal- this is by far the most helpless i have seen Nadal in any match, i know about the surface and conditions not suiting his game but Fed just took his game to another level that day, and just watch in awe how he handled Nadal`s topspin and took the ball on the rise like it was nothing

So, what are your choices??

This one has to be put over the others, manhandling Nadal who was playing the best tennis of his life (by a fair margin) was an absolutely amazing feat.

[Towser83]

is this just favourite wins? There are too many to pick so off the top of my head..

1. US Open 2004 final

2. WTF final 2010 (as it was a final it's a more exciting match for me than the 2011 RR against Nadal, which was great to see (and isaw it at the venue) but Nadal gave up a bit, where as in the 2010 final nadal came back and Fed lifted his game and stood firm.. I actually also really like the Semi they played one year when Fed's serve was incredible)

3. Wimbledon 2007 final

4. Federer vs Sampras 2001

5. Federer vs Djokovic RG 2011

notable mentions to the Hamburg 2007 final, the Wimbledon 2012 final

[Clarky21]

Originally Posted by zagor

This one has to be put over the others, manhandling Nadal who was playing the best tennis of his life (by a fair margin) was an absolutely amazing feat.

How ridiculous. You really have got to be kidding me.

[zagor]

Originally Posted by Clarky21

How ridiculous. You really have got to be kidding me.

My bad Clarky, I should have said by an overwhelming margin.

[Clarky21]

Originally Posted by zagor

My bad Clarky, I should have said by an overwhelming margin.

Yeah sure. Nadal hit iirc,a whopping 3 whole winners in that match yet you want to say he was playing the best tennis he has ever played by an overwhelming margin? Puhleeze Wanna see a Nadal who is actually playing his best? Watch the RG 2008 final to see it.

[zagor]

Originally Posted by Clarky21

Yeah sure. Nadal hit iirc,a whopping 3 whole winners in that match yet you want to say he was playing the best tennis he has ever played by an overwhelming margin? Puhleeze Wanna see a Nadal who is actually playing his best? Watch the RG 2008 final to see it.

Yes but in 2008 RG final his opponent (Fed) didn't show up which of course made Nadal look greater than he was.

I prefer a match like their 2011 WTF RR encounter in which they both played at a very high level, the quality of that match blows 2008 FO final away.

[Towser83]

I have to say Nadal was playing some of the best tennis of his life at the WTF... in 2010. That's why that final was a better win for Federer in my opinion. Federer played great in 2011 but Nadal was in no mood to battle him. For once I have to disagree with Zagor,It was like RG in reverse where one guy is in God mode and the other guy doesn't want to be there. 2010 was a better match. I'd say in both matches there was hope for a while. Nadal was playing fine til Federer broke and took the first set. then Nadal knew he was going to lose. Fed looked like a man facing execution when he walked out at RG but in the second set after a bad start he was trying and had a chance to break I believe. Then he failed and went down bad with no fight left

[Mustard]

Originally Posted by zagor

Yes but in 2008 RG final his opponent (Fed) didn't show up which of course made Nadal look greater than he was.

Federer didn't show up because Nadal was too busy taking Federer to the cleaners. It was thorough demolition, apart from a brief period in the second set.

[zagor]

Originally Posted by Mustard

Federer didn't show up because Nadal was too busy taking Federer to the cleaners. It was thorough demolition, apart from a brief period in the second set.

Same goes for their 2011 WTF RR match (in reverse obviously), right?

[Mustard]

Originally Posted by zagor

Same goes for their 2011 WTF RR match (in reverse obviously), right?

Absolutely.....

[okdude1992]

Originally Posted by zagor

Same goes for their 2011 WTF RR match (in reverse obviously), right?

To be fair, I really think fed didn't play that well in that FO final. There's no way he should have been beaten THAT badly, despite how good Nadal was the whole tournament. I think Fed didn't show up mentally for that match. Same with Nadal at WTF 2011. He played really poorly, even though Fed played awesome. Come on, in Nadal's other 2 RR matches he barely beat a badly choking Fish, and lost pretty meekly against Tsonga (who also almost choked that match).

[okdude1992]

Originally Posted by Mustard

Absolutely.....

Interesting. Disagree with you and zagor here. Honestly to me when Federer vs Nadal face off, I expect a close match either way. Even if 1 player is really on, I still don't think they can play a high enough level to dominate the other, unless the opponent is sub par as well.

[zagor]

Originally Posted by Mustard

Absolutely.....

Kudos Mustard, you're a fair guy.

Originally Posted by okdude1992

Interesting. Disagree with you and zagor here. Honestly to me when Federer vs Nadal face off, I expect a close match either way. Even if 1 player is really on, I still don't think they can play a high enough level to dominate the other, unless the opponent is sub par as well.

Actually I'm largely in agreement with your way of thinking, I was just trolling Clarky (was wondering if she'll take the bait). While I do think Nadal did overall play great for most of 2011, he was pretty lackluster in WTF that year (not just against Fed).

When any two top players face off (especially all-time greats) and the match turns out to be very one-sided it's usually a combination of one player playing at a very high level and the other one having a bad day in the office.

[augustobt]

Originally Posted by ARFED

In chronological order:
So, what are your choices??

I agree with your list, but I'd change the last one. 2010 Final against Nadal was a lot meaningful.

After Australian Open, Federer had a terrible hard court season. He lost a lot of tie-breakers that he shouldn't, only won one Masters (Cincinnati), lost Shangai, lost that match against Djokovic in the USO...

Then he came into the Master's Cup and just beat Nadal at his hard-court prime.