The single most important factor that contributes to Federer's dominance?

The most important factor that contributes to Federer's dominance?

  • Total voters
    117
  • Poll closed .
D

deme08

Professional
What is the single most important factor about Federer that contributes to his dominance in tennis for the last 4 years (and counting) ?

Obviously the real answer would be the combination of various factors that formulate Federer's success. But if you had to choose one factor just for the sake of interest, what do you think it is?

The poll is added for fun and feel free to express your thoughts.:)
 
daddy

daddy

Legend
he had it all. The talent, the shotmaking, the serve, backhand, forehand, volleys. Yet he never delivered.

Until he got it together in his head and managed to mentaly overpower his peers as well as newcomers. If I have to chose one thing, I would be unable to. If i was to say how did he did it - he simply built such a dominant and calm on court persona which enabled him to deploy all his talent ( backed up with hard work and commitment to tennis ).

I was going to be short but thats impossible when yu're talking about Federer's qualities.
 
drakulie

drakulie

Talk Tennis Guru
^^^ What he said, but I will also add his court coverage, and ability to turn defense into offense.
 
N

nikdom

Guest
His mental strength and focus.

Nadal's mental strength is easy to see because his game is so physical and he's not shy of emoting on the court. But Roger's ability to shut out negative thoughts and produce his best when he needs it most is not as appreciated because he makes it look easy and I think is the hallmark of his dominance.

A really good example of this are his 3 aces from 0-40 down in the early part of the 5th at Wimby last year (finals against Nadal).
 
zagor

zagor

Bionic Poster
Luck,weak draws and opponents choking if I were to listen to some great tennis minds in this forum but in my opinion most important factors would be forehand(the best ever,no one comes close IMO),smooth efortless movement and his anticipation and court sense(he always seems like he is always in the right place at the right time like he can read his opponents moves) and of course his mental fortitude which is neccesary to be able to dominate the game to this extent.
 
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G

Gemini

Hall of Fame
Single most important factor? He's the most complete player to date to play the game. All aspects of his game are well above average and he has no "real" weaknesses.
 
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M

MEAC_ALLAMERICAN

Legend
Single most important factor aside from what daddy mentioned would be his improved fitness and consistency that has given him the ability to remain healthy, especially at the bigger events. Having Mirka in his corner has proven even more beneficial.
 
F

fastdunn

Legend
fundamental of tennis hasn't changed much. if we must pick one, it's his forehand (or maybe serve. it's very close 2nd).

he obviously has unreal forehand but his serve is important too. not many people can make a dent on his service game. The impotance of his serve will increase as time go by since young up and comers are catching up in ground stroke departments. Longevity of Federer's dominance from now hinges critically on his serves, IMHO.

tennis has not changed much: Graf had the best forehand in history and also darn good serve. Sampras had the best serve in history and also great forehand.
 
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daddy

daddy

Legend
MEAC_ALLAMERICAN said:
Single most important factor aside from what daddy mentioned would be his improved fitness and consistency that has given him the ability to remain healthy, especially at the bigger events. Having Mirka in his corner has proven even more beneficial.
Click to expand...

Agreed, but this has a lot to do with the reason I mentioned - he built a dominant and very calm on court perona enabling him to use whatever else weapons he has ( that leads to effortless play and consistancy ). And there are a lot of those as we all know.
 
skiracer55

skiracer55

Hall of Fame
Actually, it's none of the above...

...it's his eyesight, which is phenomenal. Not only does he have incredible visual acuity, he has a better ability than any of the competition to see everything that's going on...
 
N

nikdom

Guest
He's also been called the "Perfect Storm" of tennis achievement - a lot of things came together to make him what he is: huge talent, athleticism, mental strength, hard work, good people around him (family, early mentors), and the precedent set by Agassi.

Yes, I said it here first. I think the way Agassi turned his tennis life around in his second incarnation as a player has molded the way Roger thinks. From taking his fitness seriously, to creating a foundation early on to aiming for lasting till the age of 35, I see an imprint of Agassi's lessons permeating Roger's consciousness as a player.

He's all business and takes keeps his off-court affairs simple and centered around his life as a tennis champion. Undoubtedly, this is partly his nature and part lesson from all the champs before him that did not fully realize their potential because of diversions like fame and women.
 
D

Defcon

Hall of Fame
Balance.

In all his strokes, in his footwork, in his on court demeanor and his personal life. The ability to find stillness and calm and stay balanced in the toughest moments and strokes.

It all sounds very zen-ish and mystical but then Fed does have that air about him.
 
D

deme08

Professional
MEAC_ALLAMERICAN said:
There's a poll now and Andy Roddick is an option? :shock:

If it would be any player it would be Nadal, not the pride of America. :roll:
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:)as I said some part of the poll is just for fun. I guess Roddick is a good example of how the majority of players on tour were dominated by Federer.

Nadal does not contributes to Fed's dominance, in fact he is only obstacle to Fed's total dominance.
 
M

MEAC_ALLAMERICAN

Legend
:)as I said some part of the poll is just for fun. I guess Roddick is a good example of how the majority of players on tour were dominated by Federer.
Nadal does not contributes to Fed's dominance, in fact he is only obstacle to Fed's total dominance.
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I disagree with that because he's the one single player that has forced Federer to get better, especially off that backhand wing. This has proved to be bad news for the rest of the tour in terms of him maintaining and building on his high level of play throughout the seasons.
 
G

Gemini

Hall of Fame
sureshs said:
"Complete" is a collection of multiple factors.
Click to expand...

His "completeness" is a singular factor. You may be looking for the word "aspect".

Ok..let's call it his ability to adapt to whatever situation's put in front of him on court.
 
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D

deme08

Professional
MEAC_ALLAMERICAN said:
I disagree with that because he's the one single player that has forced Federer to get better, especially off that backhand wing. This has proved to be bad news for the rest of the tour in terms of him maintaining and building on his high level of play throughout the seasons.
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That is true in the sense he forces Federer to continue working on his game on clay especially the backhand but overall, Nadal has been stopping Federer from winning the French therefore restraining Federer from absolute dominance.
 
M

MEAC_ALLAMERICAN

Legend
deme08 said:
That is true in the sense he forces Federer to continue working on his game on clay especially the backhand but overall, Nadal has been stopping Federer from winning the French therefore restraining Federer from absolute dominance.
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Despite those losses in Paris, Federer has continued to add more to his game in hopes to beat Nadal on that stage. All those addititons to his game will help in down the road on the grass and hard court season. But you're right, Nadal just keeps rising the bar on his favorite surface, keeping that G.O.A.T title from Roger's legacy.
 
D

deme08

Professional
MEAC_ALLAMERICAN said:
Nadal just keeps rising the bar on his favorite surface, keeping that G.O.A.T title from Roger's legacy.
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Good point, people often overlook the fact that Nadal is also improving on clay (especially this year, no one has ever been as dominate on the surface) and constantly rising the bar each year. Even if Federer's improved game is good enough to beat Nadal of 05/06, it may not be enough against the 2008 Nadal. I guess we will see soon. I hope Fed proves me wrong:twisted:
 
S

sureshs

Bionic Poster
deme08 said:
Good point, people often overlook the fact that Nadal is also improving on clay (especially this year, no one has ever been as dominate on the surface) and constantly rising the bar each year. Even if Federer's improved game is good enough to beat Nadal of 05/06, it may not be enough against the 2008 Nadal. I guess we will see soon. I hope Fed proves me wrong:twisted:
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Just saw an analysis on that on Tennis Week. Federer is being pushed and is getting better and better, specially on the backhand, but Nadal keeps getting better too, specially his serve and general sense of the game. Unfortunately, age is not on Federer's side in this catch-up game.

Look for Nadal to win Wimbledon this year.
 
D

dh003i

Legend
sureshs said:
Just saw an analysis on that on Tennis Week. Federer is being pushed and is getting better and better, specially on the backhand, but Nadal keeps getting better too, specially his serve and general sense of the game. Unfortunately, age is not on Federer's side in this catch-up game.

Look for Nadal to win Wimbledon this year.
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Some of Nadal's fans can be so arrogant. First, it's "Nadal can't lose the FO", then this. Federer is assuredly the prohibitive favorite heading into Wimbledon. His greatness on grass is only equalled by Borg, and exceeded by Sampras in some ways (7 Wimbledons total, but not 5 straight).

To be sure, Nadal's getting better, and is younger. But some of his fans continue to ignore that even if he's younger than Federer, it's very likely his career will be significantly shorter. He is unfortunately very injury-prone. This is due to his style of play. That's just a fact. Federer, on the other hand, is hardly ever injured.

I predict that Nadal will retire or be a non-factor at the FO before Federer becomes a non-factor at the FO.
 
S

sureshs

Bionic Poster
dh003i said:
Some of Nadal's fans can be so arrogant. First, it's "Nadal can't lose the FO", then this. Federer is assuredly the prohibitive favorite heading into Wimbledon. His greatness on grass is only equalled by Borg, and exceeded by Sampras in some ways (7 Wimbledons total, but not 5 straight).

To be sure, Nadal's getting better, and is younger. But some of his fans continue to ignore that even if he's younger than Federer, it's very likely his career will be significantly shorter. He is unfortunately very injury-prone. This is due to his style of play. That's just a fact. Federer, on the other hand, is hardly ever injured.

I predict that Nadal will retire or be a non-factor at the FO before Federer becomes a non-factor at the FO.
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Everyone's been predicting the end of Nadal because his 1-dimensional high-energy game will cause injuries. Hasn't happened yet. Instead, he is getting better on clay and has been in two Wimbledon finals.

I predict an easy win for Nadal now, followed by an upset of Federer by Roddick or Djokovic in Wimbledon, followed by a Nadal win again.

Got hold of the Inside Tennis mag June issue yesterday. They are saying the "unthinkable" can be thought of now: Federer may not win any more Slams.
 
D

dh003i

Legend
sureshs said:
Everyone's been predicting the end of Nadal because his 1-dimensional high-energy game will cause injuries. Hasn't happened yet. Instead, he is getting better on clay and has been in two Wimbledon finals.
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Where have you been? He has been injured quite often. When he hasn't been injured, he's been quasi-injured.

I predict an easy win for Nadal now, followed by an upset of Federer by Roddick or Djokovic in Wimbledon, followed by a Nadal win again.
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Laughable.

Got hold of the Inside Tennis mag June issue yesterday. They are saying the "unthinkable" can be thought of now: Federer may not win any more Slams.
Click to expand...

Mindless chatter. The guy who just got to his 16th straight semi-final isn't going to win any more slams? Laughable.

Federer will probably still be winning slams after Nadal has retired.
 
drakulie

drakulie

Talk Tennis Guru
sureshs said:
Everyone's been predicting the end of Nadal because his 1-dimensional high-energy game will cause injuries.
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Where have you been the last 3 years??? Every year, Nadal is burned out by the end of the year, and nursing some sort of injury. This year, the unthinkable happened when he lost to JCF on clay because of blisters. It is well documented he is having problems with the archs of his feet, and knee problems.
 
D

dh003i

Legend
drakulie said:
Where have you been the last 3 years??? Every year, Nadal is burned out by the end of the year, and nursing some sort of injury. This year, the unthinkable happened when he lost to JCF on clay because of blisters. It is well documented he is having problems with the archs of his feet, and knee problems.
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What, you come with facts? Sureshes is immune to facts. He has belief and fantasy.

It's too bad that Nadal is so injury-prone. Part of it is just the style of his game, without which he wouldn't be so dominant on clay. But I think he could do some things to shorten up the points while still being as dominant. He could also drop some tournaments from his schedule, manage his schedule a little bit better.

In short, while Federer has a great team around him, I'm not sure I'd say the same of Nadal. Apparently, no-one thought to tell him it would be a bad idea to play as much as he did this clay-court season.
 
Nadal_Freak

Nadal_Freak

Banned
drakulie said:
Where have you been the last 3 years??? Every year, Nadal is burned out by the end of the year, and nursing some sort of injury. This year, the unthinkable happened when he lost to JCF on clay because of blisters. It is well documented he is having problems with the archs of his feet, and knee problems.
Click to expand...
Yes blisters will be the downfall of Nadal. :rolleyes: Nadal is just fine. No signs of any real injury that isn't healing in a long time. Since the US Open, no signs. Calling him really injury prone yet not having signs of an injury in 9 months makes your case flawed.
 
drakulie

drakulie

Talk Tennis Guru
dh003i said:
He could also drop some tournaments from his schedule, manage his schedule a little bit better.
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I agree. I definitely think he needs to manage his schedule better, and to add>>> stop playing doubles. As for shortening points, he has beefed up his serve over the last few years, and has drastically improved his net game, which has resulted in ending many points quicker. People don't give him enough credit for his net game, which is much better than many other top pros.

Nadal_Freak said:
Yes blisters will be the downfall of Nadal. :rolleyes: Nadal is just fine. No signs of any real injury that isn't healing in a long time. Since the US Open, no signs. Calling him really injury prone yet not having signs of an injury in 9 months makes your case flawed.
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Surprised you don't know much about your favorite player. The guy has had nagging injuries (that don't go away), for several years now.
 
Shangri La

Shangri La

Hall of Fame
dh003i said:
What, you come with facts? Sureshes is immune to facts. He has belief and fantasy.

It's too bad that Nadal is so injury-prone. Part of it is just the style of his game, without which he wouldn't be so dominant on clay. But I think he could do some things to shorten up the points while still being as dominant. He could also drop some tournaments from his schedule, manage his schedule a little bit better.

In short, while Federer has a great team around him, I'm not sure I'd say the same of Nadal. Apparently, no-one thought to tell him it would be a bad idea to play as much as he did this clay-court season.
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But does it matter how prone to injury Nadal is? Bottom line>>>> on clay Nadal is more dominant than ever before, than anyone in the history of the sport. And he has been doing great on grass as well>>>> that's what matters
 
Nadal_Freak

Nadal_Freak

Banned
drakulie said:
I agree. I definitely think he needs to manage his schedule better, and to add>>> stop playing doubles. As for shortening points, he has beefed up his serve over the last few years, and has drastically improved his net game, which has resulted in ending many points quicker. People don't give him enough credit for his net game, which is much better than many other top pros.



Surprised you don't know much about your favorite player. The guy has had nagging injuries (that don't go away), for several years now.
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It hasn't been a major issue since the US Open. Nagging but hardly noticeable.
 
gj011

gj011

Banned
deme08 said:
What is the single most important factor about Federer that contributes to his dominance in tennis for the last 4 years (and counting) ?

Obviously the real answer would be the combination of various factors that formulate Federer's success. But if you had to choose one factor just for the sake of interest, what do you think it is?

The poll is added for fun and feel free to express your thoughts.:)
Click to expand...

What are you still counting? One puny title this year so far, is not called dominance. 2004-2007 yes, but still counting no.
 
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hoodjem

hoodjem

G.O.A.T.
Fed is a Guru, a Sensei, a Nobel prize winner, a Rhodes scholar, a tennis genius like . . .











. . . Bobby Riggs.
 
T

tricky

Hall of Fame
Kinda torn between two things.

He has maybe the greatest transitional game (i.e. his ability to switch between defense and offense) I've ever seen. He's perhaps the only top player where his signature shot has a "warmup" time, and yet we don't necessarily view it as a hindrance to his chances of winning. That speaks to a phenomenal transitional game whereby he can manage the ups and down of his own game, and take away the ability of his opponent to dictate play. It's an aggressive style by virtue of using his defense to force the other player to hit him shots that he can tee off of.

The other thing is Federer was one of the first players to move away from the deep and heavy North-South style of tennis of the 90s into a very aggressive lateral game where he'd hit a lot of wide short balls to gain control of the center of the court. The difference between him and, say, Agassi is that once Federer had the center of the court, and the game would be over in one or two more shots. His use of slice and his improving use of 1H BH were all geared toward his lateral game, both of which were unusual approaches to point construction. The one thing that struck a lot of fans early on was that Federer would hit certain shots that you'd expect opponents to take on the offense. But they wouldn't; they couldn't.
 
jmsx521

jmsx521

Hall of Fame
When Federer walks on the court, he carries himself just like... just like Djokovic makes the impression of him: Very confidently! I think that's the difference. I suggest you all try it: It's been working for me well too.
 
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