The really dumb shot that cost Federer the match - no one is talking about it?

travlerajm

Talk Tennis Guru
Djokovic was serving at 3-4, 15-30 in the 5th. Djokovic pops up a weak backhand volley crosscourt and close to the net. Ball bounces near net a few feet from Fed's ad-court alley while Federer sprints toward it from the opposite corner of the court.

Federer reached the shot with ease, and I was expecting him to rip a backhand passing shot down the line to set up a double break point that would have been a virtual match point. Djokovic was probably expecting him to do that shot, as he knew he was too close to the net to react to it.

But Federer couldn't help himself. It looked to me like Federer saw an opportunity to try a crowd-thrilling below-the-net around-the-netpost backhand buggy whip hook shot. Would have made Espn highlights if he made it.

Unfortunately, the ball wasn't wide enough for Fed to execute the round-the-netpost shot, and he buried it halfway up the net.

This was very reminiscent of his 2005 AO loss where he missed the tweener on match point when he could have easily passed Safin with a routine forehand, then went on to lose the match.

I'll bet this one is even more painful than the 2005 AO loss though, because his chances are running out.
 
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TennisandMusic

Guest
That was a dumb shot. There was another dumb shot where he had the down the line forehand winner wide open up at the net, and instead he hit it crosscourt right to Novak, who bunted it back to the open court for a winner. Very strange.
 

veroniquem

Bionic Poster
Fed made 60+ UEs. What can you expect when you become such an UE machine?
I have to say though that in the last games of the 5th set, Fed had his chances. Djoko just played some insanely brilliant tennis at that stage.
 

abmk

Bionic Poster
Djokovic was serving at 3-4, 15-30 in the 5th. Djokovic pops up a weak backhand volley crosscourt and close to the net. Ball bounces near net a few feet from Fed's ad-court alley while Federer sprints toward it from the opposite corner of the court.

Federer reached the shot with ease, and I was expecting him to rip a backhand passing shot down the line to set up a double break point that would have been a virtual match point. Djokovic was probably expecting him to do that shot, as he knew he was too close to the net to react to it.

But Federer couldn't help himself. It looked to me like Federer saw an opportunity to try a crowd-thrilling below-the-net around-the-netpost backhand buggy whip hook shot. Would have made Espn highlights if he made it.

Unfortunately, the ball wasn't wide enough for Fed to execute the round-the-netpost shot, and he buried it halfway up the net.

This was very reminiscent of his 2005 AO loss where he missed the tweener on match point when he could have easily passed Safin with a routine forehand, then went on to lose the match.

I'll bet this one is even more painful than the 2005 AO loss though, because his chances are running out.

That was a dumb shot. There was another dumb shot where he had the down the line forehand winner wide open up at the net, and instead he hit it crosscourt right to Novak, who bunted it back to the open court for a winner. Very strange.

agreed, both were dumb shots/misses ...

one thing I disagree about is regarding the safin match, I don't think federer could have passed safin easily, safin was ready at the net and you can't say fed would have passed him easily if he chose to hit a FH - although the tweener was absolutely dumb
 

Netspirit

Hall of Fame
Regarding the alley shot - I was 100% sure he would simply dink the ball down the line past Djokovic. Instead, he went cross court right at where he was standing still, probably having conceded the point already.
 

SoBad

G.O.A.T.
Dumb players tend to make dumb shots at key points in big matches - that's the difference between those players and truly great champions. I look forward to the final tomorrow.
 

travlerajm

Talk Tennis Guru
agreed, both were dumb shots/misses ...

one thing I disagree about is regarding the safin match, I don't think federer could have passed safin easily, safin was ready at the net and you can't say fed would have passed him easily if he chose to hit a FH - although the tweener was absolutely dumb

They showed the 2005 AO tweener point today. I didn't notice until today how easy it was for Fed to reach that ball - you may disagree, but for a player like Federer (who has a rifle for a forehand), a routine pass of Safin would have been like a pro basketball player making an open layup.
 

ronalditop

Hall of Fame
That was a dumb shot. There was another dumb shot where he had the down the line forehand winner wide open up at the net, and instead he hit it crosscourt right to Novak, who bunted it back to the open court for a winner. Very strange.

When I saw the thread title I thought it was gonna be about the shot you mentioned. I think had he made that shot he would've had two BPs. That was a really bad decision by Fed, I don't know what he was thinking.
 
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TennisandMusic

Guest
Dumb players tend to make dumb shots at key points in big matches - that's the difference between those players and truly great champions. I look forward to the final tomorrow.

Man, you are a trip. Are you in Riverside, CA? If so, you're quite close haha.
 

Fugazi

Professional
Djokovic was serving at 3-4, 15-30 in the 5th. Djokovic pops up a weak backhand volley crosscourt and close to the net. Ball bounces near net a few feet from Fed's ad-court alley while Federer sprints toward it from the opposite corner of the court.

Federer reached the shot with ease, and I was expecting him to rip a backhand passing shot down the line to set up a double break point that would have been a virtual match point. Djokovic was probably expecting him to do that shot, as he knew he was too close to the net to react to it.

But Federer couldn't help himself. It looked to me like Federer saw an opportunity to try a crowd-thrilling below-the-net around-the-netpost backhand buggy whip hook shot. Would have made Espn highlights if he made it.

Unfortunately, the ball wasn't wide enough for Fed to execute the round-the-netpost shot, and he buried it halfway up the net.

This was very reminiscent of his 2005 AO loss where he missed the tweener on match point when he could have easily passed Safin with a routine forehand, then went on to lose the match.

I'll bet this one is even more painful than the 2005 AO loss though, because his chances are running out.
If indeed that's what he was going for, I agree that it was stupid and that it might have cost him the match. However I believe that he lost the match for two other reasons after that: Djoko's way of denying the match points at 4-5, and Fed's 3 forehand errors at 5-5. Once again, the forehand was a little shaky in the fifth (as in the AO and Wimby finals against Nadal).

I disagree about his tweener at the 2005 AO: There's no way he would have had a "routine forehand" passing shot. Sure it would have been wiser to try a regular passing shot, but it would pretty much have been a blind shot.
 

ductrung3993

Hall of Fame
That was a dumb shot. There was another dumb shot where he had the down the line forehand winner wide open up at the net, and instead he hit it crosscourt right to Novak, who bunted it back to the open court for a winner. Very strange.

Yes, final set 6-5 /15-30. If he had won that point he may have made a break since later it's one break point 30-40 :(
 
I disagree about his tweener at the 2005 AO: There's no way he would have had a "routine forehand" passing shot. Sure it would have been wiser to try a regular passing shot, but it would pretty much have been a blind shot.

Finally someone agrees with me! He was in no position for a "routine" forehand. :-?
 

tennisdad65

Hall of Fame
Great point OP. I agree that those were 2 crucial points. Those were the 2 points I remembered immediately after the match ended. Normally, Fed schools his opponents in such situations. Not anymore.
 

SoBad

G.O.A.T.
Man, you are a trip. Are you in Riverside, CA? If so, you're quite close haha.

Haha thanks - no I am analysing USO upclose here from the upper west side of manhattan, we have our own riverside here.:D By the way, I found that talk about Nadal - Feddrer final pretty hilarious all along. We all knew Nadal was in good form this year and a lock into USO final despite the toughest draw in history, but Ferder? Perhaps he can continue to work on establishing a good head-to-head record against Dabul to cement his legacy.:lol:
 
Kinda like when he was serving for the second set against Del Potro last year...30-15, I think it was....Del Potro is in and Federer has a perfect look at a cross court forehand passing shot...should have been routine if he just blasted it...and instead he chooses to do a lob and Del Potro winds up winning the point and later the game to break back...then later takes the second set. Had Federer won that point and gone on to win one of the next two points to win the set, he would've no doubt won the match, being up 2 sets...and that would've given him 6 straight USO.
 

Ambivalent

Hall of Fame
Federer played like a clown. There was another shot where Djokovic had to reach up for a backhand volley that popped up, and Federer somehow missed the forehand passing shot that I would have made.

I am temporarily not a fan. Not until he does something that draws me back.
 

ledwix

Hall of Fame
That was definitely a stupid shot. He was obviously there for the shot but hit it way too low and into the Mercedes sign. Given that he had so much momentum at that point (he had just held after 4 or 5 deuces to force a standing ovation) and destroyed a forehand in the corner the first point of the game, he should have just played it safe and gotten that shot in so that Djokovic would have to hit a ridiculously fast reflex shot to stay in the point. Basically, Federer was stupid and tentative when it mattered late.
 

Sentinel

Bionic Poster
Ambi,
he tanked it. He did not want to meet Nadal, had anyone else been there on the other side, he would have won in straights.
Its a bit painful, but i think he's more afraid of losing the "GOAT" status by being beaten by Nadal on all four slams.
As far as I am concerned, this loss is tantamount to losing to Nadal (provided of course that Nadal wins the final, which is a given.)
 

Ambivalent

Hall of Fame
Ambi,
he tanked it. He did not want to meet Nadal, had anyone else been there on the other side, he would have won in straights.
Its a bit painful, but i think he's more afraid of losing the "GOAT" status by being beaten by Nadal on all four slams.
As far as I am concerned, this loss is tantamount to losing to Nadal (provided of course that Nadal wins the final, which is a given.)

You're a joke.
 

Avles

Hall of Fame
Ambi,
he tanked it. He did not want to meet Nadal, had anyone else been there on the other side, he would have won in straights.
Its a bit painful, but i think he's more afraid of losing the "GOAT" status by being beaten by Nadal on all four slams.

Uh-huh, so Federer lost on purpose? Pretty sloppy of him to let Djokovic hit a second serve while down match point then! If Djokovic nets that serve Federer's cunning plan to avoid Nadal is foiled! What was he thinking??

You seriously, honestly believe that Federer was tanking in a match where he had double match point?
 

BreakPoint

Bionic Poster
That was a dumb shot. There was another dumb shot where he had the down the line forehand winner wide open up at the net, and instead he hit it crosscourt right to Novak, who bunted it back to the open court for a winner. Very strange.
Yup, I couldn't believe Federer didn't hit that short forehand down the line into the open court for an easy winner. I think he thought Djokovic would sprint across to cover the obvious down the line shot but Djokovic was so tired at this point that he didn't move at all and just stayed where he was so Federer's attempt to go behind Djokovic went right into Djokovic's racquet instead. I believe that was at 6-5, 15-30 in the 5th set. That would have given Federer double-break point and he probably would have broken to force a 5th set tiebreak and we all know how good Federer is at winning tiebreaks.
 

BreakPoint

Bionic Poster
That was definitely a stupid shot. He was obviously there for the shot but hit it way too low and into the Mercedes sign. Given that he had so much momentum at that point (he had just held after 4 or 5 deuces to force a standing ovation) and destroyed a forehand in the corner the first point of the game, he should have just played it safe and gotten that shot in so that Djokovic would have to hit a ridiculously fast reflex shot to stay in the point. Basically, Federer was stupid and tentative when it mattered late.
Federer could have easily sliced that backhand at a sharp angle crosscourt for a winner as Djokovic would have had no chance to reach it. Going down the line would have given Djokovic a greater chance to reach the ball even if Federer had made that shot.
 

BreakPoint

Bionic Poster
Federer played his best tennis in 5 years tonight, and lost. It's really sad.
Yeah, sure. 66 unforced errors and a pathetic 53% 1st serve % sure means he played his best tennis in 5 years. How the heck did he manage to win 12 Slams in the past 5 years playing worse than this? :roll:

Oh, and how many Slams did Nadal win in the past 5 years playing his best tennis? Uh...only 8. :oops:
 

T. H. Park

Professional
Fed played a lot of dumb shots actually, just periods of dumbness. Amazing at how hard it still was to beat him.

I agree. Quite a few strange decisions including the BH and FH at the net. But there were other ones too - when Djokovic was at the net he repeatedly sent the ball right at him rather than pass him. Also his serve was very off today and his UE count was way to high. Was quite a bad performance from him but all credit to Djokovic to come back from 15-40 down at 4-5.

Interestingly, Djoker had hard time beating (off-form) Fed today, which basically means that he can forget tomorrow with Nadal.
 
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aprilfool

Guest
Dumb players tend to make dumb shots at key points in big matches - that's the difference between those players and truly great champions. I look forward to the final tomorrow.

If you think that Federer is a "dumb player" then you are an idiot your self. No offense.
 
Interestingly, Djoker had hard time beating (off-form) Fed today, which basically means that he can forget tomorrow with Nadal.

Nadal hasn't played a high caliber opponent. His form has been built up into something mythical on these forums. Frankly, I think today was the real final, and Federer would have won against Nadal. But we'll see if I'm way off base about Djok's chances.
 
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TennisandMusic

Guest
Yeah, sure. 66 unforced errors and a pathetic 53% 1st serve % sure means he played his best tennis in 5 years. How the heck did he manage to win 12 Slams in the past 5 years playing worse than this? :roll:

Oh, and how many Slams did Nadal win in the past 5 years playing his best tennis? Uh...only 8. :oops:

Man...he is trying to incite you. What goes around comes around, but don't buy into it. I mean, I think it's funny, but people take things way too seriously around here. Don't take the bait.
 

ubermeyer

Hall of Fame
I saw this
I was actually going to post it in the "what trick shot will fed do this time against djokovic" but I couldn't find it. If he had made this around the post "trickshot" he probably would have won
 

ubermeyer

Hall of Fame
Federer played his best tennis in 5 years tonight, and lost. It's really sad.

His best tennis since 2005? With 66 unforced errors and blowing two match points?

Oh yeah, he definitely won 12 Grand Slams with play worse than this. And beat Mr. Nadal 5-7 times.
 
Why do people always say Feds unforced error count was to high? Have you seen most of his 5-set matches recently? 52 UE for Wimbledon 2008, and 64 UE for Aus 2009. He lost both matches but there ya go. Im sure his numbers are similar in his other 5-setters of recently.

When Djoker was playing well and blasting his forehand, as he did in the last set a lot. Fed would start going for more as well and more UE piled up for him.
 

BreakPoint

Bionic Poster
Why do people always say Feds unforced error count was to high? Have you seen most of his 5-set matches recently? 52 UE for Wimbledon 2008, and 64 UE for Aus 2009. He lost both matches but there ya go. Im sure his numbers are similar in his other 5-setters of recently.

When Djoker was playing well and blasting his forehand, as he did in the last set a lot. Fed would start going for more as well and more UE piled up for him.
Well, there you go. When Federer makes a lot of unforced errors, as he did today, he usually loses. Not very surprising, is it?
 

powerangle

Legend
Djokovic was serving at 3-4, 15-30 in the 5th. Djokovic pops up a weak backhand volley crosscourt and close to the net. Ball bounces near net a few feet from Fed's ad-court alley while Federer sprints toward it from the opposite corner of the court.

Federer reached the shot with ease, and I was expecting him to rip a backhand passing shot down the line to set up a double break point that would have been a virtual match point. Djokovic was probably expecting him to do that shot, as he knew he was too close to the net to react to it.

But Federer couldn't help himself. It looked to me like Federer saw an opportunity to try a crowd-thrilling below-the-net around-the-netpost backhand buggy whip hook shot. Would have made Espn highlights if he made it.

Unfortunately, the ball wasn't wide enough for Fed to execute the round-the-netpost shot, and he buried it halfway up the net.

This was very reminiscent of his 2005 AO loss where he missed the tweener on match point when he could have easily passed Safin with a routine forehand, then went on to lose the match.

I'll bet this one is even more painful than the 2005 AO loss though, because his chances are running out.

That was a dumb shot. There was another dumb shot where he had the down the line forehand winner wide open up at the net, and instead he hit it crosscourt right to Novak, who bunted it back to the open court for a winner. Very strange.

Kinda like when he was serving for the second set against Del Potro last year...30-15, I think it was....Del Potro is in and Federer has a perfect look at a cross court forehand passing shot...should have been routine if he just blasted it...and instead he chooses to do a lob and Del Potro winds up winning the point and later the game to break back...then later takes the second set. Had Federer won that point and gone on to win one of the next two points to win the set, he would've no doubt won the match, being up 2 sets...and that would've given him 6 straight USO.

Yes, yes, and yes to all three instances. Fed's been making a boatload of questionable shots in the last couple years, at very important moments. The one last year against Del Potro was the most hurtful though, as it probably cost him the championship.

Today's match was probably the most dumb, with the most number of stupid choices.
 

T. H. Park

Professional
Nadal hasn't played a high caliber opponent. His form has been built up into something mythical on these forums. Frankly, I think today was the real final, and Federer would have won against Nadal. But we'll see if I'm way off base about Djok's chances.

Sure, Nadal has had some luck on the way to the finals. But his FH is just dialed in. I would not say, however, that anything is mythical yet. If he wins today it would definitely be an incredible year for him with 3 GSs!

I also think Fed-Djoker was potentially "the" final as it's more evenly matched. I have my doubts whether Fed would've won. If he played like he did against Djoker. No chance.
 

Cindysphinx

G.O.A.T.
The real problem Fed has was that he could not hit a crosscourt FH when pulled out wide. It was really breathtaking. Just missed and missed and missed. It was the main culprit in the first two sets Fed lost in that match.
 

kishnabe

Talk Tennis Guru
Federer played his best tennis in 5 years tonight, and lost. It's really sad.

If Novak beat Federer who is playing his best tennis in 5 years as you say! That would mean Nadal has zero chances to win this final! Federer at his best on HC is unstoppable even against a Prime Nadal! The fact that Novak won agianst that!

Sorry Nadal maybe next year!
 
Well, there you go. When Federer makes a lot of unforced errors, as he did today, he usually loses. Not very surprising, is it?

Thats true for most players though. And even with all those UE, Fed still had a chance to win this match, and Wim 08. Im just trying to say you can't only say Fed lost because of UE. Djokovic played well too.
 

Shaolin

G.O.A.T.
Djokovic was serving at 3-4, 15-30 in the 5th. Djokovic pops up a weak backhand volley crosscourt and close to the net. Ball bounces near net a few feet from Fed's ad-court alley while Federer sprints toward it from the opposite corner of the court.

Federer reached the shot with ease, and I was expecting him to rip a backhand passing shot down the line to set up a double break point that would have been a virtual match point. Djokovic was probably expecting him to do that shot, as he knew he was too close to the net to react to it.

But Federer couldn't help himself. It looked to me like Federer saw an opportunity to try a crowd-thrilling below-the-net around-the-netpost backhand buggy whip hook shot. Would have made Espn highlights if he made it.

Unfortunately, the ball wasn't wide enough for Fed to execute the round-the-netpost shot, and he buried it halfway up the net.

This was very reminiscent of his 2005 AO loss where he missed the tweener on match point when he could have easily passed Safin with a routine forehand, then went on to lose the match.

I'll bet this one is even more painful than the 2005 AO loss though, because his chances are running out.


Glad you brought up this shot. I think it cost Fed the match also. All the momentum was with Fed at that time and I think he would have gone on to get the break. Fed had a Monfils moment, going for the circus shot and not the right one.
 

West Coast Ace

G.O.A.T.
Finally someone agrees with me! He was in no position for a "routine" forehand. :-?
Me three. The way JMac and Carillo ranted for a minute or so about the AO SF match point shot was amazing. Anytime someone gets a lob over your head, your chances of winning the point are pretty slim, regardless of what you decide to try. But they are ex-pros, so they must be right - LOL!

Fed had a terrible day in many regards. I saw a number of times that he had passing opportunities and hit right back (and not at Lendl speed) to Joker. I was also shocked that while Joker attacked his 2nd serve, Roger didn't go after Joker's. Think Joker would have needed a Depends change if Roger had walked inside the baseline to receive a few 2nd serves on key points.

Oh, well. He's given us so much great tennis over the years; hard to get to upset that he offered up such a poor effort yesterday.
 

fps

Legend
there was another awful shot, possibly even in the last game? think he was 30-15 up and standing in the ad court and he missed a crosscourt forehand to the open court with djokovic nowhere, slammed it in the net.

but as others have said, this was an unforced errors whereas the round the netpost attempt, and the crosscourt pass straight back to djokovic, had me out of my seat screaming!!
 

SoBad

G.O.A.T.
If you think that Federer is a "dumb player" then you are an idiot your self. No offense.

I didn't say that Federer was a "dumb player". You brought up the fact that Federer is a "dumb player". All I said was:

"Dumb players tend to make dumb shots at key points in big matches - that's the difference between those players and truly great champions. I look forward to the final tomorrow."

P.S. "Yourself" is spelled as one word.
 
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meg0529

Guest
I didn't say that Federer was a "dumb player". You brought up the fact that Federer is a "dumb player". All I said was:

"Dumb players tend to make dumb shots at key points in big matches - that's the difference between those players and truly great champions. I look forward to the final tomorrow."

P.S. "Yourself" is spelled as one word.

10 chars! =D
 
I was there with good seats, and.......

A few observations:

1. Nadal is playing VERY well right now. If he wins, it is because he deserves to win. He is a great champion. He has defeated those players on his side of the draw thus far. He conducts himself well on the whole, is a fine sportsman, and seems to bring perspective to competition at a young age. We should all do so well. :)

2. Federer played poorly. VERY poorly by his lofty standards. But Djokovic played extremely well and COMPETED even better than he played. He is in fine form. With an extra day to rest, this should be a great final.

3. Federer did not appear to try and go 'around the net'. He DID over-hit what could have been either a (relatively) easy DTL winner, or perhaps even more securely, an angled cross-court pass. He chose to go cross-court but tried to hit it too hard, which 'demanded' a much finer cut at the ball to impart tremendous topspin to bring it 'up and down'. As such, he missed it. Plain and simple.

RF cannot ALWAYS win. I am a huge fan and enjoy his 'brand' of tennis much more than that of Nadal or Djokovic. But those guys are in the final, and they EARNED it. Good luck to them both. :)

BHBH
 
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aprilfool

Guest
I didn't say that Federer was a "dumb player". You brought up the fact that Federer is a "dumb player". All I said was:

"Dumb players tend to make dumb shots at key points in big matches - that's the difference between those players and truly great champions. I look forward to the final tomorrow."

P.S. "Yourself" is spelled as one word.

Grammar ****. and a poor defense of what you so obviously meant. Go back and read the post that you were responding to. Idjit.
 
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