It was Mono, not age, that probably cut short Federer's prime

President

President

Legend
Just my opinion. I had mono about 5 or 6 years ago and I have never felt quite the same physically. It's quite a debilitating illness that can have a very long term effect on the body and never really leaves. It's not just me, many people have had this experience as well (see Robin Soderling).

Getting mono in the beginning of 2008 explains Federer's sudden drop in form IMO and why he has never been able to reach the heights he did from 2004-2007. He has never quite gotten over the illness, but being the great player he is the man is still a slam threat. Why else would he, at the mere age of 26, have such a noticeable drop in form compared to the previous years. I know I'll probably get some flaming for this but IMO this is the most likely explanation and its amazing that Roger is doing as well as he is these days.

Compare Federer to Djokovic, Murray, and Nadal who are all about the same age(26) that Federer was in 2008. They have games that are much more physically demanding and yet people scoff at the idea of them declining. It doesn't make sense to me that Roger would just drop off like that without an explanation.
 
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NatF

NatF

Bionic Poster
His mono wasn't severe though, also his form dropped off a bit in 2007 too. I think mono may have been part of it but I doubt it had such a massive effect on him when he still playing the AO though it.
 
President

President

Legend
NatF said:
His mono wasn't severe though, also his form dropped off a bit in 2007 too. I think mono may have been part of it but I doubt it had such a massive effect on him when he still playing the AO though it.
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Obviously it wasn't as severe a case as Soderling or Ancic but I think it had a tangible effect on him. People forget that Federer was only 26 in 2008 and he suffered a BIG decline in form that he never recovered from to this day except in isolated tournaments (Cinci 09, AO 2010).
 
F

fedfan46

Rookie
yep. a prime from 2003-2009 is pretty short. wow the australian open needs to start so we can get some credible threads on here...
 
President

President

Legend
fedfan46 said:
yep. a prime from 2003-2009 is pretty short. wow the australian open needs to start so we can get some credible threads on here...
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Yes but his level of play severely dropped after 2007 IMO. For a 26 year old player whose game is easy on the body this doesn't make much sense to me unless there is some outside factor involved (MONO). Do you expect Djokovic and Murray to experience a severe drop in form this year? Hell, Nadal at 26 in 2012 was playing at a very good level comparable to his prime. And all 3 of those players have a game harder on the body than Roger.
 
Virginia

Virginia

Hall of Fame
You can have a mild form of mono. I had it as a teenager and was over it within a month. It just depends on how good your immune system is.
 
Carsomyr

Carsomyr

Legend
President said:
Obviously it wasn't as severe a case as Soderling or Ancic but I think it had a tangible effect on him. People forget that Federer was only 26 in 2008 and he suffered a BIG decline in form that he never recovered from to this day except in isolated tournaments (Cinci 09, AO 2010).
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People can and frequently do make full recoveries from mono. I've had it and friends of mine have had it. I was very sick for over two weeks, but I don't have any leftover malaise or lethargy. Did mono hurt Fed's 2008 as a whole? Possibly. He clearly wasn't playing his best for most of the year. Beyond that, it is very doubtful; very few players with as many matches that Fed had logged up to that point play at the same level at 27-28 as they did 24-25.
 
cork_screw

cork_screw

Hall of Fame
I have strong doubts this has any reason for anything. Federer didn't play poorly, except in 2010. Even in 2008 he didn't play bad at all. But I think it was just the wear of being on tour for all those years and aging as well as travelling and limited breaks in between his very busy schedule at that time. I think he got over the illness quickly. I don't think this had to do with anything to do with the minor slope in the road. You do start to depreciate with (you know that right) you don't get better as you age.
 
D

DropShotArtist

Banned
President said:
Just my opinion. I had mono about 5 or 6 years ago and I have never felt quite the same physically. It's quite a debilitating illness that can have a very long term effect on the body and never really leaves. It's not just me, many people have had this experience as well (see Robin Soderling).

Getting mono in the beginning of 2008 explains Federer's sudden drop in form IMO and why he has never been able to reach the heights he did from 2004-2007. He has never quite gotten over the illness, but being the great player he is the man is still a slam threat. Why else would he, at the mere age of 26, have such a noticeable drop in form compared to the previous years. I know I'll probably get some flaming for this but IMO this is the most likely explanation and its amazing that Roger is doing as well as he is these days.

Compare Federer to Djokovic, Murray, and Nadal who are all about the same age(26) that Federer was in 2008. They have games that are much more physically demanding and yet people scoff at the idea of them declining. It doesn't make sense to me that Roger would just drop off like that without an explanation.
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Quoted for truth. This is exactly right. He was never as explosive again after that bout of mono. Had it not been for the mono, he might well have continued to win 2 slams per year (more easily than he did in 2009) till 2012.
 
Towser83

Towser83

G.O.A.T.
Or maybe just too much mentally to give 100% all year round for more than 4 years. Not saying Mono didn't have a slight lasting effect though, my mother had it and never felt quite the same afterwards.
 
NatF

NatF

Bionic Poster
TheF1Bob said:
Djokovic is the reason why Fed doesn't win the titles he once dominated.
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lol no. Federer had already dropped off alot before Djokovic's stand out season. The only title Djokovic prevented Federer from winning recently was the WTF.
 
Monsieur_DeLarge

Monsieur_DeLarge

Semi-Pro
I agree that it likely had an effect on him. But also consider that his only other slam losses in the next two and a half years were to Rafa, aside from a two-sets-up brain fart against Del Potro at Flushing Meadows; 56-1 vs Everyone Not Called Nadal until being upended by Soderling at Roland Garros. That last match is the beginning of Fed's decline to me, ushering in an era where he started to lose before the semis, to guys like Soderling, Berdych, and Tsonga who wouldn't have troubled him in days past.

A parallel is the alleged "decline" of Rafa in 2011. In fact, comparing his performances that year vs Everyone Not Called Djokovic, he was every bit as strong as 2010. There just happened to be a Serbian guy playing out of his mind and stealing all the glory. I give Nole all the credit for being #1 in '11 because he deserves it. And I give all the credit for being #1 in '08 to Rafa, because he deserves it too.

It wasn't mono that brought down Fed. It was Spanish flu.


Regards,
MDL
 
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max

max

Legend
Towser83 said:
Or maybe just too much mentally to give 100% all year round for more than 4 years. Not saying Mono didn't have a slight lasting effect though, my mother had it and never felt quite the same afterwards.
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You know, there is a bit of juice you lose once you've reached your goals. Or once you start thinking, "hey, here I am, once again at xyz tournament. I could be home mowing the grass."
 
E

Emet74

Professional
President said:
Yes but his level of play severely dropped after 2007 IMO. For a 26 year old player whose game is easy on the body this doesn't make much sense to me unless there is some outside factor involved (MONO). Do you expect Djokovic and Murray to experience a severe drop in form this year? Hell, Nadal at 26 in 2012 was playing at a very good level comparable to his prime. And all 3 of those players have a game harder on the body than Roger.
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You can't compare Fed's career to Djoko and Murray - he'd achieved WAY more at at 26 than they had at a comparable age. That Fed holds the record both for consecutive weeks at #1 and for total weeks just shows how difficult it has been for any modern player to maintain absolute peak form for a longer span of time than he did.

Fed began to drop off already in 2007; maybe he got a bit complacent, understandably. IMO a bunch of things happened to slowly derail him somewhat:

1) some stagnation in form in 2007 leading to a split from Roche and several years in the coaching wilderness

2) mono to start 2008

3) back problems begining in late 2008 and hampering him though spring 2009 and sporadically after that as well

4) distraction of fatherhood and dealing adjusting to travelling w/ young infants on the road.

In mid-2010 he finally got a permanent high-level coach and by 2011-2012 he'd had a period of good coaching, relative physical health, and the kids were getting older, all of which helped him to rebound somewhat and play some good tennis. But it's been alot of water under the bridge, he doesn't have the confidence and physicality he once did and of course there are hungry young confident players to contend with.

Overall the guy's been extremely solid and consistant for a long time; he's not a machine after all.
 
T

TennisCJC

Legend
Yes, mono did impact Federer. I think it costs him 1-3 slams. Kind of funny how the non-Federer fans don't think this is viable. Pro athlete with a major virus should continue to play at peak form - no sissy excuses. Sorry, that's stupid.

I also think age started catching up with him at about the same time.
 
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smoledman

smoledman

G.O.A.T.
sureshs said:
Fed's mono was all in the head
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I think there's something to this. The mono did initially cause him to lose his AO crown and suffer some early bad results(Dubai, Indian Wells, Miami). I think that rocked his confidence because up until the mono hit he had that aura of invincibility(except on clay to Rafa) and once the aura was gone he was never going to truly get it back.
 
F

fedfan46

Rookie
This whole thing about this substantial drop off in Feds play after 07-08 is really stupid. Yes he stopped winning 2-3 majors every season but he still has ridiculous abilities and shotmaking skills most players could only dream of.
 
President

President

Legend
sureshs said:
He had something, probably blew it up
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I don't think so, he looked out of sorts against Djokovic in Australia and even struggled in a 5 setter against Tipsarevic. Then he had weird losses the rest of the year to players like Karlovic, Roddick, and Fish who were all his age and who he'd owned in the past. He never regained his supreme level of play from 2004-2007 again and IMO that's because of mononucleosis. Federer lost some quickness and explosiveness that never came back.
 
90's Clay

90's Clay

Banned
Ohh cry me a river

Fed was in his prime until 2010 or so (Reached all 4 slam finals in 2009 after his little so called "mono spell"). The mono was at best a very MILD form of mono because he still playing at an incredibly high level. If it was serious mono, he would be bed ridden simple as that.. Not reaching slam finals.

Injuries cut short Rafa's prime as well. Fed's prime was wayyy longer then Rafa's was.


Hell, Sampras had to play his entire career with a blood disorder which left him fatigued a lot faster then others would. What you rather have? A few months of mono or entire career of Thalassemia Minor which made you fatigue quicker?

Fed had about 6-7 year prime, and you are saying it was "cut short" COMICAL!!!
 
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BauerAlmeida

BauerAlmeida

Hall of Fame
90's Clay said:
Hell, Sampras had to play his entire career with a blood disorder which left him fatigued a lot faster then others would. What you rather have? A few months of mono or entire career of Thalassemia Minor which made you fatigue quicker?

!!
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And Djokovic was alergic to gluten. And Nadal had a lot of knee injuries.

But *******s only remember the mono, that wasn't even that severe like Soderling's or Ancic's.
 
Gonzo_style

Gonzo_style

Hall of Fame
President said:
Just my opinion. I had mono about 5 or 6 years ago and I have never felt quite the same physically. It's quite a debilitating illness that can have a very long term effect on the body and never really leaves. It's not just me, many people have had this experience as well (see Robin Soderling).

Getting mono in the beginning of 2008 explains Federer's sudden drop in form IMO and why he has never been able to reach the heights he did from 2004-2007. He has never quite gotten over the illness, but being the great player he is the man is still a slam threat. Why else would he, at the mere age of 26, have such a noticeable drop in form compared to the previous years. I know I'll probably get some flaming for this but IMO this is the most likely explanation and its amazing that Roger is doing as well as he is these days.

Compare Federer to Djokovic, Murray, and Nadal who are all about the same age(26) that Federer was in 2008. They have games that are much more physically demanding and yet people scoff at the idea of them declining. It doesn't make sense to me that Roger would just drop off like that without an explanation.
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I didn't expect troll thread from you, Ancic and Soderling(probably) ended careers due to mono!
 
President

President

Legend
Gonzo_style said:
I didn't expect troll thread from you, Ancic and Soderling(probably) ended careers due to mono!
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The disease can have different levels of severity. Federer's was not particularly severe but in a worldwide competitive sport like tennis that can make a lot of difference. And in my case and many others the aftereffects can lead to a decrease in physical performance for a long period.
 
F

fedfan46

Rookie
BauerAlmeida said:
And Djokovic was alergic to gluten. And Nadal had a lot of knee injuries.

But *******s only remember the mono, that wasn't even that severe like Soderling's or Ancic's.
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Don't link all fed homers together. I'm as big as their is. I didn't even know he "had mono". I realize how long and impressive his prime was. I blame nothing but age for his prime ending
 
The_Order

The_Order

G.O.A.T.
LOL Fed had a vey minor case of mono. It possibly affected his AO08 but that's about it. He played very well during the clay season pushing Rafa in the finals of the clay masters.

He also made the Wimbledon final without even dropping a set against the likes of Hewitt, Safin, Ancic and Soderling too IIRC. In 2007 WIM he lost a set to JC Ferrero on grass and almost lost 2 sets against him. He had a walkover to the quarters too. His WIM 08 form was better than WIM 07.

I suspect he stopped caring about the Masters events once 2007 season hit because he was losing to journeymen in 2007 Masters events as well.

Then of course, the field got a lot tougher once 2008 hit. Novak won a major, Murray made a final, Nadal's grass game was too good for Fed to beat him at Wimbledon.
 
D

DropShotArtist

Banned
The_Order said:
LOL Fed had a vey minor case of mono. It possibly affected his AO08 but that's about it. He played very well during the clay season pushing Rafa in the finals of the clay masters.

He also made the Wimbledon final without even dropping a set against the likes of Hewitt, Safin, Ancic and Soderling too IIRC. In 2007 WIM he lost a set to JC Ferrero on grass and almost lost 2 sets against him. He had a walkover to the quarters too. His WIM 08 form was better than WIM 07.

I suspect he stopped caring about the Masters events once 2007 season hit because he was losing to journeymen in 2007 Masters events as well.

Then of course, the field got a lot tougher once 2008 hit. Novak won a major, Murray made a final, Nadal's grass game was too good for Fed to beat him at Wimbledon.
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LOL, Fed lost tons of practice blocks because of the mono. No way Nadal was beating him in 2008 at Wimby without the mono.
 
Candide

Candide

Hall of Fame
Because I am not Roger Federer or his physician and am not in contact with either of them I cannot speak intelligently about the severity or lack of or a condition he had 5 years ago. I am amazed that so many people can however. Facinating stuff.
 
PCXL-Fan

PCXL-Fan

Hall of Fame
Did Federer's average explosiveness decline post 2007?

Methodically gather video evidence to prove those calling you a troll wrong.

I believe Federer never fully recovered 100% from it.
 
President

President

Legend
PCXL-Fan said:
Did Federer's average explosiveness decline post 2007?

Methodically gather video evidence to prove those calling you a troll wrong.

I believe Federer never fully recovered 100% from it.
Click to expand...

What video evidence do you want?

Just watch some of these matches, its plain as day. He moved a lot better in general from 04-07 than afterwards.
 
T

Tony48

Legend
DropShotArtist said:
LOL, Fed lost tons of practice blocks because of the mono. No way Nadal was beating him in 2008 at Wimby without the mono.
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Are you serious? Did 2007 never happen or something? Nadal was close to beating him THEN....without the alleged mono.

This is the kind of Fed fan ****ism that I cannot stand.
 
PCXL-Fan

PCXL-Fan

Hall of Fame
President said:
What video evidence do you want?

Just watch some of these matches, its plain as day. He moved a lot better in general from 04-07 than afterwards.
Click to expand...

I'm just trying to help by saying if you want to make a case, produce solid evidence, that will shut the naysayers up.
 
WhiskeyEE

WhiskeyEE

G.O.A.T.
i had mono without even knowing it. if he was playing tennis through it, it couldn`t have been that bad. He declined because he lost half a step and then learned to adjust his game around that and started doing better again.

he was obviously past his prime even in 2007.
 
D

DropShotArtist

Banned
Tony48 said:
Are you serious? Did 2007 never happen or something? Nadal was close to beating him THEN....without the alleged mono.

This is the kind of Fed fan ****ism that I cannot stand.
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Close, but no cigar. Nadal actually played better in 2007, but the eyes are deceiving to ****s.
 
The_Order

The_Order

G.O.A.T.
DropShotArtist said:
Close, but no cigar. Nadal actually played better in 2007, but the eyes are deceiving to ****s.
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No, in the fifth set he capitulated. He wasn't mentally ready to take the title, Nadal even said that it wasn't his ability that stopped him, but his head.

In 2008, he was prepared for anything and therefore his play stayed at a really high level even in the fifth set.

In the eyes of many, many more than you that WIM08 final is regarded as the greatest match of the modern era, the 07 final is never referred to as that by anyone. So tell me how is that possible if both Rafa and Fed were playing better in 07 :lol:

Your logic fails.
 
A

adil1972

Hall of Fame
President said:
Just my opinion. I had mono about 5 or 6 years ago and I have never felt quite the same physically. It's quite a debilitating illness that can have a very long term effect on the body and never really leaves. It's not just me, many people have had this experience as well (see Robin Soderling).

Getting mono in the beginning of 2008 explains Federer's sudden drop in form IMO and why he has never been able to reach the heights he did from 2004-2007. He has never quite gotten over the illness, but being the great player he is the man is still a slam threat. Why else would he, at the mere age of 26, have such a noticeable drop in form compared to the previous years. I know I'll probably get some flaming for this but IMO this is the most likely explanation and its amazing that Roger is doing as well as he is these days.

Compare Federer to Djokovic, Murray, and Nadal who are all about the same age(26) that Federer was in 2008. They have games that are much more physically demanding and yet people scoff at the idea of them declining. It doesn't make sense to me that Roger would just drop off like that without an explanation.
Click to expand...

totally agreed
 
T

Tony48

Legend
The_Order said:
No, in the fifth set he capitulated. He wasn't mentally ready to take the title, Nadal even said that it wasn't his ability that stopped him, but his head.

In 2008, he was prepared for anything and therefore his play stayed at a really high level even in the fifth set.

In the eyes of many, many more than you that WIM08 final is regarded as the greatest match of the modern era, the 07 final is never referred to as that by anyone. So tell me how is that possible if both Rafa and Fed were playing better in 07 :lol:

Your logic fails.
Click to expand...

The hell are you talking about? You made so many ridiculous assumptions and false claims about what I said that I don't even know where to begin.

Your comprehension fails.
 
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