2020 Australian Open Round of 128 (1R) :- [3] Roger Federer v/s [81]Steve Johnson

[Arvind Sridhar]

any links for Roger Federer match?

Guys from India, any channel which is showing live the Roger Federer match?

Use Sonyliv if you are subscribed....

 

[mightyjeditribble]

Sounds as though Roger is playing well ...

(Sent from my mobile phone, apologies for typos!)

 

[chjtennis]

Looks like Federer is healthy. That was a good practice.

 

[BeatlesFan]

Fed keeping his headband on during the Courier post-match interview. He always takes his headband off right after the match and throws it to the crowd.

Trivial, but strange.

 

[Arvind Sridhar]

Fed keeping his headband on during the Courier post-match interview. He always takes his headband off right after the match and throws it to the crowd.

Trivial, but strange.

I actually thought the same....LOL....

 

[Pheasant]

Nice work by Fed. He moved well for his old self and was quite aggressive. I was happy with his backhand too.

I originally picked Fed to beat Johnson in 4 tough sets. But I was pleasantly surprised.

 

[ghostofMecir]

Nice work by Fed. He moved well for his old self and was quite aggressive. I was happy with his backhand too.

I originally picked Fed to beat Johnson in 4 tough sets. But I was pleasantly surprised.

A player without a BH can’t hope to play even 100 year old Federer tough.

 

[Robert Baratheon]

Aim was to finish quick and so he did.
But Johnson is so not the guy against whom you can judge the actual level of a player.
How was the serve?
How was the speed on it?

 

[Ray Mercer]

Love watching Fed beat up on journeymen. Its awesome to watch his shotmaking.

 

[Zebrev]

Federer will be fresher than his main rivals.

Getting it over with in 80 minutes is huge at his age. It means he has more reserves for later in the tournament.

I also think he benefits from Shapo being vanquished early. The less hungry young players with something to prove he has to face the better.

Just realised Fed could face Millman, Dimitrov, Tsitipas, Djokovic and Nadal, the last 5 players to defeat him in grandslams.

 

[Standaa]

Aim was to finish quick and so he did.
But Johnson is so not the guy against whom you can judge the actual level of a player.
How was the serve?
How was the speed on it?

this doesn’t matter either

remember his match vs Goffin at USO? we were over the moon with his level there and then what happened

Fed’s level changes drastically from match to match nowadays

 

[soundofatrain]

It is near impossible to make an impact against any of the top 3 players with a weakness. SJ never stood a chance.

 

[Robert Baratheon]

remember his match vs Goffin at USO? we were over the moon with his level there and then what happened
Fed’s level changes drastically from match to match nowadays

Yeah there's a good chance of him going off the rails in some of the mid rounds.
One off day and a motivated opponent is all it needs.

But if we focus on that part there will no scope of discussion on how he is looking.
For the sake of discussion I assume he will have a proper tournament like Wimbledon last year.
Also I know how he played today will be very different from how he will play Novak in the semis if he makes it.
Today was all about saving energy I assume.

So shoving the tactics aside I would like to know about his serve coz that is going to be very important.
I only caught the last few games of the third and he looked a bit cooked to me. Was it just me or was he breathing a bit heavy?

 

[beard]

Great win for Fedr...
It was matchup thing... Johnson's non existing backhand vs Federer's mediocre but beautiful backhand... Guy stood no chance
That is how Universe level thing up because of Fed's bad matchup with Nadal...

 

[D.Nalby12]

Not too much see here except few great neo Backhands. Court looks slow compared to 2017-18.

 

[ARaj]

Eh, I liked the brown one they had for RG but that might be just me.

have to agree with you, I liked the white/cream top with the brown shorts rather than the other way around though

 

[Djokovic_is_the_best#1]

Good win for fed! Strong start!

 

[HetTheGreaterer]

Where is everyone? Players will be on court very soon.

Hi Beatles

 

[HetTheGreaterer]

Eh, I liked the brown one they had for RG but that might be just me.

Not just you

 

[HetTheGreaterer]

Agreed. Djokovic is one of those "very, very few players" who can beat Fed if he plays like this. The problem is, Djokovic doesn't allow Roger to play at this level. Last time was 2015 Cincy.

Missed 2019 WTF??
See, both of them have declined since 2015, but the huge gap between the levels of fed and djo in a matchup isn't as wide as it was in 2015, in fact now-a-days fed has a upper hand in terms of raw tennis when these two play each other. It all comes down to clutch, and that's exactly why fed trails the h2h post 2018 by 3-1 instead of leading by 3-1

 

[TearTheRoofOff]

Great win for Fedr...
It was matchup thing... Johnson's non existing backhand vs Federer's mediocre but beautiful backhand... Guy stood no chance
That is how Universe level thing up because of Fed's bad matchup with Nadal...

The universe is a cruel mistress...

 

[TearTheRoofOff]

Federer will be fresher than his main rivals.

Getting it over with in 80 minutes is huge at his age. It means he has more reserves for later in the tournament.

I also think he benefits from Shapo being vanquished early. The less hungry young players with something to prove he has to face the better.

Just realised Fed could face Millman, Dimitrov, Tsitipas, Djokovic and Nadal, the last 5 players to defeat him in grandslams.

I feel people say this every time Fed has spent considerably less time on court before a final (which is practically every the time) and then he still gets wrecked. The extra time on court barely seems to register with the other two.

 

[TheGhostOfAgassi]

The universe is a cruel mistress...

 

[Third Serve]

have to agree with you, I liked the white/cream top with the brown shorts rather than the other way around though

Yeah, that’s true.

 

[2ndServe]

guy has had a great career for what that backhand looks like. No joke I've seen better topspin backhands at the local courts (still think Steve's slice is top notch)

 

[TennisFan3]

Just realised Fed could face Millman, Dimitrov, Tsitipas, Djokovic and Nadal, the last 5 players to defeat him in grandslams.

Wasn't Tsitsipas in Djokovic's quarter?
Meaning Fed could face only ONE of Djokovic or Tsitsipas.

 

[Djokovic_is_the_best#1]

Wasn't Tsitsipas in Djokovic's quarter?
Meaning Fed could face only ONE of Djokovic or Tsitsipas.

Yeah that’s correct. Fed has a good draw

 

[Hitman]

Yeah that’s correct. Fed has a good draw

Yes, which is why I am thinking of his chances being very strong here. He will be difficult to stop getting to that semi IMO.

 

[stringertom]

Federer will be fresher than his main rivals.

Getting it over with in 80 minutes is huge at his age. It means he has more reserves for later in the tournament.

I also think he benefits from Shapo being vanquished early. The less hungry young players with something to prove he has to face the better.

Just realised Fed could face Millman, Dimitrov, Tsitipas, Djokovic and Nadal, the last 5 players to defeat him in grandslams.

Judging from his thin frame, a youngerer more hungry opponent may substitute in for Shapo in 4R. A true Sinner he is from birth but he obviously hasn’t committed the cardinal vice of gluttony.