Halba
Hall of Fame
Looks like the fed express is hurtling towards his 14th slam and career grand slam. Only him and nadal are looking to complete career grand slams this year. Nadal just needs a USO. Fed needs this.
But the rest of the field are i'm sure devising ways to stop Federer. As this is a claycourt, Federer is not unstoppable, but he is very very good still because of the slightly quicker conditions and superior variety in game.
These are the guys i reckon who can stop him the most.
1. Davydenko. Last had a tight match with federer in Estoril. Has also had a tight match in a previous French open, in all 3 sets managed to choke away leads. So he is the most capable to topple Federer. Is back to peak form.
Is the best clay court player of the rest of the field. Has a good return on serve and this is crucial if you want to topple Fed.
2. Murray. Not a clay courter. However as the courts are playing like a hardcourt, his game is clicking nicely. His return of serve is very good and his good reading on federer's service will help. Suzanne lenglen court was playing like indoors thats how fast it was looking to me. Roddick is serving unreturnables. Chatrier looks higher bouncing and is also quite quick[Soderling an indoors specialist, trounced Nadal].
Murray's impeccable defense can frustrate federer. Best fast court defender on tour.
3. Monfils. Sliderman can really put on a good defense and has upped his aggressiveness. Is a natural talent on clay. Can take heart from last years match. Will look to crowd support. Stands way back to return- this can help as its the tactic nadal uses.
4. Del potro- Though he has been owned by Fed, this means nothing. He has really improved his mental attitude and toughness. Has beaten Nadal and murray this year so he is looking for top scalps. He has a much better chance on clay than on hardcourt, especially if the rallies are longer. His serve is improving and ground strokes penetrating. I don't think he reads Federer's serve well at all. IS looking to move into world no.4 ranking and topple djokovic.
5. Gonzalez. Only player apart from Federer to average 30pts Winners over UFEs. is playing in best form. Other clay court events really good,. But average backhand has been dissected by Federer in past.
6. Soderling- even though he beat nadal, is a poor matchup for federer who knows how to neturalise his power with variety and slice. Can't return serve well.
7. Roddick - Even though roddick is not a clay courter, he has a chance if he plays like he's been playing- serving bombs and hitting deep forehands. His ground game has improved a lot. He has taken federer to tie breaks in Madrid - in fact only guy to take a set in Madrid. But somehow his poor mental record especially at Grand slam level is not a good sign.
8. Tsonga- Not the most natural claycourter, and will unlikely advance far enough. Still if he does, he doesn't match up well with Fed and is not a great mover on clay.
Rest- Kohlschreiber, Robredo, Haas have very little chance of advancing far. Haas should get eliminated, Robredo won't make Semis and Kohli if he does make finals will lose in straights.
At the moment Federer is playing the best level. His winners in each match are about nearly 20-30 pts ahead of UFEs. He is in great serving form. This is how he got his 13gS.
But the rest of the field are i'm sure devising ways to stop Federer. As this is a claycourt, Federer is not unstoppable, but he is very very good still because of the slightly quicker conditions and superior variety in game.
These are the guys i reckon who can stop him the most.
1. Davydenko. Last had a tight match with federer in Estoril. Has also had a tight match in a previous French open, in all 3 sets managed to choke away leads. So he is the most capable to topple Federer. Is back to peak form.
Is the best clay court player of the rest of the field. Has a good return on serve and this is crucial if you want to topple Fed.
2. Murray. Not a clay courter. However as the courts are playing like a hardcourt, his game is clicking nicely. His return of serve is very good and his good reading on federer's service will help. Suzanne lenglen court was playing like indoors thats how fast it was looking to me. Roddick is serving unreturnables. Chatrier looks higher bouncing and is also quite quick[Soderling an indoors specialist, trounced Nadal].
Murray's impeccable defense can frustrate federer. Best fast court defender on tour.
3. Monfils. Sliderman can really put on a good defense and has upped his aggressiveness. Is a natural talent on clay. Can take heart from last years match. Will look to crowd support. Stands way back to return- this can help as its the tactic nadal uses.
4. Del potro- Though he has been owned by Fed, this means nothing. He has really improved his mental attitude and toughness. Has beaten Nadal and murray this year so he is looking for top scalps. He has a much better chance on clay than on hardcourt, especially if the rallies are longer. His serve is improving and ground strokes penetrating. I don't think he reads Federer's serve well at all. IS looking to move into world no.4 ranking and topple djokovic.
5. Gonzalez. Only player apart from Federer to average 30pts Winners over UFEs. is playing in best form. Other clay court events really good,. But average backhand has been dissected by Federer in past.
6. Soderling- even though he beat nadal, is a poor matchup for federer who knows how to neturalise his power with variety and slice. Can't return serve well.
7. Roddick - Even though roddick is not a clay courter, he has a chance if he plays like he's been playing- serving bombs and hitting deep forehands. His ground game has improved a lot. He has taken federer to tie breaks in Madrid - in fact only guy to take a set in Madrid. But somehow his poor mental record especially at Grand slam level is not a good sign.
8. Tsonga- Not the most natural claycourter, and will unlikely advance far enough. Still if he does, he doesn't match up well with Fed and is not a great mover on clay.
Rest- Kohlschreiber, Robredo, Haas have very little chance of advancing far. Haas should get eliminated, Robredo won't make Semis and Kohli if he does make finals will lose in straights.
At the moment Federer is playing the best level. His winners in each match are about nearly 20-30 pts ahead of UFEs. He is in great serving form. This is how he got his 13gS.
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