Anyone in the Open era could be the nemesis of Federer?

[Golden Retriever]

I don't think Sampras matches up well with Federer. A big flat serve doesn't bother Federer at all. You need a very good backhand (or lefty forehand) to match up well with Federer. Nadal, Safin, Gasquet, Nalbandian, Ljubijic even Agassi match up well with Federer but they don't own him. To be his nemesis you have to own him. I think Edberg might be the one. A serve and volleyer with a very good backhand and a big kick serve to Federer's backhand, a combination that matches up well to all of Federer's "weakness".

 

[thejackal]

Marcelo Rios maybe?

 

[Golden Retriever]

Marcelo Rios maybe?

No, he is too fragile mentally. You have to consider the whole package.

 

[Andres]

Lefty, tons of topspin, incredible strong mentally, and insane physical specimen?

That would be Guillermo Vilas.

 

[eric draven]

I don't think Sampras matches up well with Federer. A big flat serve doesn't bother Federer at all. ".

Sampras' serve was known for the spin and action on it. Even though he routinely served in the 120's he still had the best delivery because of the slice away from the court or the kick out of it. His ability to make you guess kept you off balance. His backhand was known for being a high looping topspin shot and in his prime, despite what many people say, it was a solid shot. He was also just as quick as Federer and better volleyer. Based on your criteria Sampras would have matched up well. He wouldn't have "owned" him but Roger wouldn't have owned Pete either.

 

[TXKiteboarder]

look at the all time money list, federer is already halfway to sampras. give it two more years and you will have the greatest player every lived...

williams sisters could have been up there too

 

[SCSI]

Sampras in his prime could have easily matched Federer now. He has explosiveness that I have yet to see in any other players. His serve, forehand, and net game would have matched up well against Federer. Yes, Federer is way better than Agassi, but Sampras had another gear or two to go to, if he needed it.

 

[Tennis_Monk]

We dont have to look too far.. even in current tour

Nadal already has 3-1 record against Federer.
David Nalbandian has 6-4 record against Federer (incl a final win)
Tim Henman has 6-4 record against Federer (ofcourse nothing recent)
Gustavo Keurten has 2-1 record against Federer.

Tim is spent force and Guga has minimal chance of making an impact on tennis tour.

Andre and Hewitt controlled Federer until 2003 when federer dominance started. Andre is way beyond his peak and Hewitt happened to be caught in federer Storm.

Bottom line... Federer will be the greatest player when he finishes his career. However he did have loosing records against few players.

 

[joesixtoe]

i think sampras would match up well,,, agassi would have too in his prime. the only thing that stops agassi now i think is his speed around the courts. also i think becker would have played good against federer.

 

[chiru]

i think this is a bit extreme starting a thread basically saying roger would own every player in the open era as much as he owns roddick or hewitt for example. come on you guys thats a bit much even for roger. i think sampras would give him trouble, thers still debate who between the two if they were at their prime would be no.1 in the world, and who would win. also if you watched us open last year when andre was 1 set a piece and up a break, his movement betrayed him. despite what andre may say, his age is taking a toll on him. the fact at 35 he could reach a grand slam final says one of two things (or what i think which is a combo of both a) that hes fricking awesome b) tennis just isn't what it used to be as far as competition. i think although players now hit harder and what not, none of them have variety at their disposal, at all. also, the top ranked players are all mentally dead becasue of federer's owning of them, adn all the low ranked players are, well, low ranked players. wait for the new generation fo players to take it to federer in the coming years, we witnessed teh future with nadal, wait until gasquet comes into his own, and some other young guys up adn coming

 

[zorroman]

I don't think Sampras matches up well with Federer. A big flat serve doesn't bother Federer at all. You need a very good backhand (or lefty forehand) to match up well with Federer. Nadal, Safin, Gasquet, Nalbandian, Ljubijic even Agassi match up well with Federer but they don't own him. To be his nemesis you have to own him. I think Edberg might be the one. A serve and volleyer with a very good backhand and a big kick serve to Federer's backhand, a combination that matches up well to all of Federer's "weakness".

I totally agree. On a fast court, Edberg could have given Federer all kinds of problems (provided Edberg wasn't having one of his mental meltdowns!!).

 

[ShooterMcMarco]

Yeah I think Sampras's attacking game would give Rog a lot of problems.

 

[breakfast_of_champions]

sure, give him a 70's era racket, and let him play connors, borg, laver, or jmac.

 

[Rhino]

Nadal already has 3-1 record against Federer.
David Nalbandian has 6-4 record against Federer (incl a final win)
Tim Henman has 6-4 record against Federer (ofcourse nothing recent)
Gustavo Keurten has 2-1 record against Federer.

He would definitely beat Guga if they played, and I also believe he'd beat Nalbandian and Henman easily if he played them now. Remember he beat Nalbandian 4 times in a row leading up to that Masters Cup final, when we all know he was playing through an injury.
Right now Nadal appears to have him, and it could get worse before it gets better for Fed if they meet during this coming clay season, but I do believe that at the end of his career he will have a winning record against Nadal.
Dominc Hrbaty is another matter