Are we seeing Federer's "late twenties" version of God Mode?

Docalex007

Docalex007

Hall of Fame
As the title asks:

Are we seeing Federer's "late twenties" version of God Mode?

He's won Cincy, he's crushing opponents handedly (even for first round opponents). He's confident on the backhand and his forehand looks to be back... ie. DEADLY.

I think he's in the zone and loving it out there. It's gonna be hard to beat him. I think this is #17 guys. ;)

(PS: to all the irrational guys out there who believe in jinx.. STFU!)
 
shadows

shadows

Legend
No.

He's not really looked all that convincing.

I reserve judgement till after the quarter with Soderling as to whether he can take the title or not, he's certainly not in some kind of "god mode" though.
 
fed_the_savior

fed_the_savior

Banned
I've been pretty impressed. No one else has shown form that could beat him yet. He's hungry to win and he's playing smart, but of course I don't think he's reached the God Mode of the past.
 
Docalex007

Docalex007

Hall of Fame
shadows said:
No.

He's not really looked all that convincing.

I reserve judgement till after the quarter with Soderling as to whether he can take the title or not, he's certainly not in some kind of "god mode" though.
Click to expand...

Sure. Fed's just not shanking balls left and right. He's hitting at least 10 more winners than UEs in every match. First serve percentage has improved with the rounds. BPs converted stats looking nice.

His movement today was really great.. I studied the footwork closely. He hit 30+ winners in today's match.

So after all that you say:
"He's not really looked all that convincing."

... yeah.

Guess because it's Federer he needs to be hitting 50+ winners in 3 sets, first serve % 80+ and throwing out bagels. Some of you guys... jeez.
 
Docalex007

Docalex007

Hall of Fame
This is easily some of the best tennis I've seen Federer play since the AO Final... it started with Cincy. But he's looked better here so far I'd say.

Roger's definitely peaking at the appropriate time. ;)
 
shadows

shadows

Legend
Docalex007 said:
Sure. Fed's just not shanking balls left and right. He's hitting at least 10 more winners than UEs in every match. First serve percentage has improved with the rounds. BPs converted stats looking nice.
Click to expand...

Fed always has a good winners / ue ratio. It's been helped this week because he's served well and hit a lot of aces.

He's not shanking left and right, but he is still making some poor errors, and he's still letting opponents into matches more than he otherwise would.

Go back to Toronto and he needed 3 shaky sets to beat Berdych and Djokovic, both of whom contributed to their own defeats. He got beaten by Murray in the finals there, and won Cinci where his only notable wins were Davydenko (who just got straight setted by Gasquet) and Mardy Fish.

I'm just saying you're a little bit over excited about his tennis for the people he's beaten with it.
 
Love Game

Love Game

Talk Tennis Guru
Docalex007 said:
As the title asks:

Are we seeing Federer's "late twenties" version of God Mode?

He's won Cincy, he's crushing opponents handedly (even for first round opponents). He's confident on the backhand and his forehand looks to be back... ie. DEADLY.

I think he's in the zone and loving it out there. It's gonna be hard to beat him. I think this is #17 guys.

(PS: to all the irrational guys out there who believe in jinx.. STFU!)
Click to expand...

"god mode" :roll:

puhleeeeeez :roll: :roll:

and then along came Rafa Reality! :mrgreen:
 
D

dh003i

Legend
There is a good argument to be made that Federer is playing at a higher level than anyone else is so-far at the USO.
 
N

new_tennis_player

Banned
Wozniacki is in god mode right now.

But seriously, Federerer has a great chance this year, with Nadal looking less than completely dominant.

I'm impressed by Murray though. He's been playing very well. Plus, Djokovic showed some fire last match. I've questioned his competitive intensity in the past, but he looks really fired up at the moment.

So, the winner will come out of the pool of Fed, Murray and Djokovic.
 
D

dh003i

Legend
new_tennis_player said:
Wozniacki is in god mode right now.

But seriously, Federerer has a great chance this year, with Nadal looking less than completely dominant.

I'm impressed by Murray though. He's been playing very well. Plus, Djokovic showed some fire last match. I've questioned his competitive intensity in the past, but he looks really fired up at the moment.

So, the winner will come out of the pool of Fed, Murray and Djokovic.
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If Murray has to go through Federer to win a GS, I'm never going to back him to win one until he actually gets that win over Federer at a GS. For all the alleged "matchup problems" that Murray poses Federer, every time they've met at a GS, Federer has dominated him, plain and simple. (Murray did show promising improvements in his play at Cincy vs. Federer though, that's how he needs to play if he wants to put himself in a good position to beat Federer at a GS).
 
veroniquem

veroniquem

Bionic Poster
"god mode" is not needed to beat the guys Fed had to face. It's easy to shine when opponents don't put up any fight. Let's see what happens when he meets someone playing well.
 
P_Agony

P_Agony

Banned
shadows said:
No.

He's not really looked all that convincing.

I reserve judgement till after the quarter with Soderling as to whether he can take the title or not, he's certainly not in some kind of "god mode" though.
Click to expand...

First two matches were shaky, but against PHM I thought Fed was near perfect. His serve was insane and his FH was gold.
 
A

abraxas21

Professional
Docalex007 said:
He's confident on the backhand
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What matches have you been watching, pal? He's not confident at all on the backhand as he regularly tries to dodge it to hit his forehand. Even today against Mathieu it was pretty clear.

He can hit a topspin backhand every now and then but if it gets in a rally the inconsistencies show and he starts missing or shanking balls.
 
F

Fearhanded

Banned
abraxas21 said:
What matches have you been watching, pal? He's not confident at all on the backhand as he regularly tries to dodge it to hit his forehand. Even today against Mathieu it was pretty clear.

He can hit a topspin backhand every now and then but if it gets in a rally the inconsistencies show and he starts missing or shanking balls.
Click to expand...

He has been doing that his entire career. :)
 
A

abraxas21

Professional
I remember that his topspin backhand in the 2004-2006 period was rock solid most of the times...

Those were the better days.
 
DeShaun

DeShaun

Banned
Roger seems to be working himself up into "Finals-readiness" form in earlier rounds than historically. I think he is handling this tournament the way he handled the 09 French after Rafa was knocked out--he believes it's his tournament to lose, as long as he plays inspired. Now his job is to get himself up to cruising altitude and stay there without dropping his level; thus, ensuring that, IF he reaches the final, he will arrive there having played his last few matches to no less than 80-85% of his full (in this case, fast hard court) potential without having had any lapses. Wise of him: since there's half a dozen players who've shown themselves capable of beating him, even on fast hards, if he's not playing his most inspired tennis. I think he so wants to bag this slam that he's leaving absolutely nothing to chance; there is a vibe about him at the moment, something like an aura that he has been radiating, that is hugely evocative of manner in which he was carrying himself just as he was making his final way through the 09 French following Rafa's loss to Sod. Call me crazy but I think Roger badly wants to win this particular USO.
 
P

piece

Professional
abmk said:
his topspin BH was actually at its best in 2007 IMO ..
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:shock:but what about wimby '06, or indian wells '06, or madrid '06, or uso '06 or tmc '06 -- especially the last two, his backhand was insane at times! But then again, his backhand was better on clay in '07, and ao '07 was great, and dubai against youhzny had some of my fave backhand winners ever. I guess you have a point/
 
abmk

abmk

Bionic Poster
piece said:
:shock:but what about wimby '06, or indian wells '06, or madrid '06, or uso '06 or tmc '06 -- especially the last two, his backhand was insane at times! But then again, his backhand was better on clay in '07, and ao '07 was great, and dubai against youhzny had some of my fave backhand winners ever. I guess you have a point/
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was speaking specifically about topspin BH ... he had more shows of brilliance with his BH in 2006 probably ( the blake match at the TMC being probably his finest ) , but overall his topspin BH was slightly better in 2007 ..
 
Sentinel

Sentinel

Bionic Poster
fed_the_savior said:
I've been pretty impressed. No one else has shown form that could beat him yet. He's hungry to win and he's playing smart, but of course I don't think he's reached the God Mode of the past.
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I dont think the esteemed OP is saying God Mode per se, or peak Federer but LATE 20's version of God mode. So its obviously not the same thing

But good to see Fed playing decently and not losing concentration and choking even in early rounds.
 
Li Ching Yuen

Li Ching Yuen

Legend
The serving is as good as it's ever been. The forehand is good. He's a bit more proactive on court, but the backhand is as shaky as ever. So no.

He should get through the final though, playing like this.

Nadal and Murray have been more solid imo.
 
Docalex007

Docalex007

Hall of Fame
Halba said:
fed is making wayy more errors than peak fed ever did.
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Hence why I'm clear in my thread title by saying "late twenties" version of his best.

Some people .....

Nobody expects Roger to hit a level that he once was able to hit during his peak. This is why I was clear in asking if what we're seeing now is his best at age 29!!!

That was the whole point of the thread. :rolleyes:
 
Docalex007

Docalex007

Hall of Fame
abraxas21 said:
What matches have you been watching, pal? He's not confident at all on the backhand as he regularly tries to dodge it to hit his forehand. Even today against Mathieu it was pretty clear.
Click to expand...

He prefers his forehand, sure. Why wouldn't you if it's your greatest weapon during rallies? This, however, means nothing in terms of how he's feeling on the backhand. Apparently it's YOU who hasn't been watching his matches. Yesterday he was hitting very clean backhand shots sometimes 3-4 times in a row with no sign of shanking (which we all know he goes through phases where no matter who he's playing, he SHANKS!).

Federer is clearly NOT in this shank mode and is hitting cleanly for the most part.

Can't deny it. Pal.
 
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