Commentators on Federer as "former world nr1"

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ctmcarlo

New User
Has anyone noticed how much the commentators say "former world nr1" when they refer to Federer while he is playing these days?

As much as it's irritating for Federer, it's also irritating for listeners!
Why not just say, world nr2?

I mean, they speak about Safin and Hewitt and Roddick as former world number ones because it's been so long ago since they were at the top and unlikely that they will ever become nr1 again.

Why did they never say, former world nr3, when nadal was nr2 for so long?
(don't get me wrong, i'm a big fan of federer and nadal)

Just a thought....:neutral:
 
Hewitt, Roddick, Safin and co never spent over 300 weeks @ number 1, Federer did, its only natural for commentator's to refer to him as the "former world number 1".

I know your a Nadal fanatic and desperately want the guy to hog all the glory but i'm Federer's still hanging in there.
 
Tennis_Maestro said:
Hewitt, Roddick, Safin and co never spent over 300 weeks @ number 1, Federer did, its only natural for commentator's to refer to him as the "former world number 1".

I know your a Nadal fanatic and desperately want the guy to hog all the glory but i'm Federer's still hanging in there.
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It was 237 or something like that. Definitely not near 300 over it.
 
icedevil0289 said:
It was 237 or something like that. Definitely not near 300 over it.
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You make it sound like 237 is a small feat..

The closest to 300 was of course good ole pistol pete, but Fed did it consistently for 237 straight weeks....sigh the glory days
 
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DarthFed said:
You make it sound like 237 is a small feet..

The closest to 300 was of course good ole pistol pete, but Fed did it consistently for 237 straight weeks....sigh the glory days
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No, omg no. I think that is amazing. I just correcting him with the facts. Sorry about that. lol, just being honest. I thought you liked honesty. Anyways if I didn't do it, some ********* or *********** would have come in here and been like it was not over 300 weeks, what are you smoking? So I corrected. 237 consecutive weeks is no doubt a big thing and a sign of a how dominant fed was. I miss those days.
 
DarthFed said:
You make it sound like 237 is a small feet..

The closest to 300 was of course good ole pistol pete, but Fed did it consistently for 237 straight weeks....sigh the glory days
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Yeah but Sampras did not hold it for consecutive weeks...still an amazing feat but im just stating the facts
 
gj011 said:
Well Hewitt was #1 for 80 weeks. He is not a "trick pony"
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Okay, Hewitt had longevity, mainly as it was a period in tennis where there really wasn't any dominant player's on tour, he was basically the best of an average bunch.

I give him credit though, to stay there consistently, over that period of time is a feet, there's no questioning that, but 80 weeks is still not long enough to hold firm in people's minds.

Federer has every right to be called the former World number 1, Nadal fan boys need to accept he is the "tennis purist's" champions and always will be, simple as. (Most commentator's are tennis purist's)
 
Nadal will be longer at #1 because Federer's overrated with midget opponents like Hewitt, who beat him numerous times.
Not even Roddick and Safin were overwhelmed by Nalbandian, Hewitt, Henman and Hrbaty.
 
Tennis_Maestro said:
Hewitt, Roddick, Safin and co never spent over 300 weeks @ number 1, Federer did, its only natural for commentator's to refer to him as the "former world number 1".

I know your a Nadal fanatic and desperately want the guy to hog all the glory but i'm Federer's still hanging in there.
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Yes everyone knows that Federer IS a former world number one, I'm just saying in general tennis terms when people (commentators) speak of someone as former, it mean's "has been".

I guess as a huge Federer fan, it sounds worse for me, cause we all want him to get that nr1 back isn't it? :)
 
I am fine with them calling him FORMER #1, since it is true. The problem is when some STILL call him #1, when he is not any more, and that happened several times as well.
 
there are many players who would give anything to be referred to as "former world #1. if it bothers you as a fan, just be thankful your boy got there for a billion weeks or whatever and had a good run as world #1. there are very few announcers who ever got to no. 1 (jmac, navratolova, davenport i think) so why let what they say bother you?
 
ctmcarlo said:
Yes everyone knows that Federer IS a former world number one, I'm just saying in general tennis terms when people (commentators) speak of someone as former, it mean's "has been".

I guess as a huge Federer fan, it sounds worse for me, cause we all want him to get that nr1 back isn't it? :)
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Its how you interpret it really, its basically used as a way of reminding viewer's a player has been the best player in the World and that there's a possibility he might return to being that.

Plus when you hear the Federer, you instantly think, "the best" ... he's earnt that respect and calibre through 5 straight Wimbledon's and US Open's .. you can't put that to one side just because there's a new kid on the block.
 
gj011 said:
I am fine with them calling him FORMER #1, since it is true. The problem is when some STILL call him #1, when he is not any more, and that happened several times as well.
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Let fan boys do it .. who cares? As long as commentator's and media get it right, thats all thats relevant really.
 
gj011 said:
I was talking about media and commentators. It happened several times.
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Can't believe it. Unless they put it across as something like .. "in my opinion, he is still the number 1 player in the World"

^If thats not the case, i agree its disgraceful and shows a complete lack of respect to Nadal.
 
Martina N. was never ranked #1?????:shock: I didn't know that!!!! I also don't have a problem with Fed being referred to as the former number one. They say the same thing about Mauresmo.
 
ctmcarlo said:
Has anyone noticed how much the commentators say "former world nr1" when they refer to Federer while he is playing these days?

As much as it's irritating for Federer, it's also irritating for listeners!
Why not just say, world nr2?

I mean, they speak about Safin and Hewitt and Roddick as former world number ones because it's been so long ago since they were at the top and unlikely that they will ever become nr1 again.

Why did they never say, former world nr3, when nadal was nr2 for so long?
(don't get me wrong, i'm a big fan of federer and nadal)

Just a thought....:neutral:
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That's why I have Mute button....
 
Sounds like people are way too worried about things that really don't matter. Just let it roll off your back and don't worry about it.
 
It's actually because they find it too shocking to call him #2. They think he's too good to be #2, so they prefer saying "former #1". I'm surprised Federer fans are not flattered by that instead of being bothered by it.
 
veroniquem said:
It's actually because they find it too shocking to call him #2. They think he's too good to be #2, so they prefer saying "former #1". I'm surprised Federer fans are not flattered by that instead of being bothered by it.
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wow. You really are something, you know that. ugh.
 
Serve_Ace said:
Let Veron be, he/she is a little bitter from the Nadal loss today.
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I know. The nadal fan are probably feeling a bit down, so I'll let it go. Its just with all these fed bashing threads going on, I'm losing it. Its really taking every fiber of my being not to create thread about nadal's post match interview today nitpicking something if fed had said, this entire board would have imploded.
 
icedevil0289 said:
wow. You really are something, you know that. ugh.
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What I find "something" is why you attack me even on a neutral post like this one that is absolutely not derogatory about Fed in the slightest but tries to explain in an objective way why commentators refer to him as "former #1" rather than "#2". There is nothing either "ugh" or offensive in my post. It is a perfectly nice one. I don't have the slightest idea what you found shocking (or bashing????) in it. I really have no clue.
 
veroniquem said:
What I find "something" is why you attack me even on a neutral post like this one that is absolutely not derogatory about Fed in the slightest but tries to explain in an objective way why commentators refer to him as "former #1" rather than "#2". There is nothing either "ugh" or offensive in my post. It is a perfectly nice one. I don't have the slightest idea what you found shocking in it.
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Yeah right. you must be kidding me. I never said it was derogatory about fed did I? Just the way you said, "They think he's too good to be no.2". That might be so, but it came across as quite bitter to me. Anyways, sorry for the attack. Uncalled for.
 
"Former world #1" is completely different than saying "former world #2, 3, 4, etc."

It's like boxing or MMA, they always use the phrase "former heavyweight champion" or something like it.
 
It was Fed that felt offended by being called "world nr.2" during Shanghai mastercup 2008. He wanted people to call him either former nr1 or grand slam champion. At that time, he believed he would get back nr1 soon. Therefore, all the commentators respect Fed's opinion and start calling him so. However, since Fed and his fans realized that nr1 was not possible after his loss at AO and Fed's good years seemed leaving them farther and farther, some fans like OP felt it was awkward to call him "former nr1."
ctmcarlo said:
Has anyone noticed how much the commentators say "former world nr1" when they refer to Federer while he is playing these days?

As much as it's irritating for Federer, it's also irritating for listeners!
Why not just say, world nr2?

I mean, they speak about Safin and Hewitt and Roddick as former world number ones because it's been so long ago since they were at the top and unlikely that they will ever become nr1 again.

Why did they never say, former world nr3, when nadal was nr2 for so long?
(don't get me wrong, i'm a big fan of federer and nadal)

Just a thought....:neutral:
Click to expand...
 
icedevil0289 said:
No, omg no. I think that is amazing. I just correcting him with the facts. Sorry about that. lol, just being honest. I thought you liked honesty. Anyways if I didn't do it, some ********* or *********** would have come in here and been like it was not over 300 weeks, what are you smoking? So I corrected. 237 consecutive weeks is no doubt a big thing and a sign of a how dominant fed was. I miss those days.
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Just curious, but what is your avatar of?

devila said:
Nadal will be longer at #1 because Federer's overrated with midget opponents like Hewitt, who beat him numerous times.
Not even Roddick and Safin were overwhelmed by Nalbandian, Hewitt, Henman and Hrbaty.
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Nalbandian is 2-3 with roddick. Hewitt is 7-6 with Safin and 6-4 with Roddick. Henman is 3-2 with Roddick. Henman is 3-3 with Safin. Can I be first to say fail?
 
icedevil0289 said:
Yeah right. you must be kidding me. I never said it was derogatory about fed did I? Just the way you said, "They think he's too good to be no.2". That might be so, but it came across as quite bitter to me. Anyways, sorry for the attack. Uncalled for.
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OK I'm sorry if that sounded bitter, it was actually completely first degree. I guess I deserve this since I have criticized Fed on this board before but this particular post wasn't meant as an attack at all. I seriously think commentators prefer "former #1" because "#2" doesn't correspond to the way they think of him after everything he has achieved. There is no irony or resentment in my comment, I just seriously feel this is a likely explanation for them saying that.
 
Obviously because he was number 1 for so long.

But everyone needs to get use to it, because he won't reach number 1 again.
 
devila said:
Nadal will be longer at #1 because Federer's overrated with midget opponents like Hewitt, who beat him numerous times.
Not even Roddick and Safin were overwhelmed by Nalbandian, Hewitt, Henman and Hrbaty.
Click to expand...

Do you realise Hewitt is only 5cm shorter than Federer and Nadal?
 
080825 said:
It was Fed that felt offended by being called "world nr.2" during Shanghai mastercup 2008. He wanted people to call him either former nr1 or grand slam champion. At that time, he believed he would get back nr1 soon. Therefore, all the commentators respect Fed's opinion and start calling him so.
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looking for the article saying that...anyone got this article ?
 
tipsa...don'tlikehim! said:
looking for the article saying that...anyone got this article ?
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I remember the TV announcers saying it several times during his matches that year.

I think during US Open 2008 he commented how he felt it was weird to be called World #2, and he just wanted people to refer to him as former World #1.
 
MasturB said:
I remember the TV announcers saying it several times during his matches that year.

I think during US Open 2008 he commented how he felt it was weird to be called World #2, and he just wanted people to refer to him as former World #1.
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just found it! http://www.abc.net.au/news/2008-11-09/federer-hates-being-called-number-two/199110 hilarious

I just don't like the ring of it when I'm being introduced on Centre Court saying, 'and this is the number two in the world,'" he said.

"It just sounds wrong. Either I'm number one or I'm a grand slam champion, but I'm not number two."

LOOL
 
I don't understand why Fed is never considered arrogant even when he's making statements like this. And this isnt an isolated example, he has a thousand quotes that make him sound arrogant.

Yet if you listen to the posters here it sounds like Fed's a saint and Nadal/Djokovic are the most arrogant and disrespectful human beings in history
 
Morj said:
I don't understand why Fed is never considered arrogant even when he's making statements like this. And this isnt an isolated example, he has a thousand quotes that make him sound arrogant.

Yet if you listen to the posters here it sounds like Fed's a saint and Nadal/Djokovic are the most arrogant and disrespectful human beings in history
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Plenty think Federer is arrogant, those that hate him call him arrogant alot. Those that love him just ignore it. His arrogance doesn't bother me. He's a nice guy and he's humble enough when he talks about past greats.
 
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