fedtennisphan
Hall of Fame
My point is this DFW article is old and he is no longer with us. This how DFW felt about Federer and he wrote about it. You don’t have too agree but why bring up out of no where? Envy.
My point is this DFW article is old and he is no longer with us. This how DFW felt about Federer and he wrote about it. You don’t have too agree but why bring up out of no where? Envy.
EloQuent
Legend
What is the point of forums like this if not to debate the merits of a literary contribution to the sport?
Fedforever
Hall of Fame
It's been a good debate. Plus people have linked to other good Fed articles.
D
Deleted member 756514
Guest
What's the harm in debating this? Forums such as ours are meant not only to discuss match results and injury problems. Besides, I found the debate quite fruitful. Lots of sensible comments.
EloQuent
Legend
Agreed!
tennisaddict
Bionic Poster
I found the shot fantastic then and still do.
What exactly is the OP's issue ? He expected Roger to have hit a even better winner ?
What exactly is the OP's issue ? He expected Roger to have hit a even better winner ?
D
Deleted member 756514
Guest
Just when I thought this was a sensible debate.
Please go through the thread to understand what my issue was.
tennisaddict
Bionic Poster
What makes you think I didn't read it ? You said hyperbole and exaggeration. I found none.
It requires enormous talent to pull that shot when pushed up.
John McEnroe agrees with the author. You know better ? What are your tennis credentials ?
D
Deleted member 756514
Guest
No doubt it was a good shot. But compare it to the movements of both players described by the author in his essay. The actual shot is nowhere close to what has been described.
And commentators? Don't get me started. Every winner is an "unbelievable shot" for them.
Are you kidding (pun intended)?
J
JRAJ1988
Guest
It's a privilege to watch Federer at his best, that is for sure. I've always held this comparison, that Federer is the Roberto Baggio of Tennis.
Ok, time out guys, this thread has spiraled out of control - THIS is what's missing.
http://www.prosebeforehos.com/artic...ct-on-david-foster-wallace-and-roger-federer/
It's the ONLY copy I can find of the now defunct Grantland Director's Cut series celebrating famous sports pieces (in this case an ESSAY by DFW).
EVERYTHING discussed here has been elaborated on. The NYT ran a correction about the description of the point a week later, back in... 2006!
Yes, it's quite a bit to read, but then again, you have the time - you're reading a tennis forum on the internet.
For the record, DFW explains better than anyone has, why some folks (fanboys) gravitate toward either team Federer or team Nadal.
http://www.prosebeforehos.com/artic...ct-on-david-foster-wallace-and-roger-federer/
It's the ONLY copy I can find of the now defunct Grantland Director's Cut series celebrating famous sports pieces (in this case an ESSAY by DFW).
EVERYTHING discussed here has been elaborated on. The NYT ran a correction about the description of the point a week later, back in... 2006!
Yes, it's quite a bit to read, but then again, you have the time - you're reading a tennis forum on the internet.
For the record, DFW explains better than anyone has, why some folks (fanboys) gravitate toward either team Federer or team Nadal.
Fedforever
Hall of Fame
You might like this one. It struck me as being fair to both players
https://www.si.com/vault/2009/05/18/105813730/the-takedown
Phoenix1983
G.O.A.T.
One genius was describing another.
Geniuses make their own rules.
So be it.
Geniuses make their own rules.
So be it.
EloQuent
Legend
That was a good piece, but I didn't find it fair to both players. Acted like mono in '08 meant Federer was toast. It was right for the moment, I guess. Roger would go on to win the FO months after it was published, and reclaim Wimbledon.
the green god
Professional
Should fit in perfectly at TTW
Fedforever
Hall of Fame
I liked the way it avoided the usual pitfalls of Fed writing - of being overly gushing or going the other way with snarkiness. It seemed not uncritical but sympathetic.
But yes, things did look different at the end of 09. But kind of confirmed what I've always thought (bit of a hobby horse I'm afraid) - that the 09 FO and W have been a bit underrated. Coming back from where he was at the time of Miami 09, those wins were very impressive, Nadal or no Nadal!!
Fedforever
Hall of Fame
A feeling you get with a lot of supposedly great works of literature!! Wuthering Heights top of my list for that.
EloQuent
Legend
Oh I get that a lot! Pretty much every classic bored me to pieces.
EloQuent
Legend
I can see that, the SI piece is a good balance to the "gushy fed piece" without going too far. The pitfall of writing about active players - and this is true about both pieces - is that you don't know what comes next, and it could make you look silly.
Re underrated, I think Federer's 2014-2015 seasons are extremely underrated. He was playing top 2-3 tennis and making finals and likely would have won 3 more slams if not for facing an ATG in prime.
Fedforever
Hall of Fame
Definitely.I've seen comments on the forum about Fed fans being miserable in 14/15 - well,I wasn't.Of course would have been nice if he'd won those finals but making them at all was pretty impressive.Certainly no comparison emotionally to 2008.
D
Deleted member 77403
Guest
Probably a good thing you were not around during the Fedovic wars then. Djokovic was effectively stopping Federer from winning three arguably four slams during that period, a WTF, a couple of year ending number ones and Federer fans understandably were looking for that 18th slam.
EloQuent
Legend
I can't be mad at Novak for being good. But Federer is basically playing the same level then as now, 2017 (and expected 2018) aren't really a surprise from that perspective.
D
Deleted member 77403
Guest
See, you are being reasonable. Trust me, during the peak of those times, many Fedal fans had united against Djokovic here, because he was seen a threat to both Federer and Nadal.
Fedforever
Hall of Fame
I don't think my nerves could stand another set of fan wars!! Of course the losses were unpleasant when they happened, but it also felt like a natural part of life in a way, a great player like Djoko with a six year age advantage - I'd expect him to win really. Also the way the whole press in 08/early 09 was saying it proved that Fed was mentally weak and a crybaby and so forth - you didn't get any of that in 14/15.
Doctor/Lawyer Red Devil
Talk Tennis Guru
Good times.
D
Deleted member 77403
Guest
There were many here who did also. But I don't think many expected Federer to keep putting himself in positioning of winning, so hopes would naturally go up the more often he put himself into those winning positions, only for that same guy to be there to stop again. So you can see why it eventually starting to grate and the resentment towards Djokovic began to build. It wasn't just some Federer fans, some Nadal fans were doing the same but there situation was slightly different, it was the complete and comprehensive ownage of Nadal that made Djokovic public enemy number one. Then you had the Djokovic aggressors, some were hardcore fanboys, but others were simply Fedal haters, that then used Djokovic to stick to Fedal fans...all the decent fans of all three players were casualties.
Fedforever
Hall of Fame
I admit that there was a guilty sort of pleasure in watching Djoko smack Nadal around - I had a definite feeling of "now you know what it feels like, sunshine!!". But using that feeling to hurt other fans - no.
Incognito
Legend
Is this the typical Federer fan?
Well, Nadal has Donald Trump..so.
I wonder what the typical Djoko fan is? I can Imagine the Queen of England has sir Andy’s back
Last edited:
Incognito
Legend
D
Deleted member 742196
Guest
2009 is a majorly underrated year - Fed made all four finals and nabbed two of them. In fact 2009 was the year he got the monkey off his back with the FO. Fed set the standards so high that anything less than outright domination seems to cause trouble for most of his fans.
Poisoned Slice
Bionic Poster
I do like this comparison. Forgetting Baggio's skills, I think about Baggio at the 1994 world cup. He was the superstar and the rest were football players.
Let's get religious.
D
Deleted member 743561
Guest
Doesn’t hold a candle to your writing; that’s for sure. Granted, small sample size from which I have to judge. That’s part of its minimalistic brilliance, though.
Wander
Hall of Fame
I happened to see a point just now on YouTube on Raz Ols channel that made me think that perhaps DFW somehow confabulated two different points in his mind to create his description:
Go to 11:35
Obviously the commentary DFW recalls is from the Agassi match from US Open 2005, but this point against Blake from 2003 matches his description more closely, including the fact that Roger slices the ball cross court short and Blake has come to the net and lunges as Roger hits the forehand passing shot down the line.
Just an idea.
Go to 11:35
Obviously the commentary DFW recalls is from the Agassi match from US Open 2005, but this point against Blake from 2003 matches his description more closely, including the fact that Roger slices the ball cross court short and Blake has come to the net and lunges as Roger hits the forehand passing shot down the line.
Just an idea.
Chanwan
G.O.A.T.
absolutely beautiful, never seen it before.
Chanwan
G.O.A.T.
haha, so true!
Fedforever
Hall of Fame
It's amazing how much that one result has changed the narrative.Almost everything you read from before that day you feel "little did you know".
Similar threads
