Does Federer only care about Slams now?

[cueboyzn]

It certainly does seem to be the case.

Before (2004-2007) he always use to bring his A-Game out to the Year End Champs. But the last 2 years he seemed to be a tad less bothered with it all. Ok, I'll concede he had the back problem last year 2008 losing to Murray, but of late he seems to not be able to hit the ground running in these best of 3 set matches and it ends up hurting him over the shorter distance. All 3 of his Round Robin matches he had to come from a set down, twice made the escape, and once lost, and now the semi final, another sloppy affair in the first set which ended up costing him a shot at the YEC title.

So this brings the question: Does Federer - now having 15 GS and Career Slam - only care about extending his GS record even further, and not bothering with all the effort to pitch up with his A-Game at all the "lesser" events? He seems to be pretty much supremely confident of beating anyone in a 5-set GS match, but it seems like best of 3 sets has become a lottery with him, where he can just as easily lose as win.

It will be interesting to see what happens in Australia. But I get the feeling watching him lately that the only thing he cares for is the Grand Slam Trophies and everything else is just a sideshow for him.

 

[Tsonga#1fan]

At this point in his career, slams are more of a motivating factor I'm sure. However, he also probably wants to win any event he enters from a pride standpoint.

 

[zagor]

No way he doesn't care about WTF.It's obvious he cares very much,he was fighting hard in each match here and was showing plenty of emotion.Regular masters,yeah he seems a bit less motivated there.

So I'd say he's still motivated plenty for slams and YEC.

 

[TheTruth]

Breaking the record is a huge deal. Probably he's relaxed for a bit. Winning the French and breaking the record is huge. It's probably going to take a while to sink in, and get the necessary motivation to remain hungry while newcomers are trying to stake their own claims at the same time.

It's a difficult time mentally, I would think.

 

[RafaNike]

At this point he's probably content with his career as a whole and is saving his energy for slams.

 

[canuckfan]

Fed wants to tie or break sampras's record of 5 YEC. He wanted it. Not so much the regular masters series. But his level of play simply isn't anywhere near his 2005-2006 game (which was ridiculous). His big point play has declined, his return of serve is significantly less effective, and he's just a bit slower than he used to be (which ineveitably happens to everybody). Tennis is a young man's game, Fed is 28, and as great as he is, time slows down everybody.

 

[kishnabe]

Give federer some time to regroup and he might win something else than a slam.

 

[Mr. Tennis]

Of course....slams are the only important thing .

I would trade losing ebery tournament of my life for just one Wimbledon.

 

[IvanAndreevich]

I think so. He's stated many times that he does care about other tourneys, but he can't replicate the motivation and effort level of a slam in smaller events.

 

[All-rounder]

Didn't we say this at the beginning of 2009

 

[grafselesfan]

I think he cares but it isnt life or death like the slams for him anymore. He is only willing to fight 90%, not 110% like he will in a slam.

 

[Rippy]

He probably does still care, but it doesn't REALLY matter to him. He wants to win IMO, and may even be thinking that he's trying to win, but he just lacks the supreme motivation that he would have for a slam.

 

[BigSkyChamp]

Slams are a huge motivating factor for Federer, plus as an extremely fit (trains in 110 degree weather in Dubai) and talented athlete, he holds a huge advantage in the Majors because they are best 3 out of 5. Beating Fed in a 4 hour match in the heat is an extremely hard endeavour for even the best of the pros. Combined with the fact that he is way more motivated to win Slams to extend his record, thus being the reason why Federer does much better in Slams then the smaller tournaments.

 

[aimr75]

He probably does still care, but it doesn't REALLY matter to him. He wants to win IMO, and may even be thinking that he's trying to win, but he just lacks the supreme motivation that he would have for a slam.

yeah it does come across this way

 

[MuseFan]

Fed concentrates much harder in slams then YEC or Masters. It will be interesting to see how he comes off his Dubai training block in terms of form and motivation in Doha.

 

[flying24]

I think he has been trying hard in this YEC but he never once found top gear. I think he almost needs the slams these days to work his form up through a series of easier opponents in best of 5 matches.

 

[JeMar]

It certainly does seem to be the case.

Before (2004-2007) he always use to bring his A-Game out to the Year End Champs. But the last 2 years he seemed to be a tad less bothered with it all. Ok, I'll concede he had the back problem last year 2008 losing to Murray, but of late he seems to not be able to hit the ground running in these best of 3 set matches and it ends up hurting him over the shorter distance. All 3 of his Round Robin matches he had to come from a set down, twice made the escape, and once lost, and now the semi final, another sloppy affair in the first set which ended up costing him a shot at the YEC title.

So this brings the question: Does Federer - now having 15 GS and Career Slam - only care about extending his GS record even further, and not bothering with all the effort to pitch up with his A-Game at all the "lesser" events? He seems to be pretty much supremely confident of beating anyone in a 5-set GS match, but it seems like best of 3 sets has become a lottery with him, where he can just as easily lose as win.

It will be interesting to see what happens in Australia. But I get the feeling watching him lately that the only thing he cares for is the Grand Slam Trophies and everything else is just a sideshow for him.

He tried hard, but it wasn't enough today. Davydenko played very well, so I wouldn't say that Federer lost because of lack of effort.

 

[OddJack]

He cares about history and records, and GS wins appear to be the most important number. Most important: Wimbledon. he needs to make sure he has a well managed schedule and stay injury free and he should be able to improve his records.

 

[Rhino]

Well obviously he cares more about the slams but he definitely tried to beat Davydenko today, he wanted to win it.

 

[OddJack]

Sure he tried but couldnt win. Good news is his game fits better into best of 5. Otherwise he would've been eliminated twice before he reached FO final this year.

 

[wangs78]

I think he still wants to win just as much, but the losses probably don't sting that much, and they won't until he starts exiting the slams before getting to the finals. Hope that doesn't start happening for another year or two, but i'd be pretty surprised (albeit happily so) if he made it to every GS final in '10. In a way, these losses in the last month are good for him bc he'll enter the offseason knowing that being having won 15 GS, being pretty much the undisputed GOAT, and practicing a bit isn't enough to beat the top players. He's going to need to train hard and play smarter given that his physically abilities will only wane over time. Hopefully, he realizes this.

 

[Agassifan]

He definitely cares about TMC and the No. 1 ranking. He is amped for Grand Slams though.

 

[cueboyzn]

I think he still wants to win just as much, but the losses probably don't sting that much, and they won't until he starts exiting the slams before getting to the finals. Hope that doesn't start happening for another year or two, but i'd be pretty surprised (albeit happily so) if he made it to every GS final in '10. In a way, these losses in the last month are good for him bc he'll enter the offseason knowing that being having won 15 GS, being pretty much the undisputed GOAT, and practicing a bit isn't enough to beat the top players. He's going to need to train hard and play smarter given that his physically abilities will only wane over time. Hopefully, he realizes this.

I think he realises that Agassi retired not long after reaching the final of the US Open at age 35. Fed has a good 5-7 years in him. Given his mindset for Slams it would be surprising if he didn't win at least 2-3 more.