Fed May Not Play French...

MasturB

Legend
Clay is more friendy to knees than HC:confused:

Not the long rallies. Considering he's gonna be playing points that are 3-4x as long the benefits of softer surface are cancelled by the prolonged rallies. Otherwise he'd play.

That's a horrible idea to suggest that the same rules don't apply for everyone. If you're not fit enough to play the schedule required of top ranked pros then you should shut it down until healthy. Skipping the biggest events on tour when healthy is a bad message, especially when he's still been doing exos this year.

Not really. He's hit every ATP benchmark required to where he can skip any tournaments he wants including Masters.
 

Noelan

Legend
Not the long rallies. Considering he's gonna be playing points that are 3-4x as long the benefits of softer surface are cancelled by the prolonged rallies. Otherwise he'd play.



Not really. He's hit every ATP benchmark required to where he can skip any tournaments he wants including Masters.
Clay in general is easier to the knees than hard court and that's well known fact. Please spare me your fanboy agenda, thanks:)
 

heninfan99

Talk Tennis Guru
I think so, too. RG is just too prestigious to skip, unless he's really not up for playing it.
Still, if there are any doubts come midway May, I'd rather see him skip it than taking risks and perhaps jeopardizing his - much better - chances during the grass season.

We'll just have to wait and see.
I seem to remember him intimating he would play the French in his post Indian Wells or Miami interview
 
1

1HBH-DownTheLine

Guest
A part of me would be disappointed if he skipped the French but honestly I think it.would be best to just skip it. No points to defend. I'll give him a couple extra weeks to rest or prepare for grass. Focus on Wimbledon. That's the big goal this year.
 

SLD76

G.O.A.T.
I've been saying for years Fed needs to skip the clay season and focus on Wimbledon/USO

Annacone has said before Fed is stubborn and resistant to change


I think the injuries from last year forced him to be pro active and realistic about his game and his body


Hence the no effs given approach his bh( going for it and not just slicing or blocking back serves) and scheduling
 
F

Fedfan34

Guest
I want Nadal to win La Decima, so it's better Federer does not play. Don't want Fedr beating Nadal in the 4th round or (with their current rankings I guess it would be SF or QF earliest). Don't want Fedr to expose Nadal "fresh dawn".;) :)
Funny, I want the opposite. Lord Fedr to scrub Nadal off the courts, then go out with a bang(le) to one of the new gen mugs
 

Steve0904

Talk Tennis Guru
Not broken up about this at all. His chances at RG are almost zero. I'm actually hoping he does skip it tbh.
 

Feather

Legend
He'll be lucky enough to win one of Wimbledon or the USO this year. Forget about the French. That's out the window.

I can't believe I am saying this but right now I consider Roger as the number one favorite for US Open while for Wimbledon I consider him third after Novak and Andy. I am skeptic how his new game will hold up on grass

I also agree that he should skip French Open
 

Mainad

Bionic Poster
Out of interest, why are so many people on here writing off his chances on clay? I know he's decided to skip most of it anyway but, given the kind of form he's been displaying this year so far, I personally wouldn't dare bet against him on ANY surface!
 

Feather

Legend
Out of interest, why are so many people on here writing off his chances on clay? I know he's decided to skip most of it anyway but, given the kind of form he's been displaying this year so far, I personally wouldn't dare bet against him on ANY surface!

I don't think he will beat these three players in best of five, Rafa, Novak and Stan, on clay ever. Andy Murray, Kei Nishikori, Dominic Thiem, Grigor Dimitrov, Nick Kyrgios or some big hitter on fire, anyone can take him out on clay. Even if he survives against any of these players he will be done in the next round!

Roger could have played Madrid and skipped RG. I would have prefered that. Bo3 will be less brutal and on a lucky day where he serves lights out, perhaps he can even take out Novak or Rafa and win the cup :eek:
 

Mr Feeny

Hall of Fame
Out of interest, why are so many people on here writing off his chances on clay? I know he's decided to skip most of it anyway but, given the kind of form he's been displaying this year so far, I personally wouldn't dare bet against him on ANY surface!

I think if the gap between RG and Wimby were longer, he'd have given it a shot. As it is, his best chance of another slam is at SW19. He's probably got no more than a slim chance of winning the French at his age, so I don't think he'd want to exert himself and get hurt, dealing a big blow to his chances at Wimby, with nothing to show for.
 

Steve0904

Talk Tennis Guru
I can't believe I am saying this but right now I consider Roger as the number one favorite for US Open while for Wimbledon I consider him third after Novak and Andy. I am skeptic how his new game will hold up on grass

I also agree that he should skip French Open

I'm thinking his game will be fine on grass. Too early to tell about the USO, IMO. Perhaps the number 1 favourite right now, yes, but very susceptible to an upset. He's not close to the lock he was to win it or even get to the finals like he was between 2004-2009. I think there are a few twists and turns left in this season yet, and that the highest probability is still that a 35-36 year old Federer ends the season with 1 slam, and not 2 or 3. Age is still against him. If he was in his prime right now, I wouldn't be surprised at all if he won the CYGS and would be expecting at least 3 slams, but because of his age I'm really not expecting more than 1 slam (the one he already won) tbh.

This is not directed at you whatsoever, more so anybody else expecting Federer to win everything this year. When you start expecting 2 or 3 slams as a fan with Federer at the age he is now, that's when disappointment sets in if he loses (which is more likely than not these days), and I don't see the point in setting expectations too high right now. Federer's career reads like a fairy tale so what's there to be disappointed about, you know what I mean?

And what's the advantage if you expect him to win 2 or 3 slams this year and he actually does? You get to go around saying "I told you so." Big deal. Not important at all.
 

70後

Hall of Fame
Was the opportunity cost for Lendl of skipping two French in his prime, although near the end of it, worth trying for two Wimbledons which were not his best? Those two particular French were not impossible fields for him, whereas at Wimbledon he would have had to defeat both Edberg and Becker in either SF or F in any order each time. I feel he bought into the whole Wimbledon-is-holy-grail, nothing else matters, if you don't win Wimbledon at least once, you are not great no matter what else you did, sacred dogma/catechism perpetuated by the English speaking media in those days. And of course the media, especially the UK media, kept hyping up the Lendl Wimbledon obsession constantly.

However, the same action may be worth it for Federer at this stage in his career.
 
1

1HBH-DownTheLine

Guest
Why would Roger need more rest at that point? He will have rested for 2 months by that point. I realize he's almost 36, but 2 months is a LONG time to rest.

Honestly it's more about not risking injury before the biggest and most important part of the year which is Wimbledon.
 

tennis_hand

Hall of Fame
no matter what he says, he will play. the sponsors will pressure him to play. even if he doesn't like it and plan to lose in the first week, he will still play.
These players are not only tennis players, also business machines. a blend of both.
 

chjtennis

G.O.A.T.
I guess the reason is quite simple. Federer has already stated he is concentrating on winning Wimbledon and US Open this year. He just wants a good rest and then play 2 lead up grass events to Wimbledon and be best prepared. Likewise, I think he will take full rest until US HC season. The rest will be just bonus. I don't think he thinks much about being no.1.
 

Feather

Legend
I'm thinking his game will be fine on grass. Too early to tell about the USO, IMO. Perhaps the number 1 favourite right now, yes, but very susceptible to an upset. He's not close to the lock he was to win it or even get to the finals like he was between 2004-2009. I think there are a few twists and turns left in this season yet, and that the highest probability is still that a 35-36 year old Federer ends the season with 1 slam, and not 2 or 3. Age is still against him. If he was in his prime right now, I wouldn't be surprised at all if he won the CYGS and would be expecting at least 3 slams, but because of his age I'm really not expecting more than 1 slam (the one he already won) tbh.

This is not directed at you whatsoever, more so anybody else expecting Federer to win everything this year. When you start expecting 2 or 3 slams as a fan with Federer at the age he is now, that's when disappointment sets in if he loses (which is more likely than not these days), and I don't see the point in setting expectations too high right now. Federer's career reads like a fairy tale so what's there to be disappointed about, you know what I mean?

And what's the advantage if you expect him to win 2 or 3 slams this year and he actually does? You get to go around saying "I told you so." Big deal. Not important at all.


I never meant he is a lock. I just tend to think that he will do well in the US open and the indoor session. Yeah I agree things can change very fast
 

Phoenix1983

G.O.A.T.
At this point, Federer, the GOAT, should concentrate on winning an 8th Wimbledon crown, and becoming the undisputed master of the verdant lawns of SW19.

No point wasting time chasing balls on the dirt of Roland Garros against no-name grinders who are not fit to lace the great man's shoelaces.
 
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