Federer’s most underrated period?

[SABRvolley]

Northern hemisphere summer 2009 (specifically Madrid - US Open semi final 2009). This was a brief period, but a pretty damn good one for Federer if you break it down (obviously not nearly as good as his 2004-2007 peak, but pretty impressive nonetheless).

During these 4 months up until the US Open semi final, Federer’s record was as follow:

- 6 tournaments entered (USO up through the semi final).
- 4 tournament wins.
- 4 finals (including 3 slam finals).
- 2 slam titles.
- 2 masters titles.
- 32-1 W/L (96.97% win rate).
- Big titles on all 3 surfaces (Madrid and RG on clay, WIM on grass and Cincinnati on hard).
- Beat Nadal on clay for only the second (and final) time in his career.
- Beat multiple good players (Djokovic, Soderling, Murray, Nadal, Delpo, Roddick etc.).

Obviously not his best stretch, but very good considering he had a pretty subpar 2008 and a slow start to 2009 and the competition was very strong that year. (Yes, Nadal did miss a big part of this stretch, but not Federer’s fault).

 

[StefanV]

When people call 2011-12 Federer post-prime, they underrate him.

 

[ChrisRF]

When people call 2011-12 Federer post-prime, they underrate him.

2011 really was a horrible season by his standards though. He won Doha right at the start in January, and then not a single title until the October/November indoor season. He also only reached one Slam final and none of the 8 outdoor Masters finals. After 2003 literally only the injury-plagued 2013 season was worse for a year with a full schedule.

 

[Razer]

2011-2012 was an underrated period, Federer was outside his peak years but still was very close to prime form, not way past his prime as the Fed fans say here.

 

[fedfan24]

2003. Best Wimbledon and YEC forms this century but gets underrated by some.

 

[Break To Win]

2019. He really played well that year. If only he had won that bloody Wimbledon final. But anyway, it was an underrated year for him

 

[RS]

2010 and 2018/2019 maybe?

 

[nolefam_2024]

2010 and 2018/2019 maybe?

2010? He was dead for most of the year. What 2010

 

[NatF]

2010 and 2018/2019 maybe?

You wish

 

[RS]

2010? He was dead for most of the year. What 2010

Played great in AO/RG/YEC and just had a off match in the USO SF out of nowhere when playing great before hand. Wimbledon was not good but Fed was supposedly carrying injury problems there.

Obviously not Fed's best season and he lost consistency compared to earlier but that's not what this is about.

 

[nolefam_2024]

Played great in AO/RG/YEC and just had a off match in the USO SF out of nowhere when playing great before hand. Wimbledon was not good but Fed was supposedly carrying injury problems there.

Obviously not Fed's best season and he lost consistency compared to earlier but that's not what this is about.

He lost to Soderling in four. A year after demolishing him. What RG. AO and then straight up to Cincinnati he didn't have a title. Even lost at halle and lost to Berdych of all people at Wimbledon. 2010 fed was as weak as ever post AO.

 

[RS]

He lost to Soderling in four. A year after demolishing him. What RG. AO and then straight up to Cincinnati he didn't have a title. Even lost at halle and lost to Berdych of all people at Wimbledon. 2010 fed was as weak as ever post AO.

Soderling match was a great match. Probably one of the highest level's outside the big 3 in this era.

I didn't say it was among Fed's best seasons any way it's probably one of Fed's weaker prime seasons.

 

[BauerAlmeida]

Dubai - Wimbledon 2019


- Wins Dubai vs all players in the top 35
- Makes Indian Wells final without dropping a set and loses final vs a great Thiem
- Wins Miami dropping only one set playing some insane tennis in later rounds (Destroyed Isner, Shapovalov, Anderson and Medvedev)
- Goes 9-2 in the clay season after not playing for years, the defeats being Nadal at RG where he made the SFs and Thiem
- Wins Halle and makes Wimbledon final having MPs on his serve. Destroyed Berretini and routined Nadal

He also did great at the USO in R3 and R4. I wanted to see how that event would have unfolded had he not been injured vs Dimitrov. Would he make the final? Would he beat Nadal there? Would he win a slam to avenge the Wimbledon defeat?

 

[BauerAlmeida]

He lost to Soderling in four. A year after demolishing him. What RG. AO and then straight up to Cincinnati he didn't have a title. Even lost at halle and lost to Berdych of all people at Wimbledon. 2010 fed was as weak as ever post AO.

Yup, the virus he had in early 2010 seemed to affect him as much as the mono, if not more actually. He looked dusted post-AO for a while, he lost the GS SF streak and it wasn't a fluke as it happened again at the following slam. Hell, he almost loses to FALLA in the 1st round at Wimbledon.

 

[nolefam_2024]

Dubai - Wimbledon 2019


- Wins Dubai vs all players in the top 35
- Makes Indian Wells final without dropping a set and loses final vs a great Thiem
- Wins Miami dropping only one set playing some insane tennis in later rounds (Destroyed Isner, Shapovalov, Anderson and Medvedev)
- Goes 9-2 in the clay season after not playing for years, the defeats being Nadal at RG where he made the SFs and Thiem
- Wins Halle and makes Wimbledon final having MPs on his serve. Destroyed Berretini and routined Nadal

He also did great at the USO in R3 and R4. I wanted to see how that event would have unfolded had he not been injured vs Dimitrov. Would he make the final? Would he beat Nadal there? Would he win a slam to avenge the Wimbledon defeat?

Agreed about first part but not about USO. Fed has not won USO in a decade and barely made 1 final there. When he was young it was good but the courts kept becoming more dead with each year and I think Nadal will beat him there in a physical battle.

 

[Subway Tennis]

2003 Wimbledon - 2003 Indoor season
All of 2011
2018 Rotterdam (he was completely unplayable at this tournament but no one ever mentions it)
2019 RG - 2020 AO

 

[TearTheRoofOff]

When people call 2011-12 Federer post-prime, they underrate him.

Or overrate, depending on how you look at it.

 

[Break To Win]

The Fedberg Era too. I think he was reborn in these two years.

He was unlucky to face Djokovic in his 3 Slam finals during this period (2014-2015)

 

[Break To Win]

2008 wasn't a bad year either. The defeats at the French Open and Wimbledon hurt him badly, but he redeemed himself by winning the US Open.

 

[StrongRule]

He lost to Soderling in four. A year after demolishing him. What RG. AO and then straight up to Cincinnati he didn't have a title. Even lost at halle and lost to Berdych of all people at Wimbledon. 2010 fed was as weak as ever post AO.

While worse than 2009 final, he didn't play that bad against Soderling in RG 2010, he just lost to a very well playing opponent. At Wimbledon that was really bad, yeah.

Federer also had a very strong season end in 2010. Not just AO.

 

[junior74]

The Fedberg Era too. I think he was reborn in these two years.

He was unlucky to face Djokovic in his 3 Slam finals during this period (2014-2015)

Novak and Stan were clearly better competitors in that period. But I'm not sure Fed was "underrated". He was just a little older and slower, but tried for the first time to compensate by changing racquet and playing shorter points, but faced top Djokovic. Had to wait for the CIE to capitalise.

 

[Carax]

Interesting thread, but should be moved to Former Pro Player Talk.

 

[mike danny]

Would've liked for him to beat Nadal in a big match for it to truly be an awesome period. Better late than never, I guess.

 

[SABRvolley]

2010? He was dead for most of the year. What 2010

He went AWOL post-AO through Wimbledon that year, but had a strong finish to the year after that.

 

[SABRvolley]

Would've liked for him to beat Nadal in a big match for it to truly be an awesome period. Better late than never, I guess.

I truly think he would have beaten Nadal in at least the USO that year if they played, and most likely Wimbledon too. Fed was significantly better in 2009 than 2008, whereas Nadal had a bit of a dip in 2009 post Madrid.

 

[mike danny]

I truly think he would have beaten Nadal in at least the USO that year if they played, and most likely Wimbledon too. Fed was significantly better in 2009 than 2008, whereas Nadal had a bit of a dip in 2009 post Madrid.

Don't think Fed was better in 2009 than 2008 other than the masters and the WTF. As far as slams go, he was only better at the AO in 2009.

But yeah, Nadal was worse in the second half of 2009 than in 2008 so Fed missed some chances to get some revenge.

 

[MisterP]

21-24. He’s pulling down $1.1B per year.

 

[Third Serve]

Fed from RG 2011 to Cincinnati 2012 (inclusive) was quite good. Still moved well even if he was slower than his best years, and his forehand was still probably the best on tour. Even hit #1 over a very strong field so it was definitely a good stretch from him.

 

[Third Serve]

Don't think Fed was better in 2009 than 2008 other than the masters and the WTF. As far as slams go, he was only better at the AO in 2009.

But yeah, Nadal was worse in the second half of 2009 than in 2008 so Fed missed some chances to get some revenge.

You don’t think Fed was better at RG in 2009 than in 2008? Of course he’d still lose to peak 2008 Nadal but I highly doubt it would be another 6-1 6-3 6-0 deal.

 

[mike danny]

You don’t think Fed was better at RG in 2009 than in 2008? Of course he’d still lose to peak 2008 Nadal but I highly doubt it would be another 6-1 6-3 6-0 deal.

I'd say he was about the same. Can see 2008 Fed pull the win against Delpo in 5 as well. but I don't see him struggling with Haas.

 

[Third Serve]

I'd say he was about the same. Can see 2008 Fed pull the win against Delpo in 5 as well. but I don't see him struggling with Haas.

I don’t think 2008 Fed beats Delpo. Monfils match wasn’t very good.

 

[mike danny]

I don’t think 2008 Fed beats Delpo. Monfils match wasn’t very good.

Fair enough, I guess. The difference was always negligible to me.

 

[SABRvolley]

Don't think Fed was better in 2009 than 2008 other than the masters and the WTF. As far as slams go, he was only better at the AO in 2009.

But yeah, Nadal was worse in the second half of 2009 than in 2008 so Fed missed some chances to get some revenge.

Fed’s issue in 2008 (apart from mono at the start of the year) was his confidence, particularly after his losses against Nadal. Then he started losing to guys like karlovic and Simon and it culminated in his only RR exit at the YEC in his career.

I cannot see 2009 Fed losing to Simon or Karlovic, at any tournament.

 

[SABRvolley]

Fed from RG 2011 to Cincinnati 2012 (inclusive) was quite good. Still moved well even if he was slower than his best years, and his forehand was still probably the best on tour. Even hit #1 over a very strong field so it was definitely a good stretch from him.

Good call yes, especially considering the tough competition and his age disadvantage over his younger rivals. I would push it to USO 2011 - Cincinnati 2012 though.

 

[Fedforever]

The Fedberg Era too. I think he was reborn in these two years.

He was unlucky to face Djokovic in his 3 Slam finals during this period (2014-2015)

I saw an interview right after AO17 when he was talking about 2015 quite wistfully and saying how much he'd enjoyed the tennis he was playing then.

Maybe after 2013 in 14/15 he was just enjoying being healthy and playing well, even if he wasn't winning a huge amount.

 

[Break To Win]

I don’t think 2008 Fed beats Delpo. Monfils match wasn’t very good.

Who was this "Big Fellow" in 2008?

 

[Break To Win]

Yup, the virus he had in early 2010 seemed to affect him as much as the mono, if not more actually. He looked dusted post-AO for a while, he lost the GS SF streak and it wasn't a fluke as it happened again at the following slam. Hell, he almost loses to FALLA in the 1st round at Wimbledon.

Was the Fed sick in 2010?....I didn't know that.

I know he suffered back pain during the grass season, which resulted in unexpected defeats (Halle final, for example)

 

[Rosstour]

Wimbledon 2008-AO2010.

Written off as yesterday's news, the retirement questions began to loom as soon as Nadal got him at Wimbledon.

After AO09 that only intensified.

But during this pathetic weak era, he managed to:

Win a CGS
Win a Channel Slam in 2009
Make all six Slam Finals, winning 4

What a pathetic loser!

 

[mental midget]

Dubai - Wimbledon 2019


- Wins Dubai vs all players in the top 35
- Makes Indian Wells final without dropping a set and loses final vs a great Thiem
- Wins Miami dropping only one set playing some insane tennis in later rounds (Destroyed Isner, Shapovalov, Anderson and Medvedev)
- Goes 9-2 in the clay season after not playing for years, the defeats being Nadal at RG where he made the SFs and Thiem
- Wins Halle and makes Wimbledon final having MPs on his serve. Destroyed Berretini and routined Nadal

He also did great at the USO in R3 and R4. I wanted to see how that event would have unfolded had he not been injured vs Dimitrov. Would he make the final? Would he beat Nadal there? Would he win a slam to avenge the Wimbledon defeat?

good call on this stretch of play.

was that nadal RG match the windy one? if so i remember it being maybe closer than the score indicated—fed was hitting the ball really well, had some chances in that match.

and yeah his back was totally jacked up in grigor match, that sucked, could have been an opening to make up for wimbledon as you mentioned.