Federer: a poor strategy in the match with Soderling

[Marius_Hancu]

Federer had a poor strategic approach yesterday: he gave up the net and the middle section of the court, by not coming enough to the net and doing some S-V now and then (say at least 1 in 4). He had done that to a better extent in previous matches. I mean, Soderling was double as much to the net (true, on some occasion brought in by dropshots by Fed). Ridiculous.

Net Approaches Federer: 13 of 17 = 76 % Soderling: 18 of 30 = 60 %

He thought the best way to beat Soderling was by containing him from the baseline and tieing him in knots by wrongfooting him or by plain faster movement. Thing was, in rallies longer than 4 hits, Soderling was better. That was garbage-quality containment. (Congrats to Soderling for improving his movement.).

If you allow a bulldozer to come over you, say thanks at the end. That was foolish.

If you allow to be reduced to the common denominator of bashing from the baseline (especially in heavy conditions such as yesterday) suffer the consequences with both Del Potro and Soderling. That means you're not utilizing all your God-given talent, your better hands and agility at the net.

Even more, you're reducing the element of surprise. Also, chickening out in front of the passing shots and letting the opponent play his most comfortable game.

Fed didn't need much yesterday to bend the balance of power in his favor, and coming to the net more and bothering Soderling by doing it was just the thing he missed.

EDIT (after ladies' final):

A lesson in guts (and ensuing success) from Schiavone for Federer:

Net Approaches Federer: 13 of 17 = 76 % Soderling: 18 of 30 = 60 % over 4 sets
Net Approaches Stosur: 11 of 18 = 61 % Schiavone: 14 of 15 = 93 % over 2 sets only

 

[aphex]

Federer had a poor strategic approach yesterday: he gave up the net and the middle section of the court, by not coming enough to the net and doing some S-V now and then (say at least 1 in 4). He did that to a better extent in previous matches. I mean, Soderling was double as much to the net (true, on some occasion brought in by dropshots by Fed). Ridiculous.

Net Approaches Federer: 13 of 17 = 76 % Soderling: 18 of 30 = 60 %

He thought the best way to beat Soderling was by containing him from the baseline and tieing him in knots by wrongfooting him or plain faster movement. Thing was, in rallies longer than 4 hits, Soderling was better. That was garbage-quality containment. (Congrats to Soderling for improving his movement.).

If you allow a bulldozer to come over you, say thanks at the end. That was foolish.

If you allow to be reduced to the common denominator of bashing from the baseline (especially in heavy conditions such as yesterday) suffer the consequences with both Del Potro and Soderling. That means you're not utilizing all your God-given talent, your better hands and agility at the net.

Fed didn't need much yesterday to bend the balance of power in his favor, and coming to the net more and bothering Soderling by doing it was just the thing he missed.

how can you come to the net when 1000000 mph forehands are constantly pushing you back??

truth is, only if Federer kept his level of the first set would he have a chance...

 

[Li Ching Yuen]

how can you come to the net when 1000000 mph forehands are constantly pushing you back??

truth is, only if Federer kept his level of the first set would he have a chance...

This.

Those groundstrokes of Soderling were insanely fast, Federer didn't have time for anything, and even so, he came up with some exquisite defending.

Sod was unplayable.

 

[TheMagicianOfPrecision]

I disagree with the OP, Soderling sent bombs over to Feds side constantly. Ive never seen Soderling play this good. Im disappointed that Fed lost, but at the same time a bit happy for Swedish tennis. I really think Sod can win the FO.

 

[Augustus]

I disagree with the OP, Soderling sent bombs over to Feds side constantly. Ive never seen Soderling play this good. Im disappointed that Fed lost, but at the same time a bit happy for Swedish tennis. I really think Sod can win the FO.

Hey TMOP!

Long time no see, how's it going?

 

[TheMagicianOfPrecision]

Hey TMOP!

Long time no see, how's it going?

Hey man! Im OK,although it was painful to watch Sod-Fed yesterday..., how are you?
Ive been working a lot lately and travelled a bit too.

 

[mikeler]

Fed should employ the Nadal strategy more. When all else fails hit to the backhand repeatedly.

 

[Cup8489]

Fed should employ the Nadal strategy more. When all else fails hit to the backhand repeatedly.

so he could eat backhand winners instead of forehand winners? Soderling was unplayable yesterday.. I am frankly surprised at how well Fed did to stay in it.. it really couldve gone either way. he was only down one break in all three sets that Soderling won, and it's hard to say that Federer absolutely would've lost that match. He just didn't play the biggest points as well as he normally does.. I was surprised to not see a single tiebreaker, which is indicative of my statement about the big points.

 

[Fedex]

Hey man! Im OK,although it was painful to watch Sod-Fed yesterday..., how are you?
Ive been working a lot lately and travelled a bit too.

Oh no. Painful is not the word.
Ecstasy more like.

 

[Fedex]

so he could eat backhand winners instead of forehand winners? Soderling was unplayable yesterday.. I am frankly surprised at how well Fed did to stay in it.. it really couldve gone either way. he was only down one break in all three sets that Soderling won, and it's hard to say that Federer absolutely would've lost that match. He just didn't play the biggest points as well as he normally does.. I was surprised to not see a single tiebreaker, which is indicative of my statement about the big points.

Agreed. Federer was on top form yesterday which made it an absolutely brilliant match.

 

[aphex]

Agreed. Federer was on top form yesterday which made it an absolutely brilliant match.

welcome to tennis.

please watch some matches prior to May 2010 before uttering more nonsense next time.

kthxbai.

 

[Fedex]

welcome to tennis.

please watch some matches prior to May 2010 before uttering more nonsense next time.

kthxbai.

Ti lays Vre!

 

[aphex]

Ti lays Vre!

10soderlings

 

[ViscaB]

Only when Federer's serve let him down and after a crisis in confidence on Fed's side could the accountant beat him.

 

[Fedace]

LOL,,,,if Fed came to the net more, he would have had his Head taken off by one of those 110 MPH forehands. What fed needed to do was to play the angle more but that heavy balls and conditions really negated that and gave Soderling plenty of time to run those balls down..

 

[mikeler]

so he could eat backhand winners instead of forehand winners? Soderling was unplayable yesterday.. I am frankly surprised at how well Fed did to stay in it.. it really couldve gone either way. he was only down one break in all three sets that Soderling won, and it's hard to say that Federer absolutely would've lost that match. He just didn't play the biggest points as well as he normally does.. I was surprised to not see a single tiebreaker, which is indicative of my statement about the big points.

I did not see most of the match but the portions I did see it seemed like Sod was blowing him away with his forehand mostly. Anybody have the forehand/backhand winner stats?

 

[Fate Archer]

I think he should have used the slice more... when he engaged on baseline rallies with Sod, he was constantly selecting the CC topspin backhand instead of the low slice to bring Sod to the middle of the court and out of his confort zone.

That's a kind of shot that works with almost anybody, and even more with big hitters like Del Po and Sod. I think I only saw him use that kind of shot once or twice in the match.

 

[sh@de]

I did not see most of the match but the portions I did see it seemed like Sod was blowing him away with his forehand mostly. Anybody have the forehand/backhand winner stats?

Hello! Haven't seen you in these sections of the forums in a while... how're you doing?

 

[ViscaB]

Rule 1 versus Soderling. Hit the ball deep. Federer's shots were not deep enough. The problem is that after one short ball Soderling has the initiative and starts people bossing around.

 

[NamRanger]

how can you come to the net when 1000000 mph forehands are constantly pushing you back??

truth is, only if Federer kept his level of the first set would he have a chance...

So you think Federer has a better chance playing against an arguably better baseliner than him now at his own game? Yeah that's a great idea.

 

[boredone3456]

Honestly there is not much Federer could have done to win that match. Soderling seemed to have pretty much everything clicking and everything covered. Fed had to play at a high level to get the first set, and Soderling didn't roll over or back down at all after that. Soderling was blocking Fed from the net with Heavy forehands, and running down pretty much everything Fed tried from the baseline. Maybe Fed could have tried to isolate Soderlings backhand or tried to mix in a few drop shots during the rallies...but I really don't think it would have mattered much. Soderling to me was playing to avenge his loss to Fed here last year, hopefully he doesn't completely crash out now in his next match.

 

[shazbot]

So you think Federer has a better chance playing against an arguably better baseliner than him now at his own game? Yeah that's a great idea.

A 12-1 head-to-head record proves just that.

Roger is going to be the favorite to win every time they meet in the future no matter what surface they are on.

 

[abmk]

So you think Federer has a better chance playing against an arguably better baseliner than him now at his own game? Yeah that's a great idea.

The question was HOW can he approach the net with 100 mph FHs consistently flying from sod's side ???

 

[gopokes]

I didn't get to see the match - did Fed dropshot often? I think Sod is a guy that thrives on rhythm. Fed can get a little stubborn and stick to a particular style longer than he needs to IMHO. Too bad, but good for Soderling and men's tennis.
GP

 

[BeHappy]

Federer had a poor strategic approach yesterday: he gave up the net and the middle section of the court, by not coming enough to the net and doing some S-V now and then (say at least 1 in 4). He had done that to a better extent in previous matches. I mean, Soderling was double as much to the net (true, on some occasion brought in by dropshots by Fed). Ridiculous.

Net Approaches Federer: 13 of 17 = 76 % Soderling: 18 of 30 = 60 %

He thought the best way to beat Soderling was by containing him from the baseline and tieing him in knots by wrongfooting him or by plain faster movement. Thing was, in rallies longer than 4 hits, Soderling was better. That was garbage-quality containment. (Congrats to Soderling for improving his movement.).

If you allow a bulldozer to come over you, say thanks at the end. That was foolish.

If you allow to be reduced to the common denominator of bashing from the baseline (especially in heavy conditions such as yesterday) suffer the consequences with both Del Potro and Soderling. That means you're not utilizing all your God-given talent, your better hands and agility at the net.

Even more, you're reducing the element of surprise. Also, chickening out in front of the passing shots and letting the opponent play his most comfortable game.

Fed didn't need much yesterday to bend the balance of power in his favor, and coming to the net more and bothering Soderling by doing it was just the thing he missed.

No. Federer won 13 of his 17 points at the net because he was putting away overheads and high volleys. If he chipped and charged and served and volleyed on a clay court against a guy with groundstrokes like Soderling he would simply get his head kicked in.

 

[BreakPoint]

I totally agree with the OP.

Another thing that Federer didn't do, after the first few games of the match, was hit lots of drop shots. He hit a few early in the match and they worked wonders, but inexplicably, he stopped using them the rest of the match (except once in the 4th set). Soderling is not the best mover and he is a terrible volleyer. Making him run down drop shots and then maybe have to hit a volley is the smartest thing to do. Trying to out hit him from the baseline, like Federer tried to do, is the dumbest thing to do. I don't know what Federer was thinking. He made the same mistake against Del Potro in the USO final.

 

[thalivest]

So you think Federer has a better chance playing against an arguably better baseliner than him now at his own game? Yeah that's a great idea.

Soderling is a streaky player who hardly ever plays at that level. It is very premature of you to make a statement such as he is a better baseliner than Federer. Maybe when he plays his A+ game he is which he plays 5% of the time at most. On an average day he is so error prone he cant even outplay Roddick or Berdych from the baseline (eg- Miami and Indian Wells semis).

 

[Augustus]

I agree with the OP. In my opinion Soderling's supposed untouchable form is overrated on this forum. He had 49 winners and 42 UE; so while it's true he played really well and put a lot of pressure on Federer, he wasn't even close to the 'best match ever played on clay'.

I also disagree with the common opinion that Federer was playing great but couldn't do anything against Soderling's power. He played a great first set, played a sloppy game in the second which is why he lost that set. The third set was very close, and before the rain interruption Federer was the more dominant player. He almost went up 0-40 on Soderlings serve, and held a setpoint. When he served at 5-5 40-15 he really gifted Soderling the break; he should've taken that set at least to a tie-break.

In the fourth set Federer went up 2-0, but started playing really crappy from that moment on, especially missing a lot on his forehand. Soderling really started dominating the rallies then, but overall it was a very close match (point count 124-121) and Federer pretty much gifted Soderling the third set, which was crucial.

 

[Li Ching Yuen]

I totally agree with the OP.

Another thing that Federer didn't do, after the first few games of the match, was hit lots of drop shots. He hit a few early in the match and they worked wonders, but inexplicably, he stopped using them the rest of the match (except once in the 4th set). Soderling is not the best mover and he is a terrible volleyer. Making him run down drop shots and then maybe have to hit a volley is the smartest thing to do. Trying to out hit him from the baseline, like Federer tried to do, is the dumbest thing to do. I don't know what Federer was thinking. He made the same mistake against Del Potro in the USO final.

And how was Federer supposed to dictate play with dropshots if 99% of the time he had blistering groundstrokes coming at him?

And the irony of it all is that Federer actually dropshotted once directly from serve which is pretty much something that no one does.

 

[Deleted member 22147]

Does the thread starter have a clue about tennis?

Embarrassing analysis to say the least.

 

[gold soundz]

Federer had a poor strategic approach yesterday: he gave up the net and the middle section of the court, by not coming enough to the net and doing some S-V now and then (say at least 1 in 4). He had done that to a better extent in previous matches. I mean, Soderling was double as much to the net (true, on some occasion brought in by dropshots by Fed). Ridiculous.

Net Approaches Federer: 13 of 17 = 76 % Soderling: 18 of 30 = 60 %

He thought the best way to beat Soderling was by containing him from the baseline and tieing him in knots by wrongfooting him or by plain faster movement. Thing was, in rallies longer than 4 hits, Soderling was better. That was garbage-quality containment. (Congrats to Soderling for improving his movement.).

If you allow a bulldozer to come over you, say thanks at the end. That was foolish.

If you allow to be reduced to the common denominator of bashing from the baseline (especially in heavy conditions such as yesterday) suffer the consequences with both Del Potro and Soderling. That means you're not utilizing all your God-given talent, your better hands and agility at the net.

Even more, you're reducing the element of surprise. Also, chickening out in front of the passing shots and letting the opponent play his most comfortable game.

Fed didn't need much yesterday to bend the balance of power in his favor, and coming to the net more and bothering Soderling by doing it was just the thing he missed.

You may be right, but you know how stubborn Federer can be with his game at times. He thinks that he always has to outplay everyone in the rallies from the baseline because he's the best.

 

[Marius_Hancu]

You may be right, but you know how stubborn Federer can be with his game at times. He thinks that he always has to outplay everyone in the rallies from the baseline because he's the best.

I can't but agree.

 

[mikeler]

Hello! Haven't seen you in these sections of the forums in a while... how're you doing?

Doing OK. Enjoying the tournament this year with the unusual final 4.

 

[DRII]

This.

Those groundstrokes of Soderling were insanely fast, Federer didn't have time for anything, and even so, he came up with some exquisite defending.

Sod was unplayable.

Federer did not have enough time because he didn't take enough time. He was crowding the baseline and taking the ball early but the heavy conditions made thee shots less penetrating. He should have moved back some.

 

[Li Ching Yuen]

Federer did not have enough time because he didn't take enough time. He was crowding the baseline and taking the ball early but the heavy conditions made thee shots less penetrating. He should have moved back some.

Because Federer can do what Nadal does of course. He is superhuman after all.:neutral:

 

[Deleted member 77403]

Soderling came out all guns blazing. The serve, the forehand, the backhand. Everything was like a missile.

Federer was simply outplayed. I mean, did you see him shrug his shoulders after Robin bombed that ace for the third set. It's like, what can you do when the torrential barrage of atomic bombs don't stop?

 

[doodlyd]

He shrug his shoulders couse he might won the point but they had to replay it and he had no chance against the ace

 

[martini1]

The question was HOW can he approach the net with 100 mph FHs consistently flying from sod's side ???

By junk balling and drop shot'ing. A 6'4" tall guy hates those low bouncing balls. Too bad Fed is too much of a straight up guy to play like this.

 

[powerslave]

You may be right, but you know how stubborn Federer can be with his game at times. He thinks that he always has to outplay everyone in the rallies from the baseline because he's the best.

Couldn't have said it any better, point is Soderling's monstrous play notwithstading Federer never tried to chnage his approach to the game even in the third set .
How many times we have seen Federer absorbing all that is thrown his way and then switch from defence to offense with a nasty CC FH or a backhand down the line unfortunately for him while he was defending well enough
his shots lacked placement and the power to stretch Soderling and he tried to get out of the trouble by hoping to outplay Soderling from the baseline.

 

[Marius_Hancu]

A lesson in guts (and ensuing success) from Schiavone for Federer:

Net Approaches Federer: 13 of 17 = 76 % Soderling: 18 of 30 = 60 % over 4 sets
Net Approaches Stosur: 11 of 18 = 61 % Schiavone: 14 of 15 = 93 % over 2 sets only