Federer: "I know I'll never win Roland Garros as long as Nadal is playing"

Deuce said:
Very well and accurately stated, Keifers.

Nadal seems like a hmble and decent kid - and so he'd very likely condemn the type of utterly condescending, smug-as-all-hell incessant 'promoting' that Susan is doing of him here.

The Federer quote is simply a typical quote deliberately taken out of its original context by both the magazine and, typically, by Susan, who only hears what she wants to hear and sees what she wants to see - i.e., only things which are complimentary of her beloved 'Rafa' - or that seem complimentary when taken out of the original context.
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Taking quotes out of context is typical for biased press.
I really want to see the whole interview.
 
I'm not sure that the quote was fabricated, but I do think that Federer might have been asked a leading question to elicit that sort of statement from him. The question might have been perhaps along the lines of "Nadal is a strong opponent, he will stand in your way at Roland Garros, what do you think about losing to him again?" Federer may have been answering sarcastically.
 
Noelle said:
I'm not sure that the quote was fabricated, but I do think that Federer might have been asked a leading question to elicit that sort of statement from him. The question might have been perhaps along the lines of "Nadal is a strong opponent, he will stand in your way at Roland Garros, what do you think about losing to him again?" Federer may have been answering sarcastically.
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Yes, I think that this is a strong possibility, Noelle.

I have difficulty believing even for one second that Federer really thinks that he can never win RG as long as Nadal is playing. Federer is too confident for that. So, if he really said this, it was either a trick to increase some pressure on Nadal (but that's a tactic Nadal is familiar with since he does that all the time, so I doubt if it's going to bother him) or it was just sarcasm from Roger.

Also, I think that Federer and Nadal have an interesting relationship. They seem to respect each other a lot but they are playing little mind games with each other at the same time. There is little battle of the minds going on, so it seems. Fun to see!
 
VamosRafa said:
Oh, not to worry. You can't possibly understand MAC and Carly's bar unless you visit it. And even then you may be perplexed, but they are darn creative:

http://vamosrafael.com/messageboard/viewtopic.php?t=2327&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=3680

But now I can ask them do something creative re Roger's interview. And I'm sure they will, as soon as they wake up. Most of them are in Europe. :D

PS: The Monk stuff is way overdone on TV, and is being done so here. *rollseyes*
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Aha, yes, I took the time to look at a few pages on that thread. You guys are hilarious over there and everyone seems to have an animated .gif avatar.

Your own MadAliceCudlip contributed this cartoon to entertain us here at TW.

P.S: Is that the best guy you have over there? My cartoon was a quickie and should not reflect true Docalex image manipulation capabilities. LMAO

rogertub2sd.jpg
 
West Coast Ace said:
Rabbit, first off Lou Holtz was the best at 'talking up' the opposition on college ball.
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Lou Holtz? Lou Holtz? Lou Holtz wasn't even a gleam in his momma's eye when Bear Bryant was spreading that fertilizer over the college football garden. Lou's best attribute is his ability to take a successful program like Notre Dame and run it into the ground, or an unsuccessful one like South Carolina and make it even worse.

The Evil Genius of college football is back. God save us all from Steve Spurrier!

Oh, and I wholeheartedly agree with the rest of your post. Great deduction on Federer's new language.

I also wonder if Federer had said "Nadal will soon be my biatch on clay" if Vamos had been so quick to post that article as well. Hence, her post is not about Federer, it's about Nadal. Gee Vamos you really don't give us any credit do you?
 
Nobody wins the French Open every year, even Borg the greatest clay court player of all time won it 6 times, I say 6 since it is possable in theory for a player who has a long career to win it 12 if they win it EVERY year. I expect if Nadal does have a long career, does stay in his prime until 30(which
he might not)that there will be several years he does not win the French, even in the case if he does have the potential to become the greatest clay court player ever(and I am not neccessarily saying whether he does or not).
So Roger will have chances at some point, whether he is able to beat Nadal at the French or not.
 
VamosRafa said:
And the interview does speak for itself.
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Funny how that only seems to apply when it supports your position. See: "courier's dead arm."

Federer is likely just lowering expectations, here. Should he ever win in Paris - great. If not, fine. All the other slams still go through him. Should he who shall not be named fail to win in Paris, all he's got left is "there's always next year." That's some pressure, right there.

BTW - anyone know where the fan sites and message boards for other one slam winners like Costa and Johansson and Korda might be?
 
To post1.

When Fed was playing against Nadal at RG he was so big favourite and people were waiting he win that he was under big pressure. This big worry and his ordinary trembling prevented him to play Fed's pure game.

Now he said those words not to attack psychologically Nadal, but to prepare the foundation of his own quieteness, to prepare the crowd to accept everything as ordinary if he lose. It may make him feel more relaxed, less stressed as if he play against No1 in the world.

But IMO the only thing what must do Fed is to play his ordinary great game, to understand that he very much has overestimated Nadal, even on the clay.
IMO if he can handle his own trembling he will crash everybody ( including Nadal) VERY EASY.
 
federerhoogenbandfan said:
Nobody wins the French Open every year, even Borg the greatest clay court player of all time won it 6 times, I say 6 since it is possable in theory for a player who has a long career to win it 12 if they win it EVERY year. I expect if Nadal does have a long career, does stay in his prime until 30(which
he might not)that there will be several years he does not win the French, even in the case if he does have the potential to become the greatest clay court player ever(and I am not neccessarily saying whether he does or not).
So Roger will have chances at some point, whether he is able to beat Nadal at the French or not.
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The above is the definition of the word incomprehensible.

Borg lost two (2) matches in his career at the French.
 
VamosRafa said:
Of course. The info wasn't about Rafa -- it was about Federer.

So why do you of all people have a problem? It's about your idol.

Perhaps he didn't say what you would like him to say, but if so, research the issue, find the articles and show us that the info and translations are wrong.

Otherwise, I think the info is damn relevant around here. It's about FEDERER.
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Just because my name has his in it, it does not entail that I am a Federer humper as you are a Nadal humper. Stop making pathetic conjecture, old hag. Oh yeah, congradulations for making a string of relevant posts. Was that hard?
 
Docalex007 said:
Aha, yes, I took the time to look at a few pages on that thread. You guys are hilarious over there and everyone seems to have an animated .gif avatar.

Your own MadAliceCudlip contributed this cartoon to entertain us here at TW.

P.S: Is that the best guy you have over there? My cartoon was a quickie and should not reflect true Docalex image manipulation capabilities. LMAO

rogertub2sd.jpg
Click to expand...

Hello everyone. I frequently check out this site, though have not posted before. But being a poster on RN.com (and particularly a regular at MAC & Carlys) I thought I would respond to this :). Thank you for your Federer cartoon and for posting Mad Alice's picture, Docalex. We have a lot of respect for Federer in the bar, and believe me, entering the bar's hot tub is an honour accorded to only a few celebrities ;). And thank you for admiring our animated avatars too. Since around 90% of them (including mine over there) were created by Mad Alice, I was wondering whether that answered your question too.

I found the interview Susan reported very interesting, and imo certainly justified posting, since it doesn't seem like the typical comment Federer would make. It's a little puzzling to me, since it's hard to believe that Federer would rate his chances at RG as solely dependent on Rafa's absence. Rafa was certainly the man to beat on clay last year, and he won the RG semi-final between them then. But the match was hardly a walk-over for him. So if the comments are genuine (and the translation certainly seems good), it's hard to know whether they reflected a mutual respect existing between them, or were a strategy for reducing the pressure on Federer at RG this year. It will be interesting to see if similar comments are made by Federer in the run-up to Roland Garros.
 
Interesting discussion, and as you can all tell I'm really upset by the negative comments. ;-)

Hey, great photo from the bar, I see. I have a feeling it's just the beginning. And it's always a pleasure, Amethyst. :D

As promised, here's the translation of the latest article, from our very own nou.amic:

Roger Federer bows down to Nadal: "He is unbeatable on clay"

THE SWISS, INDISPUTABLE FAVOURITE FOR THE AUSTRALIAN OPEN, AFFIRMS HE WILL "NEVER" WIN ROLAND GARROS WHILE THE MALLORCAN IS COMPETING

MADRID.- Roger Federer admires Rafa Nadal at least as much as the Manacor player esteems the present world number one. In an interview for one of his country's magazines, the Swiss player stated that he considered the Mallorcan "unbeatable" on clay and, because of that, as long as Nadal was on the professional tour he thought it literally impossible to one day win Roland Garros, the last edition of which was won precisely by the 'Manacori' after defeating Federer himself in the semifinal and then beating the Argentine Mariano Puerta.

In the interview, Roger Federer is full of praise for his main rival on the professional circuit, the present world number two. The Swiss considers that Nadal has "such a desire to win that it is frightening" and assured that he has been "dazzled" by his tennis: "He is an incredible tennis player, but not just because of his muscles. He also has talent and power. He is like Arantxa, but in the male version," said Federer referring to the Catalan player who reached the top thanks to her tenacity and capacity to fight on court.

The world number one believes absolutely in the possibilities of his rival, whom he considers "the best" on clay, to such an extent that he is aware that he will "never" win Roland Garros "while Nadal is playing there". This praise from the only player who is at present above him in the APT rankings is bound to raise the morale of the Mallorcan, who is still in the "dry dock" because of his physical problems. After having had to retire from the Shanghai Masters at the last minute, when he had in fact travelled to the Asian city, Nadal was confident that he would reappear in the Australian Open, which begins next Monday in Melbourne, but, as has been announced this week, this option has been completely ruled out.

The young prodigy of world tennis does not want to have another experience like Shanghai, travelling thousands of kilometers to come back empty handed without even having been able to play, so taking the advice to hand of his uncle/trainer, Toni Nadal, his family and his technical advisers, he has preferred to rule out Australia completely and give himself more time to recover from his injury. Prior to that Nadal had to pull out of the Sydney tournament, where Carlos Moya did take part. Moya defeated the Frenchman Sebastian Grosjean in the first round, but injury also got the better of him and he had to pack his bags before playing his match against the North American Blake. His taking part in the Australian Open was also in danger, but finally the Palma player will be there as one of the six Spanish players among the 32 seeds in the draw for the first Grand Slam of the season.

David Ferrer is seeded highest of the "armada española" in Melbourne, he is the 11th seed, while Juan Carlos Ferrero is 15th, Tommy Robredo 16th, Fernando Verdasco 28th and Feliciano Lopez 31st. Moya got the 32nd and last place.

However, Rafa Nadal's absence takes some of the shine off the competition, in which Roger Federer is the clear favourite. The Swiss was cautious about his chances, though, stating that "much depended on the heat, and the form of players like Roddick, Hewitt and Ljubicic".

Federer has opted to be prudent. Although he starts the season well established as the number one player, he does not want to repeat the experience of some of his predecessors who got to number one in the ATP ranking "and then lost their ranking because of injuries or for other reasons".

{In another digital newspaper, he is quoted as saying:"in recent years on the tour, we have seen players reach number one, like Ferrero or Moya, then lose their ranking because of injuries or for other reasons. Here (at the AO) neither I nor anyone else is invincible".}
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Don't know but before Rafa blew a tire he was starting to look like a possibility on hard court.

I'm a patient Nadal fan and am going to give the kid time to get tuned up and spin his wheels a few times before being too concerned about his 2006 performance.

I don't see putting too much stock in any stories at this time. Rafa will have to rebuild his self-confidence and that may take a while. Because I like Roger too one could read that article as an attempt to help Rafa in that process.

Either way Roger and Rafa add class and excitement to the sport and seem to compliment each other.
 
Nadal plays a dangerous game that is very tough on the body. If he's out for months due to injuries at 19 years old, even if he beats Federer at this French Open, he's going to decline much faster than Federer and eventually won't be a threat on clay anymore because it'll be too hard on his body. I don't like thinking of Nadal's decline as he's one of my favorite players to watch, but realistically he cannot last long. Guys who sprint for every shot and yell everytime they hit a shot never last long.
 
superman1 said:
Nadal plays a dangerous game that is very tough on the body. If he's out for months due to injuries at 19 years old, even if he beats Federer at this French Open, he's going to decline much faster than Federer and eventually won't be a threat on clay anymore because it'll be too hard on his body. I don't like thinking of Nadal's decline as he's one of my favorite players to watch, but realistically he cannot last long. Guys who sprint for every shot and yell everytime they hit a shot never last long.
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You make good points, and that's why Rafa isn't playing at the moment. His team is trying to whip him back into shape and make sure he stays there for the long haul. Although SOME people seem to believe he should play anyway. Go figure. He can't win for losin', and seems to lose even when he wins.


Thanks for the comments above, Bob. I was going to call you an old fart, but you've redeemed yourself. So I'll do that by PM.

But I agree re Roger's comments. I think he really likes the kid.

Fondly,

The Old Hag
 
Amethyst said:
Hello everyone. I frequently check out this site, though have not posted before. But being a poster on RN.com (and particularly a regular at MAC & Carlys) I thought I would respond to this :). Thank you for your Federer cartoon and for posting Mad Alice's picture, Docalex. We have a lot of respect for Federer in the bar, and believe me, entering the bar's hot tub is an honour accorded to only a few celebrities ;). And thank you for admiring our animated avatars too. Since around 90% of them (including mine over there) were created by Mad Alice, I was wondering whether that answered your question too.
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Hello, Amethyst.

Just a question. Don't you get tired of posting constantly about one ATP player? Though there might be a lot of Federer threads here, it's to be expected as he's the number one player and possibly the best of all time. There are, however, many other topics here as well as fans from many different players....you must diversify.

The book of TW says thou shalt believe in TW forum and you shall receive everlasting life. I'm not trying to convert you, but according to the Word, you're going to a very bad place if you keep up your sinful ways my dear friend. :)

No, really, all joking aside. I checked out MAC & Carly's thread and you guys seem to be pretty normal over there. Looks like Mad Alice is my worthy opponent in graphics design. Enjoy the AO!


About this thread: I'm afraid Federer might be getting a little too friendly and close with this 19 year old from Spain.

As for the article, I have no reason to think Federer didn't say that...he could have said this in a light-hearted ...jokingly maner. He really respects Nadal that's for sure. Let's see what awaits us in 2006.
 
So why do you of all people have a problem? It's about your idol

I dont think that you should be lectruing people on idols susan
 
Docalex007 said:
Hello, Amethyst.

Just a question. Don't you get tired of posting constantly about one ATP player? Though there might be a lot of Federer threads here, it's to be expected as he's the number one player and possibly the best of all time. There are, however, many other topics here as well as fans from many different players....you must diversify.

The book of TW says thou shalt believe in TW forum and you shall receive everlasting life. I'm not trying to convert you, but according to the Word, you're going to a very bad place if you keep up your sinful ways my dear friend. :)

No, really, all joking aside. I checked out MAC & Carly's thread and you guys seem to be pretty normal over there. Looks like Mad Alice is my worthy opponent in graphics design. Enjoy the AO!


About this thread: I'm afraid Federer might be getting a little too friendly and close with this 19 year old from Spain.

As for the article, I have no reason to think Federer didn't say that...he could have said this in a light-hearted ...jokingly maner. He really respects Nadal that's for sure. Let's see what awaits us in 2006.
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Hi Docalex.

Thanks for your reply. Actually I don't get tired of posting on the Rafael Nadal website ;). Rafa is the tennis player I support most, and so obviously I like to follow his game and related news very carefully. But I'm also a tennis fan in general, and find that RN.com caters for that too. There's a separate message board for other tennis players and I also spend a lot of time discussing other players and general tennis stuff with members of that site through PMs etc. And I check out the generic tennis boards like this one for more extended analysis. I know it might be against the creed of TW, but I think it might be possible to have the best of both worlds! Glad you like the bar - one perk of RN.com over here ;).

Hope you enjoy the AO too - I'm really looking forward to it. And I think the apparently amicable rivalry between Rafa and Fed is great for tennis - so am eagerly awaiting future matches between them, when Rafa's back in play again.
 
Wasn't it not long ago that Coria was the player nobody could beat on clay? And before that, JC Ferrero and Guga Kuerten were the claycourters to beat, so what makes anyone think Nadal is any more invincible than any of these guys? Roger's beaten many of the claycourters in recent years, so there's no reason to think he couldn't beat Nadal on clay.
 
Kinda a stupid thing to say. I wonder if Roger ever heard of someone having an off day? Did Safin think the same last year about Roger?
 
The possibilities are endless here. However I think it's safe to say that Federer does not believe the quote that has been attributed to him. That's to say, he believes he can win the French and beat Nadal in the process. I suspect that the translation is accurate, but that the original report in Spanish might not be. Journalist misquote or report things out of context all the time. This case is even more suspicious because it is the Spanish press. Even if he said it, I'm pretty sure he does not mean it, in the sense that he believes it. Obviously he respects Nadal. He knows Nadal is a tough competitor, but he also knows he is a better player generally. I would say by far. Clay is Nadal's strength, so that brings him closer to Federer. But even on clay, if both of them bring their A game, I'm going with Federer.

I think when you are very confident in your abililty, you tend to be very generous to others. I think if the quote is accurate, this is what was happening here, just good natured generosity. Either that or he's trying to shift the pressure. The problem with a lot of journalists, not all, is that they can be passive bystanders, who take things too literally, with a complete inability to read in between the lines.

Could you imagine it being reported in the Swiss press that Nadal said, as long as Federer is playing, he has no chance of winning Wimbledon. This would be more realistic, and quite accurate, even if Federer was not playing, but more so if he was. However, Nadal would never say it if he believed it. He would only say it if he did'nt. It's the difference between being proud and quietly confident.

Gaspard
 
VamosRafa said:
FROM AN INTERVIEW IN SIE7E MAGAZINE

Federer: "I know I'll never win Roland Garros as long as Nadal is playing"

EFE | MADRID
Roger Federer, the world's number one player, has praised the talent of the Spanish player Rafael Nadal, saying that he is "unbeatable" on clay and "has a really frightening desire to win". The player from Basel said that he could not win Roland Garros while the young Spaniard played in Paris.

In an interview for SIE7E magazine, the Swiss showed his amazement at the Spaniard's great tennis: "He is incredible, but not because of his muscles. He has talent, strength and a desire to win that is frightening. He's like Arantxa: her male equivalent." The world's number one has great belief in the Spaniard's chances: he considers him to be the best on clay. "I know I will never win Roland Garros while he's playing," he said emphatically.

He even dared to joke about Nadal's famous pirate pants: "They suit him, but I find them uncomfortable."

QUOTE]

THAT'S DEEP
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From Federer's Aus Open press conference:
Q. Going for four straight in Roland Garros, there's going to be a lot of attention, obviously. Is there anything you can change or you would like to change between now and then in your preparation?

ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, I would like to get even more fit. I have ‑‑ I'll have time for that, for sure. I'm not gonna change anything in my game very much. I thought I played the right way last year at the French. Maybe just I didn't play as great as I was hoping to, but I still gave myself a chance. I thought the match against Nadal was decent, you know, but maybe was my ‑‑ unfortunately, my worst semifinals I ever played.

But, again, he deserved. He was better on the day. Best player by far on clay last season. He totally deserved the French. I hope he'll be back by then and I get a chance to play him again.
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Sounds like he thinks he lost because he played like ****, and saying he hopes Nadal is back is hardly the sentiment of a guy who thinks he can't win. Ridiculous. Odd that the quote hasn't been picked up anywhere else.
 
The world number one believes absolutely in the possibilities of his rival, whom he considers "the best" on clay, to such an extent that he is aware that he will "never" win Roland Garros "while Nadal is playing there".
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Why are the quotation marks just around "never" and "while Nadal is playing there"? Could Federer have said something like "Never has Nadal looked so vunerable. I know it will be hard to win Roland Garros while Nadal is playing there but I'm confident I can eventually win." If Federer did not say the whole sentence in his interview, this article and the person who wrote it are both absolutely worthless.
 
Simple really:

1) federer made the comment tongue in cheek

2) Federer want sto piut the pressure on Nadal

3) Federer wants to lower expectations about his performance

or

4) the quote was taken out of context and suitably distorted

So what's all this fuss about?
 
Yes, clever psych warfare from Feds, he's even got people around here worked up! I'm tipping Feds to win RG this year and shut everyone up. He's the best player on the planet.
 
I never know what Federer really means when he gives interrviews. And if Nadal doesn't get good results when he returns from injury, he may have no one to fear. Except maybe some claycourter who can outfox him. Name as yet unknown. (I wonder how Baghdatis is on clay?) LOL
 
Hasn't this been discussed at length before? It's not a recent article.

I don't believe for a minute that Federer said a thing like that, even as an attempt to get into Nadal's head. Judging by the way Nadal usually talks about Federer, Nadal is never going to fall for something like this.
 
Obviously a misquote, because he recently said that he's looking forward to playing Nadal again this year, and that last year he played the worst semifinal or his career.
 
If it is a psych, Nadal doesn't respond to that he's not easily intimidated. He has respect for Federer (vice versa) but once on court it doesn't matter who you are he gives his all as he showed against Agassi and Federer too!!
 
I really doubt Fed said something like this to get into Nadal's head!
1. Fed doesn't need it and
2. Nadal won't be intimidated and Fed knows this
3. no player (ever) would say that he doesn't stand a chance against another player, even if it would be true - sorry this source isn't very reliable
 
This could be Federer's year. Nadal is looking very vulnerable. If Federer wins the French, this will be a charged year. Wimbledon is almost a lock, after that the US Open will be absolutely bananas.
 
If Federer said this, he's just giving props to Nadal. He always talks up his oppenents and tries to make them look good. He's a very nice and classy champion!
 
federerhoogenbandfan said:
Nobody wins the French Open every year, even Borg the greatest clay court player of all time won it 6 times, I say 6 since it is possable in theory for a player who has a long career to win it 12 if they win it EVERY year. I expect if Nadal does have a long career, does stay in his prime until 30(which
he might not)that there will be several years he does not win the French, even in the case if he does have the potential to become the greatest clay court player ever(and I am not neccessarily saying whether he does or not).
So Roger will have chances at some point, whether he is able to beat Nadal at the French or not.
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Rabbit said:
The above is the definition of the word incomprehensible.

Borg lost two (2) matches in his career at the French.
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heh
 
Holy Batman bump. Wonder if VamosRafa is still around in some fashion on TTW, was one of the best Nadal fans around.
 
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