Federer is back to No.2 at age 34 yrs 9 mths ?

[NatF]

Players born in the years 1970-1972 (Agassi/Sampras generation) won 33 slams;

Sampras - 14
Agassi - 8
Courier - 4
Bruguera - 2
Rafter - 2
Chang - 1
Ivanisevic - 1
Krajicek - 1

Thanks. The weaker generation born in the mid 70's probably helped this crop somewhat.

 

[Mainad]

"And they called ME a paper Number #2!"

 

[smoledman]

Gramps will get his comeuppance soon enough. Rome will be a huge wake-up call methinks.

 

[rchjr2091]

Just curious why arent Fed and Murray both officialy ranked #2 when their points totals are exactly the same? What is the tiebreaker.

If I heard it on tv correctly, it is because Fed played fewer events than Murray and both have same amount of points so the position goes to Federer.

 

[Jonas78]

Players born in the years 1970-1972 (Agassi/Sampras generation) won 33 slams;

Sampras - 14
Agassi - 8
Courier - 4
Bruguera - 2
Rafter - 2
Chang - 1
Ivanisevic - 1
Krajicek - 1

Players born between 75 and 80 won just 7 slams. The question is, will the ones born between 90 and 95 win even less?

 

[Mainad]

Just curious why arent Fed and Murray both officialy ranked #2 when their points totals are exactly the same? What is the tiebreaker.

Apparently because Fed did better in the Slams last year.

 

[tennis_pro]

That's hilarious.

Not that it's gonna last long because he's gonna drop to no 3 in 6 days and then he's got a bunch of points to defend until the end of the season.

 

[metsman]

Did you just compare Federer to guys like Dimitrov and Raonic etc...?

And BTW Federer in 2003 form dismantles Murray at Wimbledon. Djokovic with his big match experience obviously poses a different challenge.

Federer 03 beats any Djoker in 3/4 on the 03 surface.

Big match experience, blah blah blah...nothing substitutes for quickness, timing, and a return of serve that is several orders of magnitude better. Fed in 15 had plenty of big match experience...didn't help him from serving poorly in his last few slam meetings and making tons of UE against Djoker while 03 Federer served two of the best matches of his life in the SF/F and playing two of the best grass matches ever. How many neutral first or second serves was Federer hitting into the middle of the net in the last two Wimbledon finals? Federer in 03 made returning Roddick and Phillipousis' serve look like a stroll.

 

[metsman]

Imagine a young Federer, chasing his first Wimbledon title, meets the current Djokovic or Murray at some point in the tournament - there's a fairly good chance he gets knocked out..

Now lets say he keeps bumping into those two, Nadal also, during the latter stages of slams over the next year or so..

Now he will won some, but he will also lose some.

What you'll have then is instead of a brilliant young player, full of confidence and a few slams to his name, steamrolling through the competition (like what actually happened) - You'll have a guy who reaches 24/25 with maybe only 1 or 2 slams, at most.. hovering around the top 5 in the rankings.. wondering if he'll ever be able to dominate like that Novak guy at the top.

My point being, is the guys consistently residing in the top 10 are not weak players, but potentially great players with the misfortune to play in an era where there are still 4 players on tour who are virtually unbeatable if on top form. They can't build momentum.

Also, these 4 players are arguably the fittest in tennis history, with no technical weaknesses and comfortable on all surfaces. Their longevity at the top is all to do with them, not the inability of everyone else.

yeah because near 31 year old Federer had so many problems facing Djokovic and Murray back to back at Wimbledon....

 

[NatF]

Federer 03 beats any Djoker in 3/4 on the 03 surface.

Big match experience, blah blah blah...nothing substitutes for quickness, timing, and a return of serve that is several orders of magnitude better. How many neutral first or second serves was Federer hitting into the middle of the net in the last two Wimbledon finals? Federer in 03 made returning Roddick and Phillipousis' serve look like a stroll.

I would certainly favour Federer but Djokovic would be tougher than anyone Federer faced in that draw. He also had yet to develop his confidence and mental strength. In terms of pure level of play I agree but there are intangibles to consider as well.

 

[metsman]

I would certainly favour Federer but Djokovic would be tougher than anyone Federer faced in that draw. He also had yet to develop his confidence and mental strength. In terms of pure level of play I agree but there are intangibles to consider as well.

To me he seemed plenty confident and mentally strong. He bounced back from nearly pulling out against Lopez with a bad back not only to win that match but then play 3 of the best matches of his career in succession. I agree Djokovic definitely poses a tougher test to overcome mentally (although imo his level wouldn't be much higher than Roddick on the faster grass) but I don't see Federer losing playing that well.

 

[Paul Harman]

Live rankings has Murray at #2 again. Not like it matters, they are both orbiting in the kuiper belt a million miles from Djokovic.

 

[big ted]

is it really that weak an era? this 33-34 yo federer
had a 3-4 WL record with #1 djokovic last year.
so is djokovic weak as well?
it seems whenever someone dominates or whenever theres
a 30+ yo in the rankings, people automatically assume weak era

 

[uscwang]

I felt the "weak ear" club should have a logo or something. So here they go.
Hope they can find ways to relieve their stress/anxiety/suffering in the next 5 years.

 

[uscwang]

What advances have been made that are significant enough to promote this longevity? I'd be very interested in reading the studies.

I think for starters, tennis shoes have been improved greatly.

 

[Gary Duane]

Strongest era on record.

And youngest...

 

[Le Master]

I think for starters, tennis shoes have been improved greatly.

Are you actually being serious?

 

[timnz]

This is old hat. Nothing unusual about a number 2 being nearly 35. Laver was number 3 at 36 on his birthday in 1974, Rosewall was number 2 at 40 in 1975! And the top 10 in the mid-1970s was a lot stronger than now in terms of overall depth.

 

[VexlanderPrime]

Its a testament to how awesome Fed was in 2015. Pretty cool. Hope Djoker can have a season like that at 33/34. Pretty GOATish of Fed.

 

[TennisFollower]

Given Murray's performance in 2015 for the first half of the year he had a lot of points to defend, so not too surprising. Actually he's still equal No 2 with Federer (both at 7525). Interestingly, Stan is not without a chance to perhaps for the first time hit No. 2 (even if briefly) if he were to do very well at Rome and Federer and Murray were to go out earlier. Although he has a lot to defend at RG.

 

[Silverbullet96]

You guys do understand that the 34 of today is not quite the same as it was decades ago with advances in nutrition and physio training techniques?

Pros today can squeeze some high level play out of the early 30s provided serious injury doesn't become a limiting factor.

The argument that the era is weak due to 25 year olds not dominating the rankings is, quite frankly, rather weak.

How do you explain the consistent poor quality of Tennis then ? Novak reached Cincy Final last year on a fast court in horrible form by literally doing nothing but retreiving. Watch highlights of any 250 match from 2012 or 13 available on YouTube and those matches are much better quality than the GS or Masters Finals these days.
Watch 30erer's best points from 2012 and compare that to Novak "best level ever" 2015ovic's footage and tell me who's playing better.

 

[roysid]

It's ironic that Fed who hasn't played since AO except for Monte Carlo actually upped his ranking that too from 3 to 2. Strange things really happen in rankings. I just hope he maintains his #2 after Rome