Federer is sharpening for a Nadal showdown at RG final

[Devin]

I don't know that's for sure. I think we have to wait and see what happens in the next little while at the clay warm-ups to see where these players are at.

The one thing I noticed is that he was using the slice WAY more than usual at Indian Wells, and if he keeps playing like that, I'm not sure that he will get that far at the French Open. After all, his backhand is known for consistency and decent power.

[Referring to Djokovic]

 

[cc0509]

The one thing I noticed is that he was using the slice WAY more than usual at Indian Wells, and if he keeps playing like that, I'm not sure that he will get that far at the French Open. After all, his backhand is known for consistency and decent power.

I'm sorry, which player used his slice way more at IW?

 

[Devin]

I'm sorry, which player used his slice way more at IW?

Djokovic. Sorry. I'm responding on my phone.

 

[cc0509]

Djokovic. Sorry. I'm responding on my phone.

Oh ok, no problem.

To be honest, I hope Djokovic gets his butt kicked on clay but I have a feeling he may get it together for the clay season.

 

[60's Grass]

That's what I said, hello

yep, glad to see some common sense still exists out there. ignore all the noise and focus on FACTS

 

[merwy]

Here's what I expect from Fed based on his game the last few month and his stronger backhand:
-if he takes RG seriously and practices on clay intensely for a long period of time: He can easily go deep and beat anyone outside the top 4 + Nadal. Against Nadal I give him almost no chance, against Djokovic a reasonable shot (<50%), against Murray and Stan a decent shot (>50%).
-if he doesn't take RG seriously and only does a couple of quick practice sessions on clay: He'll probably go out relatively early to someone like Zverev, Kyrgios or Monfils.

 

[60's Grass]

Why all the hating on Fed on clay? He's the second greatest clay court player of the last 13 years.

And that's a supposed to be a big deal? SUCH a deep field with one good player and a bunch of pushover mugs, ROFL

 

[cc0509]

And that's a supposed to be a big deal? SUCH a deep field with one good player and a bunch of pushover mugs, ROFL

Last time I checked, Federer has a FO and Sampras doesn't so regardless of what you think about Federer as a clay court player, he will always be greater than Sampras. Boo hoo for you 90's Clay!

 

[60's Grass]

Last time I checked, Federer has a FO and Sampras doesn't so regardless of what you think about Federer as a clay court player, he will always be greater than Sampras. Boo hoo for you 90's Clay!

Um...didn't mention Pete. Fed fans so insecure they have to compare him to a player who actually beat his rivals...ROFLMAO

 

[KINGROGER]

Federer vs Djokovic on clay is like Edberg vs Djokovic on grass.

We all know Djokovic has 2 extra masters titles on clay so has marginally better resume on there, but Fed is the better player at his peak.

Just as we know Djokovic has 1 more Wimbledon than Edberg, but the latter is one of the best grass players of the open era.

 

[Mr Feeny]

Um...didn't mention Pete. Fed fans so insecure they have to compare him to a player who actually beat his rivals...ROFLMAO

And a player who got his behind handed to him on a plate by a 19 year old federer, when he was in his twenties?

 

[kabob]

This 60s Grass guy is a cringey try-hard. Bruh, a real troll isn't so obvious. You're being pitiful.

 

[60's Grass]

Federer vs Djokovic on clay is like Edberg vs Djokovic on grass.

We all know Djokovic has 2 extra masters titles on clay so has marginally better resume on there, but Fed is the better player at his peak.

Just as we know Djokovic has 1 more Wimbledon than Edberg, but the latter is one of the best grass players of the open era.

Difference is Djokovic managed to beat Nadal more than twice on clay

 

[Mr Feeny]

Federer vs Djokovic on clay is like Edberg vs Djokovic on grass.

We all know Djokovic has 2 extra masters titles on clay so has marginally better resume on there, but Fed is the better player at his peak.

Just as we know Djokovic has 1 more Wimbledon than Edberg, but the latter is one of the best grass players of the open era.

Not only that but had peak Federer played against the 2012-2016 field, he would have had multiples RGs.

 

[Devin]

60's Grass = 90's Clay?

 

[60's Grass]

Not only that but had peak Federer played against the 2012-2014 field, he would have had multiples RGs.

Federer did play against the 2012-2014 field..couldn't manage a single final at RG, got blown away by clown Gulbis in '14

 

[Devin]

Federer did play against the 2012-2014 field..couldn't manage a single final at RG

He said "had peak Federer played against the 2012-2014 field"...

 

[Mr Feeny]

Federer did play against the 2012-2014 field..couldn't manage a single final at RG

Reading comprehension problems I see.
Old grandpa Federer is not the same as peak Federer.

 

[KINGROGER]

And that's a supposed to be a big deal? SUCH a deep field with one good player and a bunch of pushover mugs, ROFL

Fed would have about 12 slams in a row if he played in the pathetically weak 1996-1998 era LOL.

Sampras is basically Roddick with a better net game ROFL. Fed would hand him his ass on a plate if he played in the modern GOLDEN era of 03-09.

 

[60's Grass]

Fed would have about 12 slams in a row if he played in the pathetically weak 1996-1998 era LOL.

Sampras is basically Roddick with a better net game ROFL. Fed would hand him his ass on a plate if he played in the modern GOLDEN era of 03-09.

AGAIN with this. Fed fans SO insecure they have to bring up a player who WASN'T EVEN MENTIONED so they can sleep at night?

 

[KINGROGER]

Difference is Djokovic managed to beat Nadal more than twice on clay

Federer Nadal between 05-12: 12-2 on clay (omitted 13 as Fed was injured in that Rome final)

Djokovic Nadal between 05-13: 13-3.

Marginal difference of 1 win, with all 3 coming vs post peak 11-12 Nadal. Fed beat peak Nadal twice, including a bagel.

Try again, troll.

 

[Mr Feeny]

AGAIN with this. Fed fans SO insecure they have to bring up a player who WASN'T EVEN MENTIONED so they can sleep at night?

Trying too hard......

 

[60's Grass]

Reading comprehension problems I see.
Old grandpa Federer is not the same as peak Federer.

So when Fed is running around the court like a rabbit beating scrubs like Murray he's "resurgent" "amazing", "playing the best of his career!"
When he LOSES like a MUG to other MUGS he's suddenly old grandpa Fed

good to know

 

[Mr Feeny]

So when Fed is running around the court like a rabbit beating scrubs like Murray he's "resurgent" "amazing", "playing the best of his career!"
When he LOSES like a MUG to other MUGS he's suddenly old grandpa Fed

good to know

You're trying..tooooo hard.

 

[cc0509]

Um...didn't mention Pete. Fed fans so insecure they have to compare him to a player who actually beat his rivals...ROFLMAO

You are talking about insecure fans? You start countless threads trying to demean Federer because he's surpassed your hero Sampras and you call other posters insecure?

For the record, I don't think Federer is one of the greatest clay court players of all time. I never thought he was that great on a clay surface. There are many players I would say are better than him on clay and I think Djokovic and Federer are currently fairly equal on clay. One more FO will decide it for me.

 

[KINGROGER]

So when Fed is running around the court like a rabbit beating scrubs like Murray he's "resurgent" "amazing", "playing the best of his career!"
When he LOSES like a MUG to other MUGS he's suddenly old grandpa Fed

good to know

The only ones saying Fed played better than ever in 14-15 are either commentators with a vested interest, or trolls who either didn't watch tennis before 2011, or say it to wind people up.

Fed didn't do anything special to beat up Murray since 2014. He just served well, came to the net more, played more offensive and added more variety. Even Zverev and Pospisil can do it.

The only guy consistent enough to beat Grandpa on grass and HCs was peak Djokovic - an elite baseliner who can exploit his defensive weaknesses. Lesser players can do this on clay as the court speed doesn't suit his attacking game.

 

[metsman]

I'll be so disappointed if this is not the real 90's Clay

I don't think it is, trying too hard. I have a suspicion as tho who it actually is though.

 

[kishnabe]

Nadal won't make it to Federer...loses to Almugro/Clowndasco.

 

[tenisdecente]

Nadal won't make it to Federer...loses to Almugro/Clowndasco.

Good try trolling, 3/5, I was going for 2/5 but since you mentioned Fiasco, one more point for extreme humour sense

I want the dirt season starts now!

 

[Mazz Retic]

This 60s Grass guy is a cringey try-hard. Bruh, a real troll isn't so obvious. You're being pitiful.

Will the real 90's Clay please stand up

 

[TheMaestro1990]

I don't think it is, trying too hard. I have a suspicion as tho who it actually is though.

Who could it be then?

 

[nochweiterroger]

Federer himself has given us the answer. If he seriously thought he could/desperately wanted to win another RG title he would not be not playing any other clay tournaments. Even if, on the other hand, he is one of those who enters any tournament feeling he could win it. But clearly a priority it is not.
The field does seem more open than usual this year, which does give some grounds for speculation. OTOH it's possible Nadal might bump him down a slot if he (Nadal) wins some tournaments in the meantime and I don't even want Roger to win RG because he might then be tired for the grass season. Where Wimbledon must surely be his priority. Hasn't he even said so himself?

 

[ANDYbhGENIUS]

If you are Federer what would nag you inside the most?

3 Callendar year Grand Slams, lost. and 4 More RG titles.

That's huge. There are not many who could win all 4, let alone all 4 three times, in 3 years.

He may not be playing the clay tournaments, but he is playing somewhere, on clay.

Dont right him off if it happens either. Nadal is playing the clay masters and he wont be as fresh. Not at his age.

You are speaking of yourself, nothing you speak of will "nag Federer inside inside the most" - he has a beyond stellar resume, and a unprecedented career, and is still going at top level.

He earns about 100 million a year too,, spends a few, and rivalries with Nadal and Djokovic coming along is much preferred by roger, he said so himself, than eg an artificial Serena record in a now woeful era of women's tennis.

 

[Steve0904]

Okay….

Then he won IW.

Then he won Miami.

Fed is a f***ing assassin on any surface.

All of which were HC's. He hasn't done anything of real note on clay since 2012.

 

[Shaolin]

All of which were HC's. He hasn't done anything of real note on clay since 2012.

True but Fed is playing incredible and the tour is butter soft right now. Just saying don't count him out at RG even if thats all he plays.

 

[Tennisanity]

AO was way faster this year (RLA had CPI of over 41, faster than Wimbledon and USO) and played into his strength. OTOH, RG is slow and high bouncing, its not even comparable...

Even you had known AO was way faster, would anyone have predicted Fed to win after 6 months off? Seriously?

 

[BeatlesFan]

Nadal won't make it to Federer...loses to Almugro/Clowndasco.

More likely he loses to Nick. Nadal wouldn't lose to his Spanish pigeons at RG even if he had a broken leg. But the Isner five-setter in 2011 shows he's vulnerable to huge servers, even on clay. Nadal's high topspin doesn't bother guys 6'4 or over.

 

[Zebrev]

Federer himself has given us the answer. If he seriously thought he could/desperately wanted to win another RG title he would not be not playing any other clay tournaments. Even if, on the other hand, he is one of those who enters any tournament feeling he could win it. But clearly a priority it is not.
The field does seem more open than usual this year, which does give some grounds for speculation. OTOH it's possible Nadal might bump him down a slot if he (Nadal) wins some tournaments in the meantime and I don't even want Roger to win RG because he might then be tired for the grass season. Where Wimbledon must surely be his priority. Hasn't he even said so himself?

You don't want Roger to win RG? Why not? He will have more chances to win Wimby again after 2017, if he really wanted to, the same won't be the case for RG.

 

[ANDYbhGENIUS]

More likely he loses to Nick. Nadal wouldn't lose to his Spanish pigeons at RG even if he had a broken leg. But the Isner five-setter in 2011 shows he's vulnerable to huge servers, even on clay. Nadal's high topspin doesn't bother guys 6'4 or over.

Plus Nick is faster, serves better, infinitely, and can keep the ball in play and adopt a number of strategies. Where Kyrgios can not match Nadal is will power and never say die attitude.

Given Nadal's movement I think Clay may be his most taxing surface now, as he can't cover the court from five metres behind the baseline like he used to.

 

[Poisoned Slice]

Leave the 90's memories alone! Be classy like WWE.

 

[6-3 6-0]

Even you had known AO was way faster, would anyone have predicted Fed to win after 6 months off? Seriously?

No I wouldn't but it doesn't imply that Federer has better chance at RG than a hardcourt slam. He made the final of HC slam before this in 2015 whereas his last clay slam final was in 2011. Federer has won just 1 title on clay since 2013 and that was Istanbul (a 250) in 2015. Its not crazy to think that Fed won't get to week 2 especially since he isn't playing warmups and will only be practising on his worst surface 2 weeks prior to RG.

 

[Djokovic2011]

Awesome - I've not come across anyone who doesn't like her actually, she's from a different planet

Definitely felt that way after seeing her performance in Fight Club

 

[1HBHNation]

Rf might lose in the 3rd round. Let's not get this hype train revving too soon.

 

[OddJack]

You are speaking of yourself, nothing you speak of will "nag Federer inside inside the most" - he has a beyond stellar resume, and a unprecedented career, and is still going at top level.

He earns about 100 million a year too,, spends a few, and rivalries with Nadal and Djokovic coming along is much preferred by roger, he said so himself, than eg an artificial Serena record in a now woeful era of women's tennis.

Its not about money at this level

 

[TheFifthSet]

It's not debatable at all. Roger has won more matches at RG than anyone not named Nadal. He's made the Final 5 times...

He's also won more matches there than Borg. Who cares? He's six years older and only has ten more wins at RG than Djokovic. If you removed Federer's first six RG's, where he was never on the shortlist of favourites yet amassed nine wins, he'd only be one ahead. Yet it would change nothing. Little more than a factoid in the context of this discussion.

It's clearly debatable, which is why there have been pages worth of debate about the subject. The consensus is that Djokovic is more accomplished while Federer got denied more at RG by a prime-peak Nadal. However, even among those two contentions, there is debate. One could say that Federer's extra RG final makes up for the deficit (but then Djokovic played Nadal in the semi's on three separate occasions in years where he was the second best CC'er! Only once was that the case with Federer), and one could also claim that prime-peak Nadal denied Djokovic plenty on clay (see: 2009, 2012).

I lean Djokovic career-wise on clay, with peak play being about equal. Regardless of where one stands, to say Djokovic isn't in the discussion is ludicrous.

 

[AceSalvo]

True but Fed is playing incredible and the tour is butter soft right now. Just saying don't count him out at RG even if thats all he plays.

Tour has been butter soft for quite a while.

Its easy to say that Roger can get bumped out of RG because no one knows how 2017 Fed will fare on clay now that its clear he will play no matches before RG. If Fed can find his clay game in the early rounds of RG, its going to take a big effort from who-so-ever to take Fed out.

Sure Nadal's high topspin has the edge over any Fed on clay. But the improved BH return of serve and the lack of the BH slice during rallies, does give Fed a better shout than recent years.

Do you think Fed would go all out knowing he has a more important season ahead of him?

 

[Djokovic2011]

He's also won more matches there than Borg. Who cares? He's six years older and only has ten more wins at RG than Djokovic. If you removed Federer's first six RG's, where he was never on the shortlist of favourites yet amassed nine wins, he'd only be one ahead. Yet it would change nothing. Little more than a factoid in the context this discussion.

It's clearly debatable, which is why there have been pages worth of debate about the subject. The consensus is that Djokovic is more accomplished while Federer got denied more at RG by a prime-peak Nadal. However, even among those two contentions, there is debate. One could say that Federer's extra RG final makes up for the deficit (but then Djokovic played Nadal in the semi's on three separate occasions in years where he was the second best CC'er! Only once was that the case with Federer), and one could also claim that prime-peak Nadal denied Djokovic plenty on clay (see: 2009, 2012).

I lean Djokovic career-wise on clay, with peak play being about equal. Regardless of where one stands, to say Djokovic isn't in the discussion is ludicrous.

Good post TFS but I'm not sure Djokovic was the second best clay courter back in '07

 

[TheFifthSet]

Good post TFS but I'm not sure Djokovic was the second best clay courter back in '07

Haha, yeah. '08 and '13. Federer was clearly second best in 2007. Can't explain that blunder. Very careless.

Regardless, those are three occasions where a prime Federer would likely not have made the final had he played Nadal in the semi's, so the point stands.

 

[Shaolin]

Tour has been butter soft for quite a while.

Its easy to say that Roger can get bumped out of RG because no one knows how 2017 Fed will fare on clay now that its clear he will play no matches before RG. If Fed can find his clay game in the early rounds of RG, its going to take a big effort from who-so-ever to take Fed out.

Sure Nadal's high topspin has the edge over any Fed on clay. But the improved BH return of serve and the lack of the BH slice during rallies, does give Fed a better shout than recent years.

Do you think Fed would go all out knowing he has a more important season ahead of him?

I think if Fed might go 75% first few rounds and if he gets to the second week he will go all out. Why not….a second RG would be pretty amazing. Also if there was ever a year to possibly get a win at RG against Rafa its this year. Not that I think he'd beat him but there might be a sliver of a chance.

 

[Steve0904]

True but Fed is playing incredible and the tour is butter soft right now. Just saying don't count him out at RG even if thats all he plays.

Right now I'm saying he won't win RG. Soft tour or not there are too many players that can take Fed out on clay, and too much grinding for a 35 year old to win 7 BO5 on that particular surface. Guys like Stan and Nishi become even more of a threat on clay and they were close enough to beating him in Australia. And as much as he owns Nadal right now I'm still pretty sure Nadal would win a match at RG between the two. Obviously that doesn't even count Djokovic and Murray, or Kyrgios whose win over Federer actually came on clay, and he's the type of player that's beaten Federer the last number of years at RG (Tsonga, Gulbis, Wawrinka, Soderling). As such I wouldn't even count out guys like Cilic or Raonic causing an upset of Federer on clay like one of them did at Wimbledon last year (and the other came mighty close).

It's just so hard to see, and believe me if I could see any reason whatsoever to believe that Federer would win RG I would believe, but there's virtually nothing to go on. I'm not counting on the tour bending over for Federer, and I get the sense that Federer himself is not too concerned about winning RG. His goal is Wimbledon/USO and then the rest of the year I think.