tennis_pro
Bionic Poster
As evidenced by his match vs Murray at the Australian Open. Murray was just happy retrieving balls all day and waiting for an error and he had the look of "I expect myself to win" written all over his face. Even with the full package of skills Federer just wasn't going to beat Murray (in fact I'm quite pleased with his efforts to push it to a 5th set).
It's not even about the high bounce after the ball makes contacts with the ground, it's purely about speed of the surface. So what was Federer supposed to do to beat Murray? He couldn't serve and volley as Murray would just pass him left and right before Fed even noticed, despite Federer still being able to imply that tactic with success from time to time. He couldn't consistently hit through Murray with like 10 shots, all of which would've been winners if the surface wasn't so slow. So what was left for him to do? Grind, grind and grind once more - that was the only way. And since Federer is older, doesn't have the stamina, speed and concentration as his 25-year old version, he just wasn't going to win. To be honest it would've been ugly if he pulled a miracle and played Djokovic in the final. so at least I'm happy for that.
Ok back on topic. I feel that Federer even now at 31-32 could be way more competitive with the likes of Murray and Djokovic if the surfaces were faster. Yes, he would be more prone to losing early himself but so would the likes of Murray and Djokovic but he would have a great shot at beating them in a grass/hard court slam on a normal day. Right now, he has to keep GOATing just to stay in touch.
I also feel because of the "every court must be slow cause we want top 4 in semis" policy Federer is suffering the most because he's the oldest ergo the least fit of the pack. Because of that, I'm losing interest in tennis FAST even with Federer still around. I used to be such a huge tennis fan a few years back when there was a GS match between a top player and a guy ranked 50 or something but if he zoned in he could take him out. Right now if he's in the zone he's going to push 1 set to a breaker.
It's not even about the high bounce after the ball makes contacts with the ground, it's purely about speed of the surface. So what was Federer supposed to do to beat Murray? He couldn't serve and volley as Murray would just pass him left and right before Fed even noticed, despite Federer still being able to imply that tactic with success from time to time. He couldn't consistently hit through Murray with like 10 shots, all of which would've been winners if the surface wasn't so slow. So what was left for him to do? Grind, grind and grind once more - that was the only way. And since Federer is older, doesn't have the stamina, speed and concentration as his 25-year old version, he just wasn't going to win. To be honest it would've been ugly if he pulled a miracle and played Djokovic in the final. so at least I'm happy for that.
Ok back on topic. I feel that Federer even now at 31-32 could be way more competitive with the likes of Murray and Djokovic if the surfaces were faster. Yes, he would be more prone to losing early himself but so would the likes of Murray and Djokovic but he would have a great shot at beating them in a grass/hard court slam on a normal day. Right now, he has to keep GOATing just to stay in touch.
I also feel because of the "every court must be slow cause we want top 4 in semis" policy Federer is suffering the most because he's the oldest ergo the least fit of the pack. Because of that, I'm losing interest in tennis FAST even with Federer still around. I used to be such a huge tennis fan a few years back when there was a GS match between a top player and a guy ranked 50 or something but if he zoned in he could take him out. Right now if he's in the zone he's going to push 1 set to a breaker.
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