Federer needs to switch to a bigger racquet

[klementine]

Switch. Good. Big. Head.

 

[Lsmkenpo]

I am willing to bet all the idiots that start threads about Fed needing a bigger racquet have never even played a mid size racquet to know what they are talking about.

 

[JediMindTrick]

I am willing to bet all the idiots that start threads about Fed needing a bigger racquet have never even played a mid size racquet to know what they are talking about.

I'm willing to bet that all the idiots who attack the poster instead of the ideas in his post are level 2.0 posers who think they can play with a mid or any racquet for that matter.

 

[Jaewonnie]

I wonder how Fed will play with a prestige mid.....

 

[rosenstar]

For all you ," not another Fed needs to change a racquet " haters.

Listen, it's a legit argument. He shanks way too much. He definitely needs a bigger head.

or maybe he just needs to move his feet better, like he used to in '04-'07

 

[breadstick]

He went from an 85 to a 90 didn't he?
Maybe Wilson should make it 95?

I actually think it has more to do with his mentality. He didn't shank that much before, you don't just switch equipment once you start sucking, that's obviously not the problem because equipment didn't change when you started sucking.

/thread.

10 char.

 

[carlos djackal]

For sure! and I think Fed needs to change sports as well from tennis to squash, at least he doesn't need to put the ball on court always since the squash courts are boxed!

LOL....that's funny....

 

[ronalditop]

To everybody saying he should change frame sizes... have you ever held a K90 next to a 95 or 98 inch frame? The width (the only dimension that matters when you "brush up") is almost exactly the same! The biggest difference in stringbed dimensions of the K90 to almost any other midplus frame is the 6:00 position.

So saying Fed brushes up more than Sampras and therefore needs a bigger frame is BS.

I just had to get that out there. I used to think he needed a larger frame, too, until I demoed a K90 just to see what it was like.

Unless Fed is shanking in the throat area, his frame is not the problem right now...

of course federer brushes the ball a lot more than sampras. sampras strokes where very slow, while feds strokes are very fast thus he needs more timing. Im sure if nadal would play with a smaller headsize, say 85, he would shank a lot more balls than if he plays with his actual racquet.

 

[Lefty78]

Fed's most important problem, however, is lodged squarely between his ears.

You said it. It's easy to shank the ball with a 110 in racquet when you don't trust yourself and you're not sure what you're doing anymore. Fed needs the Geek Squad to clean the spam out of the hard drive.

 

[Blade0324]

He definately needs to switch to a larger head racquet. It will make it much more dramatic when he smashes them then.

On the subject for those saying that the K90 isn't really that much smaller than other midplus frames etc. I will grant you that but having hit with it I can say that it is very unforgiving compared to other midsize frames like the prestige or Yonex. I know many like the Wilson stick but I find them generally to be unforgiving and not really reward the player very much. Lets face it Rogers not gettin any younger it might be time for him to dawn the tweener stick.

 

[grizzly4life]

The Sampras parallel does not apply AT ALL. Think before you post nonsense.

Sampras switched from the PS 85 to his current 90 inch frame, and says he regrets not switching to a 90 earlier. If you want to go by the follow Sampras logic, Federer is ahead of the game because he already switched from a 85 to a 90. Jesus.

LOL, i guess u'r not a member of mensa!....

anyhow, anyone who thinks fed wouldn't play better with a 95 sq inch frame is just in denial mode at best, head in a funny spot more likely.

90 sq inch = shank-fest. bigger head = bigger serve and more importantly return of serve.... fed has really fallen off last couple of years. obvious he needs some changes.

anyway, it's painfully obvious

 

[dugger5688]

Maybe they should just make the ball smaller so that spin matters much less, then nobody would shank ever.

Please no more of these stupid threads suggesting that Federer doesn't know which racket he needs. If he played better with a bigger one, than he would have designed it bigger, since Wilson customizes it for him.

 

[Shangri La]

Maybe they should just make the ball smaller so that spin matters much less, then nobody would shank ever.

Please no more of these stupid threads suggesting that Federer doesn't know which racket he needs. If he played better with a bigger one, than he would have designed it bigger, since Wilson customizes it for him.

the smaller the ball, the more spin matters.

 

[Midlife crisis]

the smaller the ball, the more spin matters.

That's not true, because if you keep the ball's weight the same, a smaller ball has smaller surface area for spin to interact with the air.

Take a big beach ball and throw it with spin. It will curve like crazy. Take a tennis ball, about the same weight, and throw it with the same spin. Way less curving.

 

[smart_player]

The Sampras parallel does not apply AT ALL. Think before you post nonsense.

Sampras switched from the PS 85 to his current 90 inch frame, and says he regrets not switching to a 90 earlier. If you want to go by the follow Sampras logic, Federer is ahead of the game because he already switched from a 85 to a 90. Jesus.

spot on! we're talking about a guy with arguably the best timing in the history of the game.

 

[smart_player]

in addition, should this theory of switching to a larger racket apply the same or even more for Grigor Dimitrov (smaller racket head size and denser string pattern in comparison to federer's racket):roll:

 

[tennis_hand]

What was that ridiculous shank-fest? Oh, it was windy! And if it's not windy then it's too dark! Or to bright! Come on man, enough with the excuses, Federer has to accept the fact that he needs a bigger racquet. Sampras also clinged to his minuscule racquet until retirement and then he admited that he should have changed to a bigger one, but was afraid to do so.

I thought so a while ago.
His 90 is no longer helpful to him.

 

[Staiger]

After yesterday , he might just use a 95 in windy condition , OMG so many mis-hits ......

 

[coloskier]

What was that ridiculous shank-fest? Oh, it was windy! And if it's not windy then it's too dark! Or to bright! Come on man, enough with the excuses, Federer has to accept the fact that he needs a bigger racquet. Sampras also clinged to his minuscule racquet until retirement and then he admited that he should have changed to a bigger one, but was afraid to do so.

If that is true, then both Nadal and Djokovic need to do it, too. All three were shanking left and right in this tournament. Did you watch the first set of yesterday's match? Djokovic was shanking once in every four swings.

 

[Josherer]

I normally try to keep it civil on these forums, but you and all the people who think you know better than federer about racket choice are simply ********

Yup!

He is adjusted to the 90" and he doesn't mis-hit the ball he frames it which means even with a 95" it would still be a mis-hit which would be just as bad anyway!

 

[Shangri La]

That's not true, because if you keep the ball's weight the same, a smaller ball has smaller surface area for spin to interact with the air.

Take a big beach ball and throw it with spin. It will curve like crazy. Take a tennis ball, about the same weight, and throw it with the same spin. Way less curving.

A bigger ball is more resistant to spin <same concept as twistweight/swingweight>. Therefore a smaller ball spins more with the same stroke.

Same with table tennis. They increased the diameter of the ball from 38mm to 40mm to neutralize the wicked spin and speed players were getting.

 

[tsongafan]

Thats very true...I think if Federer really wanted to stay with Wilson then he should get the K-Blade 98. If he would be willing to change brands I would first suggest ANY of the new Tecnifibre VO2s or second the Head Prestige.

 

[quest01]

Yup!

He is adjusted to the 90" and he doesn't mis-hit the ball he frames it which means even with a 95" it would still be a mis-hit which would be just as bad anyway!

That's not true, if Federer switched to a larger head size he would shank the ball a lot less due to the larger sweet spot and head size.

 

[S H O W S T O P P E R !]

Big Bubba ftw.

 

[jackson vile]

I normally try to keep it civil on these forums, but you and all the people who think you know better than federer about racket choice are simply ********

Agreed, Roger has one of the best setups there is. What is going on right now has nothing to do with a racket and changing will do nothing but cause more problems.

 

[emerckx53]

What was that ridiculous shank-fest? Oh, it was windy! And if it's not windy then it's too dark! Or to bright! Come on man, enough with the excuses, Federer has to accept the fact that he needs a bigger racquet. Sampras also clinged to his minuscule racquet until retirement and then he admited that he should have changed to a bigger one, but was afraid to do so.

This is coming from what? a 3.5 USTA rated singles player....

 

[skip1969]

i never get involved in these "fed needs a bigger racquet" discussions. fed made me swear never to bring the subject up in his presence, or on this board. last time i even suggested he look at other frames, he made me stand in a corner of the hotel suite . . . facing the wall . . . for the whole day! (he's ruthless, that one)

but obviously, after his last performance . . . something needs to be done. i would like to suggest that fed switch to a bigger tennis court. not sure if anyone else has suggested it before, but his balls are landing WAY out these days. we've gone beyond a bigger frame, at this point. a bigger court and those shanked balls are suddenly in . . . problem solved.

i think the atp would be up for it. they're big into gimmicks.

 

[emerckx53]

LOL, i guess u'r not a member of mensa!....

anyhow, anyone who thinks fed wouldn't play better with a 95 sq inch frame is just in denial mode at best, head in a funny spot more likely.

90 sq inch = shank-fest. bigger head = bigger serve and more importantly return of serve.... fed has really fallen off last couple of years. obvious he needs some changes.

anyway, it's painfully obvious

WTF are you on? Federer is maybe the best ballstriker of all time and can hit the ball within 10% of the same spot on the racquet forever...go away.

 

[obnoxious2]

It wasn't the wind as mcuh as it was him not keeping his head down through the contact zone.

 

[tennis_hand]

After yesterday , he might just use a 95 in windy condition , OMG so many mis-hits ......

now you will wonder the amateurs in clubs or in this forums play very well with the Tour 90, saying how much control they have, how much power they have, etc, etc, etc...

well, maybe, if just rallying or playing someone well below their levels.

 

[tennis_hand]

WTF are you on? Federer is maybe the best ballstriker of all time and can hit the ball within 10% of the same spot on the racquet forever...go away.

maybe 2 years ago, but not now. we are talking about now.

if he can't beat the top 4 player, how can he be no 1 or even win a slam or masters? because in any of those big events, these top players will be there in the semi finals.

Even on a good day, he also shanks. On a windy day, it is worse. Now he needs a higher margin of error, because the status quo has changed and he is no longer as good as he used to be. What is the best way to prepare for the worst? prepare early. or how would u know whether it is a windy day?
if he can't win a match on a windy day, I as a fan will be sad. During 2004-2006, he had no problem winning on a windy day or even when he was not in form. But he is not longer that Roger.

Quoting Einstein, u can't expect a different result, if you keep on doing the same thing. unless Fed can defy physics.

 

[Josherer]

maybe 2 years ago, but not now. we are talking about now.

if he can't beat the top 4 player, how can he be no 1 or even win a slam or masters? because in any of those big events, these top players will be there in the semi finals.

Even on a good day, he also shanks. On a windy day, it is worse. Now he needs a higher margin of error, because the status quo has changed and he is no longer as good as he used to be. What is the best way to prepare for the worst? prepare early. or how would u know whether it is a windy day?
if he can't win a match on a windy day, I as a fan will be sad. During 2004-2006, he had no problem winning on a windy day or even when he was not in form. But he is not longer that Roger.

Quoting Einstein, u can't expect a different result, if you keep on doing the same thing. unless Fed can defy physics.

Fed plays totally different in slams. He lifts his game.

You have a totally ridiculous argument because Fed has acheieved so much in his career yet because he only won one GS last year, and has lost top the top 3 (besides himself) this year, in 5 sets (Nadal), and then 3 & 3 (Murray, Djokovic) he should change his racquet?

You're a JOKE! <<<<--- AND NOT VERY INTELLIGENT!

 

[Josherer]

maybe 2 years ago, but not now. we are talking about now.

if he can't beat the top 4 player, how can he be no 1 or even win a slam or masters? because in any of those big events, these top players will be there in the semi finals.

Even on a good day, he also shanks. On a windy day, it is worse. Now he needs a higher margin of error, because the status quo has changed and he is no longer as good as he used to be. What is the best way to prepare for the worst? prepare early. or how would u know whether it is a windy day?
if he can't win a match on a windy day, I as a fan will be sad. During 2004-2006, he had no problem winning on a windy day or even when he was not in form. But he is not longer that Roger.

Quoting Einstein, u can't expect a different result, if you keep on doing the same thing. unless Fed can defy physics.

That's funny becuase FED has kept doing the same thing (using a 90" Racquet) for his whole career yet he is currently out of form and in a slight slump. He has been doing the same thing yet HAS BEEN experiencing a different result.

YOU ARE AN IDIOT! But I admire you trying.

 

[tennis_hand]

Fed plays totally different in slams. He lifts his game.

You have a totally ridiculous argument because Fed has acheieved so much in his career yet because he only won one GS last year, and has lost top the top 3 (besides himself) this year, in 5 sets (Nadal), and then 3 & 3 (Murray, Djokovic) he should change his racquet?

You're a JOKE! <<<<--- AND NOT VERY INTELLIGENT!

u are not intelligent to see the trend, because u only see those spots.

I know fed won Slams last year and before. Well, those are past. What matters is the future. U think any pro bother about Sampras nowadays because he won 14 Slams? Psst. Those are only in historical records.

If he continues the decline like the last 3 months, he will NOT win a single Slam, unless he changes something, racket included, to reverse the trend.

Dude, be a little smarter and avoid digging out all history books. We all know, as Fed fans. :roll::roll:

 

[Josherer]

u are not intelligent to see the trend, because u only see those spots.

I know fed won Slams last year and before. Well, those are past. What matters is the future. U think any pro bother about Sampras nowadays because he won 14 Slams? Psst. Those are only in historical records.

If he continues the decline like the last 3 months, he will NOT win a single Slam, unless he changes something, racket included, to reverse the trend.

Dude, be a little smarter and avoid digging out all history books. We all know, as Fed fans. :roll::roll:

You're right I guess... (<<--Sarcasm... Just becuase you're not that bright and may not pick up on it) I mean Fed has only made it to 1/1 GS finals so far losing in 5 sets to an absolute fantastic player, then only made it to 2 semis of 2 Master Series Tournaments... SHOULD HE RETIRE?

'U think any pro bother about Sampras nowadays because he won 14 Slams? Psst' >>>>> WOW YOU'RE EVEN STUPIDER THAN I THOUGHT. Sampras is retired! He hasn't played at an ATP level in a long time. So obviously pro players aren't going to be afraid of Sampras nowdays!

You think Nadal goes to sleep at night thinking Rod Laver is going to come and beat him at the french?!?! <<<<<--- That satement is as ridiculous as yours...

THIS IS MY POINT--->>> Federer has played his whole carrer with a 90" racquet. He is completely accustomed to that headsize. He has been in a slump due to a lack of form and a lack of confidence. Many clear minded people on these forums will agree with me... Him changing his racquet headsize would be the worse thing for him to do right now as he would have another thing he would have to overcome in his game!

I'm guessing you've never properly used a 90" racquet.

Trust me: Yes it is hard and occasionally there are a few mishits. But when hit properly by an adequately skilled player, it is the sweetest feeling thing in the world when the ball comes off the racquet.

You think Federer is going to trade that inorder to cut down on mishits?

Take a step back and think about what you're saying...

 

[JediMindTrick]

[/B] Federer has played his whole carrer with a 90" racquet.[/B]

That's not entierly correct, in the first half of his career he played with a 85 sq in racquet, and then he probably realized that it's too small for him and Wilson made him a 90 sq in racquet. Maybe it's time to make the next logical step and try a 95 sq in.

 

[Lendl and Federer Fan]

No, Federer should just ignore all the tips or expert advices, just hire Brad Gilbert as the coach. BTW don't read any news, watch TV, or come here to read the comments here; just concentrate on his own game. Absolutely do not go see Sampras, that would remind him Pete's stupid 14 GS record. In my opinion, it was a BIG mistake for Federer to play those exhibition matches with Pistol Pete in 2007 &2008. :wink::roll:

 

[danb]

What was that ridiculous shank-fest? Oh, it was windy! And if it's not windy then it's too dark! Or to bright! Come on man, enough with the excuses, Federer has to accept the fact that he needs a bigger racquet. Sampras also clinged to his minuscule racquet until retirement and then he admited that he should have changed to a bigger one, but was afraid to do so.

He needs bigger bollocks not bigger frame. Pete played with an 85 frame but at least had the bollocks..

 

[emerckx53]

maybe 2 years ago, but not now. we are talking about now.

if he can't beat the top 4 player, how can he be no 1 or even win a slam or masters? because in any of those big events, these top players will be there in the semi finals.

Even on a good day, he also shanks. On a windy day, it is worse. Now he needs a higher margin of error, because the status quo has changed and he is no longer as good as he used to be. What is the best way to prepare for the worst? prepare early. or how would u know whether it is a windy day?
if he can't win a match on a windy day, I as a fan will be sad. During 2004-2006, he had no problem winning on a windy day or even when he was not in form. But he is not longer that Roger.

Quoting Einstein, u can't expect a different result, if you keep on doing the same thing. unless Fed can defy physics.

I understand your point...but there are many reasons why he has fallen all the way to No. 2....but none of which is his racquet...none of us have a clue what it is like to defend a No. 1 ranking for 5 years in mens professional tennis.

 

[desmo]

Has there ever been a top level men's player helped significantly by changing racquets mid-career? I can't think of a single example.

Roger's problem is more likely the lack of objective advice he recieves because he is lacking coaching. You can see the lack of direction and inability to make both tactical adjustments while he's playing a tournament and strategic adjustments over the longer term.

If Federer were properly coached he might well still be number one.

 

[Josherer]

I understand your point...but there are many reasons why he has fallen all the way to No. 2....but none of which is his racquet...none of us have a clue what it is like to defend a No. 1 ranking for 5 years in mens professional tennis.

Yep very true. Yet so many people find it so easy top judge.

 

[Deleted member 22147]

I don't think he/she was pointing to his nose, more of a brain I think.

they were joking

 

[BullDogTennis]

Nadal, Roddick, Djokovic, Murray are not shanking as much as Federer, not even close. Nadal-Murray match was a lot more windy and while they had some mishits it wasn't nearly as bad.

how close are any of these guys to winning as many sams as federer? i dont know the numbers but i can almost bet that if you put all the slams together that they have won. it would barely beat the ones hes won on his own.

 

[Karma_struggle]

People who think they know more about Federer's game than he does are what's wrong with these boards. These threads are so pathetic.

 

[Blade0324]

It doesn't matter how big or small his frame is what really matters is that he is shanking shots. He would be shanking the same balls no matter if the frame is 90 or 110. What is happening is that he is declining and one thing I would guess that is the biggest factor is likely his eyesight. He is not often very good on challenges. The bad thing about this is that no matter who he gets to coach him if his sight is in decline he will not be able to get back to the form he once had. In fact he may well decline faster than anyone expects.

 

[ci2ca]

I don't think talk tennis posters should compliment on a pro's equipment. They have all the resources they need and play with what they're comfortable with. They recognize the problem is with themselves and not their equipment such as many of the posters here. Sad but true.

 

[JediMindTrick]

Has there ever been a top level men's player helped significantly by changing racquets mid-career? I can't think of a single example.

Murray and Nadal come to mind.

 

[ci2ca]

Murray and Nadal come to mind.

Just Murray. Nadal still uses his aeropro drive WITHOUT cortex. Whereas Murray, I believe, switched from the i. Radical MP to the microgel prestige pro.

 

[jman]

What was that ridiculous shank-fest? Oh, it was windy! And if it's not windy then it's too dark! Or to bright! Come on man, enough with the excuses, Federer has to accept the fact that he needs a bigger racquet. Sampras also clinged to his minuscule racquet until retirement and then he admited that he should have changed to a bigger one, but was afraid to do so.

This thread sounds like a broken record! He's not going to change. Federer is too arrogant to switch frames!

 

[JediMindTrick]

Just Murray. Nadal still uses his aeropro drive WITHOUT cortex. Whereas Murray, I believe, switched from the i. Radical MP to the microgel prestige pro.

Nadal used to play with a Pure Drive. He changed to the APD and then started winning big.