Federer News

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BeatlesFan

Bionic Poster
Damn, he really looks confident, his eyes never lie.
I think his overt confidence this tournament is deliberate and it's a good thing. He's spoken the obvious truth: Djokovic is the prohibitive favorite. But as he said, if he plays well, he's a threat to anyone. Good strategy instead of pretending to be humble. I also like that he told a reporter he was sick of answering questions about Nick. It shows that as Fed inches closer to retirement, he's being more outspoken instead of so P.C. That's a good thing! :)
 

EasyGoing

Professional
Whatever game plan he has that doesn’t involve the new BH and wicked ROS won’t be enough to win the AO. I saw one DTL backhand in the Istomin match and that was it. However, his movement looks stellar and I loved the drop shots. Serve is solid too.

The weak slice ROS is what bothers me the most. That’s not cutting it in the later rounds if he meets Rafa and/or Djoker.

You are reading too much into it if you ask me. For a first match that was really good - he had two very poor matches in Melbourne 2017 before dialing it up considerably.

We all know Old Fed doesn’t go all in anymore and just plays good enough to win (see Wimby 2017). Maybe he sliced because he wanted some baseline practice, who knows. He surely won’t be slicing Rafa’s serve, that’s a no brainer.

All in all, compared to Us Open 2018 this is night and day.
 
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Deleted member 763024

Guest
Week 2 is where we’ll know if Roger has overcome the mental block he acquired post-Rotterdam ‘18

Not expecting him to win outright, but if Roger bows out before the finals it should be because someone younger, faster, fitter took it to him rather than Roger hesistating on playing his game.

I think he realizes this is as good a chance as he will get so he will show up in every match.
 

MeatTornado

Talk Tennis Guru
—1st serve % wasn’t good but still he faced no break points and that’s a departure from second half of last year which is good.

—1st serve had plenty of power

—FH wasn’t taken as early but had plenty of easy power and “heft” behind it. He FH CC not even taken as early has the usual Fed FH was giving Istomin fits.

—Too many slice BHs, no real Neo ones. He looked to run around whenever possible.
Not sure what to think there.

—Too many slice BH returns.

—He’s got a game plan and I don’t think it involves the aggressive returning and Neo backhand becuse in 2017, we saw those from match #1 in Hopman.
Regardless of his plan the rest of the tournament, slicing was the right call vs Istomin. Fed clearly knew him and his weaknesses very well. He won a ton of points by drawing him in with short slices.
 

MeatTornado

Talk Tennis Guru
Also, friendly reminder that form and tactics in round 1 mean nothing.

1st round of the USO last year might have been his best match all season. He blasted more neo-bhs that match than he did all year. And how did that turn out?

He was easily the best player at Wimbledon after week 1 too.

No one should doubt his ability to play extremely good tennis. It's his ability to maintain it for 2 weeks you should worry about.
 

BeatlesFan

Bionic Poster
You are reading too much into it if you ask me. For a first match that was really good - he had two very poor matches in Melbourne 2017 before dialing it up considerably.

The neo BH was in evidence in every match he played at the 2017 Hopman Cup and in all the early round matches at the 2017 AO. It's not been seen since Stuttgart. I seriously doubt he's suddenly going to be able to unveil it in the semis when it's been dormant for half a year. I hope he keeps using the drop shot though!! He even had a ROS drop shot winner last night.
 

Federev

Legend
Whatever game plan he has that doesn’t involve the new BH and wicked ROS won’t be enough to win the AO. I saw one DTL backhand in the Istomin match and that was it. However, his movement looks stellar and I loved the drop shots. Serve is solid too.

The weak slice ROS is what bothers me the most. That’s not cutting it in the later rounds if he meets Rafa and/or Djoker.
Why has he lost those tools? Do you think it's a case of - it just costs too much physically - the strength / twitch /anticipation / reflexes to keep that going?

Maybe he had a TUE going into 2017 from the recovery off-season which allowed him to play at a new level for a while.

But then the effects of the TUE wore off and he had to go back to his usual tools till the hand injury really took him out of it in mid-2018

That would explain a lot to me.
 
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Deleted member 763024

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Why has he lost those tools? Do you think it's a case of - it just costs too much physically - the strength / twitch /anticipation / reflexes to keep that going?

Maybe he had a TUE going into 2017 from the recovery off-season which allowed him to play at a new level for a while.

But then the effects of the TUE wore off and he had to go back to his usual tools till the hand injury really took him out of it in mid-2018

That would explain a lot to me.

Sounds more like a pre-conceived notion looking for theories to fit than an explanation to me.
 

Federev

Legend
Sounds more like a pre-conceived notion looking for theories to fit than an explanation to me.
It's not a notion. It's a question. I have no idea.

I just don't know why those tools came and went so freaking fast.

And there would be no shame in in a TUE. That's why it is a TUE. It's legal and accountable and transparent with the governing bodies.

Fed's my man. If you know anything about my posts.

I just want that NEO back. Or I wanna know why it isn't coming back.
 
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Deleted member 763024

Guest
It's not a notion. It's a question. I have no idea.

I just don't know why those tools came and went so freaking fast.

And there would be no shame in in a TUE. That's why it is a TUE. It's legal and accountable and transparent with the governing bodies.

Fed's my man. If you know anything about my posts.

I just want that NEO back. Or I wanna know why it isn't coming back.

Occam's razor would suggest there are far simpler explanations for which I think you're reaching with the idea of TUEs and such.

Lack of expectation coming off of his break and the physical benefit of R&R translated into playing really really well in 2017. Even by 2018 AO, that was gone - partly because now the stream of successes behind him put the pressure of expectations - No.20, oldest No.1. He achieved them but one can clearly see he was willing himself to do it and not just playing freely without consequence - IW '18, right after Rotterdam where he secured No.1 was where it all began to take a toll.
 

Federev

Legend
Occam's razor would suggest there are far simpler explanations for which I think you're reaching with the idea of TUEs and such.

Lack of expectation coming off of his break and the physical benefit of R&R translated into playing really really well in 2017. Even by 2018 AO, that was gone - partly because now the stream of successes behind him put the pressure of expectations - No.20, oldest No.1. He achieved them but one can clearly see he was willing himself to do it and not just playing freely without consequence - IW '18, right after Rotterdam where he secured No.1 was where it all began to take a toll.
I don't know. It's just crazy to me how unreal he was in early 2017. It was just amazing stuff for a few months. And then - poof - it's gone.

But maybe it's what you're saying.

And that would make the mental aspect of his game even more the decisive factor than I thought.

If that's the case I would rather he quit after Wimbledon every year if it means he comes back to the AO like he did in '17.

But alas - age is also a factor.

I assume we'll never know.

But I would not rule the beneficial lagging affects of TUE to get over the injury. It's not a scandalous immoral thing.

I wouldn't be surprised if it's a greater factor in these careers than we know.
 
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Deleted member 763024

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I don't know. It's just crazy to me how unreal he was in early 2017. It was just amazing stuff for a few months. And then - poof - it's gone.

But maybe it's what you're saying.

And that would make the mental aspect of his game even more the decisive factor than I thought.

If that's the case I would rather he quit after Wimbledon every year if it means he comes back to the AO like he did in '17.

But alas - age is also a factor.

I assume we'll never know.

But I would not rule the beneficial lagging affects of TUE to get over the injury. It's not a scandalous immoral thing.

I wouldn't be surprised if it's a greater factor in these careers than we know.


Or maybe he consulted shamans and put a spell on Novak/Murray/Stan, who knows? It's not against the rules. I guess we'll never know.
 

Federev

Legend
The neo BH was in evidence in every match he played at the 2017 Hopman Cup and in all the early round matches at the 2017 AO. It's not been seen since Stuttgart. I seriously doubt he's suddenly going to be able to unveil it in the semis when it's been dormant for half a year. I hope he keeps using the drop shot though!! He even had a ROS drop shot winner last night.
Do you have a theory on why the Neo is not in abundance anymore?
 

Federev

Legend
Wow, this neoBH has reached mythical status. :-D It’s just a top spin BH, for crying out loud, not a super power like in Street Fighter...
Easy there Easygoing. This is Fedland and we don't take these things rationally.

But... did you actually see that IW17 match against Rafa? ... or - maybe more importantly - that 5th set in the AO'17 final?

If you're a long time Fed fan and you saw what we saw you would understand the intensity.
 

Bobby Jr

G.O.A.T.
Whatever game plan he has that doesn’t involve the new BH and wicked ROS won’t be enough to win the AO. I saw one DTL backhand in the Istomin match and that was it.
The exact same could be said after a couple of rounds at last year's open, and also in the 2017 open. He saved his guns until he needed them most.

If you only say one DTL backhand you should start watching matches instead of just highlights.

Istomin was not that moment - he was in energy saving mode.
 

BeatlesFan

Bionic Poster
Why has he lost those tools? Do you think it's a case of - it just costs too much physically - the strength / twitch /anticipation / reflexes to keep that going?

I don't know the answers. For me, Roger is by far the greater and better player than either Nadal or Djokovic, particularly Nadal. But his mental issues against both prevent him from playing freely. The neo BH disappearance may also be age-related. We've never seen anyone at age 37 play at this level, so it's all uncharted territory. But if Fed could possibly bring his IW 2017 level to an AO final, he beats anyone, including Djokovic.
 

Federev

Legend
I don't know the answers. For me, Roger is by far the greater and better player than either Nadal or Djokovic, particularly Nadal. But his mental issues against both prevent him from playing freely. The neo BH disappearance may also be age-related. We've never seen anyone at age 37 play at this level, so it's all uncharted territory. Why do you think the neo-BH has been AWOL?

I don't know either...

I think of 3 general options - which are not novel or particularly insightful...

Mental
After an initial season of low expectations he fed off of, now that is past and He feels its a "red-alert high risk option only" now. It creates a higher risk context than he is normally comfortable with.

Physical
After a nice refreshing 6 moths off, his body can't keep it going anymore. The reality of 37. It puts too much pressure on his back or arm or something.

Medical
It was a residual benefit of a season of strength training blocks that were enhanced by a TUE ...and as the effects of the TUE wore off it just costs too much to play too often with.

But I wish I knew.

I've got to imagine his team knows very well what the answer is.
 

oldmanfan

Legend
The AO kit looks great.
Fed's in amazing shape.

watashot!

Federer-1st-R-AO19-1024x576.jpg
 
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Deleted member 763024

Guest
Whatever game plan he has that doesn’t involve the new BH and wicked ROS won’t be enough to win the AO. I saw one DTL backhand in the Istomin match and that was it. However, his movement looks stellar and I loved the drop shots. Serve is solid too.

The weak slice ROS is what bothers me the most. That’s not cutting it in the later rounds if he meets Rafa and/or Djoker.

Maybe he used it against Istomin because it *works* against him? Plus (and this might seem insulting to his early opponents) he needs the rhythm and practice to play baseline rallies.

I don't expect him to come out in the first round of a slam all guns blazing if the past is any indication. Roger raises the level of his game as the level of his opponents rises. Times when he was feeling it and ended up winning the title, he shifted gears while progressing through the rounds.

Watch him at his most efficient, murderous best by Round 3 or 4.
 

oldmanfan

Legend
Maybe he used it against Istomin because it *works* against him? Plus (and this might seem insulting to his early opponents) he needs the rhythm and practice to play baseline rallies.

I don't expect him to come out in the first round of a slam all guns blazing if the past is any indication. Roger raises the level of his game as the level of his opponents rises. Times when he was feeling it and ended up winning the title, he shifted gears while progressing through the rounds.

Watch him at his most efficient, murderous best by Round 3 or 4.

I understand the infatuation with the Neo BH. I like it too, especially against 2017 Nadal. He may not even have it atm. Regardless, imo, Fed's slice BH has always been one of his greatest weapons througout his career.

Most players, especially since the LostGen until now, can hit great groundstrokes, but they are so befuddled by variety in spins, speeds, heights, and angles that when you offer those to them, they are often lost. See A.Zverev, the clear #4 of the past couple of years. Only Nadal and Djokovic have really been able to exploit Fed's slice BHs, mainly Nadal bc of the lefty advantage against a SHBH righty. This was probably why all of 2017 Fed mostly used topspin BHs to return Nadal's serves. Good tactics against Nadal. Topspin BH returns are harder for Fed though, so for other players, why expend excess energy or offer free points when he doesn't have to? Use what works. He's turning 88 soon after all ;).
 

MeatTornado

Talk Tennis Guru
Maybe he used it against Istomin because it *works* against him? Plus (and this might seem insulting to his early opponents) he needs the rhythm and practice to play baseline rallies.

I don't expect him to come out in the first round of a slam all guns blazing if the past is any indication. Roger raises the level of his game as the level of his opponents rises. Times when he was feeling it and ended up winning the title, he shifted gears while progressing through the rounds.

Watch him at his most efficient, murderous best by Round 3 or 4.
I made the same point about his slices against Istomin, but the return of serve is a different story.

He completely stopped coming over the top on his bh returns for the entirety of 2018. Didn't matter if he was playing a scrub or a top 10 guy. I doubt he's going to completely re-adjust if he gets to the semis or final.
 

Ann

Hall of Fame
Well looks like I won't be watching the Australian Open. The "tennis" channel is covering two whole hours a day with no Encore showings, so missed Federer and it's not covered or streamed anywhere else except MFking ESPN+ which sucks and I'm not paying even more MFKing money to watch streamed events that I already know the outcome of.

FVCK the greedy Mofos. I can live just fine without tennis.
 
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Deleted member 763024

Guest
I made the same point about his slices against Istomin, but the return of serve is a different story.

He completely stopped coming over the top on his bh returns for the entirety of 2018. Didn't matter if he was playing a scrub or a top 10 guy. I doubt he's going to completely re-adjust if he gets to the semis or final.

That doesn’t sound right. Pretty sure I’ve seen him topspin BH returns in 2018. Maybe just not as frequently as in early 2017

Again a host of reasons here. On slower surfaces the gain may not be much while it takes more effort and enjoins greater risk.

Part of it could be that he didn’t have confidence in the other wing due to the wrist injury. One part of your weaponry suffers and it lowers his overall confidence level to execute higher risk shots. Partly could be a movement issue too.

I would wait until after the AO to draw any long term conclusions. If he fails here with a hesitant performance then it points to a persistent mental block. But I’m hoping all the bells and whistles are in good order by week 2
 

ghostofMecir

Hall of Fame
Regardless of his plan the rest of the tournament, slicing was the right call vs Istomin. Fed clearly knew him and his weaknesses very well. He won a ton of points by drawing him in with short slices.

Oh, that’s true. But in 2017 regardless of opponent, he was hitting that BH and those BH returns. Maybe he feels he can turn it on.

I saw him very comfortable hitting heavy CC FHs here and at Hopmsn cup. Think his added muscule is helping with that. His rally patterns were different because of it.

Also, in 2017, he didn’t have to run around his FH as much meaning less mileage and wear and tear on his body.
 

tennisaddict

Bionic Poster
Well looks like I won't be watching the Australian Open. The "tennis" channel is covering two whole hours a day with no Encore showings, so missed Federer and it's not covered or streamed anywhere else except MFking ESPN+ which sucks and I'm not paying even more MFKing money to watch streamed events that I already know the outcome of.

FVCK the greedy Mofos. I can live just fine without tennis.

Don't you get ESPN ? You can watch there from 9:00 PM onwards
 

MeatTornado

Talk Tennis Guru
Well looks like I won't be watching the Australian Open. The "tennis" channel is covering two whole hours a day with no Encore showings, so missed Federer and it's not covered or streamed anywhere else except MFking ESPN+ which sucks and I'm not paying even more MFKing money to watch streamed events that I already know the outcome of.

FVCK the greedy Mofos. I can live just fine without tennis.
You realize how much money ESPN must pay to get the rights to the slams? They're the primary provider in the US, of course their content is going to be exclusive as they can make it.

Tennis Channel is a supplementary channel, always has been. And idk what you mean about no encore showings. You mean none at all, or just not Fed's match? Because when I came home from work they were replaying Murray's match.
 

Edhead-Fedhead

Hall of Fame
Goodbye Guys. I just canceled all of my useless tennis subscriptions. This fool game is getting too expensive and more work than it's worth. Good luck in life y'all.
I was able to watch the full Fed match free on ESPN3. It was a replay, but I was OK with that, since I could watch it when it was more convenient. I'm pretty good at avoiding results, so delayed matches work fine for me! (I'll subscribe to TennisTV again, after the AO is over. I love to watch matches without all the yip-yappin'...)
 
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Deleted member 742196

Guest
The obsession with the "neo backhand" is borderline cringe. And this is coming from a Fed Fan.
Same here. Some people watch tennis and others also play it. Nobody I know that plays tennis calls it that. You think the coaches and team around Federer or anyone on the tour uses the term? Not a chance.

There’s a syntax that goes with playing/learning tennis. ‘Neo backhand’ is not part of it.
 

Poisoned Slice

Bionic Poster
The obsession with the "neo backhand" is borderline cringe. And this is coming from a Fed Fan.

That's what I meant to say. :p

It's not really cringey, I just find it funny how it came out of nowhere. Then all of a sudden Neo Backhand grows like the agents. Oh, yeah. Crap matrix puns everywhere. It's not something I'm familair with. Maybe the Neo Backhand has been around since the 40's and I never got the memo..
 
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