Accepted the loss. Saw the stats. Became frustrated again. Now starting to accept it again. Novak too good on the match points. It’s all too easy to think what he should have done in hindsight
I'm not okay with either of them going ahead in major titles count.
We can rationalize it away until the cows come home, but losing that and weeks at number one would be a bitter pill to swallow.
I'm gonna keep hoping that there are enough C-level, some-time talents to keep them at bay by knocking them out periodically. Help a GOAT out, will ye?
Where is @oldmanfan when you need him
I’m really disappointed but not necessarily shocked to read some fans have jumped ship. Shame on these people. How it takes years for you to realise you’re purely a glory hunter is beyond me. Of course a win would have made me so much happier but I feel nothing but proud of the great man. No one expected him to come so close. Remember we said we wanted nothing else after AO17. Yet some people wanted more and more, the moment our champ came slightly short because he was playing another ATG who didn’t give a inch in those big points, they trashed him, they spat on him and abandoned him. For me this is more disappointing than the match, particularly when you just woke up after four hours of sleep, came here hoping for support and comfort. Those of you don’t deserve to ever call yourself a Fed fan. Thanks to those who continue to support him and believe in him here. For some reason I’m handling this loss much better than 2014 and 2015. Roger has already given me too much joy since that. I believe he is leaving Wimbledon holding his head high too, way far from those who believe he’ll be crushed.
Btw where is @oldmanfan? I’m a bit worried about him...
Edit: so glad to see you posted just when I was typing!
disagree where are ur facts to support this serb is a small percentage? it’s obviously the opposite based on the fan reaction todayIf Novak's personality was oh so terrible, I doubt Kyrgios would be the only one whining about it. Also, Serbs make a small portion of Novak's fanbase.
Well said. Most brutal loss ever, but those who said they'd never watch another Fed match or hate him or all that... well, maybe they were never fans of Fed to begin with? I said after AO 2017 that I would never complain again if he lost a slam final and I've tried to abide by that. He's 38, it's all gravy by now. Everything in life is taking the good with the bad, whether it's in school, a career, a marriage or anything else. Roger's given us amazing highs, and today was a brutal low. But usually, it all balances out. He'll come back and win more events and will remind us why we love him so.I’m really disappointed but not necessarily shocked to read some fans have jumped ship. Shame on these people. How it takes years for you to realise you’re purely a glory hunter is beyond me. Of course a win would have made me so much happier but I feel nothing but proud of the great man. No one expected him to come so close. !
Fed looked like he was about to cry. He was destroyed. Barely managed a smile.
I know Hitman said “I’m sure he’s winning one more”. It’s the typical cliche statement, despite being well-meaning. I just cannot see it after this. This was his ‘one more’
Worst defeat of his career. Wish I didn’t watch this monstrosity of a match.
Not the first time he suffered a devastating loss in his career. The guy has had many of them.
Fed is IMO the penultimate glass is half full guy, he'll definitely be down mentally for a while but also take some confidence from being a point away from being Djokodal back-to-back in a slam.
Call me a foolish optimist but I believe Fed bounces back from this, I truly do.
Well said. Most brutal loss ever, but those who said they'd never watch another Fed match or hate him or all that... well, maybe they were never fans of Fed to begin with? I said after AO 2017 that I would never complain again if he lost a slam final and I've tried to abide by that. He's 38, it's all gravy by now. Everything in life is taking the good with the bad, whether it's in school, a career, a marriage or anything else. Roger's given us amazing highs, and today was a brutal low. But usually, it all balances out. He'll come back and win more events and will remind us why we love him so.
Bouncing back means he wins another major. does he have a good chance of doing that if novak stays healthy ?
="zagor, post: 13562608, member: 24206"]Not the first time he suffered a devastating loss in his career. The guy has had many of them.
Fed is IMO the penultimate glass is half full guy, he'll definitely be down mentally for a while but also take some confidence from being a point away from being Djokodal back-to-back in a slam.
Call me a foolish optimist but I believe Fed bounces back from this, I truly do.
Thx for your thoughts! I was a bit tied up, is all. This one hurts, but The Old Man did us proud. The better player on the day doesn't always win. Today was such a day. But with Fedr in this form, who is to say a USO19 win isn't realistic?
We sometimes want Fedr to win it all, but if we could choose only ONE win between WB19 or USO19, which would we choose? It's a tuffie. WB19 might edge it a bit for me since Fedr likes it so. OTOH, another USO would make him GOAT there. So, if Fedr really would only win one, USO19 instead of WB19 ain't too shabby .
Wait whatI’m really disappointed but not necessarily shocked to read some fans have jumped ship.
There are no guarantees in the sport, tennis landscape can change quick;y. Novak might suffer another dip in form or someone might take him out or maybe even Fed finds some inner belief agains him again on the big stages (as unlikely as that may seem to people right now).
My gut instinct says Fed has one more slam in him, that's what I believe.
Years ago, I thought he'd end his career with 19. After AO17, I changed the target to 22. He was 1 point away today for 21. I won't give a % of reaching 22 yet, but I think it's definitely still very possible, and he 'may' just go beyond 22 (a relative of mines thinks Fedr ends with 23).
Since last year's WB18, I've always thought that Djokr was pretty good, but definitely not as good as many were saying. His results were deceptive since WB18 when looking at his form. He was having trouble in multiple matches in many tournies, including at the USO18, so much so that I was a bit annoyed at how underwhelming Delpo performed in finals. What a meek Delpo performance when the match should've been close to 50/50.
I felt I wasn't far off in thinking Djokr's form wasn't stellar like many thought when noFH/noROS-Fedr was a break up in set2 of Cinci18 finals to take it the distance (Fedr was terrible all tournament, yet Djokr barely put him away). I felt even more justified when Djokr barely scraped past an exhausted still-injured Fedr at Bercy18, winning 2 TBs. Many were surprised when Djokr lost the WTF18 finals, but they shouldn't be bc he wasn't anywhere near his 2015 form. The AO19 finals result was surprising, but moreso bc Nadl just never really showed up. Djokr was good, but Nadl was terrible. Then we see how Djokr did from IW19 through WB19. Had he been dominating as some believed, he wouldn't be losing those matches the way he did nor losing sets so often. Today proved it even further by Djokr being completely outplayed by a ~38 yr old. Had Fedr been a bit better on serve, straight sets was possible today.
So... I still think 22 is possible, maybe even more...
Keeping hopes for USO19 is all good. If nothing transpires there then this loss would sting for a while since it could very well be the last slam final he ever played. But like you said he gave it his best shot and stretched it to 12-12.
For a 38 yr old man, cmon, thats a magnificent finish against another ATG.
I agree that Novak is showing some cracks and is winning more on mental edge than on great play but the other side of the coin here is whether Fed will maintain his current high form? I think he can. He's almost 38 but he's not a normal 38 year old. He was a beast physically this tourney (his stamina and movement) and his serve is still lethal. As long as the motivation is still there I think Fed can keep battling Father Time for some time more.
I agree that Novak is showing some cracks and is winning more on mental edge than on great play but the other side of the coin here is whether Fed will maintain his current high form? I think he can. He's almost 38 but he's not a normal 38 year old. He was a beast physically this tourney (his stamina and movement) and his serve is still lethal. As long as the motivation is still there I think Fed can keep battling Father Time for some time more.
i hope and for me its not about hte slam race (okay i lie im a petty fed fan who wants him to get all teh records if possible) but it sucks that he always comes up close but doesnt get over the hill and unlike in 2014/2015 he even had freaking CPs. HE EVEN HAD A BETTER BP CONVERSATION RATE, WHEN DOES THAT HAPPEN, NEVER?! it just sucks when he plays well and isn't rewarded and no shade to novak who deserves the win. also the next gen do squat they take the old man out and then do jack **** against the top 2 players.
I definitely get the frustration about the next-gen players (not just because of Fed either, it's not healthy for the game), 38 year old should be doing their job for them but it's the state of the tour unfortunately.
I'd say maybe some of the will finally get their act together next year but we've been saying that for years now, it's like a broken record at this point.
Pretty sure it's annoying Fed too, lol. He actually never had a period where he wasn't beset by young guns except arguably 2004 (but that was a pretty strong year otherwise).
If Fed can play at this level he just has to get lucky once . Take Djoker out somehow or the draw to pan out.
I definitely get the frustration about the next-gen players (not just because of Fed either, it's not healthy for the game), 38 year old should be doing their job for them but it's the state of the tour unfortunately.
I'd say maybe some of the will finally get their act together next year but we've been saying that for years now, it's like a broken record at this point.
Pretty sure it's annoying Fed too, lol. He actually never had a period where he wasn't beset by young guns except arguably 2004 (but that was a pretty strong year otherwise).
i mean i'm happy fed is still around no doubt, but really how is a 38 year old (idc how amazing he is i know fed is special) but how are the top 3 players like the same from 10 years ago but just in a different order? i know i sound like a broken record but i firmly believe surface homogenization has contributed to this. You can see these 3 are teh greatest players to ever play which may be true but even the so called weak era of roddick/hewitt safin etc took it to the the generation before them, heck fed didn't even start out the best since he was a late bloomer. i know you blame social media, imo that isn't the issue because i do see some of them train hard and imo social media can be used for good too but that is besides teh point. imo it is os hard to break through when you have variety and why bother teaching kids variety when they are comfortable hitting from behind the baseline as hard as possible. why bother teaching them to come up to the net or do something different, when you can be rallying for days on end even on so called faster surfaces. 45 shot rallies on wimbledon is just nope, that is not it and as a result these kids are imo not being taught to play with any type of variety and well therefore flopping.
I see it different. Federer doesn't need anything anytime soon. Everything since about 2014 has been gravy on a GOAT career. Every loss to the guys 5 years younger who are still in their prime means nothing since what he's doing now is so unexpected. But every special win - even if it's not a final, such as the Nadal semifinal - is one more stone cementing him as the GOAT.The way I see it Roger needs a big win fairly soon but as others have pointed out; another slam is possible but unrealistic. So for me, the WTF is beckoning — no it wouldn’t be enough but I feel like he still has something else left in him.
Wait what
Who? Imagine being so bad at being a sports fan that you ditch your guy after he loses that match. Embarrassing
I'm starting to feel a bit better about it all. Not fully recovered yet, but I will be.
It's crazy how a man hitting a yellow ball over a net can make us feel so many emotions.
Hitman is happy, no? Why the tears?
Fed will be back.
Anyone else worried that Roger picked up an injury during the clay? I remember back in Miami he was firing on all cylinders and in the grass season, the forehand lacked sting. I wonder if the hand injury is back. I'm actually more worried about that than anything I saw with the backhand today. I noticed a lot of pushy forehands and not many fearhands.
I'm starting to feel a bit better about it all. Not fully recovered yet, but I will be.
It's crazy how a man hitting a yellow ball over a net can make us feel so many emotions.
His forehand errors are the key that he'd given it a lot in his Nadal match. He made 52 forehand errors vs Djokovic and, notably, three in the first set tie-break alone which probably cost him the breaker. That many errors for just 18 forehand winners - an almost 3:1 ratio is unacceptable (vs the Nadal match where the ratio was closer to 1:1). Those loopier forehands which kept landing short and giving DJokovic what he liked were the result of Fed trying to find his range and not finding a rhythm like he usually would in 19 out of 20 matches eventually.Exactly. The number of UE, especially from his FH creeped up at the tail end of that match. Either loopier, or not enough on the slices. People say how Federer could have played more, but really, one has to be a more careful observant to see that Federer's game was slowly deteriorating (it would have been abnormal if it didn't