Federer out. What does this mean?

terribleIVAN

Hall of Fame
This match proved to me he's actually already retired, except for the gallery.

From the other forum;

"Federer looks to be on a retirement tour to me. There's no reason to expect him to be able to compete for anything based on what we saw in these two matches, but I guess we'll see about grass. "
 

jussumman

Hall of Fame
And this is the point where this turns into an arguing and trolling thread between fans of the big three. Not being a enormous fan of any of the big three, this is fun to watch.


Surely they offer different playing styles to choose from. Who are you a fan of then?
 

jussumman

Hall of Fame
ae072070163758984243215cabd3bf71.gif
 

NoleIsBoat

Hall of Fame
It means the game has evolved and passed him by. No shame in losing to a big hitter like bashivali who hits missiles every shot
 

daggerman

Hall of Fame
It means very little. Of course he was going to be rusty.

Some folks on here seem to think that anybody outside of the Big 3 is bad at tennis. These are all professional tennis players. They can all play. So how meaningful is it that Federer, who hadn't played a competitive match in over a year, lost to one of the 50 best players in the world in a close match he easily could've won?

If anything, it's a sign he'll be just fine this year. I bet Roger will prove he's still a top 10 player in the world.
 

Pheasant

Legend
It's two matches in 14 months. Come on, folks. Nobody can have that long of a lay off and then come back razor-sharp. Let's give the maestro a chance to scrape off the rust first before we bury him alive.
 

ptennisb

Rookie
Surely they offer different playing styles to choose from. Who are you a fan of then?
Can't say I hate all of the big three. I love watching all of them play. I am definitely a Medvedev fan, a paire fan, and any player with "amateur" technique who wins a lot. Makes me feel good about my own tennis.
 

Sudacafan

Bionic Poster
I really think, if this is something to go by, Federer might be on his last rodeo. We'll have to see. Federer trolls, please vent somewhere else.
His last career match was going to be the Wimbledon 2019 final.
He had to change plans, as it didn’t work as expected.
 

Krish0608

G.O.A.T.
This means he won’t play his next match tomorrow. But they good news is, he’s here to stay. At 39, this is incredibly encouraging. His groundies looked sharp and the skill is still there. Just needs a few matches to shake off the rust. Needs to work on his Cardio and serve as well. He’s performed MUCH better than I expected. Looks much sharper than I feared. No worries. He’ll peak in time for Wimbledon. You wait. :D
 

stringertom

Bionic Poster
I mean Novak looked like a skeleton with a stamina of 3 year old when he came back after a long lay off in 2018.

Conclusion - It takes time.
fedr 2017 set the bar very very high, almost impossibly high to clear with a much longer layoff at age 39. I’m seeing good more than gloom from the very small sample size so far. Aside from exho Hopman Cup, his second match in ‘17 was vs qualifier Noah Rubin, a bit easier hurdle than Basil Fawlty despite his horrendous slump before Doha. Barely being edged today doesn’t leave as bitter an aftertaste as the loss in his second match after blowing CPs at Wimby’19, which was the Rublev spanking at The Real Slam.

#GlassHalfFull
 

Bill W

Rookie
A 39+ year old who had two knee surgeries and was out for 14 months lost a tennis match? It doesn't mean crapola.
 

smboogie

Semi-Pro
It means he's working his way back after a year out of competitive play. Everyone knows that he's not going to be the Old Fed of 15 years ago, but he's still tremendously competitive and can hold his own against anyone on tour.

This loss at Doha doesn't mean anything as everything is just a tune up tourney for him to prepare for a major.
 
P

PETEhammer

Guest
We have heard from forum experts that modern medicine can defy age. So, we can wait for Federer to evolve and peak .
He is 39 and in the top 6. You don't think that's defying prior patterns of age related performance?
 
Last edited by a moderator:

metsman

Talk Tennis Guru
Fraud's groundies still look ok and can do the usual trickery with his serve despite having a few MPHs off. He's moving slow as a snail, especially to his BH wing, whether this is permanent or with some more reps he can improve his physical condition a bit with the movement and serve speed, we'll see. Return I'm fairly sure is just a timing thing which should be back, and once it does he's still easily a top 10 player in this era, but he won't be able to contend for the majors or Wimbledon unless he gets his physical condition up a bit.
 
D

Deleted member 771911

Guest
It means coming back at 39 after two knee surgeries and 14 months off tour is gonna be tough even for Fed.
 

Sport

G.O.A.T.
It means Roger played below his usual level, which is normal after such a long time off.

He still has many months to improve his form, fitness and rhytm before Wimbledon starts.
 

-NN-

G.O.A.T.
Yeah, seriously, some people are overreacting calling him finished or done. not every comeback can be 2017 like. This one will just take a little longer.


Maybe, we'll see. Maybe not.

We'll see if his body can withstand the work needed to actually build back the muscle, the fast twitch, and what sort of window for success that opens up to him.

Right now it isn't clear.
 
D

Deleted member 688153

Guest
Maybe, we'll see. Maybe not.

We'll see if his body can withstand the work needed to actually build back the muscle, the fast twitch, and what sort of window for success that opens up to him.

Right now it isn't clear.
If he just keeps playing matches I'll be happy. Expectations are low and fun is high
 

-NN-

G.O.A.T.
If he just keeps playing matches I'll be happy. Expectations are low and fun is high

Yes though I doubt he'll play many matches if he can't get some results, so to have that fun one hopes his comeback trail to physical fitness doesn't trip over more serious hurdles. He's already had a complicated time rehabbing, so I'll just enjoy any match he ends up playing. Could be a few, could be 100+.
 

Checkmate

Legend
Don't worry, he will be outrunning, outgrinding younger players once again come Wimbledon. (y) ;)
Yeah, seriously, some people are overreacting calling him finished or done. not every comeback can be 2017 like. This one will just take a little longer.
this is ttw though where the most recent match is always the new paradigm
fedr 2017 set the bar very very high, almost impossibly high to clear with a much longer layoff at age 39. I’m seeing good more than gloom from the very small sample size so far. Aside from exho Hopman Cup, his second match in ‘17 was vs qualifier Noah Rubin, a bit easier hurdle than Basil Fawlty despite his horrendous slump before Doha. Barely being edged today doesn’t leave as bitter an aftertaste as the loss in his second match after blowing CPs at Wimby’19, which was the Rublev spanking at The Real Slam.

#GlassHalfFull

CMIIW but didn't Federer look average in Hopman Cup 2017 and lost a set to Melzer & Noah Rubin during the first and second round of AO 2017?
 

stringertom

Bionic Poster
CMIIW but didn't Federer look average in Hopman Cup 2017 and lost a set to Melzer & Noah Rubin during the first and second round of AO 2017?
HC: won twice in straight sets over Gasquet and Evans, lost an all-TB 3-set thriller with Zedraffe.

AO 1R: dropped the second set to Melzer, won in 4

AO 2R: straight sets over Rubin
 

vandre

Hall of Fame
he had a matchpoint in the third set. he wasn't as out of this match as it seemed. after watching the highlights of this match, i'd say he has some rust to shake off still. his reflexes/ instincts seem to be a bit out of sorts. he hasn't lost his touch and he can still paint the lines.
 

Sudacafan

Bionic Poster
If Fed retires now, 2021 will be the year with the record of less losses in his career.
He should think about it.
 
Top