Federer slammed for skipping clay in '17

[fedtennisphan]

I think it sets a bad precedent for some potential future great players who might choose to specialize on a particular surface as they begin to age. While people on here can skip around and say its totally fine for an "old" guy like Fed to skip clay tournaments, it gets a little silly to skip the entire season including the French just to prepare for Wimbledon for 8+ weeks. Fed fans only let this go because Federer is doing it. Skipping an entire season is ridiculous especially when you don't have a legitimate reason to be missing it other than thinking you can't win. Keep in mind these guys are still pro athletes, the whole "potential injury" thing would only make sense if he was trying to grind out 3+ tournaments on clay. At one or two tournaments he should be fine on clay which isn't necessarily an injury inducing surface to begin with.

Nice try. Federer has something most coveted and some don’t want him to add to it. Knee surgery and had to miss months of the previous year to rehab. Is that a legitimate reason enough for you?

 

[Slightly D1]

OK, but the last time you checked, how old was Federer?

He is 36 which is clearly not young in terms of an age for an athlete but that still isn't really enough of an excuse to skip an entire season. I completely understand a lighter workload and being selective with tournaments and maybe even taking off most of the clay tournaments but not all. He's a professional athlete and not some 50 year old rec player who might need to take a few months off after over doing it one weekend.

 

[Slightly D1]

OK, but the last time you checked, how old was Federer?

He is 36 which is clearly not young in terms of an age for an athlete but that still isn't really enough of an excuse to skip an entire season. I completely understand a lighter workload and being selective with tournaments and maybe even taking off most of the clay tournaments but not all. He's a professional athlete and not some 50 year old rec player who might need to take a few months off after over doing it one weekend.

 

[fedtennisphan]

He is 36 which is clearly not young in terms of an age for an athlete but that still isn't really enough of an excuse to skip an entire season. I completely understand a lighter workload and being selective with tournaments and maybe even taking off most of the clay tournaments but not all. He's a professional athlete and not some 50 year old rec player who might need to take a few months off after over doing it one weekend.

19 GS is the reason why you “want” Federer to play the clay season. 36 and had knee surgery is the reason. Federer is NOT obligated to play any tournament.

 

[Sudacafan]

He is 36 which is clearly not young in terms of an age for an athlete but that still isn't really enough of an excuse to skip an entire season. I completely understand a lighter workload and being selective with tournaments and maybe even taking off most of the clay tournaments but not all. He's a professional athlete and not some 50 year old rec player who might need to take a few months off after over doing it one weekend.

Well, OK. Age would not be the primary issue, but I do accept it affects his preparation for the grass season which is his forte.

 

[Slightly D1]

Nice try. Federer has something most coveted and some don’t want him to add to it. Knee surgery and had to miss months of the previous year to rehab. Is that a legitimate reason enough for you?

Kinda creepy how offended you are about this to be honest. Why wouldn't he just skip everything but Halle, Stuttgart and Wimbledon this year then? Claiming knee surgery from 2016 as to why he skipped every single clay tournament in 2017 also makes literally no sense whatsoever.

 

[Slightly D1]

Nice try. Federer has something most coveted and some don’t want him to add to it. Knee surgery and had to miss months of the previous year to rehab. Is that a legitimate reason enough for you?

Kinda creepy how offended you are about this to be honest. Why wouldn't he just skip everything but Halle, Stuttgart and Wimbledon this year then? Claiming knee surgery from 2016 as to why he skipped every single clay tournament in 2017 also makes literally no sense whatsoever.

 

[TheFifthSet]

He is 36 which is clearly not young in terms of an age for an athlete but that still isn't really enough of an excuse to skip an entire season. I completely understand a lighter workload and being selective with tournaments and maybe even taking off most of the clay tournaments but not all. He's a professional athlete and not some 50 year old rec player who might need to take a few months off after over doing it one weekend.

Reason for skipping clay season = come in fresh for Wimbledon.

End result = won Wimbledon.


You can rip on Federer, but in the end he made the right career choice as things went 100% according to plan.

 

[Dedans Penthouse]

Clay, easy on the legs, hard on the 'Wimby' wallet.

 

[TheFifthSet]

Also, the idea that it's unprofessional is objectively wrong. What Federer did was within the rules that are dictated by the governing body of tennis.

Moreover, Federer has played hundreds of more matches than the next most seasoned guy on tour and has contributed more to tennis than almost any player in the history of the sport. If anybody has a problem with a player of his stature taking advantage of the rules that are at his disposal, all I glean from it is that they might just be upset that he won the most prestigious tournament in tennis.

 

[Shank Volley]

Yeah, real dangerous.

I know it's sand, but use your imagination.

Surely someone here can photoshop a sea of coins in place of the sand.

 

[kabob]

We're retreading this tired subject AGAIN? Why can't this just die and be swallowed in the sink hole the TTW servers have fallen into this past week?

 

[ollinger]

I grew up in the States - kind of a big country for tennis not too long ago - playing plenty of tennis. And I never saw a clay court in my life except maybe once

Most people apart from bits of Spain and south amercia don’t play on clay either

have played on clay (red or green, the experience is essentially the same) all over the US, in Canada, in numerous countries in Europe, in Central America, lots of places. The indoor and outdoor clubs I currently play at in this area are both clay courts. It's rather common.

 

[Federer and Del Potro]

"Slammed" by anonymous internet posters who masquerades around the forum as a Federer "fan", but is actually the furthest thing from one. I'm sure he'll be up all night worrying about this while he's playing with his 4 kids, looking at his 19 GS trophies (2 of which came this year), and drowning in his hundreds of millions of dollars.

I suppose the internet takes all kinds. Most times unfortunately so.

Smoledman is 90's Clay Lite.

 

[vex]

Why did we need this thread? I mean seriously.

Fed can do whatever he wants. Who cares what anyone thinks.

 

[Luckydog]

Who blames him ? Arrogant Frenches ?

 

[Federev]

have played on clay (red or green, the experience is essentially the same) all over the US, in Canada, in numerous countries in Europe, in Central America, lots of places. The indoor and outdoor clubs I currently play at in this area are both clay courts. It's rather common.

Just not my experience in middle class America.
But really Not my main concern anyhow.

Like I said Halle, Queens, Wimby, Stuttgart: No problem bringing in thousands of people and millions of dollars on the surface the game was born on and still celebrates at its greatest tournament.

Rafa gets 3 clay 1000 masters and complains about WTF.

Fed raises the question of "why not 1 grass masters while we're at it? ". ... Seems a reasonable question to me.

 

[fedtennisphan]

Also, the idea that it's unprofessional is objectively wrong. What Federer did was within the rules that are dictated by the governing body of tennis.

Moreover, Federer has played hundreds of more matches than the next most seasoned guy on tour and has contributed more to tennis than almost any player in the history of the sport. If anybody has a problem with a player of his stature taking advantage of the rules that are at his disposal, all I glean from it is that they might just be upset that he won the most prestigious tournament in tennis.

Federer is still a threat to win GS titles. That’s why FedHaters like to bring up WB outfits from 2009 in 2017 and so-called manufactured images to deflect from real reason why they resent Federer.

 

[Sudacafan]

My take:
- Federer is wrong to ask for a grass M1000
- Nadal is wrong to ask for WTF played in clay
- 3 clay M1000’s is OK
- Most of changes tested at NextGen Milan parade are a big no.
- If they finally succeed in implementing any of these changes to win more money, I hope it backfires.

 

[Red Rick]

"We need this thread again"


~people who are so defensive they can't stand the possibility of critique on their favorite player

 

[Surion]

Can someone honestly explain to me why there are no masters events on grass?
I know there are certain requirements concerning the courts, size of the crowd and so on, but how can the ATP allow that? The most prestigeous Grand Slam is played on grass, I mean...come on.

 

[Surion]

Double post...what's wrong with this board?!

 

[Federev]

Double post. Site is screwy.

new iPhone update for you possibly? My phone has been doing this since i updated last time .

 

[Federev]

Kinda creepy how offended you are about this to be honest. Why wouldn't he just skip everything but Halle, Stuttgart and Wimbledon this year then? Claiming knee surgery from 2016 as to why he skipped every single clay tournament in 2017 also makes literally no sense whatsoever.

He won everything before that and said his body was very worn down again from that and that clay was not a good prospect for newly surgeried knee.

 

[aditya123]

Same ATP that has zero Masters 1000s on grass and 3 on clay.

Why do you Fed fans never get the point??? Clay court masters are proportionally right(3clay, 3 grass 3 hard MC would be the ideal ratio) Hard court masters needs to be cut down

 

[Adv. Edberg]

ATP rules allow it. Fed can do it.

Same ATP that has zero Masters 1000s on grass and 3 on clay.

And like 8 on HC, ridiculous.

 

[Federev]

Kinda creepy how offended you are about this to be honest. Why wouldn't he just skip everything but Halle, Stuttgart and Wimbledon this year then? Claiming knee surgery from 2016 as to why he skipped every single clay tournament in 2017 also makes literally no sense whatsoever.

He won everything before that and said his body was very worn down again from that and that clay was not a good prospect for newly surgeried knee.

 

[aditya123]

How many years did Agassi skip AO during early part of his career. Even Lendl, and Borg, two of the greatest on clay skipped RG to focus on winning Wimbledon.

Borg was absent at RG only once. I think it was due to some contract issues not with the hindsight of winning Wimbledon I guess. Pls correct me if am wrong

 

[fedtennisphan]

Why do you Fed fans never get the point??? Clay court masters are proportionally right(3clay, 3 grass 3 hard MC would be the ideal ratio) Hard court masters needs to be cut down

Both fanbases need to shut up because each do not care about the ATP itself. The constant one upmanship by each fanbase is getting tiresome. Nadal is the only one in this discussion that is trying to get the WTF surface changed to his advantage because he resents Federer ability to the win 6 titles at the event. If Federer had zero like him, or haven’t sustained losses this year to Federer on HC, Nadal wouldn’t be pushing the issue. Federer has never pushed for a grass MS 1000 because he doesn’t care one way another and need it to one-up Nadal. Fed fans need to stop with the nonsense about not being enough grass and Nadal fans stop trying to get rid of HCs. Both “ideas” are self-serving and should not be done just because each fanbase thinks the tour revolves around them. Yes, I am Federer fan but Federer, Djokovic and Nadal fans have the same problem and it involves Federer.

 

[aditya123]

Both fanbases need to shut up because each do not care about the ATP itself. The constant one upmanship by each fanbase is getting tiresome. Nadal is the only one in this discussion that is trying to get the WTF surface changed to his advantage because he resents Federer ability to the win 6 titles at the event. If Federer had zero like him, or haven’t sustained losses this year to Federer on HC, Nadal wouldn’t be pushing the issue. Federer has never pushed for a grass MS 1000 because he doesn’t care one way another and need it to one-up Nadal. Fed fans need to stop with the nonsense about not being enough grass and Nadal fans stop trying to get rid of HCs. Both “ideas” are self-serving and should not be done just because each fanbase thinks the tour revolves around them. Yes, I am Federer fan but Federer, Djokovic and Nadal fans have the same problem and it involves Federer.

Lengthy analysis. Even though am a Nadal fan am not expecting more clay tournaments from ATP, but expecting a few grass court masters ( for neutral fans who are fed up with billions of hc tournaments) in place of hard court masters, it would still work in favour of Federer. If you get my point you may realize that this is not a "self serving idea" as you described

 

[Tennis_Hands]

Grass is a surface almost nobody plays in regularly.

You seem to be on the top of it.

Also, you forgot to write that grass is for cows.