Federer the Iron Man of Tennis...

Federev

Federev

G.O.A.T.
Not only is he the oldest number 1 in ATP history
Not only has he never retired from a match EVER
Not only was he #1 or #2 in the world for part of EVERY year from 2003-2018

But even in losing matches, he's the Iron Man GOAT and hangs in there the toughest...

Federer Is Tennis’ ‘Toughest Out’
www.atptour.com

Federer Is Tennis’ ‘Toughest Out’ | ATP Tour | Tennis

In the latest Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers analysis, Craig O'Shannessy looks at the amount of points Roger Federer has managed to win in matches he has lost.
www.atptour.com www.atptour.com
 
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Federev said:
Not only is he the oldest number 1 in ATP history
Not only has he never retired from a match EVER
Not only was he #1 or #2 in the world for part of EVERY year from 2003-2018

But even in losing matches, he's the GOAT and hangs in there the toughest...

Federer Is Tennis’ ‘Toughest Out’
www.atptour.com

Federer Is Tennis’ ‘Toughest Out’ | ATP Tour | Tennis

In the latest Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers analysis, Craig O'Shannessy looks at the amount of points Roger Federer has managed to win in matches he has lost.
www.atptour.com www.atptour.com
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This and that Nadal never broke a racket in an official match have to be two of the most underrated records in history.
(y)
 
"Federer has won the most points in his losses"
How do players win a lot of guaranteed points in every match? With a big serve.

Conclusion: Fedr is a servebot

EDIT: in all seriousness, I'm pretty sure his serve does play a major role in this. It's easy to get copious amounts of cheap points and service holds off a serve like that.
 
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Well, it's the silver lining to all the close matches he's lost, some of which are the biggest epics in the tennis history. :(:)

Federer is definitely the Iron Man of tennis. A tennis genius. And he's a philanthropist. Soon to become a billionaire.
Not a playboy, but 3 out 4 is close enough.
 
The Fedfather said:
Well, it's the silver lining to all the close matches he's lost, some of which are the biggest epics in the tennis history. :(:)

Federer is definitely the Iron Man of tennis. A tennis genius. And he's a philanthropist. Soon to become a billionaire.
Not a playboy, but 3 out 4 is close enough.
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What I do love about what Fed’s “back 9” has done to his legacy is the ways it’s added obvious “toughness” to the portfolio.

He’s always been seen - especially the first decade - as this elegant ballerina-like athlete with this almost “above hard work” level of God-given talent. In all of that he’s been vulnerable to a kind of criticism that he almost doesn’t have to earn it.

But I think the last decade, where he’s increasingly hung in there and kept grinding through injuries, doubts, now surgeries, and mind blowingly close heart crushing losses (how do ever come back from 40-15??), have shown him to be made of sterner stuff.

Lord willing, I’ll be glad to see him compete again no matter the outcome.
 
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DSH said:
This and that Nadal never broke a racket in an official match have to be two of the most underrated records in history.
(y)
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Nadal leads in greatest average winning % over opponents. A bit better than Fed at giving beat downs.
 
Federev said:
What I do love about what Fed’s “back 9” has done to his legacy is the ways it’s added obvious “toughness” to the portfolio.

He’s always been seen - especially the first decade - as this elegant ballerina-like athlete with this almost “above hard work” level of God-given talent. In all of that he’s been vulnerable to a kind of criticism that he almost doesn’t have to earn it.

But I think the last decade, where he’s increasingly hung in there and kept grinding through injuries, now surgeries, and mind blowingly close heart crushing losses (how do ever come back from 40-15??), have shown him to be made of sterner stuff.

Lord willing, I’ll be glad to see him compete again no matter the outcome.
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I'd say we've seen a significant change in Federer through the latter half of his career. Not just as a player, but as a person. He was very driven and dedicated from very early on, that was always a part of his personality. But success did come relatively easy to him, he didn't struggle much in his haydays due to being incredibly talented, it was not conducive to forming a tough character.

The challenges that came in the last decade and the way Federer overcame them again showed his admirable drive and passion for the sport, but they also hardened him. He grew as a person so much! As a fan, it's very rewarding somehow. Unfortunate though (and slightly annoying) that many people who disliked Federer for how he was back in the day, either can't see that change or refuse to accept it as real.
 
The Fedfather said:
I'd say we've seen a significant change in Federer through the latter half of his career. Not just as a player, but as a person. He was very driven and dedicated from very early on, that was always a part of his personality. But success did come relatively easy to him, he didn't struggle much in his haydays due to being incredibly talented, it was not conducive to forming a tough character.

The challenges that came in the last decade and the way Federer overcame them again showed his admirable drive and passion for the sport, but they also hardened him. He grew as a person so much! As a fan, it's very rewarding somehow. Unfortunate though (and slightly annoying) that many people who disliked Federer for how he was back in the day, either can't see that change or refuse to accept it as real.
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This latter Fed is the only one I’ve really experienced in real-time.

I never was interested in him too much when he was winning everything all the time. It just seemed too easy - and I wasn’t following tennis much.

In 2012 I started following him as I was interested to see if he could climb back to the top from behind Djokdal.

It was the first time I was really compelled by him.

In hindsight - to your point exactly - by that time he was more humble as a person and consequently a lot more like-able and easy to root for.

Been hooked since then.

I’m happy to be a fan, but I can’t believe the slams I missed!
 
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This is why federer can still compete in his forties, he doesn't have to hit harder than 120 on the serve, as long as he still has the placement. His placement is better now than it was in his peak.
 
Agreed, whenever he loses he nearly always has set points or match points or something memorable. Even if someone wins 30 Slams Federer will always be unique.
 
The durability of Fed is just incredible.

I don't think it is a good idea for players to do this, but I think all of us can think of at least 5-6 matches we've seen Roger play out, where he probably should have retired. But he kept going, maybe because he wanted to do it for the crowd, or respect to the opponent, a point of pride, or a mixture of all those things. I'm not sure how or why but it's fascinating that he's been able to keep that streak going.
 
Subway Tennis said:
The durability of Fed is just incredible.

I don't think it is a good idea for players to do this, but I think all of us can think of at least 5-6 matches we've seen Roger play out, where he probably should have retired. But he kept going, maybe because he wanted to do it for the crowd, or respect to the opponent, a point of pride, or a mixture of all those things. I'm not sure how or why but it's fascinating that he's been able to keep that streak going.
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I'm not discounting those reasons - and it's admirable either way - but I think that Roger is also an incurable optimist who always believes he has a good chance to win.
 
Nole Slam said:
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"Djokovic has now withdrawn from 13 tournaments, including six Grand Slams... He has now retired from every Grand Slam on the calender, including the 2005 and 2006 French Open, Wimbledon in 2007 and 2017 and the 2009 Australian Open. In comparison, Roger Federer has never retired from a match."

https://www.sportingnews.com/au/tennis/news/us-open-tennis-2019-novak-djokovic-slammed-after-retiring-during-fourth-round-match-against-stan-wawrinka/tx8qadkwzr0w1nuswzfg1g7mi#:~:text=Waaaay too eager to denounce,including last year's women's final).&text=But for others, Djokovic's retirement,tournaments, including six Grand Slams.
 
BeatlesFan said:
"Djokovic has now withdrawn from 13 tournaments, including six Grand Slams... He has now retired from every Grand Slam on the calender, including the 2005 and 2006 French Open, Wimbledon in 2007 and 2017 and the 2009 Australian Open. In comparison, Roger Federer has never retired from a match."

https://www.sportingnews.com/au/tennis/news/us-open-tennis-2019-novak-djokovic-slammed-after-retiring-during-fourth-round-match-against-stan-wawrinka/tx8qadkwzr0w1nuswzfg1g7mi#:~:text=Waaaay too eager to denounce,including last year's women's final).&text=But for others, Djokovic's retirement,tournaments, including six Grand Slams.
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You know, I wasn't trying to harp on Novak (no offense @Nole Slam )

Novak's obviously much better physically now - last year's 4th round notwithstanding. His renowned diet and his great run acquit him quite nicely of the crap Roddick and even Fed gave him back in the day. They were being tools. In hindsight, I think he deserves the benefit of the doubt that he really was physically hampered.

And there may have been a match or two Fed should have left early to protect his body.

But still - it's an amazing testament to old Iron-Fed.
 
Federev said:
You know, I wasn't trying to harp on Novak (no offense @Nole Slam )

Novak's obviously much better physically now - last year's 4th round notwithstanding. His renowned diet and his great run acquit him quite nicely of the crap Roddick and even Fed gave him back in the day. They were being tools. In hindsight, I think he deserves the benefit of the doubt that he really was physically hampered.

And there may have been a match or two Fed should have left early to protect his body.

But still - it's an amazing testament to old Iron-Fed.
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It's okay, lol.
 
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