Federer vs Blake

[guygee]

I thought Blake showed flashes of a game that could compete with equally with Roger Federer on a consistent basis. His streakiness and inconsistency is what is holding him back. He just does not have Federer's confidence and mental toughness on the big points, like the opportunities he had to win the first set or break back in the fourth set.

I think that the whole tour has Roger pegged now; pound his backhand high, change pace to his back hand, stretch him very wide with monster forehands, come in behind serves occasionally to catch Federer when he just wants to put it in play, anticipate Roger's "chip and pass" plays. The problem is for the rest of the tour that there are very few players that have the talent to control the points and pull it off against Roger. But Federer know that he is pegged now, and that is why we are starting to see glimpses of the mental state of Federer from before his "Tennis God" era.

 

[Docalex007]

I dont feel that Roger has been strong going into this U.S Open, he hasnt played great yet.If he gets to the final and faces Roddick, he will get beaten, the guy has played alot of hours!!!

I've been reading your posts throughout this thread and.....DAMN you are a negative son of a ....

....pathetic... you seem to pull for Fed, but always complain about everything he does when something is not going in his favor.

Hasn't been that strong going into the Open? He hadn't lost a set until last night and his UE count has been relatively low in all his matches. As fan, you sure are his toughest critic (jeez, he's not God by a long shot...).

Btw, Roddick stands little chance against the Fed in the finals.

 

[ATXtennisaddict]

I thought Blake showed flashes of a game that could compete with equally with Roger Federer on a consistent basis. His streakiness and inconsistency is what is holding him back. He just does not have Federer's confidence and mental toughness on the big points, like the opportunities he had to win the first set or break back in the fourth set.

I think that the whole tour has Roger pegged now; pound his backhand high, change pace to his back hand, stretch him very wide with monster forehands, come in behind serves occasionally to catch Federer when he just wants to put it in play, anticipate Roger's "chip and pass" plays. The problem is for the rest of the tour that there are very few players that have the talent to control the points and pull it off against Roger. But Federer know that he is pegged now, and that is why we are starting to see glimpses of the mental state of Federer from before his "Tennis God" era.

You saw a night-time US open match with the whole crowd behind blake and he STILL lost to Federer.

Now put blake in a non-US environment and see if he "could compete with equally with Roger Federer on a consistent basis."

Look at their match history.

http://www.atptennis.com/3/en/playe...+James&playernum1=B676&player2=Federer,+Roger

All matches played on American soil, yet all straight sets victories for Fed.

So don't make judgements too soon.

 

[Brickjp]

Its crazy how everyone can talk down on Blake. Are you serious? This guy broke his neck two years ago and didnt know if hed EVER pick up a racket again.

Then he plays his best in the first set and still loses to an invincible Rog. And in the 4th, down TWO breaks and he still manages break point with Fed serving for the match? People are too quick to hate on Blake, like any of us could do a fraction of what he did.

Yeah he lost, but I'm still proud of him for the heart he showed in the 3rd and 4th set. You write him off like hes got no talent or heart. Thats BS. He was down 4-1 in the first set tiebreak and still got to set point...its just nearly impossible to take even a set of Fed and Blake did. I wouldnt be surprised if thats the only set who loses this tourney.

Stop hating on Blake and saying hes 'overrated'. He played the best man ever to play this game. How much does this guy have to do to get a sliver of respect. Please.

 

[guygee]

You saw a night-time US open match with the whole crowd behind blake and he STILL lost to Federer.

Now put blake in a non-US environment and see if he "could compete with equally with Roger Federer on a consistent basis."

Look at their match history.

http://www.atptennis.com/3/en/playe...+James&playernum1=B676&player2=Federer,+Roger

All matches played on American soil, yet all straight sets victories for Fed.

So don't make judgements too soon.

Note I said "Blake showed flashes of a game that could compete with equally with Roger Federer". The best way I can describe the "mental drama" from the match last night is that Federer knew that Blake had enough game to beat him, but Blake did not believe he could beat Federer. Blake's problem is his mental game now, and that may be the toughest part of his game to improve. Will Blake ever get over the hump? I don't know! Maybe James is just too nice a guy and will never be ruthless enough to overcome. But he certainly has the talent.

Roger Federer is changing the way that tennis is played at the top level right now, as the rest of the tour is searching for ways to beat him. I think Nadal has exposed some of Federer's weaknesses, and that is just a little bit in Roger's head now; a lingering doubt in the back of his mind that wasn't there before.

It is interesting to look back at a couple of the great rivalaries from the past. Lendl influenced the game much more than McEnroe. Even though Sampras dominated, I think Agassi influenced the game more than Sampras. Now it is the whole field against Roger Federer. He is changing the game, but in what direction? Will it be with an even faster and more physical power game like Nadal and Blake? Or will it be with people who try to "out-Federer" Federer with more finesse and placement, something like Murray was able to do? Maybe a combination of both, but I think it is an exciting time to be a tennis fan right now.

 

[ZPTennis]

What I failed to understand is when Blake fans kept calling out his name in support right in the middle of him hitting his second serve. These people seriously must be idiots.

 

[exruda]

What I failed to understand is when Blake fans kept calling out his name in support right in the middle of him hitting his second serve. These people seriously must be idiots.

Yeah, I noticed that too. But maybe they were just Fed fans, pretending to be Blake fans in order not to ger eaten alive by the crowd

 

[ZPTennis]

Yeah, I noticed that too. But maybe they were just Fed fans, pretending to be Blake fans in order not to ger eaten alive by the crowd

haha

 

[chaz_233]

No doubt about it. And I think he wanted the crowd to see some tennis, too.

Did anyone agree federer let blake win 3rd set? as a return that blake respect federer so much and with his home support.
i am pretty sure federer didn't want blake to feel too bad after the bagel set

 

[chaz_233]

They seemed to be college students someone paid to go there and pretend to be Blake obsessed.

What I failed to understand is when Blake fans kept calling out his name in support right in the middle of him hitting his second serve. These people seriously must be idiots.

 

[guygee]

Its crazy how everyone can talk down on Blake. Are you serious? This guy broke his neck two years ago and didnt know if hed EVER pick up a racket again.

Then he plays his best in the first set and still loses to an invincible Rog. And in the 4th, down TWO breaks and he still manages break point with Fed serving for the match? People are too quick to hate on Blake, like any of us could do a fraction of what he did.

Yeah he lost, but I'm still proud of him for the heart he showed in the 3rd and 4th set. You write him off like hes got no talent or heart. Thats BS. He was down 4-1 in the first set tiebreak and still got to set point...its just nearly impossible to take even a set of Fed and Blake did. I wouldnt be surprised if thats the only set who loses this tourney.

Stop hating on Blake and saying hes 'overrated'. He played the best man ever to play this game. How much does this guy have to do to get a sliver of respect. Please.

Brickjp - Man I agree. I just don't understand this fanboy "love to hate" stuff on this board sometimes. Wasn't it amazing how Blake was hanging right in with Federer on some of cross-court backhand rallies last night? Blake has worked hard to improve his backhand, and it it is paying off. Now Blake has to start believing he can play within himself and still compete with Federer. Part of Blake's gameplan was obviously to trade crosscourt backhands with Federer and then run around the right shot to batter Federer's backhand with his forehand. This is one of the weaknesses that Nadal has exposed in Federer's game, and both Nadal and Blake have the speed to cover down the line if they play that strategy right. But I saw a point last night where Blake ran around to hit his forehand far outside the doubles alley to hit inside-out to Federer's backhand. Naturally Federer steered an easy backhand winner up the line on that one. Just another example of Blake feeling like he has to go for too much too soon when he really needs to show more patience and belief in his game. If and when he gets there, I think he will be able to be a legitimate rival for Federer.

Yeah and props to Fed, he isn't yet the GOAT, but 3-4 more years at his level and I think it will be beyond question. But I think the road will get a little harder from here on out.

 

[Raistlin]

I agree Blake isn't over-rated he deserves it. Now Andy Roddick is over-rated.

 

[Brickjp]

Finally some peace. People think because we have the internet we can bash whoever we want, which is true. We can, but it doesnt make it right. These guys work their whole life to get to this point. And we think our opinion is superior for some reason, because we can type on a screen.

 

[justineheninhoogenbandfan]

Brickjp - Man I agree. I just don't understand this fanboy "love to hate" stuff on this board sometimes. Wasn't it amazing how Blake was hanging right in with Federer on some of cross-court backhand rallies last night? Blake has worked hard to improve his backhand, and it it is paying off. Now Blake has to start believing he can play within himself and still compete with Federer. Part of Blake's gameplan was obviously to trade crosscourt backhands with Federer and then run around the right shot to batter Federer's backhand with his forehand. This is one of the weaknesses that Nadal has exposed in Federer's game, and both Nadal and Blake have the speed to cover down the line if they play that strategy right. But I saw a point last night where Blake ran around to hit his forehand far outside the doubles alley to hit inside-out to Federer's backhand. Naturally Federer steered an easy backhand winner up the line on that one. Just another example of Blake feeling like he has to go for too much too soon when he really needs to show more patience and belief in his game. If and when he gets there, I think he will be able to be a legitimate rival for Federer.

Yeah and props to Fed, he isn't yet the GOAT, but 3-4 more years at his level and I think it will be beyond question. But I think the road will get a little harder from here on out.

Last night is the closest Blake will ever come to beating Federer IMHO.

 

[dysonlu]

I didn't watch the Murray-Federer match but I seriously doubt that Murray "out-Federer-ed" Federer. From all I've heard about that match, it was Federer coming out flat and fatigued.

But back to the subject now: To beat Federer, Blake either has to play PERFECT tennis, which is impossible, or if Federer is giving away the match, which is more likely. Blake's game is a go-for-broke type of game. This makes him dangerous but also erratic and inconsistent. So, if Federer is playing his A-game, there is no way Blake can beat him. Blake was great in the first set and still lost that set. He played well in the 3rd too but the reason he won that one was that Federer played very poorly. It came very very close for Federer to send Blake home in straight sets last night.

Note I said "Blake showed flashes of a game that could compete with equally with Roger Federer". The best way I can describe the "mental drama" from the match last night is that Federer knew that Blake had enough game to beat him, but Blake did not believe he could beat Federer. Blake's problem is his mental game now, and that may be the toughest part of his game to improve. Will Blake ever get over the hump? I don't know! Maybe James is just too nice a guy and will never be ruthless enough to overcome. But he certainly has the talent.

Roger Federer is changing the way that tennis is played at the top level right now, as the rest of the tour is searching for ways to beat him. I think Nadal has exposed some of Federer's weaknesses, and that is just a little bit in Roger's head now; a lingering doubt in the back of his mind that wasn't there before.

It is interesting to look back at a couple of the great rivalaries from the past. Lendl influenced the game much more than McEnroe. Even though Sampras dominated, I think Agassi influenced the game more than Sampras. Now it is the whole field against Roger Federer. He is changing the game, but in what direction? Will it be with an even faster and more physical power game like Nadal and Blake? Or will it be with people who try to "out-Federer" Federer with more finesse and placement, something like Murray was able to do? Maybe a combination of both, but I think it is an exciting time to be a tennis fan right now.