Federer wants to play even less now...

[Pete.Sampras.]

On eurosport's teletext I read that Federer wants to play even less tournaments from now on than he already did. He wants to focus on the Grand Slams...

What do you think about that?

I think it makes sense for him, but it always bothered me that Fed always takes his breaks during a season. Sure, he's in the position to do that, but somehow it's not fair when you think about players like Davydenko or others. I think some tournaments should be a must for players and they should only be allowed not to play there when they're injured.

So, again, what's your opinion about Federer playing even less...?




Note: I am not a Sampras freak! I simply chose this name because he is the most succesful player and belongs to my favourites but so do Fed and others. This is not an anti-Fed-thread! Why I tell you that? Because it seems to be necessary on this board

 

[jukka1970]

On eurosport's teletext I read that Federer wants to play even less tournaments from now on than he already did. He wants to focus on the Grand Slams...

What do you think about that?

I think it makes sense for him, but it always bothered me that Fed always takes his breaks during a season. Sure, he's in the position to do that, but somehow it's not fair when you think about players like Davydenko or others. I think some tournaments should be a must for players and they should only be allowed not to play there when they're injured.

So, again, what's your opinion about Federer playing even less...?

Note: I am not a Sampras freak! I simply chose this name because he is the most succesful player and belongs to my favourites but so do Fed and others. This is not an anti-Fed-thread! Why I tell you that? Because it seems to be necessary on this board

I'm kind of surprised that he's going to play even less, but I guess it really depends on what he means by less. If he's going to focus on the 9 masters, the 4 slams, that would be 13 of the 18 that count. And I don't see him ever giving up Dubai as he loves it there, and that would be a total of 14 events, so it's not really much different then what he does now.

Now if he's not going to also focus on all 9 master events, then I think that would be a big mistake, because there was talking in last months tennis magazine that it's being talked about to make all 9 master events mandatory.

Davydenko is very different from the other players, he loves playing all the time, just like Jankovic for the women's side. To be quite honest, I think some players, play way to much, then they get injured and are out for 6 months. The other problem is the scheduling of events. Some are scheduled near the end of the year after the athletes have had a full scheduled year.

I would say as Federer gets older, I think in some ways it's wise to watch how much you play, if you plan on playing for a while, which is why I think Nadal should schedule his time better. With all the grinding and his style of play, it's got to be putting an effect on his knees.

Jukka

 

[krystlel]

I think he already plays the bare minimum, can't see what he would drop considering that I would expect him to play Dubai, Estoril, Halle and Basel. I can see him pulling out of one or two Masters Series events but that can't be predetermined surely.

 

[msc886]

well. i think he usually gets enough time between tournaments. Sure, he needs the time off sometimes but taking too much time off is going to affect his skill.

 

[PROTENNIS63]

Davydenko plays so much that by the end of most tournaments he was exhaused. He was exhausted by the end of last year. Playing a tournament like amost every weekend, day in day out. That is such a mental challenge. He overdoes it all the time.

 

[christos_liaskos]

I think he already plays the bare minimum, can't see what he would drop considering that I would expect him to play Dubai, Estoril, Halle and Basel. I can see him pulling out of one or two Masters Series events but that can't be predetermined surely.

Lol, I didnt know Fed ever played Estoril. Last year he also didnt play Halle. The only two tournaments he played outside of the slams and masters were Dubai and Basle and masters cup ofcourse.

He definitely wont be pulling out of Basle because the Swiss would probably kill him for pulling out of his home tournie (and i'm sure he loves playing it anyway) and I dont see how he can take Dubai out of his schedule because that would be a long time to wait between AO and Indian Wells.

Not sure where he would intentionally cut down on his schedule because from next year the Masters, or '1000' events as they will be called will all be mandatory unless you are injured.

Maybe he plans to cut out Davis Cup all together? That would be surprising theough

 

[AlpineCadet]

On eurosport's teletext I read that Federer wants to play even less tournaments from now on than he already did. He wants to focus on the Grand Slams...

What do you think about that?

I think it makes sense for him, but it always bothered me that Fed always takes his breaks during a season. Sure, he's in the position to do that, but somehow it's not fair when you think about players like Davydenko or others. I think some tournaments should be a must for players and they should only be allowed not to play there when they're injured.

So, again, what's your opinion about Federer playing even less...?




Note: I am not a Sampras freak! I simply chose this name because he is the most succesful player and belongs to my favourites but so do Fed and others. This is not an anti-Fed-thread! Why I tell you that? Because it seems to be necessary on this board

I'm sure it's done in the name of success. He knows himself more than we do.

 

[begbie86]

On eurosport's teletext I read that Federer wants to play even less tournaments from now on than he already did. He wants to focus on the Grand Slams...

This just proves that his main goal is beating Pete's record...

 

[slice bh compliment]

Probably a very good scheduling strategy in the long run. I just hope this keeps him mentally fresh, match-ready and physically strong.

Now, he had some involuntary time off before this yrs Oz Open, though. It's the physical side he will need to take care of, too. The physical side of beating Djoko, Rafa et al on all surfaces.

I've got a good feeling he's putting his eggs in the right basket for the next three years.

As far as playing anything other than the Slams and the essential tournaments, yeah, why not? It's not like he needs the money, the guarantees, the exposure.
The only problem is the the crowd at the smaller events will miss him.

 

[FiveO]

I'm sure it's done in the name of success. He knows himself more than we do.

It's also a factoid in a vacuum.

He said the same thing when interviewed 1/31 here in the States.

His long term approach is to play less AND play longer while vying for those Majors.

The goal stated was until 35. That's his stated Big Picture View and Plan.

He used the same rationale to manage his loss to Djokovic at the AO with the same view, The Big Picture. Beyond that he's stated that on a certain level, a loss can be made a positive, provided one learns from the experience.

If nothing else, aside from his use of the Challenge system, nothing Federer does seems a snap-decision or rash. Like all plans, they could be subject to change.

I think Fed is keenly aware of the pitfalls that both a Borg and Sampras fell into, albiet in their cases for different reasons. Overplay and burn-out. Borg did it to himself with an excessively and mercenary approach to exhibitions all over the globe and Sampras did it to himself when going for his 6th Year #1 adding all kinds of events, an experience which made him ill, irritable and saw a drop in performance, and a process he openly admits he hated and one which affected his future resolve.

 

[MoFed]

I don't know where they got their info from, but Roger's posted schedule is the almost the same as last year. He is schedule Estoril but he won't Monte Carlo this year. The Olympic games are also on his schedule, but those are the only changes.

He did have to pull out of a couple of tourney's last year, but those were to prevent injury (according to him).

 

[CyBorg]

Roger is scheduled to play Monte Carlo this year. I don't know where you're getting your info from, but his website states that he'll be there.

 

[babolat15]

I see him losing his number 1 ranking this year

 

[357sig]

He nearly makes every final he plays , he gets more matches than most guys playing 25 events and he trains harder than eveyone else , if most of you genuises played that much you wouldnt be walking

 

[Rhino]

Actually so if he plays Estoril, Halle, and the Olympic Games this year he's playing 3 more tournaments than he did last year (not counting exhibitions). Providing he turns up to Madrid and Paris again which he'll probably do for the massive bonus payment if nothing else.

 

[christos_liaskos]

Just seen his schedule on his website and i really dont understand where Estoril comes into it, why has he put that in there? I dont think he will play it.

On another point, I seem to remember a few years ago a commentator or someone saying that Federer wanted to try and win every tournament there is, that would be a great achievement but since his scheduling barely varies year to year i dont think its true

 

[Leublu tennis]

Just seen his schedule on his website and i really dont understand where Estoril comes into it, why has he put that in there? I dont think he will play it.

On another point, I seem to remember a few years ago a commentator or someone saying that Federer wanted to try and win every tournament there is, that would be a great achievement but since his scheduling barely varies year to year i dont think its true

That means he will want to play until he wins the French.

 

[krystlel]

He has committed to Estoril and it was mentioned in a press release. Unless if there's something wrong with him, he will play it and it's the first tournament of the claycourt season so less likely that he will pull out due to fatigue.

I think he will pull out of some tournaments depending on how he's feeling but it's not like he knows now which ones they will be.

 

[CAM178]

He's always said that he would do this. He said that as he got older, he would 'adjust' his schedule, and focus on the GS's. This is nothing new. A tennis player's life is not easy, and I can't even imagine how grueling it must be at that level. But, then again we are talking about Fed, and he makes this all look so frigging easy. But the pounding catches up with any tennis player eventually. Besides, Fed doesn't have anything to prove, really. The French? Hey, he's done better than anybody not named Rafa over the past few years. And he had dominated the men's field for a ridiculous amount of time. I read somewhere recently that he surpassed Connors' record of being #1 at LAST year's AO? Sheesh. That's crazy good.

 

[andfor]

This just proves that his main goal is beating Pete's record...

Pete did the same thing (lightened his schedule) as he got deeper into his career. As for proving that he only wants Pete's record, is that a good thing or bad? Personally that's fine with me. The amount of pressure a guy like Fed faces everytime he enters a tournament or steps on the courts is unlike anything any of us could imagine. Think about it, he's supposed to win every match and tournament. As we get older injury and recovery from extreme effort takes longer. Trust me, it does.

In some ways I think Sampras hurt himself later in his career by not playing as much. The later he got in his career the less he seemed to put into the clay season. The last couple of years where painful for me to watch as he took some bad losses, even on the hard courts. He also appeared to be in not near the kind of condition he was between 19-26 years old. These are just my observations though.

What I am trying to say is, that I hope for Fed, a lighter schedule does not mean less practice time. Whatever he does I am sure the armchair QB's will be there with the opinions. Like it or not.

 

[daddy]

Roger is scheduled to play Monte Carlo this year. I don't know where you're getting your info from, but his website states that he'll be there.

Someone get the manual here but I think itsmandatory for them to play masters and gs's if fit these days. I can not clearly remember where have I heard this but I think Iwe read it on the atp rulebook.

 

[MoFed]

Roger's Posted Schedule

ROGER'S REMAINING TOUR SCHEDULE 2008

03.03.08
Dubai Duty Free Men's Open
ISG Dubai (UAE) carpet
10.03.08
Pacific Life Open
MS Indian Wells (USA) hard [o]
26.03.08
Sony Ericsson Open
MS Miami (USA) hard [o]
14.04.08
Estoril Open
IS Estoril (POR) clay [o]
21.04.08
Masters Series Monte-Carlo
MS Monte Carlo (MON) clay [o]
05.05.08
Campionati BNL d'Italia
MS Rome (ITA) clay [o]
12.05.08
Masters Series Hamburg
MS Hamburg (GER) clay [o]
25.05.08
Roland Garros
GS Paris (FRA) clay [o]
09.06.08
Gerry Weber Open
IS Halle (GER) grass [o]
23.06.08
Wimbledon
GS Wimbledon (GBR) grass [o]
21.07.08
Rogers Masters
MS Toronto (CAN) hard [o]
28.07.08
Western & Southern Financial Group Masters
MS Cincinnati (USA) hard [o]
10.08.08
Olympic Games
Other Beijing (CHN) hard [o]
25.08.08
US Open
GS New York (USA) hard [o]
13.10.08
Mutua Madrilena Masters Madrid
MS Madrid (ESP) carpet
20.10.08
Davidoff Swiss Indoors
IS Basel (SUI) hard
27.10.08
BNP Paribas Masters
MS Paris (FRA) carpet
09.11.08
Tennis Masters Cup
MC Shanghai (CHN) hard

 

[johnny ballgame]

Masters Series Hamburg
MS Hamburg (GER) clay [o]

I can't wait to see if he shows up to defend Hamburg.

 

[stormholloway]

On eurosport's teletext I read that Federer wants to play even less tournaments from now on than he already did. He wants to focus on the Grand Slams...

What do you think about that?

I think it makes sense for him, but it always bothered me that Fed always takes his breaks during a season. Sure, he's in the position to do that, but somehow it's not fair when you think about players like Davydenko or others. I think some tournaments should be a must for players and they should only be allowed not to play there when they're injured.)

Most other sports seem to have an off season where players get time off. Why do you want great athletes to work so much harder?

Isn't half the point of being a tennis player that you have independent freedom from such demanding requirements?

 

[moxio]

From what Mofed posted, that's a really decent lineup.

 

[bluescreen]

i dont really see any change from his schedule last year. but personally, i think its a good move lightening his schedule so he can devote more time to the slams and bigger tournaments.

 

[(FEDERER)vs(NADAL)]

This just proves that his main goal is beating Pete's record...

yeah good point, that's probably all that matters to him now, and also wimbledon, he stated that that is very important to him

 

[Dash]

I think roger has been playing less tourney than other healthy players for the last several years. Really don't know what he means. However, if he cuts further more this year, my concerns are:
1. Roger is a rhythm player and most of tennis players need enough matches to keep themselves confident. So, playing less may make him vulnerable early rounds in slams.
2. Likely, he will lose the No.1 ranking. If he slips to No.3, it means he might have to defeat both Rafeal and Novak to win a title.

However, losing some matches may make him hungrier and play with less pressure.

On eurosport's teletext I read that Federer wants to play even less tournaments from now on than he already did. He wants to focus on the Grand Slams...

What do you think about that?

I think it makes sense for him, but it always bothered me that Fed always takes his breaks during a season. Sure, he's in the position to do that, but somehow it's not fair when you think about players like Davydenko or others. I think some tournaments should be a must for players and they should only be allowed not to play there when they're injured.

So, again, what's your opinion about Federer playing even less...?




Note: I am not a Sampras freak! I simply chose this name because he is the most succesful player and belongs to my favourites but so do Fed and others. This is not an anti-Fed-thread! Why I tell you that? Because it seems to be necessary on this board

 

[FEDEXP]

I don't understand how fairness enters into it.

Oh, and babolat15, I see you moving from Ca$hville this year though the picture is murky.

 

[McWhorterJ]

Bear in mind that as the #1 player, he is expected to reach the finals of every tournament he plays. What this means is that 99% of the other players have more time in between tournaments than Fed does. That is very wearing. Plus since he is #1 and expected to win every tournament he enters, he has to play more matches and carries more pressure into every match. This can be stressful therefore obviating the need for some planned breaks that include some R&R in addition to off court training and on court practice.

 

[TennezSport]

Confused.............

Anyone who knows anything about tennis will tell you that as time goes on great players will tune in the events that mean the most. This means the GS and masters tournys. Also remember that Fed is one of the best in all of tennis history to make it to the semis or better in every event he enters. This is equivilent to playing additional events when you lose in the early rounds in other events.

So, in order to keep himself fresh, he is meticulous in scheduling which helps him to avoid injury and play longer. Like every part of his game Fed's play is perfect and will be the new mark in tennis history.

TennezSport

 

[roysid]

He's quite fit. Among the top 32, he's played the least no. of tournaments for the past 1 year (16 tourneys) except Nalbandian who had injuries.

Even 16 was on his higher side as played all Masters events.


As per his targets, he wants another shot at French, hence Estoril (it rescheduled to start ahead of Monte Carlo).

And slams he knows he will get the record.

 

[FraNkcn]

Generally speaking, playing many tournaments will take a toll on a person's body no matter what age they are, and especially around Fedex's age and beyond. Therefore, his main focuses must be chasing Sampras' GS title record!! And of course maintaining complete healthy condition!

 

[Dash]

There are some other thoughts:
1. I think one of the exhaustest thing for tennis professionals is travelling from a tour to another. Arrangement of travel, communicating with next tour, jet-lag, new surface, extra expense, culture-crash,... really put a lot of stress on players psychologically or physiologically. Of course, playing deep in a tournament is stressful. However, winning players are in some kind of groove and winning is so rewarding by all means. But players out in the early rounds usually need to pick up more tourneys to collect enough points for ranking and money for living. Plus, even though they won't have a match to play before the next tourney, they still have to practice everyday.

2. Playing less event will put more pressure on roger, everybody including himself expect him to win the whole thing because he should be "well-prepared", "extremely fresh"...

I really don't know how roger will schedule his tour this year, though I couldn't see much change from last year on his website. The only thing I feel he should do is giving up the 2nd master event in those back to back master series if he wins the 1st one.

Bear in mind that as the #1 player, he is expected to reach the finals of every tournament he plays. What this means is that 99% of the other players have more time in between tournaments than Fed does. That is very wearing. Plus since he is #1 and expected to win every tournament he enters, he has to play more matches and carries more pressure into every match. This can be stressful therefore obviating the need for some planned breaks that include some R&R in addition to off court training and on court practice.

 

[FiveO]

What he said was "I hope to play a little less but for a long time". From the context, I don't believe that he was refering to this year necessarily but to future years.

Here's the podcast link:

http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?i=22614152&id=205889365

 

[Chopin]

Guys, the most obvious reason (I'm not sure if anyone has mentioned it yet) is that he plays more matches than almost every other player save one!

I think he was second in matches played to the machine-like Davydenko the past two years. The past three years he has literally won or made it to the finals of almost every single tournament he's played--he plays more than basically anyone!

 

[fastdunn]

I think he was second in matches played to the machine-like Davydenko the past two years. The past three years he has literally won or made it to the finals of almost every single tournament he's played--he plays more than basically anyone!

That is a good point.

I just think 18 tournaments are too much for a long term.

Many top players stated today's tennis is much more physical (longer rallies).
I am sure Federer will make a wise decision.

 

[fastdunn]

21.07.08
Rogers Masters
MS Toronto (CAN) hard [o]
28.07.08
Western & Southern Financial Group Masters
MS Cincinnati (USA) hard [o]
10.08.08
Olympic Games
Other Beijing (CHN) hard [o]
25.08.08
US Open
GS New York (USA) hard [o]

Does he really play all these including Olympic ?

 

[flyer]

He dos play a lot of matches^^^, I guess if he was going to cut out anything it would need to be some of the smaller less important masters series events, because I don't see how he could miss Dubai(He gets paid $500k just to show up), Halle(it would be very unwise to consistently not play a grass court tune up) and Basel(he might not want to but he has to play the hometown tourny...maybe he could embellish an injury) prolly Hamburg cause I think its getting demoted soon anyway??

 

[Cyan]

He wants to break Pete's record and this is the best way to do it, to focus in the slams....

 

[Vin2]

given he tends to make it to the final rounds of tournaments, maybe he's still playing a lot...

But i think he was a bit burnt out recently... he's enjoying those exhibitions with Sampras too much...