Federer's back is definitely hurt

B

Brett UK

Semi-Pro
Sorry to say this but Fed's back is definitely an issue.

He was asked in his press conference how his back was, and he said "the back is fine" but as he said it he shook his head. That's a body language give away I am afraid.

Also, when he has played really well, he has said "that's what happens when I play without being hurt" so it would make sense on the other side that he plays poorly when he is hurt.

Sorry to say it guys, but I don't see Federer going much further. Really sucks when the draw is the weakest ever.
 
Newballs

Newballs

Professional
Well, it's not like he hasn't had a good year.
I agree though, something is definitely amiss and his back is the most likely culprit.
Hope he can push through for a bit longer.
 
B

Brett UK

Semi-Pro
Feduruza said:
USeless thread. Fed said 1000x times the back was OK. OP go untagle your wad of panties before posting anything else.
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I am a fan of Federer. There is obviously something up with his form, and I read the body language to get an insight. Be in denial if you wish but I'm telling people what to expect, and that is NOT a useless thread.
 
Chanwan

Chanwan

G.O.A.T.
We def. needed another thread on this, great job OP, great job.
tenor.gif
 
D

Deleted member 688153

Guest
Brett UK said:
I think he is bluffing which is good on him. You never know. Nadal might drop his bundle and the draw is wide open. Easiest draw ever. I hope I am wrong, but I think I am right
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Well, we'll see. Looking forward to the Lopez match?
 
B

Brett UK

Semi-Pro
Firstservingman said:
Well, we'll see. Looking forward to the Lopez match?
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Not really. It remind me of the Wimbledon tournament where Fed started super patchy and had a 5 setter with a Columbian guy and then a 4 setter. Then he had a good game or 2 but he lost pretty easily to Berdych in the quarters. It feels a bit like that to me. Or maybe like the US Open where he lost to Robredo. The shame of it is this is the easiest draw ever!
 
Chanwan

Chanwan

G.O.A.T.
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Boom-Boom

Boom-Boom

Legend
Brett UK said:
Sorry to say this but Fed's back is definitely an issue.

He was asked in his press conference how his back was, and he said "the back is fine" but as he said it he shook his head. That's a body language give away I am afraid.

Also, when he has played really well, he has said "that's what happens when I play without being hurt" so it would make sense on the other side that he plays poorly when he is hurt.

Sorry to say it guys, but I don't see Federer going much further. Really sucks when the draw is the weakest ever.
Click to expand...

Of course there is something wrong
Well spotted on the body language
 
Steve0904

Steve0904

Talk Tennis Guru
What if I said it was definitely not? Nobody but him and his team know if his back is "definitely" hurt. I think a lot of people are just thinking the worst because they're afraid. Getting tired of these threads tbh. Yes Fed tweaked his back in Montreal and has now looked shaky (or injured to some) at the USO. We don't have to make 10 separate threads about it.
 
Steve0904

Steve0904

Talk Tennis Guru
For what it's worth (not much if anything at all) I'll put my opinion on this in this thread. It's pretty much the same as @Firstservingman said a couple days ago actually. I don't think he's injured at this point, or if he is it's manageable. But I do think the injury in Montreal screwed with his preparation and I also think he's afraid to tweak it again and it's been getting to him a bit mentally hence some of the bad misses. Before these matches he wasn't sure how his back would respond to match play, but now that he knows he can go 5 sets he should be ok for the rest of the tournament.

Unfortunately he might not be in the best form even if he's healthy or he might just get tired from playing 2 five setters in a row. He'll need to play better to beat Lopez and anybody else he might face, but I believe he can.

In any case, I don't really care if he says after the tournament that he was battling an injury or he was rusty. A loss is a loss at the end of the day. Obviously I'd prefer it if he said he wasn't injured, but again it's not like it makes any difference in the event of a loss.
 
MasturB

MasturB

Legend
Fed wouldn't admit during a tourney he's still playing that his back is still an issue. Lest one that is one of the 4 biggest tourneys of the year.

The eye test says it all.

He was spraying balls plenty and relying on serve to win matches in Montreal. When he finally played a top 10 player in Zed his back gave out.

That's been basically the pattern the last two matches.

The only set I felt he looked close to being 100% was the 5th set against Tiafoe before he got broken near the end.
 
Steve0904

Steve0904

Talk Tennis Guru
MasturB said:
Fed wouldn't admit during a tourney he's still playing that his back is still an issue. Lest one that is one of the 4 biggest tourneys of the year.

The eye test says it all.

He was spraying balls plenty and relying on serve to win matches in Montreal. When he finally played a top 10 player in Zed his back gave out.

That's been basically the pattern the last two matches.

The only set I felt he looked close to being 100% was the 5th set against Tiafoe before he got broken near the end.
Click to expand...

No offence, but is it possible that you might be tying his results in a bit too closely with his supposed injury regarding the bit about getting broken by Tiafoe?
 
TommyA8X

TommyA8X

Hall of Fame
Steve0904 said:
For what it's worth (not much if anything at all) I'll put my opinion on this in this thread. It's pretty much the same as @Firstservingman said a couple days ago actually. I don't think he's injured at this point, or if he is it's manageable. But I do think the injury in Montreal screwed with his preparation and I also think he's afraid to tweak it again and it's been getting to him a bit mentally hence some of the bad misses. Before these matches he wasn't sure how his back would respond to match play, but now that he knows he can go 5 sets he should be ok for the rest of the tournament.

Unfortunately he might not be in the best form even if he's healthy or he might just get tired from playing 2 five setters in a row. He'll need to play better to beat Lopez and anybody else he might face, but I believe he can.

In any case, I don't really care if he says after the tournament that he was battling an injury or he was rusty. A loss is a loss at the end of the day. Obviously I'd prefer it if he said he wasn't injured, but again it's not like it makes any difference in the event of a loss.
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Fed hasn't really played a 5 setter yet. Both of his matches were pretty short. The Tiafoe one was basically a slightly longer 3 set match (if that), and the one against Youzhny was only slightly longer. Fatigue shouldn't be an issue for Fed if he finds A his game...
 
Steve0904

Steve0904

Talk Tennis Guru
TommyA8X said:
Fed hasn't really played a 5 setter yet. Both of his matches were pretty short. The Tiafoe one was basically a slightly longer 3 set match (if that), and the one against Youzhny was only slightly longer. Fatigue shouldn't be an issue for Fed if he finds A his game...
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True enough.
 
D

Deleted member 77403

Guest
Brett UK said:
Sorry to say this but Fed's back is definitely an issue.

He was asked in his press conference how his back was, and he said "the back is fine" but as he said it he shook his head. That's a body language give away I am afraid.

Also, when he has played really well, he has said "that's what happens when I play without being hurt" so it would make sense on the other side that he plays poorly when he is hurt.

Sorry to say it guys, but I don't see Federer going much further. Really sucks when the draw is the weakest ever.
Click to expand...

giphy.gif
 
Chanwan

Chanwan

G.O.A.T.
Steve0904 said:
For what it's worth (not much if anything at all) I'll put my opinion on this in this thread. It's pretty much the same as @Firstservingman said a couple days ago actually. I don't think he's injured at this point, or if he is it's manageable. But I do think the injury in Montreal screwed with his preparation and I also think he's afraid to tweak it again and it's been getting to him a bit mentally hence some of the bad misses. Before these matches he wasn't sure how his back would respond to match play, but now that he knows he can go 5 sets he should be ok for the rest of the tournament.

Unfortunately he might not be in the best form even if he's healthy or he might just get tired from playing 2 five setters in a row. He'll need to play better to beat Lopez and anybody else he might face, but I believe he can.

In any case, I don't really care if he says after the tournament that he was battling an injury or he was rusty. A loss is a loss at the end of the day. Obviously I'd prefer it if he said he wasn't injured, but again it's not like it makes any difference in the event of a loss.
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This.
I would add that I think he might have slacked a wee bit too much post Wimbledon thinking he had plenty of time, hence why he looked so off at Montreal. And then he ran into the back injury and all in all that means that he hasn't had much prep post Wimbledon and is looking very hit and miss. I expect him to find some form, his range and start to play well from the QF and onwards if he can survive a couple more rounds.
 
MasturB

MasturB

Legend
Steve0904 said:
No offence, but is it possible that you might be tying his results in a bit too closely with his supposed injury regarding the bit about getting broken by Tiafoe?
Click to expand...

I didn't say Tiafoe breaking him that set had to do with the back.

I'm saying that 5th set was where I've seen him play the best all tourney. For parts of the 3rd set he was playing loose not stiff.

I've also noticed mechanically his serve is off. When your back is tight you aren't able to use much legs. Hard to uncoil and torque if you can't coil to begin with.
 
D

Deleted member 743561

Guest
No question.

Pair that with other incremental age-related deficits, and it's a head-scratcher that he's still out there.

I'd like to believe that repeatedly turning on the jets to finish off whomever (and having the reserves to do so) indicates potential for more. It's possible. And it's only five to go... potentially against an assortment of mediocre foes.

Then again, if it doesn't happen...? He made some inroads, wasn't finished after the Montreal seize-up, and may still secure YE #1.

Celebration all around!
 
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AlexR

AlexR

Rookie
Body language can only tell you so much. So maybe he shook his head when answering the question... maybe he is just getting sick of talking about his damn back! Maybe he subconsiously shook his head "no" because the question is basically "was your back bothering you?" Who the heck knows? The radar gun during the match said 120+ for Fed's velo in the 5th set regularly. That's right in line with where he normally is. He could pop the back out tomorrow, but for now I completely buy that it's rust, a few mentally tight points, and Tiafoe and at times Youhzny playing really well.
 
Tennisanity

Tennisanity

Legend
Well he didn't even have to shake his head. He actually said it was a problem. He said it was "better than the first round". Ergo, the back is definitely a problem.
 
pame

pame

Hall of Fame
Tennisanity said:
Fed keeps saying his preparation has been bad. Ummmmm, why doesn't the media ask why??????????? It's because of the back.
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Duh! Didn't he already say that? That because of the back he couldn't hit balls for 7 days after Montreal. But he's been practising since then, so it would be reasonable to assume it's not in the same state as the week of Cincinnati.
 
Tennisanity

Tennisanity

Legend
pame said:
Duh! Didn't he already say that? That because of the back he couldn't hit balls for 7 days after Montreal. But he's been practising since then, so it would be reasonable to assume it's not in the same state as the week of Cincinnati.
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Oh, I didn't know. Do you have a link to where he said that?
 
S

sportsfan1

Legend
Not sure why people want to give OP so much grief over his opinion, which is clearly what this forum is for. Somebody close to Federer (Annacone?) said in an interview that Federer always avoids talking about injuries. It's wise, as it sounds like an excuse, makes for bad press and bad relations with the opponent - see how angry berdych was after his Wimby win when Federer said an injury affected him during the match. Forget the body language, you would have to be blind as a bat to not see that a guy who iirc didn't drop a set on his way to the Wimby title, has some issue that's causing him to go 5 sets against low ranked players. Low backhand winner count, reduced serve speed, difficulty covering balls wide to FH side point to a strong possibility of back issues.

This is exactly what he said at the USO '13 after his loss to Robredo - that his play was just up and down and there were "no back issues". So sure, go ahead and trust what Federer says, ignroing the well known reasons why players have to say that.:rolleyes:


From the Federer USO '13 vs Robredo post match interview:
Q. Being more negative?
ROGER FEDERER: No, I mean playing up and down. Then against a quality player, it becomes more difficult to keep that level up.

Q. Was the back an issue today?
ROGER FEDERER: No.

Q. Anything going on there?
ROGER FEDERER: No issue.
Click to expand...
 
West Coast Ace

West Coast Ace

G.O.A.T.
Tennisanity said:
Fed keeps saying his preparation has been bad. Ummmmm, why doesn't the media ask why??????????? It's because of the back.
Click to expand...
+1. Fed being the good sport - no excuses.

Maybe @TheLjubici, Father Fed, or Luthie lurks here and told him "dude, you'll get hammered on TW, Nadal style, if you even mention your back!"
 
B

big ted

Legend
all you have to do is watch one of his matches and see the full movement is not there..
also seems odd he hasn't been practicing onsite? one day he practiced at central park then another day at mcenroes academy..
 
S

sarmpas

Hall of Fame
It doesn't look good with a potential QF against Del Potro. If Del Potro gets that far is shows he's likely playing well and not so likely to be running on empty considering his fitness levels and it's still only the QF. It will possibly be a tiring match so looks bad with a possible Nadal SF.
 
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