Federer's draw could have been one of the toughest of all time

HunterST

HunterST

Hall of Fame
Before the tournament started, I thought Roger had an incredibly tough draw. Potentially, he could have played

2nd round: Nalbandian, who is capable of amazing play.
3rd round: Roddick, a slam contender just a couple of years ago
4th round: Someone
Quarters: Del Potro, Slam winner
Semis: Djokovic, duh
Final: Nadal, duh
 
Nalbandian, *potentially* is the operative word. There is a reason the guy hasn't made an ATP final since early 2011 (fixed).
Roddick, lol.

Agree the rest could be tough.
 
Let's hope it becomes the weakest of all time:

Kamke
Ungur
Mahut
Goffin
Berdych/Del Potro after a 20-18 fifth set monday night finish
Seppi
Granollers

LOL,
 
Zildite said:
Nalbandian, *potentially* is the operative word. There is a reason the guy hasn't made an ATP final since early 2010.
Roddick, lol.

Agree the rest could be tough.
Click to expand...

I agree Nalbandian and Roddick aren't elite. They'd be easy quarterfinal matches. Having them in the 2nd and 3rd round, though, I don't think would make any player happy.
 
Just look at the players on Sunday:

Tsonga
Berdych
Del Potro

Couldnt at least one of them be on the bully's side?

Murray has never done anything on clay and he is injured too.

I cant believe his luck.
 
HunterST said:
Before the tournament started, I thought Roger had an incredibly tough draw. Potentially, he could have played

2nd round: Nalbandian, who is capable of amazing play.
3rd round: Roddick, a slam contender just a couple of years ago
4th round: Someone
Quarters: Del Potro, Slam winner
Semis: Djokovic, duh
Final: Nadal, duh
Click to expand...

Totally laughable.... Fed owns Nalbandian, Roddick, and Delpo. His only threat from day one was Djokovic, which can go either way, and in my opinion, it's on Fed which way it goes. This year, I don't see Fed caring, he cares about Olympics and I don't get why his fans don't see that he has a single focus. He won't get another Olympics chance and he's said for over a year how much he wants that.
 
bullfan said:
Totally laughable.... Fed owns Nalbandian, Roddick, and Delpo. His only threat from day one was Djokovic, which can go either way, and in my opinion, it's on Fed which way it goes. This year, I don't see Fed caring, he cares about Olympics and I don't get why his fans don't see that he has a single focus. He won't get another Olympics chance and he's said for over a year how much he wants that.
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Wow, quite a wandering argument. What does Fed's draw, which is chosen at random by tournament officials, have to do with his focus on the Olympics? Yes, Fed has a winning record over several of those players, but he still would have been facing ridiculously skilled players from very early on in the tournament.
 
this year in tournaments where fed had been tested in early rounds he went on to lift the trophy(delpo, davydenko, raonic x 2). it's not always bad to have to work a bit harder early coz it can put the player in the right groove and the right mindset to grind out a win. on the other hand it's not always good to breeze through the first 3 rounds because the player can find himself in a hole against a tougher opponent in the quarters or beyond and not know what to do because he hasn't had to deal with this situation for a week and a half.
 
I think 4th round should have been Feliciano Lopez, a player who had given Federer problems before, but Lopez got injured and pulled out.
 
His toughest draw that I can think of is Wimby 2006. He had a joke semi, but the rest were fairly dangerous opponents.

Gasquet
Henman (could've been Soderling who he almost lost to on grass the previous year)
Mahut
Berdych
Ancic (who was the last guy to beat him on grass)
Bjorkman (could've been Nalbandian)
Nadal
 
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HunterST said:
Before the tournament started, I thought Roger had an incredibly tough draw. Potentially, he could have played

2nd round: Nalbandian, who is capable of amazing play.
3rd round: Roddick, a slam contender just a couple of years ago
4th round: Someone
Quarters: Del Potro, Slam winner
Semis: Djokovic, duh
Final: Nadal, duh
Click to expand...

Andy Roddick being a threat at the French Open made me giggle. He was 9-9 lifetime going into it, I don't think that would have been a toughie.

Also 'someone' doesn't make a draw tough.

I'd say imagine something along the lines of

R1: Andrev (Just based on history of how much he struggled with him)
R2: Ferrero
R3: Youzhny
R4: Gasquet
QF: Berdych
SF: Djokovic
F: Nadal

would have the toughest possible draw at the moment he could have drawn given the seeds. Fed got off quite easy until the QF in my opinion. None of the big 4 this year had a tough early road, in theory Murray probably had it worst with Andreev/Niemman, Tomic and Gasquet, but that didn't pan out.
 
WhiskeyEE said:
His toughest draw that I can think of is Wimby 2006. He had a joke semi, but the rest were fairly dangerous opponents.

Gasquet
Henman (could've been Soderling who he almost lost to on grass the previous year)
Mahut
Berdych
Ancic (who was the last guy to beat him on grass)
Bjorkman (could've been Nalbandian)
Nadal
Click to expand...

Fed always had tough US Opens, but past like round 3. I know he has on numerous times taken out 3 top 10 guys to win that. I believe 04, 05, 06, 07 were all top 10 from QF on (though 05 may have not been depending on what rank Nalbandian was) But if anything it was definitely at least 3 years of all top 10 QF on and one year of Nalbandian being what around 10-15. Nalbandian also is a good match up against Fed. I also recall 03 wimbledon having Lopez, Schaklen, Roddick and Phill, four very strong grass players. 05 was impressive the way he dismantled Hewitt and Roddick without dropping a set in the late rounds. Though probably full through I might agree 06 wimbledon, but it's somewhere debatable. I might rank one of those US Opens higher though just because the three straight top 10 guys is ridiculous.
 
nadal_slam_king said:
Because you rarely have to player a world number 43 in the 2nd round. Nadal has had a tough draw so far compared to Federer and Djokovic.
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Clarky21 said:
Roddick? No way you kept a straight face when you wrote out that list. :lol:
Click to expand...
But who are the only three to beat Fed in tournament play since the U.S. Open? Djokovic, Nadal and Roddick (who also beat Fed in an exho).

Maybe that signals that Andy is saving all of his remaining energy for trying to even the H2H and get revenge for those Wimbledons. :)
 
I remember when Nadal beat Roddick at last year's US Open. Roddick maybe isn't in the physical condition to play regular best-of-5 set matches. He looked spent in the first game of that match. 6-2, 6-1, 6-3 Nadal.
 
nadal_slam_king said:
Because you rarely have to player a world number 43 in the 2nd round. Nadal has had a tough draw so far compared to Federer and Djokovic.
Click to expand...

yes and federer faced #34 kiefer in RG 2004, #44 costa in USO 2004, #49 santaro in AO 2005, #50 gasquet at wimbledon 2006, #50 bjorkman in AO 2007,#36 santaro in 2008 AO, #40 sam querrey in 2008 RG, #41 soderling in 2008 wimbledon,#30 stepanek in 2008 USO, #35 seppi in AO 2009, #45 acusaso in Rg 2009, #42 GGL in wimbledon 2009,#37 andreev & 47 hanescu in AO 2010, #34 gilles simon in AO 2011, #41 lopez in RG 2011 ..

all these in R1 and R2 of slams ...

since we agree that normally a top player rarely faces a player of around rank 43 in R2, we agree federer has had it tough in R1 and R2 of the slams over the years ? :)

on a serious note, clueless NSK , real danger is someone like simon in R2 or andreev in R1 at the AO or soderling in R2 at wimbledon , not istomin at RG ....
 
abmk said:
yes and federer faced #34 kiefer in RG 2004, #44 costa in USO 2004, #49 santaro in AO 2005, #50 gasquet at wimbledon 2006, #50 bjorkman in AO 2007,#36 santaro in 2008 AO, #40 sam querrey in 2008 RG, #41 soderling in 2008 wimbledon,#30 stepanek in 2008 USO, #35 seppi in AO 2009, #45 acusaso in Rg 2009, #42 GGL in wimbledon 2009,#37 andreev & 47 hanescu in AO 2010, #34 gilles simon in AO 2011, #41 lopez in RG 2011 ..

all these in R1 and R2 of slams ...

since we agree that normally a top player rarely faces a player of around rank 43 in R2, we agree federer has had it tough in R1 and R2 of the slams over the years ? :)

on a serious note, clueless NSK , real danger is someone like simon in R2 or andreev in R1 at the AO or soderling in R2 at wimbledon , not istomin at RG ....
Click to expand...

I think NSK meant that *Nadal* rarely has to face a top 100 in the first week of a slam, and a top 10 before the final. So they were understandably worried in the VB when they saw Istomin in his part of the draw... :roll:
 
The people saying Roddick is a cakewalk are not looking at things in perspective. Yes, Federer almost always beats him and yes Roddick struggles at the French.

That doesn't change the fact that Federer would have been playing a guy who is a slam winner and was in the top ten just last year in the SECOND ROUND. Roddick would be very easy quarter or semi, but it'd be rough to face him in just the second round.
 
HunterST said:
Before the tournament started, I thought Roger had an incredibly tough draw. Potentially, he could have played

2nd round: Nalbandian, who is capable of amazing play.
3rd round: Roddick, a slam contender just a couple of years ago
4th round: Someone
Quarters: Del Potro, Slam winner
Semis: Djokovic, duh
Final: Nadal, duh
Click to expand...

So washed up hard court/indoor specialist Nalbandian, washed up clay court mug Roddick, a random someone, a former slam champion who has made only 1 slam quarterfinal so far since his comeback from near career ending wrist surgery, and the easier of the 2 semifinal opponents for the #3 seed is an incredibly tough draw. Okies.
 
NadalAgassi said:
So washed up hard court/indoor specialist Nalbandian, washed up clay court mug Roddick, a random someone, a former slam champion who has made only 1 slam quarterfinal so far since his comeback from near career ending wrist surgery, and the easier of the 2 semifinal opponents for the #3 seed is an incredibly tough draw. Okies.
Click to expand...


nalby in R2 ( yes I know, he didn't face him ) , delpo/berdych in the QF, djoker in the semis and nadal in the finals is no easy draw

toughest of all time, may be not ... but in no way is it easy ...
 
NadalAgassi said:
So washed up hard court/indoor specialist Nalbandian, washed up clay court mug Roddick, a random someone, a former slam champion who has made only 1 slam quarterfinal so far since his comeback from near career ending wrist surgery, and the easier of the 2 semifinal opponents for the #3 seed is an incredibly tough draw. Okies.
Click to expand...

You make no sense. The draw system only allows for a certain amount of difficulty at the beginning of the tournament, and formerly elite players are much more dangerous than career journeymen. You'd be insane to deny the danger of Del Potro and/or Berdych. After all that, he'd have to face a guy who has won 4 of the last 5 grand slams followed by the best clay court player of all time.
 
reversef said:
A lucky loser in the fourth round. Very tough, I agree.
Click to expand...

All the dangerous players are in Djokovic and Federers half...DelPo, Tsonga, Berdych.

Nadal's draw is a joke! The toughest potential player is Murray in the semis and we all know what Murray does in big matches.
 
Omega_7000 said:
All the dangerous players are in Djokovic and Federers half...DelPo, Tsonga, Berdych.

Nadal's draw is a joke! The toughest potential player is Murray in the semis and we all know what Murray does in big matches.
Click to expand...

First Murray has to beat Gasquet, then Ferrer. Not happening.
 
Edmondson ( fresh from AO win),Fibak,Nastase,Gerulaitis and Connors.The draw Borg faced at the 1977 Centennary Wimbledon tournament.
 
kiki said:
Edmondson ( fresh from AO win),Fibak,Nastase,Gerulaitis and Connors.The draw Borg faced at the 1977 Centennary Wimbledon tournament.
Click to expand...

Lolwut. Also Nastase was past his prime. I'll give you Connors. Other than that NO CHANCE.
 
kiki said:
nalbandian has 0 slam titles while eddo won the AO and Nastase had won two, plus a record 4 masters titles.
Click to expand...

Agassi had 8 majors in his pocket when he faced Federer in the 2005 US final. Was that tough for Fed as well?

Edmondson? You mean that doubles specialist who only once won his 3rd round match in any of the FO, Wimbledon, US Open in singles? That Edmondosn who won his AO in one of the biggest jokes of a draw ever?

Ah, that guy.
 
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kiki said:
nalbandian has 0 slam titles while eddo won the AO and Nastase had won two, plus a record 4 masters titles.
Click to expand...

nalbandian's YEC >> eddo's AO ...

nalby overall >> eddo

here are draws tougher than the one you mentioned on top of my head :

edberg USO 1992 : krajicek, chang, lendl, sampras
wilander FO 82 : lendl, gerulatis,clerc, vilas
 
tennis_pro said:
Agassi had 8 majors in his pocket when he faced Federer in the 2005 US final. Was that tough for Fed as well?

Edmondson? You mean that doubles specialist who only once won his 3rd round match in any of the FO, Wimbledon, US Open in singles?

Ah, that guy.
Click to expand...

You paid a great tribute to that era´s greatness with your comment on Edmondson ( AO and W semifinalist as well as AO champion in 19769
 
kiki said:
You paid a great tribute to that era´s greatness with your comment on Edmondson ( AO and W semifinalist as well as AO champion in 19769
Click to expand...

AO was worthless at the time. I thought such a great 60's/70's specialist would know that.

Edmondson's 76 AO title is worth as much as Robredo's 06 Hamburg title.
 
tennis_pro said:
AO was worthless at the time. I thought such a great 60's/70's specialist would know that.

Edmondson's 76 AO title is worth as much as Robredo's 06 Hamburg title.
Click to expand...

he has near zero knowledge of tennis of any era and on top of that is a huge hypocrite , bringing in AO was weak only to show up Dallas/Masters at that time, yet bringing back AO just to show the no of slam winners in that era were more ...
 
abmk said:
nalbandian's YEC >> eddo's AO ...

nalby overall >> eddo

here are draws tougher than the one you mentioned on top of my head :

edberg USO 1992 : krajicek, chang, lendl, sampras
wilander FO 82 : lendl, gerulatis,clerc, vilas
Click to expand...

I agree.And Sampras had to play, if I recall correctly, Lendl,Mac and Agassi in his first USO win, back in 1990...

Pecci in 79 RG was pretty tough, too: Barazutti,Solomon,Vilas and Connors.He was not seeded at the start of the tournament.

Laver in AO 69: Emerson,Stolle,Roche and Gimeno.Unbelievable¡¡¡¡
 
mac 1980 USO was pretty tough too ... an emerging lendl in QF, jimmy in the semis and borg in the finals ...
 
tennis_pro said:
AO was worthless at the time. I thought such a great 60's/70's specialist would know that.

Edmondson's 76 AO title is worth as much as Robredo's 06 Hamburg title.
Click to expand...

Yes, specially since Robredo had to defeat champs like Rosewall and newcombe, back to back, to earn the title:)
 
HunterST said:
Before the tournament started, I thought Roger had an incredibly tough draw. Potentially, he could have played

2nd round: Nalbandian, who is capable of amazing play.
3rd round: Roddick, a slam contender just a couple of years ago
4th round: Someone
Quarters: Del Potro, Slam winner
Semis: Djokovic, duh
Final: Nadal, duh
Click to expand...

Yep, 'someone' has been on form for a while now.
 
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