Federer's worst screw ups

[Mburns]

Well its certain Nadal will pass Federer in total slams now and probably Novak as well. But Federer only has himself to blame for this. He should have had at least 23 majors at this point if he had not screwed up so badly at closing out matches.

This years Wimbledon was obviously one of those losses. Not being able to close out a match up 40-15 on his own serve is unforgivable. He still had 2 additional break points several games later that if he converted would have allowed him to serve out the match again. He should hit the ball right at Novak on the first of those break points. Instead he tried getting it by him and Novak made the volley.

His worst loss was to Del Potro in the US Open final. Serving to go up 2 sets to none and he blows it and loses the tie breaker. Than he can't convert several Championship points in the 4th set tie break. A win there would have given him 6 straight US Open titles and since he won the AO the next year he would have completed a non calendar year grand slam before Novak.

He also blew the AO semi against Safin. He had matches points in the 4th set tie breaker he again could not convert and tried a between the leg shot on one of them. Had he won that semi he would have definitely beaten Hewitt in the final.

Finally had he made the changes in his backhand and racket at a younger age he would have done better against Nadal and Novak in their match ups. He's too old now to really get the most benefit from the improvement in that part of his game.

 

[Bilders]

Should have won this year's Wimbledon final.

No match points at all in the US Open 2009 final.

One match point in the 4th set tiebreak Aus Open 2005 semi at 6-5, which Marat bossed with a big return and smart play.

 

[DSH]

He should have lost many Grand Slam matches, but the fans forget about that.

 

[Service Ace]

Can't argue with any of these. I'd add choking away an Olympic Gold to Andy Murray of all people to the list and the two losses to Djokovic at the US Open with match points. Also that horrible drop shot on set point at the French to go up 1-0 against Nadal in the final.

 

[CYGS]

should have would have could have. It always makes an appearance after a slam loss from Fed.

 

[NoleFam]

Can't argue with any of these. I'd add choking away an Olympic Gold to Andy Murray of all people to the list and the two losses to Djokovic at the US Open with match points. Also that horrible drop shot on set point at the French to go up 1-0 against Nadal in the final.

How can you choke away a match where you only won 7 games?

 

[Technology Ruined Tennis]

Playing Canada in '17.

 

[Rosstour]

Can't argue with any of these. I'd add choking away an Olympic Gold to Andy Murray of all people to the list and the two losses to Djokovic at the US Open with match points. Also that horrible drop shot on set point at the French to go up 1-0 against Nadal in the final.

He didn't choke that match IMO

I'm 90% sure he threw it to him after beating him at Wimbledon as a professional courtesy

 

[icedevil0289]

He should have lost many Grand Slam matches, but the fans forget about that.

okay.....

 

[MeatTornado]

No match points wasted, but the number of break points wasted in RG 07 and USO 15 are unforgettable.

Both coming off what should've huge momentum turning wins in the Masters leading up to both matches. Neither made any difference to his mentality in the slam finals, unfortunately.

 

[beltsman]

Well its certain Nadal will pass Federer in total slams now and probably Novak as well. But Federer only has himself to blame for this. He should have had at least 23 majors at this point if he had not screwed up so badly at closing out matches.

This years Wimbledon was obviously one of those losses. Not being able to close out a match up 40-15 on his own serve is unforgivable. He still had 2 additional break points several games later that if he converted would have allowed him to serve out the match again. He should hit the ball right at Novak on the first of those break points. Instead he tried getting it by him and Novak made the volley.

His worst loss was to Del Potro in the US Open final. Serving to go up 2 sets to none and he blows it and loses the tie breaker. Than he can't convert several Championship points in the 4th set tie break. A win there would have given him 6 straight US Open titles and since he won the AO the next year he would have completed a non calendar year grand slam before Novak.

He also blew the AO semi against Safin. He had matches points in the 4th set tie breaker he again could not convert and tried a between the leg shot on one of them. Had he won that semi he would have definitely beaten Hewitt in the final.

Finally had he made the changes in his backhand and racket at a younger age he would have done better against Nadal and Novak in their match ups. He's too old now to really get the most benefit from the improvement in that part of his game.

Don't forget:
- 2009 AO when he absolutely choked against tired Nadal in the 5th set.
- 2012 USO when he flopped as a favorite
- 2014 Wimbledon when he choked
- 2015 Wimbledon when he choked
- 2015 USO when he choked
- 2019 USO when he choked

 

[MeatTornado]

Don't forget:
- 2009 AO when he absolutely choked against tired Nadal in the 5th set.
- 2012 USO when he flopped as a favorite
- 2014 Wimbledon when he choked
- 2015 Wimbledon when he choked
- 2015 USO when he choked
- 2019 USO when he choked

2015 Wimbledon and 2019 USO were not chokes.

 

[DSH]

okay.....

Do you think your favorite player deserved to win, as the OP said, 23 or more Majors?

 

[AceSalvo]

Oh look, after 18 yrs of Fed entertainment, the Fed haters are piling up. Easy to forget Djoko lost 9 finals and Nadal lost 8 finals. Its all part of the game. Sleep easy on it.

 

[BeatlesFan]

Well its certain Nadal will pass Federer in total slams now and probably Novak as well.

Fact or opinion?

 

[Sport]

Fax

 

[DSH]

Fans never understand reasons, and that, unfortunately, will not change.

 

[dr325i]

2015 Wimbledon and 2019 USO were not chokes.

2015 USO was not a choke either. He had no chance there and was not ahead at any moment.
He needed more Roddicks and Bagdhadis in his career...

He is most marketable in tennis but in the end will be remembered as the best in previous era and second or third best in this era.

 

[NBP]

Like I said, had he won Wimbledon, I think a lot of Federer fans wouldn’t necessarily care if he was going to be overtaken because that would have been the best win of his career, and we’d all feel like his legacy was set. Instead, he lost with match points, will lose his record to Nadal in the next two years, and then probably to Djokovic by 2022-23.

You cannot feel aggrieved because Fed himself is to blame. No one else. There was no bad luck at play, just an unbelievable choke.

 

[roysid]

Well its certain Nadal will pass Federer in total slams now and probably Novak as well. But Federer only has himself to blame for this. He should have had at least 23 majors at this point if he had not screwed up so badly at closing out matches.

This years Wimbledon was obviously one of those losses. Not being able to close out a match up 40-15 on his own serve is unforgivable. He still had 2 additional break points several games later that if he converted would have allowed him to serve out the match again. He should hit the ball right at Novak on the first of those break points. Instead he tried getting it by him and Novak made the volley.

His worst loss was to Del Potro in the US Open final. Serving to go up 2 sets to none and he blows it and loses the tie breaker. Than he can't convert several Championship points in the 4th set tie break. A win there would have given him 6 straight US Open titles and since he won the AO the next year he would have completed a non calendar year grand slam before Novak.

He also blew the AO semi against Safin. He had matches points in the 4th set tie breaker he again could not convert and tried a between the leg shot on one of them. Had he won that semi he would have definitely beaten Hewitt in the final.

Finally had he made the changes in his backhand and racket at a younger age he would have done better against Nadal and Novak in their match ups. He's too old now to really get the most benefit from the improvement in that part of his game.

None of the other top players have blown up majors, that's true.

In the Wimbledon final at 40-15, all he had to put the ball in court in the first match point.
He also had break point later and a makeable pass. He went cross court which Novak anticipated because that's how he got the earlier break. Should have gone DTL.

USO 2009 : Never let the pressure down on opponent.he did that cardinal sin.

AO 2005: it was just growing years and he wasn't that intense.

But don't forget the matches he survived .
AO 2017 final : break down in 5th set and 15-40 in the last service game. Hit that ace and the brilliant inside out forehand.

FO 2009: The Haas match and that forehand.

W 2012: the benetau match

 

[roysid]

Like I said, had he won Wimbledon, I think a lot of Federer fans wouldn’t necessarily care if he was going to be overtaken because that would have been the best win of his career, and we’d all feel like his legacy was set. Instead, he lost with match points, will lose his record to Nadal in the next two years, and then probably to Djokovic by 2022-23.

You cannot feel aggrieved because Fed himself is to blame. No one else. There was no bad luck at play, just an unbelievable choke.

Well said. If he had won Wimbledon 2019, would have been a great ending

 

[Mainad]

I'd add choking away an Olympic Gold to Andy Murray of all people .

Given he won a total of just 7 games in that match I don't know how you could possibly describe it as a choke no matter what sort of 'people' you think Andy Murray is! A choke is typically defined as losing from a winning position something that Federer was never near being in at any point of that match.

 

[AceSalvo]

None of the other top players have blown up majors, that's true.

In the Wimbledon final at 40-15, all he had to put the ball in court in the first match point.
He also had break point later and a makeable pass. He went cross court which Novak anticipated because that's how he got the earlier break. Should have gone DTL.

USO 2009 : Never let the pressure down on opponent.he did that cardinal sin.

AO 2005: it was just growing years and he wasn't that intense.

But don't forget the matches he survived .
AO 2017 final : break down in 5th set and 15-40 in the last service game. Hit that ace and the brilliant inside out forehand.

FO 2009: The Haas match and that forehand.

W 2012: the benetau match

Had Fed won USO 2009 and Wimb19, there would not have been any debate on who the GOAT is. Fed is generous and helped keep people interested in tennis by keeping the GOAT debate alive.

According to Fed haters 5 years ago, Nadal and Djoko were supposed to overtake Fed. Come 2020, Fed is still on top the GS leader board.

 

[icedevil0289]

Do you think your favorite player deserved to win, as the OP said, 23 or more Majors?

no that is obviously a hyperbole as is your baiting post

 

[icedevil0289]

god rafa fans continue to be insufferable

 

[Service Ace]

Given he won a total of just 7 games in that match I don't know how you could possibly describe it as a choke no matter what sort of 'people' you think Andy Murray is! A choke is typically defined as losing from a winning position something that Federer was never near being in at any point of that match.

He was the heavy favorite going into the match. That qualifies as a choke.

 

[icedevil0289]

honestly the only one that he was legit one shot from winning was this year;s wimbledon. he definitely made some mistakes in USO 2009 but should have could have with any of them and well we'll be here all day.

 

[Mainad]

He didn't choke that match IMO

I'm 90% sure he threw it to him after beating him at Wimbledon as a professional courtesy

Yeah, he was so courteous in that match he deigned to win only 7 games and even threw in some bakery for good measure. Even his opponent hadn't been that courteous when they previously met at Wimbledon just a few weeks earlier.

 

[Mainad]

He was the heavy favorite going into the match. That qualifies as a choke.

No it doesn't. A choke is losing from a winning position as I just explained to you.

 

[icedevil0289]

He was the heavy favorite going into the match. That qualifies as a choke.

man just give murray something lol. its okay

 

[icedevil0289]

Had Fed won USO 2009 and Wimb19, there would not have been any debate on who the GOAT is. Fed is generous and helped keep people interested in tennis by keeping the GOAT debate alive.

According to Fed haters 5 years ago, Nadal and Djoko were supposed to overtake Fed. Come 2020, Fed is still on top the GS leader board.

nadal has teh french. he will over take him. novak idk,but no one else is stepping up.

 

[DSH]

no that is obviously a hyperbole as is your baiting post

Baiting?
What I believe is that many fans and I do not know if that is your case, and not only in tennis, I speak of sport in general, do not accept the defeats of the athletes to whom they idolize and, unfortunately, resort to dream scenarios, perfect, in which it is disdained, whether explicit or not, to the competition, to the rival of the day, and that seems to me that it goes against the values of what sports competition means.

 

[icedevil0289]

Baiting?
What I believe is that many fans and I do not know if that is your case, and not only in tennis, I speak of sport in general, do not accept the defeats of the athletes to whom they idolize and, unfortunately, resort to dream scenarios, perfect, in which it is disdained, whether explicit or not, to the competition, to the rival of the day, and that seems to me that it goes against the values of what sports competition means.

okay well i hope you do the same for your wave oh wise one

 

[AceSalvo]

nadal has teh french. he will over take him

Heard that same thing in 2017. Are we 100% sure in 2020 at least??

 

[icedevil0289]

Heard that same thing in 2017. Are we 100% sure in 2020 at least??

imo the key difference is nadal has never been this close to fed before. it;s always been i think a 3 slam difference.

 

[Sudacafan]

His worst loss was to Del Potro in the US Open final. Serving to go up 2 sets to none and he blows it and loses the tie breaker. Than he can't convert several Championship points in the 4th set tie break. A win there would have given him 6 straight US Open titles and since he won the AO the next year he would have completed a non calendar year grand slam before Novak.

That is not correct. Federer never had CPs in that match.
He just was two points away of winning the match in the fourth set, in a game before the tiebreaker.

 

[Subway Tennis]

Don't forget:
- 2009 AO when he absolutely choked against tired Nadal in the 5th set.
- 2012 USO when he flopped as a favorite
- 2014 Wimbledon when he choked
- 2015 Wimbledon when he choked
- 2015 USO when he choked
- 2019 USO when he choked

Agree with most of these except 2019. Not such a huge disaster losing to Dimitrov because Meddy would have monstered Roger in the SF anyway.

 

[Subway Tennis]

He was the heavy favorite going into the match. That qualifies as a choke.

That's not a choke. The word you're looking for is "upset".

 

[icedevil0289]

Agree with most of these except 2019. Not such a huge disaster losing to Dimitrov because Meddy would have monstered him in the SF anyway.

would he have though? i mean whose to say fed wouldn't have found a way to been medvedev, not to mention despite people saying grigor is baby fed, they dont play the exact same way. i mean it doesnt matter at this point but i dont believe fed would have gone away like grigor did.

 

[oldmanfan]

Well its certain Nadal will pass Federer in total slams now and probably Novak as well.

Fact or opinion?

Right?

If it's 'fact', then @Mburns , please kindly reveal to us peasants the next winning lottery #s. If it's 'opinion', well....

 

[yokied]

You can talk about Federer's worst individual chokes but the biggest choke was the huge arrogance and miscalculation in letting the Nadal get away from him in the H2H in the early years. The individual chokes where he somehow still got into winning positions occasionally are the outliers that aren't enough to throw off the pattern of solid losses caused by simply colossal arrogance.

The equipment and tactical changes should have been made earlier, at least limiting the losses to clay. The Nadal wouldn't have got away from him and then Djokovic probably would never have happened either. 25+ majors for Fed, cruising into retirement under 35 under that scenario.

 

[oldmanfan]

You can talk about Federer's worst individual chokes but the biggest choke was the huge arrogance and miscalculation in letting the Nadal get away from him in the H2H in the early years. The individual chokes where he somehow still got into winning positions occasionally are the outliers that aren't enough to throw off the pattern of solid losses caused by simply colossal arrogance.

The equipment and tactical changes should have been made earlier, at least limiting the losses to clay. The Nadal wouldn't have got away from him and then Djokovic probably would never have happened either. 25+ majors for Fed, cruising into retirement under 35 under that scenario.

Fairly solid points. The dilemma is that had Fedr dominated like so, tennis would likely be pretty stale for a long while with one guy (Fedr) winning everything. Fedfans would love it, but other fans would not, and tennis would likely not be as successful as it became. The current situation causes stress to us Fedfans, but tennis largely benefitted. It's a tuffie. The main thing I'm annoyed about current tennis is that every court is playing so similar that it doesn't reward variety of styles. Dustin Brown would have found many successes in the older days of true court variety. I mean, the guy took a GOAT-level player to the wooodshed in 2 of 2 opportunities on grass, yet is stuck in Challengers.

 

[icedevil0289]

You can talk about Federer's worst individual chokes but the biggest choke was the huge arrogance and miscalculation in letting the Nadal get away from him in the H2H in the early years. The individual chokes where he somehow still got into winning positions occasionally are the outliers that aren't enough to throw off the pattern of solid losses caused by simply colossal arrogance.

The equipment and tactical changes should have been made earlier, at least limiting the losses to clay. The Nadal wouldn't have got away from him and then Djokovic probably would never have happened either. 25+ majors for Fed, cruising into retirement under 35 under that scenario.

tbh that is kind of unfair because at that point the only problem for him was really nadal so why change for one person. imo he already did a lot just to try and defeat nadal on play which i know many people didnt like because his fh used to be much more powerful so to speak before he started adapting it more for clay. the equipment and the way he played for so long is what helped him win so many slams and tournaments, he eventually changed i think for numerous reasons and im glad he did but i wish people would stop acting like he wasnt super successful before it.

 

[icedevil0289]

Fairly solid points. The dilemma is that had Fedr dominated like so, tennis would likely be pretty stale for a long while with one guy (Fedr) winning everything. Fedfans would love it, but other fans would not, and tennis would likely not be as successful as it became. The current situation causes stress to us Fedfans, but tennis largely benefitted. It's a tuffie. The main thing I'm annoyed about current tennis is that every court is playing so similar that it doesn't reward variety of styles. Dustin Brown would have found many successes in the older days of true court variety. I mean, the guy took a GOAT-level player to the wooodshed in 2 of 2 opportunities on grass, yet is stuck in Challengers.

funny enough someone on nadal's team tweeted something vague about dustin and his tennis not being real tennis but annyways i agree. i also think more variety would help younger players break through. there is no variety except for a few players, fed being one of them, and when you have the players play the same way guess which one is going to come out on top, not the younger guys, teh more experienced ones.

also its not like fed didnt have rivals/competitive matches even during his peak.

 

[MeatTornado]

2015 USO was not a choke either. He had no chance there and was not ahead at any moment.

4/23

 

[oldmanfan]

funny enough someone on nadal's team tweeted something vague about dustin and his tennis not being real tennis but annyways i agree. i also think more variety would help younger players break through. there is no variety except for a few players, fed being one of them, and when you have the players play the same way guess which one is going to come out on top, not the younger guys, teh more experienced ones.

also its not like fed didnt have rivals/competitive matches even during his peak.

Yup. Everyone is so wrapped up in the GOAT debate (the ATP/ITF included) that they are missing the forest for the trees.

Homogenizing the courts the way they have done could kill tennis post Big3.

If every court is the same (generalization here), then all one needs is a successful style (Djokdal's), then you dominate. If that style dominates, then every successor will simply copy it for boring one-style tennis (see: current LostGen and NextGen). The authorities are sabotaging their own sport, and they don't know it. Heck, forget noticing, they are revving it up! Look at how slow everything has become the last few years. Then, there's the introduction of the slam TB rules just bc Isner took a few more hours to win a few matches?

 

[Rosstour]

Yeah, he was so courteous in that match he deigned to win only 7 games and even threw in some bakery for good measure. Even his opponent hadn't been that courteous when they previously met at Wimbledon just a few weeks earlier.

That should tell you something

Do any of us honestly believe he was simply not capable of mustering a better effort? Not even taking a set?

That was Federer, on Center Court at his best tournament...where he has been better than anyone else, and had just beaten the same player in 4 sets what, a month earlier?

Do you think Fed would have gone down so meekly if that were a Grand Slam Final?

I think Fed figured "I don't need this, and he does."

Murray hadn't yet won his first Slam, and Fed knew he would never again get a chance to win an Olympic medal in his home country.

So Fed rolled over. He let Murray win, and he made it fairly obvious.

As an added bonus, that win gave Murray the confidence to go on to win the US in 2012 and then to defeat Djoker next year at Wimbledon. Everybody wins.

 

[Ray Mercer]

Australian Open 2005
Australian Open 2009
US Open 2009
US Open 2015
Wimbledon 2019

Those are all majors he should have won.

 

[papertank]

With such long and accomplished careers, you can inevitably point out facts like this for any of the Big 3. Nadal's trio of heartbreaking AO finals (2012, 2014, 2017) come to mind. For Djokovic there's less but you do have his terrible USO final record as well as some missed opportunities at the French over the years. And don't even get me started on Murray...

 

[MeatTornado]

That should tell you something

Do any of us honestly believe he was simply not capable of mustering a better effort? Not even taking a set?

That was Federer, on Center Court at his best tournament...where he has been better than anyone else, and had just beaten the same player in 4 sets what, a month earlier?

Do you think Fed would have gone down so meekly if that were a Grand Slam Final?

I think Fed figured "I don't need this, and he does."

Murray hadn't yet won his first Slam, and Fed knew he would never again get a chance to win an Olympic medal in his home country.

So Fed rolled over. He let Murray win, and he made it fairly obvious.

As an added bonus, that win gave Murray the confidence to go on to win the US in 2012 and then to defeat Djoker next year at Wimbledon. Everybody wins.

I wouldn't say he let Andy win. But I'm sure at some point in that match he realized he wasn't going to win and didn't try to kill himself to claw his way back.