Fellow Fed fans, don't be sad

mike danny

Bionic Poster
2018 has still been a very good season for Roger. He has won a slam and returned to world no.1. These accomplishments make it a very good season by any standards. He is still in the top 3 as well at 37 years old.

I mean, I'm sure all of you back in 2016 were wishing for a 2018-like season for Federer. We have simply been spoiled. What we got in 2017-early 2018 was what we could not envision whatsoever after 2016 given Fed's age. He surprised us all with his level in 2017 and we took for granted that that was going to be the norm going forward. We only consider Fed's 2018 a disappointment because he spoiled us with his level in 2017. So it's all relative.

The truth is, at his age, that kind of form was very difficult to maintain. The fact that Fed maintained that form for 14 months is a miracle in itself. I was very satisfied with AO 2017 alone. The fact that he went on to win Wimb as well that year and defend his AO title this year was a bonus I never imagined or even desired.

Fed right now is not finding his game, but he might still do it one day. I won't rule him out until the day he calls it quits. For now, let's all cherish what Federer has offered us since 2017 and even this year, with major no.20 and oldest no.1 of the Open Era.
 

tennisfan2015

Hall of Fame
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Ann

Hall of Fame
I'm not sad at all. I thought he played great the first 3 matches at Shanghai. He came out flat today and never really got the motor going. His match against Nishikori had GOAT moments and the consistency of his play was better this tournament than anything I've seen since AO. I'm more than pleased with how he did this tournament. Physically I think it's all still there, I think he needs his confidence back and maybe to calm down a little on his other jobs, so he can focus on tennis.

And he's always had problems with Coric.
 

tennisfan2015

Hall of Fame
I'm not sad at all. I thought he played great the first 3 matches at Shanghai. He came out flat today and never really got the motor going. His match against Nishikori had GOAT moments and the consistency of his play was better this tournament than anything I've seen since AO. I'm more than pleased with how he did this tournament. Physically I think it's all still there, I think he needs his confidence back and maybe to calm down a little on his other jobs, so he can focus on tennis.

And he's always had problems with Coric.
When GS come around he will be done!
 

Djokovic2011

Bionic Poster
Pretty difficult for me to feel sad about a guy who's a multi-millionaire with a beautiful family and a hugely successful career. Sad is seeing innocent children being blown up in war torn countries or even heading into Manchester town centre and witnessing the increasing number of homeless people. Disappointing? Maybe. Sad? Hell no.
 

MLM

Rookie
Since the Wimbledon loss to Anderson I’ve started expecting Federer to lose every match, which has actually made it far more enjoyable to watch him, the losses don’t hurt and almost everything is positive. Even this decline isn’t that bad, losses to Anderson, Coric (x2), Djokovic and del Potro can be expected from a 36/37 year old - even if he is at the top of the sport - minimising the losses to guys like Millman or Kokkinakis is a more realistic goal now. There’s always the chance that there will be another resurgence and I certainly hope there is.
 

duaneeo

Legend
Won the biggest tournament of the early HC season, skipped the entire CC season, won only a 250 event during his favored GC season, won no titles during the summer HC season, and now this start to the fall season.

Yes, 2018 is considered successful because Federer won a slam, but it doesn't mask how disappointing the season has actually been.
 
D

Deleted member 756486

Guest
Won the biggest tournament of the early HC season, skipped the entire CC season, won only a 250 event during his favored GC season, won no titles during the summer HC season, and now this start to the fall season.

Yes, 2018 is considered successful because Federer won a slam, but it doesn't mask how disappointing the season has actually been.
Winning 3 slams at 35+ is incredible. Can’t ask much more from him.
 

BeatlesFan

Bionic Poster
Since the Wimbledon loss to Anderson I’ve started expecting Federer to lose every match

This is a bit like the philosophy I’ve adopted, though not as extreme. The IW final where he choked away those 2 MP’s against Del Po really signaled for me that 2017 was a dream that wouldn’t be continuing. The Anderson loss cemented that belief, and the Millman lost confirmed it entirely.

Also, the fact that Roger is so nonchalant about his losses makes it easier as his fan to accept it too. He know the end is approaching and he’s OK with it. It’s been a hell of a ride for us fans and he can still play beautiful tennis, like he did against Kei this week.
 

guitarra

Professional
Well, I'm not not sad at all. I think it was a miracle Roger at 36 managed to win another slam (AO) and reached No1 again. I was still a great year for him under the current circumstances.

I think all Fed fans should cut down their expectations to zero. If he wins more - will be great, if no - that's OK, he'll always be remembered as the great player who played this game like no-one before and after, like Mozart.

But we should all remember that no-one can and ever will defeat time. The sunset is closing in on Roger. It's almost there.
 

Ann

Hall of Fame
Please be done with tennis and leave here. Everyone is begging you.
You know I've actually had you on ignore for a month but I've had 4 private emails from people telling me you're stalking me on the board and asking why I don't report you. I just received another email saying the same thing, so I took you off ignore long enough to say this... If you don't find a new obsession and stop acting unbalanced, I'm going to keep you off ignore long enough to report every one of your personal attacks. You need to move on with your life.
 

dr325i

G.O.A.T.
2018 has still been a very good season for Roger. He has won a slam and returned to world no.1. These accomplishments make it a very good season by any standards. He is still in the top 3 as well at 37 years old.

I mean, I'm sure all of you back in 2016 were wishing for a 2018-like season for Federer. We have simply been spoiled. What we got in 2017-early 2018 was what we could not envision whatsoever after 2016 given Fed's age. He surprised us all with his level in 2017 and we took for granted that that was going to be the norm going forward. ...
Then Novak returned...
 

BeatlesFan

Bionic Poster
Honestly, if one of the nextgens doesn't buy a clue before Roger retires I may be done with tennis..
It is a conundrum since there's no new guy to root for. When I loved Lendl and he left the game, it was easy to transition to Andre. When Andre started fading, Fed was already there to take his place. When Fed retires... who is there to root for? I had high hopes for Shapo, but he's been acting the fool too much for my tastes. I love Dominic as a person but his tennis bores the hell outta me. Tsitsipas isn't doing it for me either. Sad days ahead unless some new guy gets really good and does it really quickly. Hoping Shapo will start bringing it soon, but he keeps disappointing and regressing.
 

Ann

Hall of Fame
It is a conundrum since there's no new guy to root for. When I loved Lendl and he left the game, it was easy to transition to Andre. When Andre started fading, Fed was already there to take his place. When Fed retires... who is there to root for? I had high hopes for Shapo, but he's been acting the fool too much for my tastes. I love Dominic as a person but his tennis bores the hell outta me. Tsitsipas isn't doing it for me either. Sad days ahead unless some new guy gets really good and does it really quickly. Hoping Shapo will start bringing it soon, but he keeps disappointing and regressing.
Same here. I went from Connors and McEnroe to Agassi to Federer and Nadal. I still have Nadal but his constant knee injuries are a huge concern. I like Del Potro but he's consistently "not feeling well". I do like Tsitsipas but he's a maybe. There's no one else I can really see stepping up in the next year or two and how long can Rafa play on those knees? It's so depressing. Will I watch tennis if I have no one to root for?
 

CYGS

Legend
Same here. I went from Connors and McEnroe to Agassi to Federer and Nadal. I still have Nadal but his constant knee injuries are a huge concern. I like Del Potro but he's consistently "not feeling well". I do like Tsitsipas but he's a maybe. There's no one else I can really see stepping up in the next year or two and how long can Rafa play on those knees? It's so depressing. Will I watch tennis if I have no one to root for?
Hopefully no.
 

Steve0904

Talk Tennis Guru
The only thing I get sad about is that Nadal is frequently injured, no nextgen seems to be stepping up and Djokovic bores the snot out of me. Honestly, if one of the nextgens doesn't buy a clue before Roger retires I may be done with tennis. That seriously makes me sad.

Done with tennis is a bit extreme for me personally, but I get where you're coming from. Nobody else will make me care the way Federer has for so many years. And then came Nadal, Djokovic, and Murray. All of whom are great players that I have enjoyed watching, but I don't see that now. Some of the younger guys are exciting, but none are consistent so it takes away most of the excitement if that makes sense.

Watching the Federer-Coric match today, I wasn't really sad, more disappointed or frustrated than anything. Disappointed that the guys that are beating Federer now aren't really special players. If Coric has a decent career and wins a couple slams, even if he wins just the one I'll take this comment back, but I honestly don't see anything too special about him. I don't see how he'll win a slam playing like he does or how he'll improve unless he can start getting more pop on his groundies. He's super speedy and consistent, and will never beat himself which makes him a tough matchup for an old off form Federer who can't hit through him, but there are still many guys that can beat Coric when it matters most, IMO.

Coric is like a lesser version of Ferrer to me. He isn't a lesser version of Djokovic. Of course, Djokovic's recent run will come to an end at some point probably sooner than we all think, but what happens then? The ATP ends up like the WTA where one of the young guys wins a slam by default and then loses his next 10 matches? I don't know, but it looks pretty dire right now.
 

underground

G.O.A.T.
I'm not actually that sad to be honest. Sure it wasn't a pretty sight today, but his overall level this tournament was definitely better than Cinci and USO. Today was probably 70% outplayed 30% his own undoing.
 

Chanwan

G.O.A.T.
Pretty difficult for me to feel sad about a guy who's a multi-millionaire with a beautiful family and a hugely successful career. Sad is seeing innocent children being blown up in war torn countries or even heading into Manchester town centre and witnessing the increasing number of homeless people. Disappointing? Maybe. Sad? Hell no.
I may be wrong, but iirc you were feeling plenty sad for Djokovic for a couple of years.... ;-)
 

BeatlesFan

Bionic Poster
Same here. I went from Connors and McEnroe to Agassi to Federer and Nadal. I still have Nadal but his constant knee injuries are a huge concern. I like Del Potro but he's consistently "not feeling well". I do like Tsitsipas but he's a maybe. There's no one else I can really see stepping up in the next year or two and how long can Rafa play on those knees? It's so depressing. Will I watch tennis if I have no one to root for?

I love Del Po too, but he's 30 and not a new guy, obviously. He's much closer to the end than the beginning. I can't get into Felix, Tiafoe, Chung or any of them. This is the first time in the Open Era where a great leaves the game and there's literally no new up and coming great to root for. I may end up having to back Thiem as a default even though his game is boring. At least he's a lovely guy, well mannered and has a great work ethic. But that's a low bar to decide who to root for.
 

Chanwan

G.O.A.T.
Good perspective @mike danny . I think it's high time for us to realize that the ride is most likely over and all we can hope for is a great match here and there. Anything else is a bonus.
My one regret the past year is that he didn't get to be no. 1 a bit more.

He was the best player in 2017 and up until the clay season 2018, but the ranking didn't reflect it (and he was often just 100 points or so behind). One more win in any one tournament quite a few times would have had him at no. 1 for a dozen or more weeks.
Yep, I'm afraid you're wrong on that one Chanwan.
fair enough
 

Ann

Hall of Fame
I love Del Po too, but he's 30 and not a new guy, obviously. He's much closer to the end than the beginning. I can't get into Felix, Tiafoe, Chung or any of them. This is the first time in the Open Era where a great leaves the game and there's literally no new up and coming great to root for. I may end up having to back Thiem as a default even though his game is boring. At least he's a lovely guy, well mannered and has a great work ethic. But that's a low bar to decide who to root for.
But if the game's boring how nice a guy they are is meaningless. Djokovic is a nice guy but I won't even watch his match tomorrow. I've been watching tennis for 45 years....
 

NatF

Bionic Poster
On another note: What do you guys consider the last truly great match Fed's played? I know he played well vs. Nishikori (am yet to see it though), but I'm talking Fed in full flight mode.
@NatF @abmk @-NN- @falstaff78

Define truly great? Does Laver Cup count? ;) I think his matches against Raonic and Kyrgios in Stuttgart were both high quality from him, nothing much since tbh.
 

Chanwan

G.O.A.T.
Define truly great? Does Laver Cup count? ;) I think his matches against Raonic and Kyrgios in Stuttgart were both high quality from him, nothing much since tbh.
Define truly great = Fed in full flight mode as I wrote. Like vs. Goffin in Basel last year or vs. Nadal in Shanghai (even better, vs. Nadal in IW, but it doesn't have to be that good).
Any Wimbledon match before Anderson perhaps? If I remember well he cruised easily in the 1st week.
He played pretty well there (and in the first set vs. Anderson, before his level fell down 3-4 notches and has remained down ever since), but in order for it to count, the opposition needs to be a bit better than the first week of a slam imo.
 

jm1980

Talk Tennis Guru
Done with tennis is a bit extreme for me personally, but I get where you're coming from. Nobody else will make me care the way Federer has for so many years. And then came Nadal, Djokovic, and Murray. All of whom are great players that I have enjoyed watching, but I don't see that now. Some of the younger guys are exciting, but none are consistent so it takes away most of the excitement if that makes sense.

Watching the Federer-Coric match today, I wasn't really sad, more disappointed or frustrated than anything. Disappointed that the guys that are beating Federer now aren't really special players. If Coric has a decent career and wins a couple slams, even if he wins just the one I'll take this comment back, but I honestly don't see anything too special about him. I don't see how he'll win a slam playing like he does or how he'll improve unless he can start getting more pop on his groundies. He's super speedy and consistent, and will never beat himself which makes him a tough matchup for an old off form Federer who can't hit through him, but there are still many guys that can beat Coric when it matters most, IMO.

Coric is like a lesser version of Ferrer to me. He isn't a lesser version of Djokovic. Of course, Djokovic's recent run will come to an end at some point probably sooner than we all think, but what happens then? The ATP ends up like the WTA where one of the young guys wins a slam by default and then loses his next 10 matches? I don't know, but it looks pretty dire right now.
I thought Coric was going to be special when he was coming up the ranks. Maybe even equal or surpass Novak’s achievements when all is said and done

His development stalled a little bit in the last couple of years, but it looks like he can see the light at the of the tunnel now. He’s quietly gotten to the Top 15 and could be in the Top 10 soon
 

Steve0904

Talk Tennis Guru
I thought Coric was going to be special when he was coming up the ranks. Maybe even equal or surpass Novak’s achievements when all is said and done

His development stalled a little bit in the last couple of years, but it looks like he can see the light at the of the tunnel now. He’s quietly gotten to the Top 15 and could be in the Top 10 soon

I need to see a good performance at a slam before I rate the kid tbh. Maybe even 2-3 slams in a row.
 

DRII

G.O.A.T.
Pretty difficult for me to feel sad about a guy who's a multi-millionaire with a beautiful family and a hugely successful career. Sad is seeing innocent children being blown up in war torn countries or even heading into Manchester town centre and witnessing the increasing number of homeless people. Disappointing? Maybe. Sad? Hell no.
Oh please!
 
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jm1980

Talk Tennis Guru
I need to see a good performance at a slam before I rate the kid tbh. Maybe even 2-3 slams in a row.
I think 2019 will be a breakout season for Borna

Poor kid has had to undergo knee surgery at such a young age, otherwise he'd be a big name already
 

Phoenix1983

G.O.A.T.
Pretty difficult for me to feel sad about a guy who's a multi-millionaire with a beautiful family and a hugely successful career. Sad is seeing innocent children being blown up in war torn countries or even heading into Manchester town centre and witnessing the increasing number of homeless people. Disappointing? Maybe. Sad? Hell no.

We have a virtue signaller in the house.

(Someone pls quote this post as Djokovic2011 has me on ignore)
 
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