Hypothetical Matchup: Federer 2003 vs. Federer 2012

[zam88]

Federer 2003 won Wimbledon, spent a good portion of the year at #2 but his GS Results were 4, 1 (ouch), W, 4 and was 78-17 on the year, Won 0 Masters 1000's, but did win the WTF


Federer 2012 won Wimbledon, spent a good portion of the year at #2, and a few weeks at #1.. his GS Results were SF, SF, W, QF.. picked up an Olympic Silver and 3 Masters 1000's He was 78-12. Made the final of the WTF but lost.


Who wins across every surface? The young up and comer with wickad speed.. the man about to start the greatest 4 year run this sport has ever seen or will ever see? Or the savvy vet who was able to put a magical post-prime season together in an incredibly strong era.


AO - Young 3 - Old 2
FO - Old 5 - Young 0
Wim - Old 3 - Young 2
USO - Young 3 - Old 2

Old 12 - Young 8

 

[tennis_pro]

Federer was way more consistent in 2012 compared to 2003. In 2003 he had flashes of brilliance and a preview of what was to come in 2004-2007 - mostly at Wimbledon and the WTF + some smaller tournaments.

Federer at his 2003 peak beats Federer at his best in 2012 but overall 2012 Fed would prevail most of the time.

 

[mike danny]

At the AO i would tak the explosive Federer over the old one any day of the week

 

[President]

Federer was in scary form at the Australian Open in 2012. He would clearly beat his 2003 version at that tournament, IMO. It took a red hot Nadal (who has always enjoyed a matchup advantage against him) to put him down in 4 very tough sets. His form in Australia in 2012 was arguably his best of any major of the year.

 

[Sid_Vicious]

Federer was in scary form at the Australian Open in 2012. He would clearly beat his 2003 version at that tournament, IMO. It took a red hot Nadal (who has always enjoyed a matchup advantage against him) to put him down in 4 very tough sets. His form in Australia in 2012 was arguably his best of any major of the year.

It made for a great highlight reel, but it was just like most Federer-Nadal matches. It sucked. Flashy winners, mountainous amounts of unforced errors (particularly off Federer's racket), and tons of drama.

I remember I was one of the delusional ones who thought Federer stood a chance in comparison to the majority of posters who accurately predicted "Nadal in 4". That is exactly what happened. Once Nadal hit that amazing forehand pass to break in the 2nd set, it was over for Federer. He was fighting an uphill battle the rest of the match. I was very unimpressed by what he brought to the table. I was much more impressed with Berdych's performance against Nadal the round before. It has to be comparable to Federer's loss to Nalbandian. With Nalbandian, he used to straight up crush winners past Federer in matches. Nadal makes Federer go for shots and Federer misses them.

 

[mike danny]

It made for a great highlight reel, but it was just like most Federer-Nadal matches. It sucked. Flashy winners, mountainous amounts of unforced errors (particularly off Federer's racket), and tons of drama.

I remember I was one of the delusional ones who thought Federer stood a chance in comparison to the majority of posters who accurately predicted "Nadal in 4". That is exactly what happened. Once Nadal hit that amazing forehand pass to break in the 2nd set, it was over for Federer. He was fighting an uphill battle the rest of the match. I was very unimpressed by what he brought to the table. I was much more impressed with Berdych's performance against Nadal the round before.

Do you think he would have stood a better chance vs Djokovic that tournament?

 

[mike danny]

It made for a great highlight reel, but it was just like most Federer-Nadal matches. It sucked. Flashy winners, mountainous amounts of unforced errors (particularly off Federer's racket), and tons of drama.

I remember I was one of the delusional ones who thought Federer stood a chance in comparison to the majority of posters who accurately predicted "Nadal in 4". That is exactly what happened. Once Nadal hit that amazing forehand pass to break in the 2nd set, it was over for Federer. He was fighting an uphill battle the rest of the match. I was very unimpressed by what he brought to the table. I was much more impressed with Berdych's performance against Nadal the round before. It has to be comparable to Federer's loss to Nalbandian. With Nalbandian, he used to straight up crush winners past Federer in matches. Nadal makes Federer go for shots and Federer misses them.

Federer made the same mistake he made in their 2009 match at the AO. He lost the 3rd set tiebreak. I think that set was the key in both matches

 

[Sid_Vicious]

Do you think he would have stood a better chance vs Djokovic that tournament?

Federer always stands a better chance against Djokovic than Nadal on any surface except maybe indoors now since Djokovic has become the indoor king shock.

I think Federer and Djokovic at the 2012 AO would have been a nasty match. I don't know if Federer would have won or not, but its clear that Djokovic was looking quite vulnerable at the 2012 AO.