I was wrong about Fed, he has a shot to win slams this year

FiReFTW

FiReFTW

Legend
Fed is playing great at the start of this year.

Due to his age, its always hard to know if his obvious decline is due to age or not.

In 2017 he droped quite alot in the 2nd part of the season after Wimbledon, he had back issues but still the question was, is it really the back affecting him so much or is it that age finally caught up?

Last season in 2018 he was playing decently at the start but then his form went down quite alot, and in the 2nd part he was playing quite horrible.. his forehand was a mess and his serve was the worst it has been for probably 15 years, he then came out saying his wrist was injured and it was bothering him on the forehand and probably serve aswell ever since before grass season.

I have to admit, I thought he was exagerating and simply couldn't accept that he is getting worse with age, so he is making excuses for it blaiming an injury that might have been true but probably didn't really affect him as much as he was claiming.

But considering the form he has shown so far in hopman cup I would say that I was wrong, his forehand is good now and his serve is miles better than last season.

So maybe they really were injures that affected him, he is close to 40 for godness sake, its not suprizing that he picks up injures much easier, so at the start of the season he might be injury free but as the season goes on he picks this and that along the way and in the 2nd part drops off.

Honestly considering how his serve and forehand are clicking at the moment he has a pretty good chance to win Australian Open and Wimbledon.

He of course has zero to no chance to win French Open, and I doubt he will be 100% fit and healthy by the time USO comes around.
 
What made you think he was done in the first place? His rough ending to the season? Come on. It's obvious Fed will contend for the biggest titles.
 
Someone like Fedr is in the mix until he retires. Balancing having enough energy and being prepared for each event is now his main challenge, other than Djokovic of course.
 
Judging by what I saw from their (with Zverev) match in Perth, Federer is in worse form than in 2017, and about the same as in 2018.

He has trouble hitting deep, and several times had trouble moving his feet fast enough to get into position, which was rare in his heyday.

Still, he is 37.5, so for that age his form is mightily impressive.

However, the match against someone like Djokovic, who is able to hit consistently deep, will be a completely different affair. It is a best of 5 too.

:cool:
 
Problem is Fed can't last a long 5 set match unless it's against mental midgets or guys he can intimidate like Stan, Kei or Cilic.

Been that way since about 2011. With Novak you knew he had to win the 1st set to have a shot. And Novak is good getting that 1st set.
 
RF-18 said:
What made you think he was done in the first place? His rough ending to the season? Come on. It's obvious Fed will contend for the biggest titles.
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More than just the end. March to October were very concerning. He was noticeably slower and lacked penetration on his groundstrokes, and looked to be in a terrible mental state. Not that he was awful, but not even close to slam winning form.

The end of the season was actually the encouraging part. Paris & London had many flashes of brilliance. That uptick seems to be carried over into the new year.
 
Fed declining, but as long as the collective atp tour level of play continues to decline faster, he has a chance.

I miss the studs of yore. I fear poly strings, lightweight racquets, and wrong turns in teaching techniques have killed the probability of the next truly great players emerging any time soon.

Waiting for the next Yannick Noah to save tennis.
 
Well good for you. ;) Lots of people is often wrong regarding Federer's level of tennis during his older years on the tour. Except for the second part of 2016, and maybe the second part of 2018, in reality he has been in majestic form ever since the beginning of 2014, and he is playing some of the best tennis of his career during the past few years.;)
 
Towser83 said:
You're Lew? Didn't know that. #plottwist
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I think he was trolling LEW...

Nadal_Django said:
Well good for you. ;) Lots of people is often wrong regarding Federer's level of tennis during his older years on the tour. Except for the second part of 2016, and maybe the second part of 2018, in reality he has been in majestic form ever since the beginning of 2014, and he is playing some of the best tennis of his career during the past few years.;)
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That's a good observation...
And if not for prime ATG nole....
A 33-35 year old fed would've won following
2 more YE#1,
4 more slams
2 more WTF
5 more Masters
 
Nadal_Django said:
Well good for you. ;) Lots of people is often wrong regarding Federer's level of tennis during his older years on the tour. Except for the second part of 2016, and maybe the second part of 2018, in reality he has been in majestic form ever since the beginning of 2014, and he is playing some of the best tennis of his career during the past few years.;)
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Some would even say he’s peaking!
 
True Fed heads are not surprised with Roger showing good form.

But Fed heads are dismissed for appearing overly biased (perhaps fair)

That all said - the reason Fed looks good is no big mystery or surprise. His hand/wrist was his Achilles heel last year from the grass court season on. His team realized he could keep playing without making it worse so they did. But now that he's had an off season to recover and rebuild the rest of his frame physically, I expect Fed to come out fast.


Also the reason Djoko / Zverev and some others struggle at the beginning of seasons is because they work so much on cardio, and being warrior proof physically that they need a while for the game to catch up. Fed finds his "A" game earlier and hones it more in the off season.
 
WhiskeyEE said:
Riiiiight. He ran around every backhand because he has none. And no serve or power.
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So when Soderling defeats Nadal he is a beast and Nadal is at his absolute physical prime, when Robredo defeats Federer he is a mug and Federer is at his absolute physical worst.

Nice double standard.
 
Sport said:
So when Soderling defeats Nadal he is a beast and Nadal is at his absolute physical prime, when Robredo defeats Federer he is a mug and Federer is at his absolute physical worst.

Nice double standard.
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do you seriously want yourself to be mocked ?

Nadal was in his absolute physical prime in 09.
Fed was well past his prime in 13 and had an injury affected season

Oh and apart from that USO 13 match, Fed has lost a grand total of 3 sets in 11 matches vs Robredo (obviously winning them all)
 
Sport said:
So when Soderling defeats Nadal he is a beast and Nadal is at his absolute physical prime, when Robredo defeats Federer he is a mug and Federer is at his absolute physical worst.

Nice double standard.
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When Soderling beat Nadal at RG 09 ,Rafa was at his peak
When Nadal beat Soderling at RG 10 , Soderling was a mug then ;)
 
Fed’s form looks good enough to win a Slam if he gets lucky. His form at the end of last year was such that even with luck he wouldn’t have been able to get tgrough a best of 5, 7-match knockout format (Slam format).
 
I thought Fed looked incredible at last year's Hopman Cup too, he was playing free and smacking backhands for fun. But then Australia started and he played very tight, and won it more because everyone else sucked and not because he was great.

I wouldn't be surprised to see a similar drop in his game this year. The only difference is that he's coming in with far less pressure than 2018, so maybe he'll relax and have fun instead of playing not to lose like last year.
 
abmk said:
do you seriously want yourself to be mocked ?

Nadal was in his absolute physical prime in 09.
Fed was well past his prime in 13 and had an injury affected season
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Haha so only Federer can get injured?

Nadal had tendinitis in the knees at Roland Garros 2009. That explain that, despite being the 2008 Queens champion and the 2008 Wimbledon champion, he withdrawed from both tournaments. If he wasn't injured, why did he withdraw from Queens and Wimbledon just one week after RG?

Nadal said his knees had worsened during Madrid 2009. Nadal withdrawed from both Queens and Wimbledon citing an injury in the knees (tendinitis):

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2009/jun/19/rafael-nadal-injury-andy-murray-wimbledon
 
Sport said:
Haha so only Federer can get injured?

Nadal had tendinitis in the knees at Roland Garros 2009. That explain that, despite being the 2008 Queens champion and the 2008 Wimbledon champion, he withdrawed from both tournaments. If he wasn't injured, why did he withdraw from Queens and Wimbledon just one week after RG?

Nadal said his knees had worsened during Madrid 2009. Nadal withdrawed from both Queens and Wimbledon citing an injury in the knees (tendinitis):

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2009/jun/19/rafael-nadal-injury-andy-murray-wimbledon
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I hate to break it to you Sport, but Nadal simply got his a** kicked that day. No problem with movement or mobility whatsoever. He was flying around the court. No excuses.
 
BGod said:
Problem is Fed can't last a long 5 set match unless it's against mental midgets or guys he can intimidate like Stan, Kei or Cilic.
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If you eliminate "guys he can intimidate," who's left? Djokovic & Nadal?

Is that your point? Because Roger actually has a longer active winning streak vs Rafa than any of the 3 you listed, the Bull has blinked in 4 straight finals vs Fred. Maybe it's time we move him into the "intimidated" category. :whistle:
 
WhiskeyEE said:
The only difference was the weather. Soderling beats Nadal on clay in humid overcast conditions 99 times out of 100.
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Nadal was injured due to knee tendinitis at RG 2009. That's why he skipped both Queens and Wimbledon 2009 after that match. Nadal also asserted he had the knee problems since Madrid 2009. If he wasn't injured, then why did he skip both Queens and Wimbledon just one week after RG? He was playing with pain. Nadal was the champion of Queen and Wimbledon so he had no reason to skip both tournaments.

Source of the injury:
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2009/jun/19/rafael-nadal-injury-andy-murray-wimbledon

Also, your claim "Soderling would beat Nadal 99 of 100 times in humid conditions" is unfalsifiable/untestable, thus irrelevant. No one can create a time machine to put Soderling facing 100 times Nadal in humid conditions. Unfalsifiable = can't be proved false. Unfalsifiable claims should not be part of serious tennis discussions.

Saying "Soderling would beat Nadal 99 of 100 times in humid conditions" is like saying "Unicorns exist in alternative universes". Both claims are unfalsifiable and it doesn't mean they are true.
 
Sport said:
Nadal was injured due to knee tendinitis at RG 2009. That's why he skipped both Queens and Wimbledon 2009 after that match. Nadal also asserted he had the knee problems since Madrid 2009. If he wasn't injured, then why did he skip both Queens and Wimbledon just one week after RG? He was playing with pain. Nadal was the champion of Queen and Wimbledon so he had no reason to skip both tournaments.

Source of the injury:
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2009/jun/19/rafael-nadal-injury-andy-murray-wimbledon

Also, your claim "Soderling would beat Nadal 99 of 100 times in humid conditions" is unfalsifiable/untestable, thus irrelevant. No one can create a time machine to put Soderling facing 100 times Nadal in humid conditions. Unfalsifiable = can't be proved false. Unfalsifiable claims should not be part of serious tennis discussions.

Saying "Soderling would beat Nadal 99 of 100 times in humid conditions" is like saying "Unicorns exist in alternative universes". Both claims are unfalsifiable and it doesn't mean they are true.
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That is not the whole truth, so, could you tell us what you are missing?

8-)
 
Federer seems more rigid and half a step slower now and his movement seems more comparable to Berdych. His hitting more errors on both sides seems like he's struggling to time and judge topspin on groundies.
 
Sport said:
Thanks!! Another double standard used by some Federer fans.
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No, here is the real double standard.

Tommy Robredo was a journeyman from the so-called "weak era" of the mid 2000s and here Nadal fans are propping him up next to peak Soderling.

In fact, early 30s Robredo was considerably past his (never that good) prime in 2013 and only found success because the tour was so weak that year. Not unlike his compatriot, Rafa.
 
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Tennis_Hands said:
That is not the whole truth, so, could you tell us what you are missing?

8-)
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The truth is that (one week after RG) Mirka hit Nadal in the legs causing him an injury. That's why he skipped Queens and Wimbledon citing a knee injury. Better now?
 
On a serious note, maybe the word "injured" is too much. I see the Word "injured" is too polemical for RG 2009.

What about saying Nadal had some physical issues? It is undeniable Nadal was playing with some pain in the knee, otherwise he wouldn't have skipped Queens and Wimbledon citing pain in the knees since Madrid 2009. Nadal was the Queens and Wimbledon champion of 2008, he had no reason to skip both tournaments.

So yes, Soderling did beat prime Nadal. But a prime Nadal who was at 80-90% of his level, since he had some physical issues. (Again, I am not saying he was "injured", I am saying he had some physical issues since he was playing with pain in the knees).
 
He looked great at Hopman cup last year too. Court is fastish but keeps low, which is perfect for Fed. Oh, and no Djokovic in the mix. He still didn't have to contend with the presence of Djokovic at AO last year. Let's see how a potential Fedovic rubber pans out this year at AO.
 
Sport said:
On a serious note, maybe the word "injured" is too much. I see the Word "injured" is too polemical for RG 2009.

What about saying Nadal had some physical issues? It is undeniable Nadal was playing with some pain in the knee, otherwise he wouldn't have skipped Queens and Wimbledon citing pain in the knees since Madrid 2009. Nadal was the Queens and Wimbledon champion of 2008, he had no reason to skip both tournaments.

So yes, Soderling did beat prime Nadal. But a prime Nadal who was at 80-90% of his level, since he had some physical issues. (Again, I am not saying he was "injured", I am saying he had some physical issues since he was playing with pain in the knees).
Click to expand...

So, could you tell me what you were missing, when you said the above?

The question is: what reasons did Nadal have to miss Wimbledon 2009?

8-)
 
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