If Roger would make the final..

[joeri888]

And Nadal-Djokovic was a semifinal yet to be played. Who'd he be rooting for?
It's just hypothetical and I don't want to get ahead of things. But it's quite interesting I think. Roger's better friends with Rafa I think, and he likes Rafa to give Novak a beatdown maybe? He wouldn't like Novak to do what the Swiss Maestro couldn't do in the last three years would he. On top of that it would give Novak better chances to be no. 1 in the world, something that would be not good at all for Roger either. I think it would be more painful to lose a potential final here to Djokovic than again to Nadal.

On the other hand, Roger knows he's not the favourite against Rafa, he knows he doesn't handle Rafa's forehand very well and that it's always gonna be really tough. Novak is someone who's never beaten the world no. 1 on clay.

I wonder about this, because I don't know I'd favour myself as a fan of Roger. If Roger wins the final against the Djoker I want Novak, but then again.. If Novak can beat Rafa, he's probably on a roll and won't lose to Roger Federer easily. Who'd you pick?

 

[deme08]

If the djoker somehow, magically, extreme luckily, cheated his way out to beat Nadal in 5 sets. Fed will win the final in 3, not that Fed is that much better than Djoker on clay but because djoker will be exhausted or even retired. More likely the later...

 

[Zaragoza]

I think the Nadal-Djokovic semifinal would be scheduled first because the bottom half of the draw is ahead in the schedule so Fed would be focused in his match. I´m sure he would prefer to play Djokovic in the final anyway.

 

[joeri888]

I think the Nadal-Djokovic semifinal would be scheduled first because the bottom half of the draw is ahead in the schedule so Fed would be focused in his match. I´m sure he would prefer to play Djokovic in the final anyway.

I know it's scheduled before Fed, but it was just a hypothesis. That question came to my mind, because I didn't know who I'll be rooting for.

 

[Telepatic]

If Federer manage to get to finals with his hardcore draw,I think he would like to play Novak because he allready won him in MC which is probably good motivation for him.

 

[NamRanger]

Thing is, Novak won't beat Nadal here. Unless it rains heavily and the tournament directors are jackasses like they normally are. Otherwise, Nadal will straight set Novak.

 

[Pro Staff Pete]

Will the semi finals be played on Friday?

 

[cucio]

If I were Federer I would be proud enough to want to win my RG over the KoC of my era, so my goatness bleats louder.

 

[MEAC_ALLAMERICAN]

I want Federer to play the standard on the clay courts, so Rafa will be my pick.

 

[joeri888]

If I were Federer I would be proud enough to want to win my RG over the KoC of my era, so my goatness bleats louder.

If Roger makes three finals in a row, and the clayking slips once, he fully deserves that title because he gave himself so many opportunities.. I wouldn't care if Roger won it against Djokovic. I'm just so afraid he'd lose. And I'd rather see him lose to Rafa.

 

[deme08]

If Roger makes three finals in a row, and the clayking slips once, he fully deserves that title because he gave himself so many opportunities.. I wouldn't care if Roger won it against Djokovic. I'm just so afraid he'd lose. And I'd rather see him lose to Rafa.

Comon now, he will not lose to Djokovic, clay talents like Rafa come only once in decades. Have some faith in your man!

 

[Legend of Borg]

He probably does not want to meet Nadal in the finals again, so my pick is Djokovic.

 

[counter_puncher]

obviously novak. why would he wanna play nadal over joker?

 

[zagor]

Well Djokovic would be easier opponent then Nadal in the FO final no doubt about that.However I think Federer would take a potential loss to Nadal in the FO final a LOT easier then if he would have lost to Djokovic cause Nadal wouln't boast nearly as much as Novak(also Federer and Novak have a little history now as well,there's tention between them)and IMO would try to make it easier for Federer to swallow defeat while Djokovic on the other hand wouldn't be so considerate for Federer(quite the opposite actually IMO).

 

[cucio]

If Novak manages to beat Fed and Nadal back to back on clay, which I consider unlikely but not impossible, his head will grow so big that it will explode, and everything will go back to what it was in 2006-7. :lol:

No, seriously, I think it is great that there is a credible third name on the winner candidate list, makes everything much more interesting.

 

[daddy]

I dont think anyone sane would like to meet Nadal over Djokovic on clay. He wants to win, his chances are better with Djokovic for sure so If I was Fed Id want the best for me. On the other hand it would be better if he managed to win vs Nadal.

To be honest, I think any RG win would do it for him at this point. Also to be honest, the way Rafa plays, not Joker nor Fed will be as big of a threat as we may think, he looks as usually - invincible.

 

[Nadal_Freak]

Fed likes Nadal more but winning RG is more important to him than anything. Djokovic would be an easier matchup for Federer since he hits flatter.

 

[Shaolin]

Obviously Fed would rather play Joker than Nadal.

I think the real question is, who will Fed be rooting for in the impending Gulbis/Nadal SF?

 

[MEAC_ALLAMERICAN]

I dont think anyone sane would like to meet Nadal over Djokovic on clay. He wants to win, his chances are better with Djokovic for sure so If I was Fed Id want the best for me. On the other hand it would be better if he managed to win vs Nadal.

To be honest, I think any RG win would do it for him at this point. Also to be honest, the way Rafa plays, not Joker nor Fed will be as big of a threat as we may think, he looks as usually - invincible.

Sane or not, there is a part of me that thinks Roger has a chance to beat Rafa in Paris on the clay. A part of me also want's Nole to beat Rafa, but for Roger to capture the only grand slam that eludes him, I want him to beat the best on clay.

 

[MEAC_ALLAMERICAN]

Obviously Fed would rather play Joker than Nadal.

I think the real question is, who will Fed be rooting for in the impending Gulbis/Nadal SF?

Gulbis is good and has the possibility to be great, but he isn't getting past Djokovic.

 

[golfdude98765]

roger-rafa

Although Roger may have a better chance against Djokovic in the final I think Roger would want to play Rafa even though his record against him on clay is dismal. Roger is trying to make history and he wants to beat the best on that surface, even though it may cost him the slam. I'm really intrigued to see if Higueras has been able to have an immediate influence on what tactics Roger would use against Rafa even though it would be their second meeting since Roger brought him on board.

 

[daddy]

Gulbis is good and has the possibility to be great, but he isn't getting past Djokovic.

Gulbis is really god, not like your regular 'Donald Young' good on this board. He is a prospect for the future and make sure you note this somewhere, althogh I am sure we all know it !

As for the part os sanity vs a trophy in RG, Id say even if he has a chance, Federer would rather not test how much of a chance he has vs Nadal.

 

[cucio]

he looks as usually - invincible.

Actually, I think he looks better than ever. He has improved his first serve and his backhand (although his 2nd serve is still laughable for a #2) and his overall demeanor on the court is one of supreme confidence. We will see if he keeps like that when he faces the real threats, although we shouldn't expect otherwise based on the last three years.

Today also Djokovic looked in top form (not so in the previous rounds.)

For what one could gather about Fed's personality based on what we see on the court, I stand by what I said in my first post in this thread. He is a stubborn proud piece of Swiss, and I believe if the choice was his he'd rather face Rafa in the final because there is obviously more glory in dethroning Nadal than in stopping a newcomer. I also think that his chances are minimal, but I don't think he believes that or cares about it.

 

[MEAC_ALLAMERICAN]

Gulbis is really god, not like your regular 'Donald Young' good on this board. He is a prospect for the future and make sure you note this somewhere, althogh I am sure we all know it !

As for the part os sanity vs a trophy in RG, Id say even if he has a chance, Federer would rather not test how much of a chance he has vs Nadal.

I am not going to argue against your last sentence, but I want Roger to beat the best on clay and that is without a doubt Rafa Nadal. Gulbis would be a threat, but nothing to sweat about.

 

[myservenow]

I think Roger is such a competitor and a student of tennis history that he would rather have Nadal on the other side of the net if he ever won the French Open.

Of course, he would rather win the French versus whoever. But, deep down, he would feel less satisfied knowing that he was unable to ever defeat Nadal in Paris.

For me, recently, I think Fed loses a tremendous amount of motivation once Nadal exits a tournament early. If memory serves well, Fed fell out of Rome this year after Nadal was upset. There are a couple of other examples over the past two seasons that I am drawing a blank on.

The point is, if the Joker took out Nadal in the semis (very unlikely), I don't think it would be necessarily a cake walk for Fed in the final.

Finally, if Fed plays the rest of this FO like he played Ancic yesterday, he has an outstanding chance of beating Nadal or Joker or anyone else in his way. His play was full of confidence yesterday. Nadal is also rolling. This may be an historic final no matter who wins. I feel something big on the way.

 

[veroniquem]

If Novak manages to beat Fed and Nadal back to back on clay, which I consider unlikely but not impossible, his head will grow so big that it will explode, and everything will go back to what it was in 2006-7. :lol:

No, seriously, I think it is great that there is a credible third name on the winner candidate list, makes everything much more interesting.

Personally I consider that radically impossible. If Djokovic could somehow produce the superhuman effort necessary to oust Rafa at RG, he would be half dead for the final, no chance in the universe he would have enough energy left to try anything against Fed. It would be the easiest final in the history of RG!

 

[veroniquem]

I think Roger is such a competitor and a student of tennis history that he would rather have Nadal on the other side of the net if he ever won the French Open.

Of course, he would rather win the French versus whoever. But, deep down, he would feel less satisfied knowing that he was unable to ever defeat Nadal in Paris.

For me, recently, I think Fed loses a tremendous amount of motivation once Nadal exits a tournament early. If memory serves well, Fed fell out of Rome this year after Nadal was upset. There are a couple of other examples over the past two seasons that I am drawing a blank on.

The point is, if the Joker took out Nadal in the semis (very unlikely), I don't think it would be necessarily a cake walk for Fed in the final.

Finally, if Fed plays the rest of this FO like he played Ancic yesterday, he has an outstanding chance of beating Nadal or Joker or anyone else in his way. His play was full of confidence yesterday. Nadal is also rolling. This may be an historic final no matter who wins. I feel something big on the way.

Ancic is definitely not a test of how Fed will play against Rafa. You seriously believe that Ancic's shots have anything in common with what Nadal will throw at Fed? You must be crazy then...

 

[veroniquem]

I dont think anyone sane would like to meet Nadal over Djokovic on clay. He wants to win, his chances are better with Djokovic for sure so If I was Fed Id want the best for me. On the other hand it would be better if he managed to win vs Nadal.

To be honest, I think any RG win would do it for him at this point. Also to be honest, the way Rafa plays, not Joker nor Fed will be as big of a threat as we may think, he looks as usually - invincible.

So true! Best post of the thread...

 

[daddy]

I think Roger is such a competitor and a student of tennis history that he would rather have Nadal on the other side of the net if he ever won the French Open.

Of course, he would rather win the French versus whoever. But, deep down, he would feel less satisfied knowing that he was unable to ever defeat Nadal in Paris.

For me, recently, I think Fed loses a tremendous amount of motivation once Nadal exits a tournament early. If memory serves well, Fed fell out of Rome this year after Nadal was upset. There are a couple of other examples over the past two seasons that I am drawing a blank on.

The point is, if the Joker took out Nadal in the semis (very unlikely), I don't think it would be necessarily a cake walk for Fed in the final.

Finally, if Fed plays the rest of this FO like he played Ancic yesterday, he has an outstanding chance of beating Nadal or Joker or anyone else in his way. His play was full of confidence yesterday. Nadal is also rolling. This may be an historic final no matter who wins. I feel something big on the way.

I will not undermine your opinion as it is mostly true. Though just one different view would be that avoiding Nadal would give him more chance to lift the trophy and heal some of the clay complex he has when facing Nadal. Losing one more clay court final to this guy, well, it can just make him the most consistand 2nd best claycourter. Not something Id look forward to, and honestly, look at Rafa. How does one beat him on clay ? Smack his face in locker room ? Break his leg ? He'd still pull it in 4 .

 

[dh003i]

I'd rather Federer play Nadal in the final. Nadal is clearly a better clay-courter than Djokovic, who's an all-time nobody on every surface, while Nadal's an all-time great on clay. However, against Nadal, the choice of tactics and strategy is clear: you need to play aggressively, vary things a lot, etc.

Against Djokovic, the choice of tactics isn't so clear, as Djokovic is more of an all-court player than Nadal. His fitness is relatively lacking, so playing like Agassi and punishing him physically is a good way to go.

 

[FedForGOAT]

Faced with the question last year, Federer would have preferred Djokovic:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/09/sports/09tennis.html?fta=y

 

[ACE of Hearts]

Fed's tactic against Nadal is staying way behind the baseline which is the wrong move.He needs to take the ball early against Nadal.

 

[rafan]

Well from what I have seen of all three I think they are pretty good at the moment. Yet this year there is something about RAfa's body language which tells me he has more confidence than ever and I hope he realises his dream of matching Borg's record. He is the one I still like to watch on court - a truly exciting player. Good luck Rafa - all the way to Wimbledon!

 

[zagor]

He is a stubborn proud piece of Swiss, and I believe if the choice was his he'd rather face Rafa in the final because there is obviously more glory in dethroning Nadal than in stopping a newcomer. I also think that his chances are minimal, but I don't think he believes that or cares about it.

I really like this part,yeah Federer's been my favourite player for years now and I think your assesment of him as a person is spot on.I also think that the fact that he's a stubborn guy has worked against his favor against Nadal on clay for the past few years.

 

[Greenfin Beta]

How does one beat him on clay ? Smack his face in locker room ? Break his leg ? He'd still pull it in 4 .

better not give nadal-haters ideas... ;-)

 

[(FEDERER)vs(NADAL)]

for some reason i like federer's chances more against nadal in the final, novak cvan just get everything back, there is no match better than a federer vs nadal match!

 

[IvanAndreevich]

for some reason i like federer's chances more against nadal in the final, novak cvan just get everything back, there is no match better than a federer vs nadal match!

So you think Fed has better chances against a player who he is 1-8 on clay vs a player he is 2-0 on clay? You must be dillusional.

If Federer meets anyone but Nadal in the final, it will be a massacre. Federer will be playing like he's on crack.

 

[Greenfin Beta]

my two cents' worth...
there's so much bad blood between federer and djokovic that even if his (fed's) head tells him 'djokovic', his heart would go for nadal. there's also no shame in losing to nadal and much more glory if he could beat him.
on the other hand, his chances against djokovic is better but to lose to him would not only be a great blow, it would give the djokovic camp more reason to gloat.

 

[cucio]

Faced with the question last year, Federer would have preferred Djokovic:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/09/sports/09tennis.html?fta=y

:evil:

Well, that settles it, if Roger honestly thinks that, then he is officially a reasonable nancy boy and he deserves to be eaten alive by players with more hunger. What a let down!

 

[Leublu tennis]

If the djoker somehow, magically, extreme luckily, cheated his way out to beat Nadal in 5 sets. Fed will win the final in 3, not that Fed is that much better than Djoker on clay but because djoker will be exhausted or even retired. More likely the later...

Now, now. Calm down. Think about players that you like, not the ones you hate, or whose parents you hate, or whose dog you hate, or .....

 

[(FEDERER)vs(NADAL)]

So you think Fed has better chances against a player who he is 1-8 on clay vs a player he is 2-0 on clay? You must be dillusional.

If Federer meets anyone but Nadal in the final, it will be a massacre. Federer will be playing like he's on crack.

okay he's probably have a better chance of beating djoker but federer vs nadal matches are epic, you can't argue with that, and i truely think that fed will win this one

 

[(FEDERER)vs(NADAL)]

:evil:

Well, that settles it, if Roger honestly thinks that, then he is officially a reasonable nancy boy and he deserves to be eaten alive by players with more hunger. What a let down!

wow, he was just telling it how it is. why lie and say he doesn't care who he faces? of course you want to face a weaker opposition

 

[cucio]

To be honest, I don't care too much, but it is true that I am shocked. That statement is contradicting Roger's attitude on court and every single post-arse-whooping declaration he has made after a final on clay with Rafa (I was in the mix, I am doing things better now, finally I made it, next time I'll... lol.)

When I compete in anything I am always thrilled to face better competitors than I, that's how I learn new tricks and I give the best of me, hoping to someday become better and be the one who wins. But I guess when there is actually big money and fame at stake things change, eh? I wouldn't know, but it sounds reasonable.

 

[veroniquem]

I think you idealize Roger a lot. He just wants the title and the easier opponent gives him more chance, also he would be less nervous playing him. Very natural, pragmatic reaction. Roger might be one of the most successful athletes in the history of sport, that doesn't make him a "superman".

 

[cueboyzn]

Roger vs Rafa RG Final = No (Ret.)

I think Roger will want Nadal to win for the simple reason he will not like it following him around for the rest of his career that he won the French Open (his claim to GOATness) with a 6-4 3-1 (Ret.) or some other such scoreline.

Because based on history, I think we can safely say that if Djokovic pulled off the near-impossible and beat Nadal in 4 or 5 sets, there is a 99.8% chance he would get so badly steamrolled by Roger in the final that he would just retire to prevent a humiliation by the "dead" king, as he did in Monte Carlo.

Any true tennis fan will want a Roger-Rafa final because any true tennis fan will actually want a Final and not an incomplete lap of glory. It would put an asterisk (*) next to Roger's claim to GOAT status in history as well if he won in such a manner, which he would never live down as long as he played (or thereafter), and in my opinion this would be another reason Novak would perform such a stunt if by some miracle he was there, and he happened to be losing.

 

[Rhino]

Gulbis is really god

Who'd have thought it? God is a latvian teenage tennis sensation!

 

[Leublu tennis]

Who'd have thought it? God is a latvian teenage tennis sensation!

Gulbis and Djokovic trained together in Germany and Djokovic is very big on Gulbis. Their match should be something else. Hope Eurosport shows it instead of the multitude of sand football, arena football, volleyball, bicycle riding matches, etc.

 

[cueboyzn]

QUOTE:
IvanAndreevich
If Federer meets anyone but Nadal in the final, it will be a massacre. Federer will be playing like he's on crack.


More like If Federer meets anyone but Nadal in the final, it will be a massacre. Because whoever gets there will have gone through Nadal in 4 or 5 (very long) sets and will be totally physically (and mentally) exhausted.

 

[Mad iX]

Federer probably thinks he has a better chance against Djokovic, but ideally if I was him, would love to see Nadal destroy Novak and then destroy Nadal in the final.
Obviously, like anyone else, he'll just be happy to win it period. So a long 5-setter between them would be great.

 

[veroniquem]

Not a single sane person would elect to play Nadal on his favorite clay. What is so hard to understand about that? I'm glad to see Federer is sane (unlike some of his fans here...)