Rusty Shackleford
G.O.A.T.
Nadal rests a lot between points though.
Is Federer the fittest athlete ever?
- Thread starter zep
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Rusty Shackleford
G.O.A.T.
HAHA. Better cover your nuts while asking certain things.
Dolgopolov85
G.O.A.T.
That's a good one.Nadal rests a lot between points though.
zagor
Bionic Poster
He's not even close to being the fittest athlete in his era (though of course he is very fit), you're confusing longevity with fitness/stamina when reality is that many of the fittest players in the game throughout history burned out quickly due to injuries and relying on outlasting opponents. The only time Fed was at or close to the top of the game fitness wise was 2006, that's about it. Fed's longevity is due to his smooth Edberg-like movement on court and that terrific serve, not some legendary fitness.
He doesn't sweat much, so? Nadal makes a puddle of sweet 5 minutes into a match, the guy who utterly dominated the surface where fitness rules supreme (sorry it's "point construction" LOL) for nearly a decade. He doesn't grab his thigh/back/ass, make pained facial expressions, breathe heavily etc. those are largely meaningless theatrics, if you allow those to affect your opinion to such a degree then maybe it's time to switch to WWE or atleast reduce the time spent watching soap operas and cheesy Holywood sport movies.
You want to see if a player's tired? Watch how he moves his feet, that's all there is to it. Ever since 2009 Fed's footwork has had a tendency to become sloppy and labored nearly every time he got pushed the distance against opponents who make him work for it physically (Djokodal and big hitters, not Murray), it's been his Achilles heel against younger fitter opponents on today's slower surfaces much more so than his supposed mental weakness. His current success is largely built on ultra efficient playing style that won't work on clay where fitness and defense/movement get exposed which is why he's skipping an entire clay season bar FO (and even there I'm doubtful if he'll play).
He doesn't sweat much, so? Nadal makes a puddle of sweet 5 minutes into a match, the guy who utterly dominated the surface where fitness rules supreme (sorry it's "point construction" LOL) for nearly a decade. He doesn't grab his thigh/back/ass, make pained facial expressions, breathe heavily etc. those are largely meaningless theatrics, if you allow those to affect your opinion to such a degree then maybe it's time to switch to WWE or atleast reduce the time spent watching soap operas and cheesy Holywood sport movies.
You want to see if a player's tired? Watch how he moves his feet, that's all there is to it. Ever since 2009 Fed's footwork has had a tendency to become sloppy and labored nearly every time he got pushed the distance against opponents who make him work for it physically (Djokodal and big hitters, not Murray), it's been his Achilles heel against younger fitter opponents on today's slower surfaces much more so than his supposed mental weakness. His current success is largely built on ultra efficient playing style that won't work on clay where fitness and defense/movement get exposed which is why he's skipping an entire clay season bar FO (and even there I'm doubtful if he'll play).
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Omega_7000
Legend
-NN-
G.O.A.T.
I think Jehangir Khan might just have been the fittest athlete ever. Worth a shot, no?
http://www.trondvarlid.com/squash-shooting-for-the-olympics/
http://www.trondvarlid.com/squash-shooting-for-the-olympics/
heftylefty
Hall of Fame
I won't say that Federer is the fittest athlete ever. But I'll will say he one of most efficient athletes ever. His movement is also unparalleled in sports.
-NN-
G.O.A.T.
Lomachenko has rather outstanding movement. I'm also quite fond of Kyrie Irving.
metsman
G.O.A.T.
I don't think any other sport places a premium on movement and footwork as tennis. Maybe boxing but even then it's not quite tennis.
-NN-
G.O.A.T.
I think boxing does, but not basketball. Footwork and distance control is utterly vital in boxing. Federer isn't moving as well as he ever has but he's the dominant player right now. I think the skill components overall are also similar. Perhaps it's more likely for raw power and strength to overcome skill in boxing than it is in tennis, but not sure. I know that boxing was argued to be the toughest sport in the world years back among experts over at ESPN.
metsman
G.O.A.T.
Wouldn't doubt it. Ridiculous the amount of punishment you have to take.
BeatlesFan
Bionic Poster
You must never have seen Roger Federer in person. He definitely looks insanely fit in person. His calves are absolutely massive, like tree trunks.
BeatlesFan
Bionic Poster
Watch the fifth set of the 2017 AO from 3-2 onwards. It was obvious Nadal was gassed. There were four balls that Fed hit to Nadal's FH and he struggled to reach any of them and he hit UE's on every ball. A non-tired Nadal retrieves all of those balls. Nadal just can't move to his left anymore when he's tired.
When Fed broke him again to go up 5-3, Nadal was visibly tired the entire game. While crouching to receive serve, Nadal was grimacing in pain from his fatigue. Watch the fifth set on Youtube and you'll see this.
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SLD76
G.O.A.T.
Just do a boxing workout and.see if you arent gassed.
Throwing punches with proper technique(i.e. Slight crouch for the hook to the body, uppercut ), bobbing and weaving, maintaining the square ,.approach and backing away
And thats with no-one hitting you!
It takes really good intense fitness to be a top boxer , especially in lower weights where so many fighters.are quick and elusive
Heavy weights can get away with extra.weight because most fighters arent super quick and the extra weight helps absorb punishment
bigserving
Hall of Fame
I going to give the title of fittest athletes to the 110 mile triathletes. There are so many other athletes that do have someone to hand them a towel to dry off every minute or so.
And they do not get to sit down and chill every ten minutes or so.
It might be interesting to see how some touring pros hold up playing full-court basketball, or playing futball, or running a marathon.
And they do not get to sit down and chill every ten minutes or so.
It might be interesting to see how some touring pros hold up playing full-court basketball, or playing futball, or running a marathon.
SLD76
G.O.A.T.
I just watched a video last night of Monfils training (running, weights, stretching, plyometrics) and then immediately after played a pick up game of basketball
SLD76
G.O.A.T.
F1 drivers get overlooked
They have to be insanely fit to handle race conditions for hours
Avg F1 driver has the cardio fitness of an Olympic marathon runner with crazy low resting heartbeats
The drivers specifically train their legs to be able to apply the force necessary for braking. Their neck muscles have to withstand g forces white turning and cornering
And they have to endure high temps for hours with no break
The avg driver loses 10 to 12 percent bodyweight in sweat during a race . That leads to fatigue which leads to accidents if you aren't super fit
They have to be insanely fit to handle race conditions for hours
Avg F1 driver has the cardio fitness of an Olympic marathon runner with crazy low resting heartbeats
The drivers specifically train their legs to be able to apply the force necessary for braking. Their neck muscles have to withstand g forces white turning and cornering
And they have to endure high temps for hours with no break
The avg driver loses 10 to 12 percent bodyweight in sweat during a race . That leads to fatigue which leads to accidents if you aren't super fit
Bobby Jr
G.O.A.T.
That's actually a myth. A 65kg guy losing 7kg of his bodyweight in sweat would be dead or close to it.
Fluid loss similar to any other sort of heavy cardio-sport athlete is more realistic - say 2 litres an hour at the particularly hot/humid races. Most F1 races take about 90-100 mins so that's in the 3kg range. That said, they all have fluids available to drink like most other athletes which helps offset that loss.
Not saying F1 isn't hard but much of the stuff thrown about relating to it is nonsense.
Candide
Hall of Fame
This thread is beyond mental. From the Cambridge Dictionary:
athlete noun [ C ]
UK /ˈæθ.liːt/ US /ˈæθ.liːt/
person who is very good at sports or physical exercise, especially one who competes in organized events:
"He became a professional athlete at the age of 16."
Hence, all of these athletes are extremely fit for their respective organised events i.e. sports. Federer can only be measured against other tennis players. In which case he's super fit. Fit does not just mean muscles and cardio. It's like saying who's the greatest artist ever Rembrandt, Orson Welles, Shakespeare, Dickens or Brando? (The answer is obviously Dickens by the way - he rocks!).
athlete noun [ C ]
UK /ˈæθ.liːt/ US /ˈæθ.liːt/
person who is very good at sports or physical exercise, especially one who competes in organized events:
"He became a professional athlete at the age of 16."
Hence, all of these athletes are extremely fit for their respective organised events i.e. sports. Federer can only be measured against other tennis players. In which case he's super fit. Fit does not just mean muscles and cardio. It's like saying who's the greatest artist ever Rembrandt, Orson Welles, Shakespeare, Dickens or Brando? (The answer is obviously Dickens by the way - he rocks!).
-NN-
G.O.A.T.
Well they haven't had to be anything special for many years now. Upped the ante this year due to the new much faster cars.
Dolgopolov85
G.O.A.T.
I wouldn't use that match as an exhibit as Nadal didn't get as much rest time as Fed after a (longer) five setter. Also Fed took that MTO to avoid getting gassed.
Tennis players showing signs of tiring in the fifth is one thing but I was genuinely shocked when Nadal and Djokovic struggled to keep standing during the presentation. In fact even in the first set, they and especially Djokovic would be bent over gasping for breath after long points. Fed simply avoids getting into those kind of rallies. Even the longest rallies are very attacking, not attritional.
Dedans Penthouse
Legend
I don't know what you're talking about.
I've never claimed that I was born in the US(must be your imagination), but I was raised here.
FudgeControl
Banned
Gurufils always plays year round. Therefore Gurufils > Federer
gn
G.O.A.T.
Also very rich, can hire the best to train and feed him and has the motivation to win, or he really hates to lose. Many athletes have had great careers in their 30s. So it has to be some kind of PEDs? Can`t change your opinion but can disagree
PrinceMoron
Legend
MatsPhilander
Legend
Hot outdoor would have favored Federer. Bigger player, the the problematic they deal with the heat.
That doesn't change the fact that he's 6-0 in 5 setters against much younger opponents since 2017, at his age that's almost a miracle. Insane fitness. People don't talk about that often but his fitness is one of the main reasons for this revival.
He's possibly the most energy efficient tennis male player of all time, can't really say for sure as I've never seen every player in history. For peak fitness Nadal and Djokovic are at least a level above Federer. No way do I think Federer could grind like Nadal and Novak did in that Aus Open final a few years ago.
He can if he has to. That's just not his style. Watch the last few games of last year's AO final. It was a proper grind.
Krish872007
Talk Tennis Guru
Fitness is right up there of course (he's always been one of the fittest players like I said in an earlier post), but the fact that his style of play is less taxing is super important. All the baseline experts are suffering some sort of injury or the other right now, and the younger guys are also engaging in a lot of grinding without sufficient preparation.
smoledman
G.O.A.T.
PrinceMoron
Legend
Hingus?
Is that a cunning linguist Freudian slip?
Correct!
maratha_warrior
Hall of Fame
No he is not.
Nadal and Djokovic will are the ones who took fitness to Legendary levels never seen before.
But Fed has all the other records.
Nadal and Djokovic will are the ones who took fitness to Legendary levels never seen before.
But Fed has all the other records.
mike danny
Bionic Poster
mike danny
Bionic Poster
BeatlesFan
Bionic Poster
If you base it simply on the appearance of their bodies, there's no question who looked fitter, though Djokovic looks like a Scarecrow these days. His muscle mass has declined to a significant degree.
Nadal took 4 hrs to beat Diego Scwhartzmann in 4 sets. Although the Cilic match was 5 sets it lasted 3hrs. 1 hour less than Nadal's match.
mike danny
Bionic Poster
Exactly. People talk as if Federer is outlasting these guys in 4h or 4.5h matches.
Sardines
Hall of Fame
Part of it is fitness, part of it is ball bouncing and other antics that "stretch" time!
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...d-andy-murray-is-time-violations-here-to-stay
No doubt fitness plays into it. But match lengths aren't a good measure!
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...d-andy-murray-is-time-violations-here-to-stay
No doubt fitness plays into it. But match lengths aren't a good measure!
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