Marc Rosset explains the difference between Roger this year and last year

[Otacon]

How do you assess Roger in Basel?
His game was not necessarily in place. He suffered against Simon, who played well, with a very high number of UEs. For much of the tournament, he could not do what he wanted. He played good at times and less good at other times. He may be suffering from a lack of competition over the year. Between Indian Wells and Wimbledon, between March and June, he did not play against a top 10 after his final against Del Potro at Indian Wells. No top 20 in Stuttgart, no top 30 in Halle ...

He had not played a lot of tournaments in 2017 ...
It's different. He was coming back from injury, he had this kind of huge desire, he was super aggressive. He was like a hunter. In 2018, he is back again as he has been for ten years, a hunted. We saw it when he added Rotterdam to become world No.1 again. He went back to another state of mind. I said to him: "Play only to win, and whatever happens ..." When he lost against Anderson at Wimbledon, ok you can have a bad day, but he was not in the right attitude , I think.

https://www.lequipe.fr/Tennis/Actualites/Marc-rosset-roger-federer-a-besoin-de-competition/954295

 

[donquijote]

Difference is no confidence on his bh and even fh. So many defensive slices. He's showing that he doubts himself. His movement is no different.

 

[smoledman]

Yet he wins the title.

 

[grhcan99]

It is rather unrealistic for people to expect Federer to get back to his winning ways. He's 37 years old. He's been through injuries. He's playing top level tennis. And he's minimizing his playing time. What do people expect? He's living on borrowed time. Regardless of what he believes, the body can only do so much at such a high level of tennis.

 

[Poisoned Slice]

Yeah, he's just a year younger than Clint Eastwood. Give him a break.

 

[BeatlesFan]

Difference is no confidence on his bh and even fh. So many defensive slices.

In fairness, Fed uses his "defensive" slice very effectively against next Gens who have no clue how to handle the low slice where he draws them into the net. It's a deliberate tactic that he uses and has nothing to do with being defensive. We saw his slice used with great effectiveness in Basel against Medvedev, Copic and (to a lesser extent), Struff. He didn't use it with Simon because it wouldn't have been effective. Fed also uses little slice against Nadal or Novak since 2017, both of whom deal very well with the shot.

I tended to doubt his "injured FH" story until the Tennis Channel showed that the RPM's on his FH last year were WAY above what they are now. That eliminated my doubts about his hand, also Robbie Federer on Basel TV talking how Fed couldn't even open a can of soup with a can opener because of his numb/sore right hand.

 

[BeatlesFan]

Yeah, he's just a year younger than Clint Eastwood. Give him a break.

Now you're talking.

 

[smoledman]

Injured hand excuse...

 

[donquijote]

Healthy Federer doesn't lose, just like Nadal.

 

[Deleted member 743561]

Now you're talking.

Eastwood was a Lacoste guy!

Can he pull a Djokovic for the brand?

 

[grhcan99]

Healthy Federer doesn't lose, just like Nadal.

Which is not happening anymore. The moment he steps into the court his opponents will make sure he doesn't stay healthy for long. You have to be realistic. Nobody at 37 regardless of talent and athleticism can take the pounding one gets playing in the current tour and still expect to be at the top.

 

[donquijote]

It looks like his mind slowed down a bit. He has access to all kind of supplements to keep it sharp. He is hesitant to go for winners and doesn't do a great job of selectively doing it compared to his own standards. There are times he's being attacked as a result of that. Very atypical for his game.

 

[Sport]

It looks like his mind slowed down a bit.

Unlikely, the body decline is faster and more noticieable than the mind decline. In any case, it is Federer's legs' speed what has slowed down, not his mental capacity.

 

[Nashvegas]

I tended to doubt his "injured FH" story until the Tennis Channel showed that the RPM's on his FH last year were WAY above what they are now. That eliminated my doubts about his hand, also Robbie Federer on Basel TV talking how Fed couldn't even open a can of soup with a can opener because of his numb/sore right hand.

Fake news. Fed wouldn’t even know where to find the pantry.

 

[Shells15]

On another message board, someone claimed that he is quitting after the next Laver Cup. Anyone know about this?

 

[mike danny]

In fairness, Fed uses his "defensive" slice very effectively against next Gens who have no clue how to handle the low slice where he draws them into the net. It's a deliberate tactic that he uses and has nothing to do with being defensive. We saw his slice used with great effectiveness in Basel against Medvedev, Copic and (to a lesser extent), Struff. He didn't use it with Simon because it wouldn't have been effective. Fed also uses little slice against Nadal or Novak since 2017, both of whom deal very well with the shot.

I tended to doubt his "injured FH" story until the Tennis Channel showed that the RPM's on his FH last year were WAY above what they are now. That eliminated my doubts about his hand, also Robbie Federer on Basel TV talking how Fed couldn't even open a can of soup with a can opener because of his numb/sore right hand.

He has barely played Novak since 2017.

And not using the slice against him is overkill, unless he thinks he can trade topspin shots with the robot forever and win those exchanges.

 

[Gary Duane]

In fairness, Fed uses his "defensive" slice very effectively against next Gens who have no clue how to handle the low slice where he draws them into the net. It's a deliberate tactic that he uses and has nothing to do with being defensive. We saw his slice used with great effectiveness in Basel against Medvedev, Copic and (to a lesser extent), Struff. He didn't use it with Simon because it wouldn't have been effective. Fed also uses little slice against Nadal or Novak since 2017, both of whom deal very well with the shot.

I tended to doubt his "injured FH" story until the Tennis Channel showed that the RPM's on his FH last year were WAY above what they are now. That eliminated my doubts about his hand, also Robbie Federer on Basel TV talking how Fed couldn't even open a can of soup with a can opener because of his numb/sore right hand.

Let me tell you, you can REALLY fool people with an injury. 6 weeks ago I tripped and had an awful fall, a freak accident, that broke my scapula (shoulder blade.) I went to an ER, had it X-rayed. The diagnosis - expect a ton of pain and wear a sling for 6-8 weeks. Totally immobilize my upper arm, and no work. Certainly no playing the piano. No driving. Not even a shower.

The next day I went right back to teaching, did not take pain pills, started doing small motions at the piano with my hand in a sling, had the sling mostly off in 2.5 weeks and totally off after 3. As far as my students are concerned I'm completely recovered because they don't see any problems. Obviously I'm way ahead of schedule. But they don't know I still can't fully extend my arm in an upward direction and they assume I'm 100% because when I play the piano I appear to be playing 100% the same way. But I'm not. They don't know it, can't see it, can't hear it. But I can.

And this is piano. It's not running all over the a court at full speed and making the movements that most people in their mid 20s need to make.

When these top players report serious problems, I believe them - ALL of them. The problem is that fans lose their credibility by ridiculing the problems of the opponents of their faves.

It happened with Djokovic and gluten, and people still try to make out that he just made that up. It's happened multiple times with Nadal. Then people accuse Fed of making up fitness problems in 2008 or back problems in 2013. People blamed everything wrong with Novak's serve on Pepe.

For me it's much easier to believe that top competitors don't want to admit to their fans, opponents or even to themselves that their play is compromised because they are always gambling that it will be short-lived, that they will recover, and that they will somehow keep winning while not 100%.

 

[Gary Duane]

He has barely played Novak since 2017.

And not using the slice against him is overkill, unless he thinks he can trade topspin shots with the robot forever and win those exchanges.

But he played against Nadal in 2017, and slice is not generally effective against Rafa either. It doesn't work against any player for long who capitalizes on short balls and comes to the net, and Nadal is an ace at doing that. It's not his primary game plan, but when he has to move forward he tends to be very effective. And I think Novak's net skills, while not the best in comparison to the best, are hardly weak either. It is logical for Roger to draw players in as he did during his peak most of the time knowing that against MOST players it works.

 

[spoonfed]

Many factors, certainly. Age is one of them. He also looked really slim during AO '17 and the sunshine double. But this makes a lot of sense: "He was coming back from injury, he had this kind of huge desire, he was super aggressive. He was like a hunter. In 2018, he is back again as he has been for ten years, a hunted." Been thinking the same thing many times, and I sometimes think the change is apparent in his demeanor.