Mardy Fish is a mess

[monologuist]

I'm no Federer-hater or Federer-fanatic...I don't try to read into reprinted interview transcripts or quotes by him...I just go by what I see with my eyes, and in the interview after the Fish match, my read was that he seemed defensive and arrogant when asked about his performance this year....not just based on his words, but on his face and body language and tone of voice. Now, to be fair, it did seem that Cliff and Pmac were maybe instigating a little by suggesting that he had just run into a man (Safin) that was just playing out of his mind that day, to which Fed gave no acknowledgement. And it is also true that he's probably been asked about that loss a zillion times already because of how unexpected it was, so I'm sure he's gonna be a little more curt and annoyed responding to it now, but as the world's #1, he's gotta expect that. I will also say that part of the interpretation may stem from the style of English he speaks...my experience has been that many people that I've met from Germanic countries, whether it be Germany itself, Switzerland, Austria....speak English very fluently, but in a more blunt, matter-of-fact way than most Americans. They may not either feel comfortable or feel the need to include some of the encoded ironies, pleasantries, and other colloquial customs that you find in typical American interviews....just a possible "breakdown" in interpretation theory....but nonetheless, I came away feeling that he seemed unpoised, defensive , and arrogant in that interview, when all is said and done; although I am fully willing to give him the benefit of the doubt in the future. In the end, it doesn't weigh on me too much (nor does it on him), and he can believe himself to be the best so long as he is...just give credit where credit is due. You can't blame your foot blister for losing to Safin....Terrell Owens racked up over 100 receiving yards in the Super Bowl on a freakin' half-broken leg.

 

[Fedubai]

To my knowledge, he has said that Safin was the better man and deserved to win that match. Of course he deserved to win it. Does that make him the best? No. I watched the same interview and when he said that it was a little strange but maybe he was thinking about it more than the match! When I read his post-match press conference after that loss I was very surprised by his saying that he thought he couldn't come back in the 5th. You don't hear that often from him. Look, Marat Safin played tremendously and he deserved to win that match. Who disputes that? Roger has acknowledged it many times. Maybe he's just surprised that there was such a reaction from people, I'm not sure. He said in an interview in the beginning of the match that people were saying he was unbeatable, and that he never like it.

 

[The tennis guy]

It's no-win situation for Federere when Cliff and PMac were instigating by suggesting to Federer that the rest has caught up to him by losing one match to Safin since the start of last year US Open. If he agrees, then the headline would be "Federer lost his confidence or his edge"; if he disagrees, the headline would be "Federer was too arrogrant". What do you expect him to say, Safin is the best in the world now? He would be dishonest to say that.

The majority of sports jounalists in US have no interest to know the true mindset of an athlete, but to induce sound bite from an athlete. This is the general culture of US. Most non-US athletes are not used to this type of journalism. Watch European tennis broadcast, they ask athletes different type of questions.

 

[Fedubai]

Look, maybe this explains his mindset a bit. This was from the Sunday Times right before the Rotterdam tourney started a few weeks ago.

"...the more success you have the easier it is to deal with defeat. I didn't think too much about it even the next day. I woke up, the sun was shining. Sure, my foot was hurting, but there was nothing to worry about. I hadn't been robbed or attacked. Everyone I cared for was fine. It was not a question of blocking out the defeat, I just accepted having to live with the fact and, really, that's not too difficult."

 

[VamosRafa]

I've read all the interviews, and yes, Federer does sound cocky at times.

But he has reason to sound that way. Given what he's accomplished.

It's not what we've come to expect from Fed -- who tended to be Mr. Humble. But perhaps it's this new Federer, who can be cocky at times, who is winning tournaments.

And he certainly isn't overdoing it. Although this exchange in Dubai surprised me a bit:

“Ferrero said he has a secret, Hewitt knows a secret, Safin knows a secret — they all know it. But I am still on top,” the Swiss replied.

But then, what is the secret of stopping the ‘Fed Ex’?

“You shouldn’t ask me, you should ask them,” he said. “I have no clue how to beat myself.

But to be fair to Fed, he went on to say, it depends on your form on the day, and how any Top 10 player can pose a threat. But he doesn't seem too overly worried. And he shouldn't be, at this point.

 

[Fedubai]

Oh come on...If he was really saying that in an arrogant way I would really be surprised. He's got a different sense of humor though, I'll give him that.

 

[Fedubai]

Just to round off this pleasent discussion, I'm not really worried about select quotes the media puts out there...I'd prefer to listen, watch, or read the whole exchange. That's just how it goes with Roger I guess, like it or not. If he starts going around saying he can't be beat, he doesn't think the other guys are close to him, he could be the best ever...now that would be way overboard. But he hasn't done that. He tells the truth, tells people what he thinks...but he isn't arrogant about it, he doesn't lift his nose in the air. At least he isn't lying. False modesty is not something I would like him to get into...I think he's got a pleasant way of telling the truth, meaning that he isn't going around with that arrogant way of doing things that is so easy to pick out. I haven't detected that in him yet, so hopefully he can keep two feet on the ground.

Anyway...it's just his way of saying things. Wether it's the language or whatever, you could argue about that and never get anywhere. He is what he is, and I wouldn't exchange him being honest about things for false modesty. That said, I don't want what he honestly thinks to be arrogant! So it's a fine line, I think he's done a good job of staying off that arrogance side of it. But we'll see....he can't slack off, he's got to keep his guard up for the most inane questions from the media. Hopefully he can stay humble.

 

[35ft6]

He seems like a nice guy. You can definitely detect humility in him sometimes, but when it comes to his tennis I think he's only being honest when he's chuckling as he says things that would be absolutely the cockiest thing ever coming out the mouth of Hewitt or Roddick. Maybe it's because English is his second language, but he's pretty blunt about his superiority often times.

 

[Fedubai]

Well, he does come across as blunt at times. But I wouldn't say superiority...he usually is just talking about his game.

I'm just going by what all the other guys say about him...the players, coaches, etc. I'd rather take what they say because they are there all the time, than what some reporter cooks up. Yes, he's often blunt. But has he always been this way or are the media just portraying his image differently now? I happen to think that a lot of what he says lately is being portrayed like he's some arrogant idiot who couldn't have a bit of humility if spent his life searching for it. But that's just my opinion. I don't know him. He could probably be a little more careful about what he says to media, at least in English. Maybe he's completely different in German, I have no idea.

But one thing I think has changed, and maybe this is the root of all this talk. I think he used to be more quiet than he is now. Not more humble, but just more quiet. I read interviews from years ago, and it seems like then he didn't really want to talk about his game in the way he does now, he didn't really have the confidence or the belief that he could do this...and that showed. Likewise, now that he has this belief, it shows. It's hard to keep that kind of confidence, from being the dominant player for the last year, from becoming too much belief, and you can always do better at it than you are now. Now that he's number one, he's asked to speak out about a lot of issues like steroids, the schedule, set an example for people, be outspoken about issues like that. His opinion gets asked about a lot of different things.

So, he's got to be confident or he'll fall from the top, and he's got to be humble or he'll fall from the top. It's a fine line. But I remember a quote of his not long ago where he said that he's done a lot of tv interviews and stuff, and he still gets nervous but he worries sometimes that he will say the wrong thing, especially when he's swapping between vocabularies.

 

[federerhoogenbandfan]

No, he lost the match as soon as he stepped on the court.

Fish is not in Federer's league, period. So, why the fu*k is this thread even here? EVERYONE loses to Fed most of the time, and their form doesn't look so great in doing so-HE makes them look off balanced. Fish is a second-tier player, not a potential #1, so what do you a-holes expect from him? SHOULD he have won? No, not at all. Leave the guy alone-Federer's beaten a lot better-23 straight Top-10er's, and those victims aren't getting this kind of crap. His SOCKS??!!??!!???

Oh, I see, this is because Fish is an AMIERICAN...that changes it. He's EXPECTED to win...solely because he's American? Is that what you think? What a bunch of b.s. Singlehanded? You're a MO-RON.

Brilliant accessment. You are right, expecting Fish to beat Federer is ludricious, and criticizing him for losing to Federer is like criticizing Jenny Kirk for not beating Michelle Kwan. Federer is a far better player, period, one needs to be realistic in their expectations of a player.

 

[federerhoogenbandfan]

One thing can be said about the match:

Federer had Fish for lunch.

I agree with the he's an American assessment by the way. Why is everyone considered a failure if they're not number 1? Let's look at Fish's circumstances. He's ranked in the top 100 of the world. He is a sponsored player for Adidas and Dunlop, so I would guess that he's making some coin there. He's traveling the world. He's living a life that any one of us would give our right.....well you get the idea. All in all, I think the boy is doing very well for himself.

Some guys are cut out to be number one, and I think you have to be a bit of an a-hole to be number one. Other guys, and this has been true of South Americans historically, aren't as interested in being #1. There's no future in it. Why have all the rocks thrown at you?

Anyone else hear Fed's interview after the match? He was very Williams-like. He gave Safin absolutely no credit for his win in Australia. Matter of fact, he blamed a blister on his foot for the loss and said that he was one point away from the match and that he should have won it.... etc etc etc.

Are you criticizing Federer for him not giving much credit to Safin for the Aussie Open semifinal win? I dont see how you can fault him for that, for the simple reason that as you said, it takes a certain type of personality to be 1 and like it or not, that is it. Pete Sampras betwen 93-97 was never glowing in praise of his opponent, apart from Agassi perhaps, after a loss. Serena Williams, is another extreme altogether. Faulting Federer for being an ungracious loser while not faulting other 1s who are just as much so, if not more extreme in that way, is wrong.

 

[splink779]

You have to be careful when you read interviews. Editors can take out parts making some quotes out of context. They do this to make the quotes fit the theme of the article or make it more interesting. It's hard to trust written interviews at all. For example, in that article where Fed says Jeez I am such a good player, notice it is the beginning of a parargraph. For all we know that could have been a sarcastic remark describing how the expectations of him winning the grand slam died in the first slam. Anyway, about Fish - I think he hits too flat and doesn't have enough racquet head speed on his shots (compared to the other high ranked pros). Plus, he obviously needs to be more fit.

 

[Fee]

Webster's definition of arrogant is this:

"Offensively exaggerating one's own importance."

Was there a picture of Vince Spadea next to that definition?

 

[Fee]

By the way, English is Federer's third language. I don't think he's arrogant, I think he's tired. Since his first Wimbledon win, the ATP has pushed Roger forward to promote the sport, and I'm sure his ability to speak 3 languages (4?) has something to do with that. He's asked the same questions over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again, so perhaps he tries to give different answers. From time to time, and with the proper editing, that can come out as arrogant. Also, it might be that Roger knows he has to project a certain belief system to the competition. He cannot a project a weakness to the lockerroom or they will pounce on him. I cannot imagine what it's like to be the number one player out of all the guys in the world who play tennis, so maybe we should give him a little bit of slack...

 

[Fedubai]

I don't think Roger is an ungracious loser. He's very gracious, in victory and defeat. He credits his opponents all the time. He even said himself a while back that he hopes there is no jealousy in the lockerroom. That's why people like him.

Anyway, lately there has just been a lot of talk that I've seen by certain fans about how he's getting arrogant, he's Williams-like...I think it's rediculous. If you want your guy to win matches, folks that are doing this, hope for him to get better, not his opponent to get arrogant and lose his edge. Couple years ago people were complaining that there is too much parity in mens tennis, that there isn't a standout guy. The guy walks right in front of your faces and you don't even bat an eyelash. Instead, he's too dominant, I want him to lose, he's too good, waaawaa. Come on....I'm grateful I'm alive to see him play. Anyway, end of discussion.

 

[VamosRafa]

By the way, English is Federer's third language.

Not quite sure that is true, Fee. Fed's mother is from South Africa, and he has said the first words he spoke were in English. And then he switched to German later, and he contined with his English. French came on much later.

I actually think French is his third language. Not to quibble, though. He's pretty fluent in all three, from all accounts.

 

[The tennis guy]

He is a natural German speaker, not a natural English speaker. Just read his interview, even if he speaks in English, he speaks in sentences following German gramma quite often, which makes it a little more blunt to some people.

 

[Brettolius]

yeah and his ACCENT gives it away that english is most definitely not his first language.