POLL: Federer out of Roger's Cup in Toronto - is it wise?

Should Fed have pulled out ot Canada or Cinci?

  • Pull out of Cinci - he needs the slower courts to prepare for the USO

    Votes: 5 7.9%

  • Pull out of Canada - he needs the confidence building of faster court

    Votes: 35 55.6%

  • MuryGoat

    Votes: 17 27.0%

  • It doesn't matter. He's a weak era mug and should never have played after 2008.

    Votes: 10 15.9%

  • He should play both cause he needs the points and he'll never win the USO.

    Votes: 6 9.5%
  • Total voters
    63
I think people overlook that this decision likely involves his team as well. So the question "is it wise" may be the wrong question - because it also warrants superficial hindsight, i.e. "He didn't win the US Open, he should have played Canada and get more matches."

He's turning 37 this year. That's thirty-seven. Let's not call him old, but he's not young either, and one would think his recovering from matches are now more complex and unpredictable.

So it's very likely he and his team decided skipping is the right thing to do at the moment. Or at least if the decision is based on that and nothing else (very likely), then you can't say it's a wrong (or unwise) one. And we should expect more decisions like this in the future.
 
mike danny said:
I'm talking mostly about Canada though ;)
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Canada suffers constantly from being back to back with Fed's favourite Masters, Cincy which is seen as the final preparation for New York. It is one of the reasons why I argue against scheduling Masters events back to back as one or other eventually suffers from constant player pullouts.
 
mike danny said:
He most likely wouldn't have done that as Halle proved this year.
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True, but it would have been the right course of action, I think. My view is that he should probably play Washington next week, skip Toronto the week after, and then play Cincinnati the week after that. I think he should enter two warmups just in case he goes in cold and loses early at one of them, as happened in Stuttgart in 2017, but I can see the sense in not playing in back-to-back weeks.
 
Good choice

Made a mistake going to Canada last year that resulted in missing the 5th slam and bowing out of the US Open probably too soon.

Plus its Canada. Even Cincinnati is more interesting than any place in Canada.
 
Mainad said:
Canada suffers constantly from being back to back with Fed's favourite Masters, Cincy which is seen as the final preparation for New York. It is one of the reasons why I argue against scheduling Masters events back to back as one or other eventually suffers from constant player pullouts.
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Especially now that most of the top players are geezers and can't play play consecutive weeks as good as when they were younger ;)
 
I told my friend earlier this year, that Im 99% confident that Roger will be playing Challengers end of 2019.. I mean if he is still playing.
 
BeatlesFan said:
No chance unless he's sustains a career-ending injury. The Uniqlo commitment basically guarantees he'll play until the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. He's repeatedly said this year he has no plans to retire for "several years." He just won a slam in January, why would he retire? Oh-- and got back to #1 twice in 2018.
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3 times.

Got #1 back after:
Rotterdam HC,
Madrid clay,
Stuttgart grass.
Fedr; taking back #1 all-court style.;)
 
Mainad said:
Only now he's doing it more and more. No more clay season for instance.
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well he is getting older. for all the hooplah about him not caring about tennis, i think this shows the opposite imo. at the very least it shows he is dedicated to the USO anyways.
 
Mainad said:
It's so hit and miss what he will play these days. He is already semi-retired from the tour. I wonder if the fact that Nadal and a revived Djokovic are starting to encroach once again on his Slam record is the only thing still keeping him going? But for how much longer can he keep that up? Time is on their side, not his.
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He usually skips Canada though. But yes his schedule is getting smaller and smaller and despite the fact that he's still among the best players in the world, his form in 2018 has significantly dropped compared to 2017. I'm not counting Fed out by any means, but I have to agree that his time as a contender is becoming more and more limited. Despite being able to stave off father time more than most athletes, it's still only a matter of time before father time comes back to him again, and unfortunately, you can't defeat it every time, regardless how good you are.
 
I'm disappointed that he's not competing at one of my favourite tournaments, but i do think it's the right decision, when it comes to prioritising for the US Open.
 
He was in a dark mood the entire time at the Rogers Cup last year. No point playing if he doesn't want to be there. I doubt he'll have forgotten how to play tennis in the extra week before Cincinnati.
 
I don't see Federer ever playing in these following tournaments anymore for the rest of his career:
Miami (We may have seen the last of Fed in South Beach this past year as this is clearly one of his least preferred HC tourneys)
Every clay tournament (no explanation needed here)
Canada (this thread says it all)
Bercy (maybe the least prestigious Masters tournament and I don't believe this a tourney that Fed has ever played a whole lot of even during his younger days)
Likely not Stuttgart either (playing this tournament likely played a role in his earlier Wimby crash out)
50/50 on events like Dubai/Rotterdam (he might still play here depending on his health and form)
 
mike danny said:
Especially now that most of the top players are geezers and can't play play consecutive weeks as good as when they were younger ;)
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Almost right, but never forget about Nadal, he's still as fit as he was in his younger years - played a huge amount of matches throughout last year and looks set to do so again this season. He may look like he's 32, but his body is at least 5 years younger. :D
 
I think it's a capital idea to concentrate on the 2 remaining slams of the year, Cincy and USO.
 
No big deal. He skipped it in 2015 too, won Cincy convincingly then breezed his way to the USO final.
 
Last edited:
Noleberic123 said:
No I said Fed couldn't beat the GOAT
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I see.

In what sensed do you mean? From the perspective of natural reason and known physicis - in which it is impossible for Federer to be across from himself?

I would think again, you propose an obvious postulate in this regard.

The GOAT can not play the GOAT - in that sense.

We would have to be speaking figuratively - as in - “Federer did not so much lose to Anderson so much as he beat himself by passive play.” In that figurative sense Federer may indeed lose to himself - as GOAT.

But speaking literally, you are right in that he can not literally win a match with himself.

The GOAT can not be in two places at once, no??
 
Federev said:
I see.

In what sensed do you mean? From the perspective of natural reason and known physicis - in which it is impossible for Federer to be across from himself?

I would think again, you propose an obvious postulate in this regard.

The GOAT can not play the GOAT - in that sense.

We would have to be speaking figuratively - as in - “Federer did not so much lose to Anderson so much as he beat himself by passive play.” In that figurative sense Federer may indeed lose to himself - as GOAT.

But speaking literally, you are right in that he can not literally win a match with himself.

The GOAT can not be in two places at once, no??
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Okay now you are just confusing me
 
Federev said:
“I’m so disappointed not to play at the Rogers Cup this summer,” said Federer. “I had a fantastic time in Montreal last year and always enjoy playing in front of the Canadian fans, but unfortunately with scheduling being the key to my longevity moving forward, I have regrettably decided to withdraw from Toronto this year. I wish the tournament every success and am sorry to miss it.”

I think most agree he should not play both Canada and The Real Slam in Cinci.

But is this wise?

Aren't the slower courts in Canada a better prep for the Molasses of New York?
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Those poll options are hilarious, dude. Hahaha

Why does Mury GOAT have so many votes? This forum needs to be nuked.
 
FHtennisman said:
Almost right, but never forget about Nadal, he's still as fit as he was in his younger years - played a huge amount of matches throughout last year and looks set to do so again this season. He may look like he's 32, but his body is at least 5 years younger. :D
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He is not going to keep doing that forever with no repercussions.
 
terrible scheduling choice. He has done this before. Won Cinci then only has 1 week to travel and rest before having to win 7 more best of 5 at the USO. At that point he often makes it to the semis or finals and looks completely gassed and out of energy compared to the early rounds. What he would be better of doing is to play Canada, that way if he wins he has 2 weeks to recover and rest before the USO. Not sure why he has such a hard on for Cinci. They're both hardcourts.
 
Feel bad for canadians, even more so than usual. Waiting all year to get a glimpse of the maestro and he snubs them like they are french...
 
Federev said:
I've always wondered though if the Cinci courts are too fast for a good tune up for the USO.
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Sadly, I don't think it matters much. Fed's chances of winning the USO on the slow courts there at his age is very minimal. He'd have to play as he did at IW 2017, have a lot of luck and be given a supremely fortunate draw. I wouldn't count of any of those things happening.
 
Now that he secured a mega-million 10 year deal with Uniqlo, I think he is probably considering retirement. He also knows that Zverev will repeat in Canada and finally rule the world starting at the U.S. Open. Federer is smarter than you give him credit for.
 
Sadly, I don't think it matters much. Fed's chances of winning the USO on the slow courts there at his age is very minimal. He'd have to play as he did at IW 2017, have a lot of luck and be given a supremely fortunate draw. I wouldn't count of any of those things happening.
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As usual you are wise and realistic @BeatlesFan .

You do the GOAT honor.
 
zverev2018 said:
Now that he secured a mega-million 10 year deal with Uniqlo, I think he is probably considering retirement. He also knows that Zverev will repeat in Canada and finally rule the world starting at the U.S. Open. Federer is smarter than you give him credit for.
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We are waiting long for Zverev no? But not longer than Roger yet!
 
Backspin1183 said:
Sounds like he is losing interest in tennis. Can't blame him. He is turning 37 soon. May retire by next year.
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NBP said:
No it is not even close to being a good decision.

He needs matches and he needs to play against the very best. 14 matches in 4 months is apparently overkill on this forum. Saw shouts of “he shouldn’t have played Halle”. How thick can one be? He hadn’t played for 3 months, and seemingly 4 *GRASSCOURT* matches was too much. He didn’t lose at Wimbledon because of tiredness or injury, he lost because he wasn’t clutch enough.

He will now tumble down the rankings I’m sure, because he’s been seeping points since March and there’s no chance defends all of Shanghai-Basel-AO-Rotterdam. He needed to play Toronto to give himself match toughness and if he went deep, just skip the God-forsaken Cincinnati and have more rest before the USO.

And another thing. He has not “learnt” from last years “mistake” of playing Montreal, as it was his fault for deciding to play it on the Wednesday before the draw. No preparation meant he was always susceptible to injury.

Someone here said he’s getting bored of tennis. Maybe he is. And I know maybe only 1 or 2 others here share my opinion so I’m in the utmost minority but I don’t care. He’s not playing like 2015 so if he loses early in Cincinnati don’t say I didn’t tell you so.
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Completely agree with the tone of both these posts.
 
I think he is deliberately skipping part of the hard court season so the VB can't say he skips clay every year

Poor VB. What will they complain about now :D
 
NBP said:
No it is not even close to being a good decision.

He needs matches and he needs to play against the very best. 14 matches in 4 months is apparently overkill on this forum. Saw shouts of “he shouldn’t have played Halle”. How thick can one be? He hadn’t played for 3 months, and seemingly 4 *GRASSCOURT* matches was too much. He didn’t lose at Wimbledon because of tiredness or injury, he lost because he wasn’t clutch enough.

He will now tumble down the rankings I’m sure, because he’s been seeping points since March and there’s no chance defends all of Shanghai-Basel-AO-Rotterdam. He needed to play Toronto to give himself match toughness and if he went deep, just skip the God-forsaken Cincinnati and have more rest before the USO.

And another thing. He has not “learnt” from last years “mistake” of playing Montreal, as it was his fault for deciding to play it on the Wednesday before the draw. No preparation meant he was always susceptible to injury.

Someone here said he’s getting bored of tennis. Maybe he is. And I know maybe only 1 or 2 others here share my opinion so I’m in the utmost minority but I don’t care. He’s not playing like 2015 so if he loses early in Cincinnati don’t say I didn’t tell you so.
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I don't think it has anything to do with "boredom". It has everything to do with "loss of face". It smacks of lack of confidence to me. And if I were his new clothing company, I'd start paying him by the tournament.
 
Don't know why anyone is surprised at this. He only played last year to try and get No 1 and it didn't work out well. So makes sense to do things differently this year.
 
I think he should play it as a practice tournament and go at 50 percent to get some time on the hard courts. If he loses early, fine. If he goes deep, it's good to defend points, too. The bigger issue is if he plays Cinci and he gets a hot player in the first round.

We have people who might have played in Atlanta,Washington and Canada, who are now tested on the hard courts. If Federer comes in cold and gets a big server, he could lose again in a third-set tiebreak after having match points and winning 15 more points than his opponent.

If that happens, then skipping Canada is a big mistake as there's now no prep for the U.S. Open. But if he plays himself into Cinci and wins it again, then it's a brilliant move. I say 50-50 at this point.
 
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