RE: Federers weaknesses

montx

montx

Professional
What are your opinions of Federer's weaknesses?


- I would say despite being a great all around player, noticably his most weak point that is visible is his athleticism, at least compared to #1 and #2 but his general composure does compensate.

- I would also say he has been overstudied by the other players so he needs more in his playbook if he wants to compete further.

- Sometimes tactically, I would consider him weak as compared to some tactical players like Mardy Fish. I think if he refreshes his tactical game he might improve as well.
 
I don't think he has any weaknesses, he is/was that good, the only thing i can think off is high backhands on clay, thast incredibly nitpicky though and i don't think his backhand in general is a weakness, ....

The biggest aspect of his game that will lead to loses is the fact that he doesn't have that untouchable aura anymore, players aren't beat in the locker room like they ued to be, they smell blood in the water and have taken advantagemany times this year
 
I agree that he has been vulnerable this year. But in his case, i sense a comeback, he has done well against Djokovic in their last meeting and well against Rafa even in Hamburg.

I feel that Fed will pull a comeback, and indeed I hope so.
 
His athleticism is perfect, and to say Mardy Fish is tactically better is one of the most ludicrous things I've read here.

Even though he's probably the most talented player ever, and at his peak was the best player ever, he was never much tactically. He's stubborn and doesn't like change. His tactic has often been to emulate his opponent, beat them at their own game, but if he can't do it then he doesn't try something else, he just keeps trying it. But to say Mardy Fish is tactically better is crazay.
 
Well, that is my opinion which i will stay with but not a fact. And I'm glad to hear your views.

I think all tennis players got something good and going for them. I make mistakes in my analysis a lot also, just cause life is so big and so many variables, its hard to analyze :S.
 
High backhand and decision making. Sometimes running around his backhand too much and not using the slice enough. Doesn't use the drop shot enough on clay.
 
well yea Fed is showing he seems to be mentally weak, back in Monte Carlo he was 4-1 up and lost 7-5, then in Hamburg, 5-1 up lost that set 7-5 and 4-1 up in the second claimed it 7-6 then lost the match 6-3, really odd. His back hand goes off a bit now. This is very strange to say but you never know which Federer is going to come out and play these days
 
montx said:
I agree that he has been vulnerable this year. But in his case, i sense a comeback, he has done well against Djokovic in their last meeting and well against Rafa even in Hamburg.

I feel that Fed will pull a comeback, and indeed I hope so.
Click to expand...

A comeback from what, the stranglehold he has on the #1 ranking?
 
Nadal_Freak said:
High backhand and decision making. Sometimes running around his backhand too much and not using the slice enough. Doesn't use the drop shot enough on clay.
Click to expand...

The reason why he runs round his BH is because he feels more confident in that shot than hitting the high BH.

I think Federer's tactic of using the slice works well on all surfaces except clay, whereby a slice will sit up and give his opponent even more time to hit whatever shot they like.

I agree that he needs to use the drop-shot more.
 
caulcano said:
The reason why he runs round his BH is because he feels more confident in that shot than hitting the high BH.

I think Federer's tactic of using the slice works well on all surfaces except clay, whereby a slice will sit up and give his opponent even more time to hit whatever shot they like.

I agree that he needs to use the drop-shot more.
Click to expand...
Slices do not sit up on clay, specially when enough backspin is used.

Fed SHOULD use the crosscourt low slice more often on clay. But he's too stubborn and tries to topspin everything.
 
His patience is probably his biggest weakness. He is so used to hitting winners that he has a hard time grinding out points.
 
Biggest weakness is he's too short, so while a good server, he's not untouchable on serve. If he were 6'4" he would be the greatest player of all time.
 
superman1 said:
His athleticism is perfect, and to say Mardy Fish is tactically better is one of the most ludicrous things I've read here.

Even though he's probably the most talented player ever, and at his peak was the best player ever, he was never much tactically. He's stubborn and doesn't like change. His tactic has often been to emulate his opponent, beat them at their own game, but if he can't do it then he doesn't try something else, he just keeps trying it. But to say Mardy Fish is tactically better is crazay.
Click to expand...

I think you said it well. I think Fed tries to use his pure talent and shotmaking ability to beat people and he doesn't adjust to his opponents sometimes when he should. So like others have said his biggest weakness is stubborness.
 
This is going to be an unpopular opinion but I actually think that his biggest weakness (against Nadal on Clay) is between his ears. As much of a physical game as Tennis is it is also extremely mental and Nadal is quite simply in Federer's head. This causes him to try shots on court that he would not normally try at the times he is trying them. Thus his unforced errors go up and he donates far too many points to Rafa.
 
Nadal_Freak said:
High backhand and decision making. Sometimes running around his backhand too much and not using the slice enough. Doesn't use the drop shot enough on clay.
Click to expand...

I agree his decision making is a weakness. This was more apparent when he was younger. He had so many choices of shot he would literally confuse himself and often make the wrong decision. By the time he was on his way to #1 this was fixed, although I think he has a tendancy to relapse at times.

The balls in your court. said:
Federer only has two weakness':

1-Nadal
2- Djokovic
Click to expand...

I agree to a certain point, i.e. Nadal on clay. We need a few more encounters between Fed and Djoker before establishing whether he will be a true thorn in his side.
 
PimpMyGame said:
I agree his decision making is a weakness. This was more apparent when he was younger. He had so many choices of shot he would literally confuse himself and often make the wrong decision. By the time he was on his way to #1 this was fixed, although I think he has a tendancy to relapse at times.



I agree to a certain point, i.e. Nadal on clay. We need a few more encounters between Fed and Djoker before establishing whether he will be a true thorn in his side.
Click to expand...

Well although Nadal does not do well on hard courts....he does for some strange reason drive federer crazy on hard courts ( and even grass).

The Joker has now played two grand slam finals in a row against Joker. I think federer was very lucky to win one of them. They should have changed young Jokers name to the Choker. He was scared crapless in his first gs final. I predict nadal or the Joker to win wimbledon.
 
The balls in your court. said:
Well although Nadal does not do well on hard courts....he does for some strange reason drive federer crazy on hard courts ( and even grass).

The Joker has now played two grand slam finals in a row against Joker. I think federer was very lucky to win one of them. They should have changed young Jokers name to the Choker. He was scared crapless in his first gs final. I predict nadal or the Joker to win wimbledon.
Click to expand...

Djoker has played two GS finals but against different opposition. He was overawed against Federer but took his opportunity against Tsonga.

He needs to build on his success before he turns into another Roddick.
 
Here are his "relative" weakness. It's just "relative" weakness. Here are some that are not all time best like his forehand:

1. backhand
2. net game: adaquate volleyer. but probably not true volleyer. he sticks to baseline game when pressured. he does not have attacking frame of mind for a true volleyer when he comes to the net.
3. splinting speed : his footwork is one of the best I've ever seen but I think his speed in lateral movement is not among the best in the game right now.

not weakness but some observations
1. his 1 handed backhand on the run is actually better than his running forehand
2. his 1st serve can go south for an extended period of time.
 
Last edited:
Some of the above accusations are seriously flawed. Rogers mental game is probably one of the best of all time, if not the best. He's lost most of his matches on clay not because he "choked" a lead. Nadal did this to Djokovic as well and has done it to Ferrer. Nadal is something special on clay , sometimes on Clay against Nadal you have to just say too good nothing to do with mentality.

His backhand is his weakest shot (Yet against anyone except Nadal on Clay he can force the point with it), his movement (perfect, best I've ever seen), volleys (Fantastic 5 wimbledons and counting) (ok he's not an edberg but he's not far off), Serve (Not Sampras but Sampras like on break points and important points) .
 
montx said:
What are your opinions of Federer's weaknesses?


- I would say despite being a great all around player, noticably his most weak point that is visible is his athleticism, at least compared to #1 and #2 but his general composure does compensate.

- I would also say he has been overstudied by the other players so he needs more in his playbook if he wants to compete further.

- Sometimes tactically, I would consider him weak as compared to some tactical players like Mardy Fish. I think if he refreshes his tactical game he might improve as well.
Click to expand...

The second and third are way off. Federer plays much smarter than most players out there. When it comes to tactics and strategy, he is number 1.
 
Fed's only mental problem is that occasionally he goes on "walkabout" when he gets a commanding lead and doesn't keep the pressure on Nadal. There is a reason he went up 5-1 in the 1st set, and then stopped what he was doing to get that kind of a lead. In almost everyone of his matches against Nadal he will have one set that he either totally blows away Nadal, or has a big lead and then loses it. Mental lapse is the only way I could explain it.
 
The balls in your court. said:
Well although Nadal does not do well on hard courts....he does for some strange reason drive federer crazy on hard courts ( and even grass).

The Joker has now played two grand slam finals in a row against Joker. I think federer was very lucky to win one of them. They should have changed young Jokers name to the Choker. He was scared crapless in his first gs final. I predict nadal or the Joker to win wimbledon.
Click to expand...

LOL, winning in 3 sets is not luck.

And at the AO he had mono.
 
A well hit slice does not sit up on clay, it's actually one of the harder shots to read. Especially if you have good amount of backspin/sidespin to it. If it is a badly hit slice, yes it will sit up, but on one court does it not?
 
NamRanger said:
A well hit slice does not sit up on clay, it's actually one of the harder shots to read. Especially if you have good amount of backspin/sidespin to it. If it is a badly hit slice, yes it will sit up, but on one court does it not?
Click to expand...
Clay is the highest bouncing of all courts. Grass and hardcourts it is easier to pull off but it can still be done.
 
BkK_b0y14 said:
Mirka.
10 char.
Click to expand...

hahahaha

high backhand is his real only weakness, but aside from that, i think his mental game is his weakness. i think he expects too much out of himself. if you see nadal, he always has that 'i will try my hardest and see what happens" atitiude, so he doesnt expect anything out of him except to try his hardest. federer expects to win everything (exhaggeration [sp?], but you know what i mean)
 
Is this a joke thread? I would be willing wager there's not a player on this board who could win a game from FedEx when he is healthy and playing his best. Seriously. CC
 
Nadal_Freak said:
Clay is the highest bouncing of all courts. Grass and hardcourts it is easier to pull off but it can still be done.
Click to expand...
Yeah, for topspin. A well-hit slice will bounce lower on clay than on hardcourts.

(By the way, red clay is lower-bouncing than green clay and hardcourts. It has been proven. The bounce trajectory is rather vertical on clay, instead of forward-moving, but it's not HIGHER as the clay absorbs more energy than a hard surface)

The thing with clay is that exacerbates the incoming ball's spin. If the ball comes with heavy topspin, the ball really kicks up. If the ball comes with heavy underspin, the ball barely bounces.

That's why dropshots are so effective on clay. The ball do not sit up. A well-hit slice is the same thing
 
Nadal_Freak, you're the one always claiming 'unpredictable bounce' and 'highest bounce of all courts', while not only the bounce it's NOT unpredictable (unless it hits the lines and the plastic tape blows everything up) and they're NOT the highest bouncing surfaces...

Have you ever played on red clay? There's no way you'd claim something like that if you had.
 
Andres Guazzelli said:
Nadal_Freak, you're the one always claiming 'unpredictable bounce' and 'highest bounce of all courts', while not only the bounce it's NOT unpredictable (unless it hits the lines and the plastic tape blows everything up) and they're NOT the highest bouncing surfaces...

Have you ever played on red clay? There's no way you'd claim something like that if you had.
Click to expand...

You got all the facts correct but just going from my experience - go to a different club and you'll have a different clay. I find that in my club we have lots of dirt on the ground and we really have to clean during sets, not only after, we also need a lot of water during the day to avoid dust in eyes. Whenever I change I see people have different perspective on it, somewhere theres barely anything on the ground, while somewhere your shoes are stuck in mud. Goes to show clay is different at different places and even at the same place at a different time, or at least it can be. ;)

Btw - lines and area around the lines can be tricky and also sometimes it skids off the line while at other times ( when it hits mid line ) it bounces over you. If court is not evened, bounce can be awkward for sure, you saw how many guys were cleaning and evening the court in Hamburg for example.
 
Lack of fighting spirit (and I don't mean mental weakness, it's something different, he has a hard time getting pumped up sometimes even though he's resilient) and backhand on clay. Everything else is pretty exceptional.
 
Slice it up..........

The slice shot works well on all surfaces, but the most important key is when and where you use it. In the past Fed has been very reluctant to use the drop shot as he felt it was a cheap shot, but now he is slowly and stubbornly learning to add it to his bag of tricks.

Rafa's key has always been his speed and anticipation and the players that beat him are the ones who take that edge away from Rafa by making him cover too much court. You will either get a short ball or Rafa will go for too much and the UEs pile up. Problem is it is very difficult to maintain this tactic on clay if you do not give yourself a decent margin of error; too much margin and Rafa's got you.

Fed needs to pull every trick out of his bag and run Rafa like a dog as he did in Miami 05 to win on clay. But I think that Fed is stubborn and has too much respect for Rafa (the boys really do like each other).

TennezSport :cool:
 
Last edited:
dh003i said:
LOL, winning in 3 sets is not luck.

And at the AO he had mono.
Click to expand...

OMG....let the excuses begin.

"I am surprised just how much Djokovic has gotten serious on court. He is playing phenomenally; and that he(joker) is at the moment the best in the world, is indicated with big tournaments, where he
en-route beat Nadal at Montreal and Indian Wells, and myself at Montreal and Melbourne"......Roger Federer
 
Last edited:
Federer's biggest weakness might be his refusal to win ugly. If his game isn't getting the job done looking "pretty," he has a tendency to rush himself into errors. This, coupled with his stubbornness is his greatest weakness!
 
TheTruth said:
Federer's biggest weakness might be his refusal to win ugly. If his game isn't getting the job done looking "pretty," he has a tendency to rush himself into errors. This, coupled with his stubbornness is his greatest weakness!
Click to expand...

I agree with the stubbornness. Sometimes, he'll stick to a plan that isn't working too well, or refuse to try a new tatic.

P.S.: He should read Brad Gilbert's book, "Winning Ugly" and try to "uglify" his game.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

jimmy0slams
I love chat GPT
Replies
2
Views
278
Guru Apu
Guru Apu
T
The American Men Are Not Natural Athletes
2 3
Replies
137
Views
13K
nereis
N
E
Ben Shelton's ground strokes...
Replies
0
Views
208
er0
E
Rovesciarete
What Is Going Wrong For Novak Djokovic?- from Jeff Sackmann
2 3
Replies
113
Views
5K
Rovesciarete
Rovesciarete
M
Addressing the weak era argument (2019-2023)
Replies
41
Views
2K
DSH
DSH
Back
Top