Super impressed by Federer's 1st round performance

[Terry Tibbs]

Just watched his match. What an absolute pleasure it is to watch this man play when he plays well. His full array of skills and shots were on display, the serves, the volleys, the forehand, the drop shots and general artistry. His movement wasnt bad either.

So dominant on serve. I dont even think he had to face a break point which obviously bodes well for Wimbledon. Granted, Istomin's level would have made Federer look better but he was still a joy to watch. I had anticipated him struggling a lot more and potentially losing.

Will we have a repeat here of Oz Open 2017 when he came into the tournament with low expectations just trying to get a few wins but ended up playing a blinder? Ok, probably not but such encouraging signs in that match for the rest of the season, particularly Wimbledon.

 

[Amritia]

Terry Tibbs

Talk to me

 

[Deleted member 780836]

His movement still doesn't look too good and he doesn't stay patient when points get extended. I would love for fed to make a deep run, but I don't see it happening, such a strong field of players, even "unknown" guys are playing insane tennis.

 

[skypadq]

His movement still doesn't look too good and he doesn't stay patient when points get extended. I would love for fed to make a deep run, but I don't see it happening, such a strong field of players, even "unknown" guys are playing insane tennis.

he will beat least cilic or fritz
least he will do that
berrettini is unkwon
but .. i predict fed QF

 

[Deleted member 771911]

Was nice after the stress of Andujar Thiem and Herbert Sinner. Like a cosy sit by the fire.

 

[Terry Tibbs]

His movement still doesn't look too good and he doesn't stay patient when points get extended. I would love for fed to make a deep run, but I don't see it happening, such a strong field of players, even "unknown" guys are playing insane tennis.

Staying patient means longer rallies which are not in his interest.

 

[Raul_SJ]

"I obviously have no chance to win RG. That is not the goal."
-- Roger Federer

Straight from the horse's mouth.

 

[Sampras-Bruguera 1993]

Nothing impressive about that. He beat someone even more washed up than he is. He wont make it past the 3rd round. First young guy playing decent enough will beat him straight sets

 

[Beckerserve]

Just watched his match. What an absolute pleasure it is to watch this man play when he plays well. His full array of skills and shots were on display, the serves, the volleys, the forehand, the drop shots and general artistry. His movement wasnt bad either.

So dominant on serve. I dont even think he had to face a break point which obviously bodes well for Wimbledon. Granted, Istomin's level would have made Federer look better but he was still a joy to watch. I had anticipated him struggling a lot more and potentially losing.

Will we have a repeat here of Oz Open 2017 when he came into the tournament with low expectations just trying to get a few wins but ended up playing a blinder? Ok, probably not but such encouraging signs in that match for the rest of the season, particularly Wimbledon.

I told everyone not to write him off. He did not even break sweat today.
I am telling you if he makes QF he will beat Djokovic. Full crowd in 2nd week. The French are raucous. Djokovic coukd even get DQd in that match.
The guy is a level above all but two players on any surface. That is kind of important.

 

[Beckerserve]

40-year-old Fraud outperformed Thiem at RG

bamos

I love Thiem but your comparison is like comparing a 15 yr old Nissan GT R with a new Toyota GT86

 

[skypadq]

I told everyone not to write him off. He did not even break sweat today.
I am telling you if he makes QF he will beat Djokovic. Full crowd in 2nd week. The French are raucous. Djokovic coukd even get DQd in that match.
The guy is a level above all but two players on any surface. That is kind of important.

beckerserve , i am huge federer fan and he will never beat novak djokovic agian in least BO5 format
don 't give hope to federer fans
that will never happen

 

[Feather]

Roger Federer can reach, hopefully, fourth round with a bit of struggle in the third round

 

[Beckerserve]

beckerserve , i am huge federer fan and he will never beat novak djokovic agian in least BO5 format
don 't give hope to federer fans
that will never happen

Bud do not underestimate influence of crowd and media. The mind games will soon begin to rile up djokovic as everyone knows he can be got to.
I know in the past he has handled if well but i predict this time things will be febrile.

 

[skypadq]

Bud do not underestimate influence of crowd and media. The mind games will soon begin to rile up djokovic as everyone knows he can be got to.
I know in the past he has handled if well but i predict this time things will be febrile.

no , novak djokovic is better than you thoughts then
federer dosen 't have a back hand to beat novak djokovic in PC
federer will lose like 2012 RG SF
if federer win against djokovic , that will be biggest upset of year

 

[skypadq]

and why everyone overrated berrettni so much ?
this is red clay and he is type that federer love for
weak backhand and unstable return

 

[Terry Tibbs]

beckerserve , i am huge federer fan and he will never beat novak djokovic agian in least BO5 format
don 't give hope to federer fans
that will never happen

I think most sensible fans wont be encouraged by this claim to be fair. I would agree that if any hopes of another major win are to be entertained, Djokovic needs to be taken out by somebody else as I dont see Federer doing it.

 

[skypadq]

I think most sensible fans wont be encouraged by this claim to be fair. I would agree that if any hopes of another major win are to be entertained, Djokovic needs to be taken out by somebody else as I dont see Federer doing it.

federer never beat nadal or djokovic in french open

 

[Terry Tibbs]

federer never beat nadal or djokovic in french open

He did. He beat Djokovic in 2011 SF.

 

[ForehandRF]

He definitely played above expectations but his opponent was also mediocre.It's was a good play, especially given the circumstances

 

[Deleted member 762343]

There’s still a long way to go, but I went from wondering whether he could pass the first round to believing he can actually make it to the QF. I hope he will keep getting better and surpass everyone’s expectations.

 

[Beckerserve]

no , novak djokovic is better than you thoughts then
federer dosen 't have a back hand to beat novak djokovic in PC
federer will lose like 2012 RG SF
if federer win against djokovic , that will be biggest upset of year

Federer will slice every BH pretty much v Djokovic. Djokovic hates slice coming at him as he struggles to generate pace off slice. Djokovic now is not Djokovic 2012 when he ground players down like a wall.
Djokovic obviously favourite but if Federer gets there i think he will cause the upset. It will be huge as Federer would ensure flr eternity he is greater than Djokovic even if Djokovic passed him eventually. Narrative would be Djokovic only did it when Federer departed. Trust me on this if Federer makes it that far it may be his crowning moment

 

[Hawaiian grip]

Good to see, but Istomin got the movement of Isner after partying three days in a row in his former brotherhood house.

 

[skypadq]

There’s still a long way to go, but I went from wondering whether he could pass the first round to believing he can actually make it to the SF. I hope he will keep getting better and surpass everyone’s expectations.

cilic will be easy , he have no leg on clay , slow

fritz will be easy too , that guy is too slow

and why everyone overrating berretini so much ?
his return and backhand is worse than 39 years old federer

 

[Beckerserve]

federer never beat nadal or djokovic in french open

2011

 

[skypadq]

Federer will slice every BH pretty much v Djokovic. Djokovic hates slice coming at him as he struggles to generate pace off slice. Djokovic now is not Djokovic 2012 when he ground players down like a wall.
Djokovic obviously favourite but if Federer gets there i think he will cause the upset. It will be huge as Federer would ensure flr eternity he is greater than Djokovic even if Djokovic passed him eventually. Narrative would be Djokovic only did it when Federer departed. Trust me on this if Federer makes it that far it may be his crowning moment

maybe , maybe

i think federer will go QF , but will lose ND
cilic , fritz , berrettni are all slow

and federer will never beat nadal in RG

 

[skypadq]

2011

yeah ... he did , mistake

 

[Terry Tibbs]

There’s still a long way to go, but I went from wondering whether he could pass the first round to believing he can actually make it to the QF. I hope he will keep getting better and surpass everyone’s expectations.

I would be happy enough with 3rd round but he can go further depending on the draw. My concern was that he is not getting enough matches to get the necessary match practice for Wimbledon prep. 3 or ideally 4 or more BO5 matches here would help that situation. If he had lost today, he would have so few matches under his belt going into the grass season.

 

[ghostofMecir]

His movement still doesn't look too good and he doesn't stay patient when points get extended. I would love for fed to make a deep run, but I don't see it happening, such a strong field of players, even "unknown" guys are playing insane tennis.

His movement and serve are nowhere good enough to make a run, but it’s incredible to see the skill and talent where he can dominate serve games with a 100 mph 1st serve and first FH. i was very, very surprised that he was never challenged at all and how confident he was all the way through.

This is probably literally the first time he’s played a match with zero expectations and it showed.

 

[Forehanderer]

His performance wasn't bad but Istomin let him dictate terms. His movement today is overrated by the OP. In the rare occasions where Istomin pushed him, he didn't even make an effort to keep the rally going. He is too quick to finish the points. He showed a bit of artistry here which he is known for but clay requires endurance and hard yards more than pretty shots. I guess Cilic will beat him for sure in 4 sets. He is the one with some clay runs this season and is looking good enough to beat the Federer we saw today. Cilic is also a slam champion so he understands how to latch onto any weakness shown by the opponent.
I don't care if he gets beaten by Cilic as he's a slam champion not some lower ranked player. It also opens up the opportunity to play Stuttgart so that he will get more time on grass which is his main goal

 

[D.Nalby12]

Except movement - everything else worked just fine for him. It's one of his Top 10 forehand performances since 2014 racket switch.

 

[Deleted member 771911]

I think it's normal that we should get excited about today. But Istomin is ranked 204.

 

[Djokovic_is_the_best#1]

I told everyone not to write him off. He did not even break sweat today.
I am telling you if he makes QF he will beat Djokovic. Full crowd in 2nd week. The French are raucous. Djokovic coukd even get DQd in that match.
The guy is a level above all but two players on any surface. That is kind of important.

I fear Federer! You spot on.

 

[Terry Tibbs]

His movement and serve are nowhere good enough to make a run, but it’s incredible to see the skill and talent where he can dominate serve games with a 100 mph 1st serve and first FH. i was very, very surprised that he was never challenged at all and how confident he was all the way through.

This is probsbly literally the first time he’s played a match with zero expectations and it showed.

His serve is nowhere near good enough to make a run? His serve is one of the main reasons for all his success! And again today, no breaks of his serve or even facing a break point which is impressive on clay.

 

[Gazelle]

Berry Tough should beat Federer in the third round to give credibility to Nadal's 2019 USO win.

 

[Krish0608]

Except movement - everything else worked just fine for him. It's one of his Top 10 forehand performances since 2014 racket switch.

Yes! That FH was absolute fire today.

 

[I Am Finnish]

Just watched his match. What an absolute pleasure it is to watch this man play when he plays well. His full array of skills and shots were on display, the serves, the volleys, the forehand, the drop shots and general artistry. His movement wasnt bad either.

So dominant on serve. I dont even think he had to face a break point which obviously bodes well for Wimbledon. Granted, Istomin's level would have made Federer look better but he was still a joy to watch. I had anticipated him struggling a lot more and potentially losing.

Will we have a repeat here of Oz Open 2017 when he came into the tournament with low expectations just trying to get a few wins but ended up playing a blinder? Ok, probably not but such encouraging signs in that match for the rest of the season, particularly Wimbledon.

What it tells us?

 

[JaoSousa]

Just watched his match. What an absolute pleasure it is to watch this man play when he plays well. His full array of skills and shots were on display, the serves, the volleys, the forehand, the drop shots and general artistry. His movement wasnt bad either.

So dominant on serve. I dont even think he had to face a break point which obviously bodes well for Wimbledon. Granted, Istomin's level would have made Federer look better but he was still a joy to watch. I had anticipated him struggling a lot more and potentially losing.

Will we have a repeat here of Oz Open 2017 when he came into the tournament with low expectations just trying to get a few wins but ended up playing a blinder? Ok, probably not but such encouraging signs in that match for the rest of the season, particularly Wimbledon.

 

[PilotPete]

Istomin beat peak Djokovic on his favourite surface in 2017. Istomin loses to old Fed on his least favourite surface. What is tells us?

 

[BeatlesFan]

In the rare occasions where Istomin pushed him, he didn't even make an effort to keep the rally going.

Come on, that was deliberate and it's the prudent strategy at his age. Sampras coasted/semi-tanked every receiving game after he secured a break in a set and he was in his 20's. Federer would be a total imbecile to try and run down shots at 40-0 or even 40-15 on an opponents serve. Even Rafa has stopped going all out on such points and letting balls go by him with no effort to track them down.

 

[NAS]

Come on, that was deliberate and it's the prudent strategy at his age. Sampras coasted/semi-tanked every receiving game after he secured a break in a set and he was in his 20's. Federer would be a total imbecile to try and run down shots at 40-0 or even 40-15 on an opponents serve. Even Rafa has stopped going all out on such points and letting balls go by him with no effort to track them down.

That is actually quite good strategy

 

[Spencer Gore]

Trust me on this if Federer makes it that far it may be his crowning moment

You think he's going to beat Djokovic but you're not even certain he's going to get that far?

You're going to have to show your workings!

 

[Rafa4LifeEver]

Except movement - everything else worked just fine for him. It's one of his Top 10 forehand performances since 2014 racket switch.

No lol.

 

[Omega_7000]

Federer will slice every BH pretty much v Djokovic. Djokovic hates slice coming at him as he struggles to generate pace off slice. Djokovic now is not Djokovic 2012 when he ground players down like a wall.
Djokovic obviously favourite but if Federer gets there i think he will cause the upset. It will be huge as Federer would ensure flr eternity he is greater than Djokovic even if Djokovic passed him eventually. Narrative would be Djokovic only did it when Federer departed. Trust me on this if Federer makes it that far it may be his crowning moment

Just no.

 

[Deleted member 771911]

People are dreaming about Federer upsetting Djokovic at RG? Is it 2011?

 

[Adman]

The Maestro is playing Santoro exhibition tennis now - still a feast for the eyes but with a 3rd round ceiling.

 

[Raul_SJ]

Somebody just needs to knock out Djoker, Med, Thiem, Tsitsipas, Schwartzman, Shapo, Sinner and Zverev.

And then Fed has a chance against Rafa. Liking Fed's position here.

 

[D.Nalby12]

No lol.

List those 10 better forehand performances for me.

 

[merwy]

A repeat of AO 2017? Well the small difference here is that he first has to beat Novak, and then has to beat Nadal in a RG final. I’d stop dreaming and just hope he wins the Cilic match. Let’s take it match by match.

 

[Third Serve]

List those 10 better forehand performances for me.

Almost every match in 2017, for starters.

 

[D.Nalby12]

Almost every match in 2017, for starters.

There were 3-4 events in 2017 when his forehand worked well. AO - IW - Miami - Shanghai - W. But not in single event it was clicking like today. Surely 2017 Fed had more power on strokes but technically speaking this performance right in league of his Shanghai 14 SF, Basel 14 F and AO 16 QF.