The worst defeats in Federer's career?

[MichaelNadal]

See, that's why Federer has 17 Slams. He won the previous 5 editions but losing a final still caused a lot of damage to his game.

This is the difference between us mere mortals and champions like Fedalovic. If I won Wimbledon I'd probably lose in the first round of the next 10 tournaments just because I'd still be overjoyed with that win.

Yep, they never get tired of winning, or slack off training in the slightest bit. #Respect
Seeing how hungry Fed is still today to win another slam is inspiring.

 

[Luckydog]

I'm surprised nobody mention Miami 2004 vs Nadal. Fed in his prime losing to a little kid just out of puberty has got to be right up there.

Roger was got fever before that match.He even considered to withdraw that event,which is mentioned in a book written by a Swiss journalist.

 

[Tennis_Hands]

Roger was got fever before that match.He even considered to withdraw that event,which is mentioned in a book written by a Swiss journalist.

Didn't you get the memo?

Federer is never injured, never has health issues, never has to prioritize and is not prone to upsets when poised against unfavourable match ups from young and rising ATG.

 

[Russeljones]

If you try and look up "Federer's worst defeats", you don't get too much really. So why not take a look?

Stakhovsky (2013 Wimbledon), 7-6, 6-7, 5-7, 6-7
Federer was the defending champion and seeded 3rd. Stakhovsky was seeded 116th. Unlike many early round upsets in tennis history, Federer wasn't exactly hampered by severe injury, although a nagging back all year was the culprit for his downswing you can see by the tight scores it was not a collapse by any stretch. Stakhovsky served out of his mind and volleyed extremely well. By the thinnest of margins, Federer was unable to escape the earliest Slam loss since winning his first title. It also broke his streak of 36 consecutive Quarters.

Djokovic (2011 U.S. Open), 7-6, 6-4, 3-6, 2-6, 5-7
Yes, it was Djokovic's coming out party. Yes, it was a 5 set match. However Federer had beaten Djokovic at the French Open earlier in the year and was leading 2 sets to none. He was also serving with double match point. Perhaps the greatest of Federer's chokes, this is amplified by what occurred the previous year. He had double match point in the 5th set there too, but he hadn't won the first two sets and was returning. He was also in a downswing after losing back to back quarters to Soderling and Berdych. In his career, few times has Federer choked away a match in the definitive sense. Lost a match he should have won? Absolutely, several times, but choking one away? On serve? When??

Davydenko (2009 WTF), 2-6, 6-4, 5-7
Federer has dominated numerous opponents in his career but few have faced him as many times as Davydenko, only to lose nearly every single time no matter the momentum. Beginning in 2002, Federer would beat Davydenko all 12 times, often in straights (and one 4 set match at a Slam). Yet somehow, at the 2009 World Tour Finals, an event Federer has won 6 times and had made the Championship match 5 years in a row before having a bad round robin in 2008, Davydenko won. Sure, he'd repeat the performance the following year with a 6-4, 6-4 victory, but at Doha, a forgettable secondary ATP event. This was the World Tour Finals. He'd go on to lose 7 more consecutive matches to Federer before retiring. This sticks out like a sore thumb because it's a tournament Federer has always brought his best and sure, he lost to Giles Simon the previous year, but that was in round robin play and Simon has put up better fights against Roger. Simon actually won his first two meetings before losing the next 6 but of those 6 losses, 2 have gone 5 sets in Slams.

Nadal (2008 French Open), 1-6, 3-6, 0-6
Yes, Federer was still recovering from mono, but he was still performing well enough to make Slam Finals and this match occurred not long before the epic in Wimbledon. To only come away with 4 games in any best of 5 set match was unthinkable and it hasn't happened since.

Gasquet (2005 Monte Carlo), 7-6, 2-6, 6-7
Federer had some great years but the talk between 2006 and 2007 is always going to headline the conversation because he went 3/4 at the Slams, made the French Final and won the WTF. 2005 gets lost in the shuffle but in retrospect, it was a masterful year. The Slam blemishes are Semifinal losses to Nadal and an epic to Safin. He also lost a 5 set thriller to Nalbandian. The Safin and Nalbandian losses are examples of chokes but both players were phenomenal that day and had decent careers. On the main tour, the only other loss that season was to Richard Gasquet. Federer went 55-4 across the Slams, Masters and WTF. Let that sink in, 55-4. So you think, Nadal, Safin and Nalbandian, all understandable losses. So where does Gasquet come in? He doesn't. He was an 18 year old qualifier at Monte Carlo and lost the first set to the nearly 2 year reigning world number one. His career record against Federer is 2-14 and the only other time he beat him was a tight 4-6, 7-6, 7-6 match SIX YEARS LATER. Maybe being 18 and it's your first match, Gasquet found unlimited confidence, but when you review that season and look at Gasquet's career, it will never make sense to you. One final note on this match, Roger had match points at 6-5, 7-6 (on serve), and 8-6 in the tiebreak.

2009 AO final
2009 USO final
2008 Wimbledon final
2011 Wimbledon QF

to keep it short.

 

[MichaelNadal]

Roger was got fever before that match.He even considered to withdraw that event,which is mentioned in a book written by a Swiss journalist.

Knowing what we know now though, it's safe to say he may have very well lost anyway.

 

[Luckydog]

Didn't you get the memo?

Federer is never injured, never has health issues, never has to prioritize and is not prone to upsets when poised against unfavourable match ups from young and rising ATG.

DAS TENNISGENIE: DIE ROGER FEDERER STORY,written by Rene Stauffer.

 

[beast of mallorca]

Wimbledon 2008 and AO '09. Both matches he should have won in 4 sets, tops. Both matches he choked away or employed VERY poor strategy.

You don't even know what you are talking about. Sorry mate, you are wrong

 

[AngryBirds]

Nonsense. When you watch that match, Rafael was playing with so much firepower. Can't blame Federer for losing to someone whom he never played before.

Besides, Federer never did much better after that first loss. lol

And you think Nadal has played Federer before that match? Neither player has played each other before that match, but little Nadal still came out on top.

 

[The Green Mile]

From that list, the 2 most guttering or disappointing losses for me, were FO 08 and USO 11.

 

[cc0509]

I don't think Wimby 08 was a bad loss. Kind of a natural progression from 07.

LOL. Make no mistake, it was a bad loss for Federer despite the progression of Nadal. *sobs*

 

[zagor]

It's simple, the worst defeats are those he could have won, 2009 AO and 2009 USO stand out. 2008 FO was only bad because of the score but Fed never had a chance against Nadal in that form on clay.

 

[zagor]

I'm going with Nadal 2008 Roland Garros Loss. This beating was so vicious that the video is often regarded as a snuff film.

I'm sure it has a place in your collection.

Roger actually thought it was his year to finally overcome Nadal. I believe he went as so far to hire famed clay court specialist, Jose Higueras, to coach him specifically to beat Nadal.

Are you a mind reader?

 

[zagor]

Before his Final with Rafa at Roland Garros 2008, Roger publicly said that he believe this was the year he can win the French Open.

He said that before every FO since 2006. Also winning FO =/ beating Nadal as Soderling and Novak showed us.

 

[icedevil0289]

LOL. Make no mistake, it was a bad loss for Federer despite the progression of Nadal. *sobs*

That loss was painful especially coming right after rafa brutally beating fed at the french. Iirc fed did say it was one of his saddest losses if not his saddest even though people always remember him crying at AO but Wimbledon was his baby at the time. Honestly it hurt me way more looking at his sad face in the dark holding the runner up plate in comparison to him weeping at ao.

 

[icedevil0289]

He said that before every FO since 2006. Also winning FO =/ beating Nadal as Soderling and Novak showed us.

True but in his case since he met rafa in the finals it would mean he won

 

[zagor]

How could he have won 2009?

He had plenty of chances in both 2009 AO and 2009 USO as is evident to anyone who observes those matches objectively. Sometimes you win close matches, sometimes you lose them (just ask Nadal and his 2012-2015 Wimbledon qualifier saga).

Man your logic out of whack. Shaking my damn head.

Logic has never been one of your strongest suites, no surprise you're struggling and shaking.

 

[zagor]

But he didn't go out and hired Jose Higueras until 2008, which led him to believe that he could pull it off by having extra tutelage from famed clay court specialist Higueras. That's why when he lost that first set so badly, he became downtrodden when the 2nd set started. He practically gave up after the 2nd set and got bageled in the 3rd set, 6-0

Again you go with the mind-reading stuff. Higueras also stuck for longer than CC season.

Give me another Slam finals where Federer had a score worst than this 6-1 6-3 6-0

Worst score =/ worst loss. The ones that hurt the most are close ones, not blowouts.

 

[zagor]

Give me another Slam finals where Federer had a score worst than this 6-1 6-3 6-0

Do I hear crickets on your side. Why so quiet?

You seem agitated?

 

[The Green Mile]

It's simple, the worst defeats are those he could have won, 2009 AO and 2009 USO stand out. 2008 FO was only bad because of the score but Fed never had a chance against Nadal in that form on clay.

2008 FO was really guttering for me, because I was extremely hyped for this match for obvious reasons. Played a couple of very competitive matches on Clay that year against Rafa already, Chance for Career Slam, 3rd final in a row, 3rd time lucky maybe? Played a nice match in the final last year, except for BPs converted... But instead Roger got his ass kicked, bagel included (Only bagel received after 2000). Felt deflated for a while...

 

[zagor]

The only way you can say Federer had chances is if he had match points and carelessly double faulted. Other than that, it's all fair game.

Nah, that's the only way you can say it because your understanding of the game seems particularly limited. I on the other hand can observe and analyze the ebbs and flows of the match.

Gotta say, you remind me of a certain poster.

 

[Chicharito]

2000 Olympics Bronze medal match. Lost in 3 sets to Arnaud Di Pasquale. Fed was favoured to win that match and Arnaud was actually injured. Federer somehow contrived to lose it. A very painful defeat as at the time Federer thought this may be the biggest match of his career, He didn't know if he would ever get a chance at such a big prize again. Of course his career as whole has made up for that. While he went on to win Olympic Gold and Silver meaning there is no pain anymore.








Anything outside Slams, Olympics and Davis Cup should not be mentioned as its irrelevant (WTF is semi important, well the 2005 final should be mentioned). Rome 2006 could revieve a mention due to the mental issue caused by the loss and Rome is a relatively prestigious tournament which Federer never won.






People talk about the Delpo loss as it Federer should still rue that won. He should have lost to Haas at RG and even Roddick at Wimbledon that year. It happens.

How do we define 'worst'? 2008 Wimbledon is one of the most painful for him but it is maybe his greatest loss. That comeback was and will remain legendary. Federer made that match a classic, Nadal was trying to make it a 3 set beatdown.

Of course we could look at the consequences of some of these losses, ie to Nadal. Had he have won 2008 Wimbledon v Nadal then maybe he gets him out of his head, leading to possible another slam victory over Nadal in the future. 2009 Australian Open ended the Fedal as a rivalry Fed was mentally crushed v Nadal after that (plenty of scars already) and therefore it could be considered the worst.

2003 Davis Cup was a killer and actually destroyed his love for the Davis Cup, after 2004 he wouldn't play a R1 tie till 2012 (Olympic eligibility I guess). Of course 2014 killed the witch so that one is well and truly buried.

I believe Murray didn't drop a set at the Olympics that year,right? Wasn't he the first player to win the Olympics without dropping a set?

Lost a set to Baggy early on.

 

[Anaconda]

Nah, that's the only way you can say it because your understanding of the game seems particularly limited. I on the other hand can observe and analyze the ebbs and flows of the match.

Gotta say, you remind me of a certain poster.

Which one?

 

[dudeski]

Roger was got fever before that match.He even considered to withdraw that event,which is mentioned in a book written by a Swiss journalist.

That defeat was very similar to the one when Coric beat Nadal last fall. Both were 17, and beat top player who wasn't feel great. The only difference is that 2004 match is super legit for Nadal fans while they think that 2014 match should not count and be removed from history books as soon as possible.

 

[MichaelNadal]

I never knew the Wimby 08 loss hurt so much for his fans, I'm kinda surprised tbh.

 

[Dedans Penthouse]

Connors winning it on 3 different surfaces was impressive. But it's not Federer's fault that the USO plays exclusively on HC. He never had the chance to play it on 3 different surfaces.

No matter what else Connors did, with 6 titles Fed would have been better than him. Especially if all 6 would have been in a row.

One other thing to consider: Connors beat no less a 'clay' court player than Bjorn Borg on Har-tru......that's saying something.

 

[NatF]

I never knew the Wimby 08 loss hurt so much for his fans, I'm kinda surprised tbh.

Like Federer we treasure Wimbledon most of all

Seriously though that loss really stung for Federer and if I could reverse a slam final it would be that one. Obviously Nadal deserved the win and from a narrative perspective it was a 'satisfying' conclusion . But after that comeback not holding the trophy at the end must have been difficult - and as a fan having the hope evaporate in the fading light was not fun

 

[MichaelNadal]

Like Federer we treasure Wimbledon most of all

Seriously though that loss really stung for Federer and if I could reverse a slam final it would be that one. Obviously Nadal deserved the win and from a narrative perspective it was a 'satisfying' conclusion . But after that comeback not holding the trophy at the end must have been difficult - and as a fan having the hope evaporate in the fading light was not fun

Wimby 07 was very painful so I can relate.

 

[NatF]

Wimby 07 was very painful so I can relate.

Federer won 2/3 back to back to back Wimbledon epics, so maybe it's greedy to want all 3 but after that comeback, that shot on championship point down it was a bitter pill to shallow.

 

[augustobt]

I'd take the 2005 Master's Cup final because of many circumstances - not considering the fact that Nalbandian was simply too good in that match. He would've equalized McEnroe's best season and would have an outrageous winning streak as he won the Australian Open, Indian Wells and Miami.

Not to mention the US Open 2009, another tough loss.

 

[BGod]

If we look at worst loss in terms of winnable matches, it's 2009 USO. Always will be.

 

[zagor]

Which one?

LOLville/Jackson_vile.

 

[Anaconda]

LOLville/Jackson_vile.

Haha, I remember him. I thought it was Slicefox lol.

 

[mike danny]

From an objective point of view, Federer only had 2 matches that he should have won: 2005 AO SF and 2009 USO final. The Nadal losses sting a bit but it was still Nadal. Safin and Delpo were both beatable. Think of the repercusions: he wins the 2005 AO SF he definetely wins the final too and earns complete domination of the non-clay slams between 2004 and 2007 as well as 4 consecutive 3 slam season. Also if he wins 2009 USO final he has 6 consecutive USO titles, an all-time record and another 3 slam season. 2009 would be considered a very dominant season if he won that match.

 

[TheMusicLover]

It's simple, the worst defeats are those he could have won, 2009 AO and 2009 USO stand out. 2008 FO was only bad because of the score but Fed never had a chance against Nadal in that form on clay.

I'm with you on this matter.

Not much a fan of the "shoulda-coulda-woulda"-line of thinking, but here are two exceptions imho.

2009 USO stands out for me, Fed was fully zoning until he allowed himself to get rattled by the ump (Jake Gardner if I remember correctly, allowing Del Potro a very late challenge) somewhere midway the 3rd set, and it all went downwards from there. At least that was the pivotal scene during that match where I actually thought he was actually still able to lose it all, despite being up comfortably 2-0 in sets.

2009 AO comes a good second for me. Disturbing to see Fed totally imploding in that final set, whereas he had the best of the match for most of it during the first four sets.

NB: don't take this as a dig at the respective opponents who managed to win these matches. All kudos to them, for fighting on and eventually showing the mental fortitude which Fed lacked.

 

[tennisjedi]

While the 2011 Wimbledon quarterfinal loss wasn't his worst, it sucks that he lost while having a 2-0 lead on Tsonga.
He probably would've beat Djokovic and Nadal since his grass level in 2011 was very good.

 

[kOaMaster]

in no specific order:

AO 2009
Wimbledon 2008
Davis Cup 2003
Wimbledon 2002
Basel 2001
Rome 2006
USO 2011

I personally didn't think USO 2009 was that bad. Del Potro played a great tournament and great final.
Also I don't think most of the FO defeats are that bad. Nadal was just better.

 

[Fedfan34]

I'm gonna go Djokovic US Open 2011. Rodge ran into a better player on the day of the French Open final in 2008. He should have crushed Djokovic in straight sets, but lost his focus in sets 3 and 4 (because of his fear of facing Humbalito in the final) and then choked away the match after Novak hit that Matrix esque return on match point.

 

[moonballs]

Before his Final with Rafa at Roland Garros 2008, Roger publicly said that he believe this was the year he can win the French Open.

He also said he is playing his best tennis nowadays.

 

[Tennis sensation]

French Open 08

Wimbledon 08

Australian Open 09

I think these three losses broke him at that time.

 

[Tennis_Fever]

I think it's clearly USO 2009 at the #1 spot. Would go with AO 09 at #2 and USO '11 at #3.

I remember reading somewhere that Fed thought he threw away the USO 09 match. AO 09 could've changed things (slightly) v. Nadal on future hardcourt matches and USO '11 might be the only GS match he lost having 2 match points on serve.

Definitely the 3 most psychologically devastating, which I think is what the OP is getting at.

 

[Cenarius]

Greatest Nadal's outfit

 

[edberg volleys]

AO 2009

 

[veroniquem]

RG 2008 for sure. That was total humiliation. (He even got booed in the 3rd set if I remember correctly).

 

[Deleted member 743561]

RG 2008 for sure. That was total humiliation. (He even got booed in the 3rd set if I remember correctly).

As rough as that was, he's still not leaving the sport as painfully as Nadal. Agreed?

 

[metsman]

hilarious how many people say the 05 TMC final...not even close. 05 AO...ok maybe he should have won but as a big Safin fan I don't really mind. He was playing out of this world tennis. Federer was lucky not to lose the 5th set 6-3 or 7-5 anyways....had to save like 5 match points and come back from a break down to extend it. The championship point and some casual play throughout the match maybe you wish he could have back but eh...it's not that big a deal.

09 AO and 09 USO were most damaging to his legacy in the long run. 09 AO was easily the most painful as a fan, 09 USO wasn't that much but looking back...11 USO was a disaster too but in the long run I doubt it has any impact on his legacy whatsoever besides damaging Novak's (but in the process also boosting Nadal's so it's a wash).

 

[BVSlam]

Multiple interpretations of what "worst" is. In terms of playing level and scoreline, it's the RG final. But I voted for Stak '13 and Djok '11. The first because he was already struggling that season and that just made it worse. Djok '11 is obvious, he had two match points in a row on his own serve to reach another slam final in 2011 and a chance to make it a slam-winning season (tbf, Nadal in the final so eh).

The other three aren't so bad context-wise. Davydenko-Fed was a good match and I don't think it was really all that significant for Fed's career. Great for Davy to win a big title. His loss against Gasquet didn't matter either. He would've lost to Rafa in the semi's anyway and he was still finding his feet on clay. Also one of just four losses the entire season, so didn't matter.

Then there is the RG 2008 final. Yes, it was a crushing blowout. Then again, he played Rafa right after at Wimbledon and had chances to win that match making a great comeback, so I don't think that RG final had much of an influence. And let's be honest, 2008 Federer was never going to have any chance of beating 2008 RG Nadal. Maybe it didn't need to be 6-1 6-3 6-0 but it wasn't going to be close anyway.

 

[gambitt]

Not FO 2008 - he was lucky to make the final. He had no business making the final but it was a weak clay era.

US Open 2009 was pretty bad. He pretty much had a 2 set lead in the bag, but got broken back and lost a surprising tie break and let JMDP back in to make it 1 set all. And then lost another tie break in the 4th. This is Fed, king of tie breaks, especially in a slam final against anyone not named Nadal.

US Open 2011 was just criminal. Dat Djokovic return tho...

Wimbledon 2008 - had virtual match point in the 5th set and 4-1 up in the 2nd set but lost 6-4. When does Fed ever lose 5 games in a row on grass, even against Nadal. Clutch serving to win 2 tie breaks and looked the likely winner in the 5th. He gets a virtual match point at 4-3 to serve for the match at 5-3 while in serve bot mode but fails. It doesn't help to know that the umpire was ready to call it a day since it was too dark. I think they were planning to stop at 8-8, right before Fed got broken.

 

[AnOctorokForDinner]

Worst scoreline: 2008 FO final... 2004 FO 3R and 2008 AO SF also give annoying ****s good fodder.
GS matches where he was the better player initially, but lost it mentally: 2009 AO final, 2009 USO final, 2011 USO semifinal... even 2014 Wimbledon final may qualify.
Close losses that rattled Fed and may have worsened his subsequent performance: Rome 2006 F, Wimbledon 2008 F and all of the above.
2005 AO SF and 2005 WTF F are the losses that have, in retrospect, ruined an awesome statistic, but that Federer never had a reason to care about much.
All of his Olympic defeats are in a group of their own, since he somehow managed to underperform every freaking time despite it being such a rare opportunity.
Mentioning out-of-form losses in non-GS tournaments is silly, that's what ****s do. Even the greatest players have bad days, and relatively ordinary players - good days. As long as it doesn't happen too much to get in the way of actually winning anything, it's fine.

 

[metsman]

Not FO 2008 - he was lucky to make the final. He had no business making the final but it was a weak clay era.

US Open 2009 was pretty bad. He pretty much had a 2 set lead in the bag, but got broken back and lost a surprising tie break and let JMDP back in to make it 1 set all. And then lost another tie break in the 4th. This is Fed, king of tie breaks, especially in a slam final against anyone not named Nadal.

US Open 2011 was just criminal. Dat Djokovic return tho...

Wimbledon 2008 - had virtual match point in the 5th set and 4-1 up in the 2nd set but lost 6-4. When does Fed ever lose 5 games in a row on grass, even against Nadal. Clutch serving to win 2 tie breaks and looked the likely winner in the 5th. He gets a virtual match point at 4-3 to serve for the match at 5-3 while in serve bot mode but fails. It doesn't help to know that the umpire was ready to call it a day since it was too dark. I think they were planning to stop at 8-8, right before Fed got broken.

08 Wimby he had his chances sure....that second set was a horror show...but that's just a classic changing of the guard and Fed did good to even take it 5, he wasn't really playing at a sustained high level anyways. No real regrets there, that match was gonna happen sooner or later. 09 AO was the real backbreaker...being up 4-2 30-15 in the first, having 5 BP late in the third...and then to play a poor tiebreak,

 

[Badlad4023]

He lost twice to Canas and Nalbandian that year too though. Going 26-7 at the Masters events takes away the luster of that Volandri win for me. Volandri was also no 18 year old qualifier like Gasquet, which is the only Masters loss I put up in the poll.

Reasonable or not, Federer routinely coasted at the Masters in his prime years so he could concentrate on the Slams. He went 4/5 at the Masters in 2005. So I don't think that loss to Volandri compares to Gasquet.

Daveed Nalbandian was Federer's boogeyman for many moons