USO 2018 R4: [2] Federer vs Millman

[Tennisgods]

I was sleeping
Wtf happened?

Fed crap. Simple as.

 

[ACE of Hearts]

Federer was extremely meek off the ground in the 5th set of the Anderson match. Not as error-prone but just as little pop, in far comfier conditions.

No that’s not true at all. He had his chances and blew them. At the end of the match he had even more total points than him. I think that match really screwed him badly.

 

[Meles]

Federer without his serve is not a top tennis player, no matter how much he fights. Nadal's game IS about fighting to a large extent.

49% first serves and 10 double faults. Folded up like a cheap suit in the tiebreaker to boot. Crazy aggressive tennis does not work in tight, tight matches as just a twitch of nerves and things start missing. Millman's raw aggression forced his hand to play this kind of tennis rather than grinding from the baseline.

Millman 1:35 am for the presser, no sign of bitterer.

 

[weakera]

already edited.

"the last 2 sets for fed also went to a breaker here FTR"

and fed was nowhere close to being bagelled ...

nadal had lost the first 2 sets 2,0...

wow, he took 1 set to a breaker. winning 8 games total....

yeah, but Nadal was fighting ...idiot !

I never said Fed wasn't fighting. Just that Rafa was of course fighting vs. berdy. Take a breath dude. You're not happy at the moment.

 

[Djokovic2011]

yeah but a lot has changed in 7 months and he's 37 and he is certainly not getting younger. yes overall can't complain, any year where he wins a slam is a good year but honestly at this point it just feels so far away and he really hasn't been able to produce solid tennis since maybe IW or w/e. atleast back in 2014/2015 he was loosing to the best player of that time. I want to be wrong ofc

I'll keep my fingers crossed for the decent Fed fans like you that you are wrong.

 

[70後]

seeing the number of winners and ufe he hit

 

[zep]

I think most people were fooled by the Kyrgios match. Yes Federer returned exceedingly well against Kyrgios from the second set onward but ROS can't win him a match against Djokovic or even Nadal for that matter. His last year's wins against Nadal came due to superior ground game. Without that he can't beat them and his ground game has been shaky all year. Wimbledon was his best chance because it rewards his serve more than other surfaces but he still would have lost to Djokovic because Djokovic neutralizes his serve. Federer needs his ground game back if he has to beat Djokovic/Nadal in slams, or he needs a draw like AO2018.

 

[ACE of Hearts]

What I don't get is why Federer exited court signing no autographs and then couldn't even walk down the tunnel. Looks like he took an immediate right into a room for a good cry. Will be interesting press conference. I'm not so sure he reacts this way when deliberately tanking to avoid Djoko.

You do know this match was almost 4 hours right?

 

[StrongerThanAll]

He didn’t tanke against Robredo because Rafa was next. Don’t you remember him saying to his camp “I can’t move”. Complaining about his back.


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[veroniquem]

I was sleeping
Wtf happened?

Fed got outclassed by the milkman

 

[FHtennisman]

I am a fed fan but enough with the humidity crap. It has been hot before and fed looked ok. That’s a ridiculous excuse.

You're probably another of those imbeciles that believe Fed tanked.

 

[abmk]

I never said Fed wasn't fighting. Just that Rafa was of course fighting vs. berdy. Take a breath dude. You're not happy at the moment.

I'm saying taking 1 set to a TB (not even winning that obviously) after being routed 2,0 doesn't mean Nadal was fighting considering the whole match.
1 set of taking to a TB ! = fighting in a match.

 

[ACE of Hearts]

I think most people were fooled by the Kyrgios match. Yes Federer returned exceedingly well against Kyrgios from the second set onward but ROS can't win him a match against Djokovic or even Nadal for that matter. His last year's wins against Nadal came due to superior ground game. Without that he can't beat them and his ground game has been shaky all year. Wimbledon was his best chance because it rewards his serve more than other surfaces but he still would have lost to Djokovic because Djokovic neutralizes his serve. Federer needs his ground game back if he has to beat Djokovic/Nadal in slams, or he needs a draw like AO2018.

Naw. He has shown to beat nadal already. Djokovic not so much. I question his competitive fire. He had no juice in Cincinnati. Maybe he has other things outside of tennis he wants to focus on.

 

[Rickenbacker4003]

The fact that you're talking about Uniqlo means that Uniqlo has succeeded.

When Fed retires and Uniqlo has to pay him top dollar for 9 years of inactivity of a 10 year contract who do you think won from that deal?

 

[abmk]

You're probably another of those imbeciles that believe Fed tanked.

he's definitely an imbecile. He believes fed also played great vs Anderson at Wimbledon.

 

[wangs78]

76 UEs in 4 sets. The guy clearly was going for broke and didn’t care about the result.

I think you’re wrong... Rog for sure cares about the result. But he wants to play on his terms and not tough out an ugly win. It was very clear by the second set that he had no confidence in his backhand. Not sure why as it looked fine in the previous match but his overuse of the drop shot was awful. This is the second straight Slam where he’s had some bad luck. Played on Court 1 at Wimby when he got bounced and today played a late match where it was still humid as hell (I am in NY so I know). Can’t expect a 37 yo who is tennis royalty to adapt well to playing at midnight in jungle-like conditions.

 

[zagor]

Please keep in mind AO and W suits him much better nowadays and is the only place he's really had success since he retooled his game and got to the top again in 2017. Wait till after AO to draw any conclusions

Yeah, it's a cliche statement but tennis is often about small margins. Give Fed conditions that allow him to rely on his serve more and hit through the court more easily with his FH and it's a whole different ballgame.

Of course he'll never be the main favourite again but he might still be an outside contender at AO/WImbledon for one more year, who knows.

 

[veroniquem]

I think most people were fooled by the Kyrgios match. Yes Federer returned exceedingly well against Kyrgios from the second set onward but ROS can't win him a match against Djokovic or even Nadal for that matter. His last year's wins against Nadal came due to superior ground game. Without that he can't beat them and his ground game has been shaky all year. Wimbledon was his best chance because it rewards his serve more than other surfaces but he still would have lost to Djokovic because Djokovic neutralizes his serve. Federer needs his ground game back if he has to beat Djokovic/Nadal in slams, or he needs a draw like AO2018.

KG is struggling with some injury that is not completely resolved. Heck, he would have lost to Herbert if Lahyani had not waved his magic wand.

 

[ACE of Hearts]

You're probably another of those imbeciles that believe Fed tanked.

As soon as Djokovic won i said Federer will lose to millman. What happened? I don’t see that hunger from him. A fiery fed doesn’t lose a match to the milkman.

 

[FHtennisman]

Yeah, it's a cliche statement but tennis is often about small margins. Give Fed conditions that allow him to rely on his serve more and hit through the court more easily with his FH and it's a whole different ballgame.

Of course he'll never be the main favourite again but he might still be an outside contender at AO/WImbledon for one more year, who knows.

If he brings the same sort of mentality/lack of focus to next year's AO - don't be surprised if he goes out before the semis.

 

[weakera]

I'm saying taking 1 set to a TB (not even winning that obviously) after being routed 2,0 doesn't mean Nadal was fighting considering the whole match.
1 set of taking to a TB ! = fighting in a match.

LOL. Hope you feel better soon bro

 

[Tshooter]

... It makes me question his competitiveness towards a match with Djokovic.....

Apart possibly from a lot of sponsor money which I'm not discounting, the reason he keeps playing is to win Majors which he has to expect requires getting past the top players including possibly Rafa and/or Djoker. The idea that he's putting all the work in to make a run but then wants to avoid Djokovic (or anyone else) is, frankly, absurd. He's 37. He lost. These unexpected losses will happen.

 

[Tennisgods]

That’s hog wash! A 37 year old Federer should beat millman. Federer just came off beating kyrgios in straight sets. Novak will now trounce millman.

Yes, but Novak is 31. He should beat Millman. Some days at 37, Fed would beat Millman. But Fed now produces at least one or two error fest matches per tournament and if the opponent is solid, Fed will lose.

You keep saying you get annoyed at people talking about age. Well i’m the opposite. Can’t believe that people are willing to ignore it.

Fed has fallen off a cliff this year. He’s not what he was, we can all see that. That’s the effect of time. Well, that’s what I think anyway.

Let’s wait and see, but I still reckon he will not win another ATP event of 1000 level or above in his career.

I believe the TTW way is to make reference to Helsinki? I’m calling it.

 

[Steve0904]

Rafa took the next set to a TB and showed a lot of fight that day despite many problems with his game. Horrible comparison.

Not really. Nadal might run side to side more and grunt loudly which gives the impression he's trying harder, but like I said, it's not as uncommon as you think. RG 2015 was a complete white washing, as were many of the losses he had in his early 20's on HC. Did he fight in those instances too, when he was losing 2, 2, 2, type matches to guys like Delpo, Gonzalez, and Tsonga?

 

[TheFifthSet]

No that’s not true at all. He had his chances and blew them. At the end of the match he had even more total points than him. I think that match really screwed him badly.

Who said he didn’t have chances?

He played timidly in the 5th set in far less humid conditions. After the first set he hit 52W/58 UFE on his best surface.

Clearly this loss is worse than the Anderson but he played poorly in that match too, played terrible against Novak, was erratic against Delpo, poor against Coric etc. This is not a new phenomenon in 2018. It might be the nadir of his year, but it is the same in kind.

 

[abmk]

LOL. Hope you feel better soon bro

oh, I will, don't worry.

doesn't mean I won't call your BS out for what it is -- BS.

 

[Rickenbacker4003]

Don't think they really gave him that much money but it does look like the right call by Nike to get out of the Federer business.

No kidding. Fed and his agent Tony Godsick totally fleeced Uniqlo into paying a guy who's practically out the door $300 million for 10 years. Nike did the right thing.

 

[ACE of Hearts]

Apart possibly from a lot of sponsor money which I'm not discounting, the reason he keeps playing is to win Majors which he has to expect requires getting past the top players including possibly Rafa and/or Djoker. The idea that he's putting all the work in to make a run but then wants to avoid Djokovic (or anyone else) is, frankly, absurd. He's 37. He lost. These unexpected losses will happen.

Why is it absurd? Novak Djokovic has had the best of him for a long time now in slams now.

 

[zagor]

If he brings the same sort of mentality/lack of focus to next year's AO - don't be surprised if he goes out before the semis.

TBH nothing would really suprise me at this point.

 

[zep]

Naw. He has shown to beat nadal already. Djokovic not so much. I question his competitive fire. He had no juice in Cincinnati. Maybe he has other things outside of tennis he wants to focus on.

He always wins hypothetical matches against Nadal, no surprises there. In reality, this level is not good enough to beat Nadal over 5 sets. He was at his absolute best when he beat Nadal on a much faster court in Australia and he still needed to go deep in the 5th set.

 

[weakera]

oh, I will, don't worry.

Time will tell

 

[DragonBlaze]

Fed's entire season may well have been different had he just converted one of his MP's against Del Po at Indian Wells. That was the beginning of all this mental baggage in 2018.

I don't know. Personally it just feels like his game is so lethargic, and he has no intensity. Does the tennis court even excite him these days? Cause it sure doesn't look like it. If not emotionless, he a grumpy old man.

Anyways I think his priorities have obviously changed a bit since his return last year - the focus during the latter half of 2016 was clearly all about tennis (recovering and returning to an elite level) which then reflected in that great patch of form from Jan-July 2017. Since then though it seemed he visibly relaxed and made tennis less of a priority (just my opinion and hypothesis, obviously no evidence to back me up). After number 20 and returning to number 1 it seems even more so to me - just looks like he's going through the motions in every match these days.

Don't think Fed is physically done etc, but I do think he needs to decide what the heck he wants. Perhaps he is under the illusion that this part time tennis player thing can work. It doesn't. Tennis is either 100% is priority or it's not at all. There is no middle ground, not when it comes to the level these guys play at.

Which is not to say I'm suggesting playing a full schedule or anything like that. I think the schedule is totally fine. But if he wants to actually compete with the best, the remainder of his time STILL needs to be centered completely around tennis (just look at how active he is on social media these days doing all sorts of random stuff which only serves as a distraction, and lets not get started on the UNIQLO stuff). Has he been training as hard as he was at the end of 2016? Again, sure doesn't look like it.

Don't think he is going to find satisfaction on court unless he completely rededicates himself to tennis. Which he may not want to cause let's be honest he's done it for long enough! But if not, he will have to accept this level of play lol. And that's not a reflexive statement post a terrible GS match loss. It's based on what he's shown since Rotterdam. As with anything in life, if you are going to do something, do it properly. This one step in the door, one step out strategy does not work...

Just my 2 cents. Would be interested to hear others thoughts.

those idiots can go to hell.

Edit : Looks like its safer to just watch highlights (or even full match) after you've heard he's played atleast decent rather than watch his match live.

Yea it's been pretty bad for a while now lol. Very few highlights since IW to be honest.

 

[Meles]

You do know this match was almost 4 hours right?

So you think he just needed to put his bag down right away and sit in a room by the court because he couldn't make it down the hall?

 

[Rickenbacker4003]

Don't think they really gave him that much money but it does look like the right call by Nike to get out of the Federer business.

How much do you think Uniqlo really gave him? And can I get a link to the source? Because I would like to send that link to a Fedfan that doesn't believe it.

 

[Otacon]

When Fed retires and Uniqlo has to pay him top dollar for 9 years of inactivity of a 10 year contract who do you think won from that deal?

It's always funny to see people on the internet giving lessons to a multi-billion dollar firm on how to do business.

 

[Djokodal Fan]

Some of the fed fans and their comments about fed tanking to avoid Novak is simply atrocious. Why would he do that? The guy is a 20 time grandslam winner for Christ's sake.

He played atrocious and lost. That's all. Top athletes do have bad days and this is one of those days. He'll come back strong for Oz open

 

[The Green Mile]

Oh dear. Went and played tennis half way through the 3rd, not really the result I was looking for to be honest.

Will need to catch up on the replay, but I'm assuming it was more of the same.

 

[Tennisgods]

Naw. He has shown to beat nadal already. Djokovic not so much. I question his competitive fire. He had no juice in Cincinnati. Maybe he has other things outside of tennis he wants to focus on.

Well if so can he stop wasting our time watching him on the competitive circuit and stick to Laver Cup?

 

[FHtennisman]

TBH nothing would really suprise me at this point.

I know and I agree, just so disappointing. I thought IW and Miami was a blip, but the choking in Halle and Wimbledon was ridiculous and he's never recovered from that.

Must be due to age, otherwise how else could he have had such a precipitous decline since Rotterdam?

 

[ACE of Hearts]

Yes, but Novak is 31. He should beat Millman. Some days at 37, Fed would beat Millman. But Fed now produces at least one or two error fest matches per tournament and if the opponent is solid, Fed will lose.

You keep saying you get annoyed at people talking about age. Well i’m the opposite. Can’t believe that people are willing to ignore it.

Fed has fallen off a cliff this year. He’s not what he was, we can all see that. That’s the effect of time. Well, that’s what I think anyway.

Let’s wait and see, but I still reckon he will not win another ATP event of 1000 level or above in his career.

I believe the TTW way is to make reference to Helsinki? I’m calling it.

The guy won a slam this year. Listen I know his age but he beats everybody else not name Novak Djokovic. Against other players he is competitive. So why is age a problem? He was up two sets against Anderson at Wimbledon. The guy has had a light schedule this year.

 

[Tennisgods]

Maybe Roger should take a few months off to work on a two handed backhand.

Ugh. Never. Rather retire than turn to that unnatural filth.

 

[abmk]

Well, I was following the live scores and that often infuriates me even more. When Federer plays as poorly as he did near the end of the 4th I basically just lose all tournament expectations I have for him. Was perusing this thread periodically and it seemed pretty well-established that he was terrible beyond words.

Based off what little I’ve watched it appears likely that he played worse in this match than the Robredo one, but I was tenfold more dejected after the latter.

it was worse.
I'm more furious now than I was back then...

not sure about dejection part, heh

 

[Rickenbacker4003]

It's always funny to see people on the internet giving lessons to a multi-billion dollar firm on how to do business.

Fed and his agent did business the right way. That's for sure. Uniqlo didn't need to spend $300 million to a semi retired tennis player to make their clothing more marketable. They were already doing good without him.

 

[jklos]

Someone post a link to feds presser if they have it.

 

[mightyjeditribble]

Oh dear. Just woke up and saw the result. Another bad day at he office I guess. Didn't really expect this after the Kyrgios match.

Ah well.

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[BeatlesFan]

Don't think they really gave him that much money but it does look like the right call by Nike to get out of the Federer business.

Nike is not out of the Fed business. Have you looked at his shoes?

 

[Steve0904]

Agree on the Djokovic slaughter, but then Djoker is 31 to be fair, Fed looks every days worth his 37 years at the moment. A world away from competitive at the elite sport level.

I very much doubt he was avoiding Djokovic. But I actually wouldn’t blame him if he was.

This is pretty much the gist of it. Too many people are getting bent out of shape about this. So now we can say Djokovic was avoiding Federer all of 2017 I guess? Or was he injured? I can't remember,

 

[icedevil0289]

Yeah, it's a cliche statement but tennis is often about small margins. Give Fed conditions that allow him to rely on his serve more and hit through the court more easily with his FH and it's a whole different ballgame.

Of course he'll never be the main favourite again but he might still be an outside contender at AO/WImbledon for one more year, who knows.

it seriously hurts my soul at what the uso has become. i'll never not be annoyed at rafa winning the uso returning from the vip box.

 

[JJGUY]

When Fed retires and Uniqlo has to pay him top dollar for 9 years of inactivity of a 10 year contract who do you think won from that deal?

lol, that's not going to happen, the endorsement contract has the "active/retired" clause to prevent that

 

[zep]

Nike is not out of the Fed business. Have you looked at his shoes?

Are they paying Federer to wear them? I don't think so. Why would Nike say no to some free advertising?