What this French Open meant to me as far as Federer

[jukka1970]

Quite honestly, i'm just proud of Federer for all he did. So he didn't win, kind of hard to when you're playing arguably the best claycourter of all time, and a player that can breakdown Federer's backhand.

But I saw something in Federer that I haven't seen for years, and have never seen of him at the French Open. He actually wasn't stubborn this time, and was playing agressive. True, he shouldn't have lost the 1st set, but he stayed out there. Aside from the 4th set, Federer was at least pushing Nadal and the scores reflect it. He even forced a 4th set, and lets face it at 2-4 down, 2 sets down, he could have easily just went, nah the hell with it, I know he's going to win it, I've got my FO title and nothing left to prove. I think this is the best that Federer's ever played at the French Open. Obviously his win for his 1 FO was monumental, but he was having trouble through the early rounds, and was practically out of it with Haas.

And on the way to the final he ended Djokovic streak. He may not be feared by everyone or the favorite all the time, but he's proven that's he's not going anywhere anytime soon. And that this 29 year old can still hang with the younger ones, and still win a slam. Oh and he's made the final at each slam at least 5 times. Nadal may have Fed's number, but Fed still has all the incredible records and streaks.

 

[roundiesee]

Yes, agreed. Federer fans should not feel too bad. He has had a wonderful 2 weeks where he showed he can still hang with the young ones. In the end Nadal was just too good on clay and he deserves the title.

 

[Cup8489]

To me, it was a relief to see him playing this well. The best he's ever done against Nadal at Roland Garros, by far. I mean hell, going into that 4th set, It was dead even. Bad luck for fed to fall apart a bit mentally in the 1st...


This match was WAY winnable, and I'M glad thats the case. He's still in the mix, in a big way.at 29, almost 30, he provides the closest contest against Nadal that he's ever done at the French? I dont see him falling apart.. and I think he's a strong favorite for Wimbledon. I do think he should skip Halle so his back doesnt get worn out like last year, but if he plays wimbledon like he played this tournament, who could stop him, honestly?

 

[caesar66]

I think it brings a lot of hope for fed. What I think he needs to do though is really amp up the emotion. When he was playing Djokovic he almost looked mad-like "how dare you bring your little streak to me here." he wanted to WIN. I'd like to see him do this against everyone, especially nadal. Against most he just assumes he'll win, but against nadal he just seems sort of timid. If he played the first set today like he did in the final set against Djokovic, he might have won the set and perhaps the match. He seems to alternate between timid and aggressive. I'd like to see him just go out guns hot and really try to take it to Nadal. It's almost likehe plays pissed at Djoker because they haven't always gotten along, but against Nadal it seems like he respects him too much to be as intense. He did do a much better job today though about being aggressive against Nadal-I just Think it was too little to late.

 

[bjorn23]

I do think he should skip Halle so his back doesnt get worn out like last year, but if he plays wimbledon like he played this tournament, who could stop him, honestly?

Nadal might be too much for rog, even on grass

 

[zagor]

To me, it was a relief to see him playing this well. The best he's ever done against Nadal at Roland Garros, by far. I mean hell, going into that 4th set, It was dead even. Bad luck for fed to fall apart a bit mentally in the 1st...


This match was WAY winnable, and I'M glad thats the case. He's still in the mix, in a big way.at 29, almost 30, he provides the closest contest against Nadal that he's ever done at the French? I dont see him falling apart.. and I think he's a strong favorite for Wimbledon. I do think he should skip Halle so his back doesnt get worn out like last year, but if he plays wimbledon like he played this tournament, who could stop him, honestly?

Nadal,if Fed shows nerves like he did when he had to close out the 1st set or that craptacular tiebreak he played in 2nd set(2 FH UE,2 2nd serves returns in the net and a mishit overhead).

Fed's level of play was high(and very enjoyable to watch)the whole tournament and if he's physically OK he has a good shot at Wimbledon but if he faces Nadal there is no doubt in my mind Nadal would be the favourite again.

If Fed could show the same mental composure and passion against Nadal as he did against Novak in the SF I would have favoured him to beat Nadal on grass this year all other things being equal but let's face it he most likely won't.

 

[tata]

To be honest, he couldn't have played better under the circumstances. That first set was just first strike tennis that Fed should play all the time. Too bad he let it get away. That really should have been his and shouldve went 5 sets.

 

[wangs78]

Frankly I think Fed has always had the game to beat Nadal on clay. Except in 2008, Roger's always taken a set off of Nadal in the final and then fell apart. This time he ALMOST took a set (being up 5-2), fell apart, then put himself back together to force a fourth set. He has the skills, the strokes, the movement to beat Nadal. He just doesn't have the mental resilience. You can almost see him wilt mentally out there on the red clay. Credit to Rafa for always playing every point like there's no tomorrow. He plays without fear of losing and so wears his opponents down. It's a huge pity because if not for Rafa, Roger would clearly be the GOAT and probably will be the GOAT forever. Without Rafa Roger would be at at least 20 Slams. Can't see ANYONE ever beating that. Oh well.

 

[Colin]

Hear, hear! I'm quite proud of Fed, too. He's my favorite player and I didn't think he'd make it past the semis. I hoped it wouldn't be a straight-sets loss, then he provides the best match of the year (one of the best semis ever?), pulling out his magic after nearly two weeks of sublime play to end Novak's run and deny him No. 1.

Then I worried it would be a beatdown in the final and he surprises me by playing sublimely in the first set. This was the first French match they played you felt Fed had a chance. So it was all positives, despite the outcome. In fact, I think most would say that start to finish that Federer played the better tournament. Nadal played best when it counted, so congrats to him. But he should definitely watch out at Wimbledon if Fed played this well against him at the French Open.

I think it's quite exciting with three big players in the picture (and the point gaps seem to be disappearing).

 

[Sharpshooter]

Nadal,if Fed shows nerves like he did when he had to close out the 1st set or that craptacular tiebreak he played in 2nd set(2 FH UE,2 2nd serves returns in the net and a mishit overhead).

Fed's level of play was high(and very enjoyable to watch)the whole tournament and if he's physically OK he has a good shot at Wimbledon but if he faces Nadal there is no doubt in my mind Nadal would be the favourite again.

If Fed could show the same mental composure and passion against Nadal as he did against Novak in the SF I would have favoured him to beat Nadal on grass this year all other things being equal but let's face it he most likely won't.

Don't forget Nadal showed a lot of nerves too, at the start he was mis-hitting everything and that's how Fed got his first set lead in the first place. Second set, the rain delay threw Rafa's concentration off and he was just pushing in first serves because he was too nervous to to use the second serve and then when up 4-2 in the third he played one of his worst service games for the tournament and allowed Fed to get back in and build enough momentum to take the 3rd set.

So I'm just saying Fed didn't hand anything to rafa with nervous play because he got it all back in return from rafa's nervous play. It kind of evened out in the end.

They were in a very important GS final (Fed hasn't been there in a while and Rafa was going for Borg's record) and they are human, if you think Fed's going to play a GS final against Nadal without nerves you're dreaming, I think a lot of Fed fans are expecting too much of him.

 

[Sartorius]

Federer is perhaps the only accomplished athlete I can think of whose good results can be instantly, and unfairly given a bad spin. You can already see it in the articles going around today.

Simple reality is, he doesn't have to beat Nadal at Roland Garros. He never had. This sport doesn't dictate that you have to beat certain players, and a tennis player's accomplishments does not disappear when he gets beaten by an other certain player.

He's already achieved so much in the game, yet he's still going strong. To me, it really feels silly to question whether this was a good or bad tournament for Federer. He made the finals. And he actually set another record doing just that, so believe it or not, this tournament was actually another good moment for his career, not a bad one.

 

[zagor]

Don't forget Nadal showed a lot of nerves too, at the start he was mis-hitting everything and that's how Fed got his first set lead in the first place. Second set, the rain delay threw Rafa's concentration off and he was just pushing in first serves because he was too nervous to to use the second serve and then when up 4-2 in the third he played one of his worst service games for the tournament and allowed Fed to get back in and build enough momentum to take the 3rd set.

So I'm just saying Fed didn't hand anything to rafa with nervous play because he got it all back in return from rafa's nervous play. It kind of evened out in the end.

They were in a very important GS final (Fed hasn't been there in a while and Rafa was going for Borg's record) and they are human, if you think Fed's going to play a GS final against Nadal without nerves you're dreaming, I think a lot of Fed fans are expecting too much of him.

It's too much expecting him to get atleast one 1st serve in when he's serving for the first set in a slam final? Of course Nadal showed some nerves as well and overall I didn't think he played his best tennis but that 1st set was crucial for Fed to have a fighting chance and IMO he blew it,Nadal is always tough to put away no doubt but I blame this one(failing to close the 1st set) on Fed.

 

[The-Champ]

as a Nadal fan:

1. A way past his prime Federer can still hang with the best and even beat them at times.

2. Nadal needs to be closer to his peak to dominate the tour otherwise he could lose the some balkan trash at minor events as proven this year.

 

[Sharpshooter]

It's too much expecting him to get atleast one 1st serve in when he's serving for the first set in a slam final? Of course Nadal showed some nerves as well and overall I didn't think he played his best tennis but that 1st set was crucial for Fed to have a fighting chance and IMO he blew it,Nadal is always tough to put away no doubt but I blame this one(failing to close the 1st set) on Fed.

Would he have held serve if he got one 1st serve in? He most likely needed 3, those second serves (as you know) allowed Nadal to get confident about breaking him, so one 1st serve wouldn't have cut it. Fed had served pretty well until that point but the nerves got to him just like they got to rafa at the start.

 

[BreakPoint]

The French Open proved to me that Federer has what it takes to win another French Open and to beat both Nadal and Djokovic en route. If Federer would just get his head on straight and gain some confidence against Nadal, he could have won today.

 

[zagor]

Would he have held serve if he got one 1st serve in? He most likely needed 3, those second serves (as you know) allowed Nadal to get confident about breaking him, so one 1st serve wouldn't have cut it. Fed had served pretty well until that point but the nerves got to him just like they got to rafa at the start.

I think it was 30 all even with Fed just hitting 2nd serves in that game so even one 1st would have helped but still I get your point.If Nadal wasn't a bit shaky from the start(he did dump a FH putaway in the net to get broken)Fed might not have been able to take such a lead in the 1st place.The problem is I'm looking at it from the perspective of a Fed fan and I felt that winning the 1st was the only way he had a shot at winning the title.

 

[mandy01]

The French Open proved to me that Federer has what it takes to win another French Open and to beat both Nadal and Djokovic en route. If Federer would just get his head on straight and gain some confidence against Nadal, he could have won today.

I know.He played well and his backhand held up better than expected But that's the deal when playing Nadal.He's a human backboard that simply refuses to miss

 

[jukka1970]

Federer is perhaps the only accomplished athlete I can think of whose good results can be instantly, and unfairly given a bad spin. You can already see it in the articles going around today.

Simple reality is, he doesn't have to beat Nadal at Roland Garros. He never had. This sport doesn't dictate that you have to beat certain players, and a tennis player's accomplishments does not disappear when he gets beaten by an other certain player.

He's already achieved so much in the game, yet he's still going strong. To me, it really feels silly to question whether this was a good or bad tournament for Federer. He made the finals. And he actually set another record doing just that, so believe it or not, this tournament was actually another good moment for his career, not a bad one.

I couldn't agree more. And I fullheartedly believe that it was another good moment as well. As for the newspapers, well anyone can spin anything. I mean just look at how the US does things. We haven't had a strong player on the mens side in a bit, and the news on tennis at Roland Garros was all but dead in the US. Even with Roger ending Djokovic streak, and also with Nadal winning his 6th FO, it was a tiny link on the main msn page.

 

[Marius_Hancu]

Nadal might be too much for rog, even on grass

Several people might take Nadal out before the SFs. This won't be a gimme for him.

 

[jukka1970]

It's too much expecting him to get atleast one 1st serve in when he's serving for the first set in a slam final? Of course Nadal showed some nerves as well and overall I didn't think he played his best tennis but that 1st set was crucial for Fed to have a fighting chance and IMO he blew it,Nadal is always tough to put away no doubt but I blame this one(failing to close the 1st set) on Fed.

But I think we're all forgetting that even if Federer pulled out the first set, it doesn't mean the title was his. He's won the first set before, and lost the title. I'm sure we all remember the trading of breadsticks in the first two sets years ago. But I do agree, he should have pulled out the first set. But even so, what really mattered was that he stuck in, and still played aggressive. And I couldn't be prouder.

 

[Bobby Jr]

Well... one thing this FO performance shows is Paul Annacone is starting to show his skill at getting Roger back to the things he does well and playing to win (rather than to not lose).

His match vs Djokovic was one of the most satisfying matches I've seen from Roger in over a year. He wasn't all-out dominant from go to whoa but he showed, again, why his game is still fundamentally better than anyone else's - save for Nadal on slower surfaces. On most faster courts that would have been a convincing win to Federer. He knows it and so do Nadal, Djokovic and their coaches if they're as smart as they look.

 

[Spider]

Federer will struggle to beat Nadal on grass. He won't do it. He will be praying for Murray or Djokovic to beat Nadal before the final.

 

[stringertom]

Nostrodamus You Are Not!

Federer will struggle to beat Nadal on grass. He won't do it. He will be praying for Murray or Djokovic to beat Nadal before the final.

The draw isn't even out so how do you know if Murray can play Nadal b4 the final? Djok won't play Nadal b4 the final unless Wimby snubs Djok with a demotion from #2 seed. As always, Fed will prepare for each match one opponent at a time and let the chips fall as they will. If it's 1 vs. 4 and 2 vs. 3 as it was at RG, then form will have to be followed for Murray to do Fed's bidding but he won't waste energy even thinking about that, let alone "praying" for it. I actually think he would prefer another crack at it. He didn't lose by much in '08, did he? Also, he would be the crowd favorite vs. Rafa, not so if Murray is across the net.

 

[Тинана]

OP, I copied and pasted my post from another thread.
-----
Fed, a graceful player, underestimated the power of Nadal on Clay. Fed's physical strength is slightly lower than Nadal in term of age. Fed's time almost is up for retirement. He is going to be 30 yr old before 2011 US open. His chance of winning USO title is slim"

 

[Bobby Jr]

Federer served the worst he's served in years at last year's Wimbledon and he made it to the quarters. The noticeable improvements (or intent) in his game at the FO were his serve and his return.

If he can maintain anything like that sort of quality he will smoke any of his peers at Wimbledon bar Nadal.