Which Clay Masters 1000 is best for Federer to play??

Which Clay Masters 1000 should Federer play if he decides to play one??

  • Total voters
    47
  • Poll closed .
D

Deleted member 742196

Guest
ak24alive said:
I hope he stays away from Dubai more than I hope he plays clay. I feel like defending the sunshine double is very important. Lots of points.
Also someone above made a fair point that he should only play clay if he loses a lot of points in the double. I think that it would be intelligent to do so.
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That’s a great point. If he should not manage to keep his sunshine double points then go for Madrid or RG to make up for lost points.

I’ve got mixed feelings about Dubai. He has these three minor tournaments he’s really committed to every year - Dubai, Halle and Basel - I wonder how he’ll manage them in coming years as his on court time becomes more and more precious.
 
Plamen1234

Plamen1234

Hall of Fame
Roger shouldnt play clay.It is not worth it.Why he should play RG and risk possibly injury which will stop him from winning Wimbledon - the most prestigious Grand Slam.I can understand if he havent won RG but he have
 
ak24alive

ak24alive

Legend
Hydrocella said:
That’s a great point. If he should not manage to keep his sunshine double points then go for Madrid or RG to make up for lost points.

I’ve got mixed feelings about Dubai. He has these three minor tournaments he’s really committed to every year - Dubai, Halle and Basel - I wonder how he’ll manage them in coming years as his on court time becomes more and more precious.
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That's a nice question.
Halle is great preparation for Wimby so that's that. He will keep sacrificing Paris Bercy to play Basel.
With Dubai I think he should decide it after AO each year. If fresh after AO go to Rotterdam and skip Dubai as its less fatigue for the double.
If not fresh after AO skip Rotterdam and maybe just go to Dubai or might as well skip both.
 
ak24alive

ak24alive

Legend
I Am Finnish said:
Federer can be the first player to complete the masters career but doubt he will play both mc & rome
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No matter how hard you and I wish that it is highly unlikely to happen. The guy isn't even playing clay for God's sake we can't except him to compete at Mc and Rome let alone win them both.
I think Novak has the best and most realistic chance to complete the masters career. He only needs one good tournament at Cincy. After that it's Nadal. He only needs one more good HC season. He can even do it this year.
 
J

JackGates

Legend
ak24alive said:
No matter how hard you and I wish that it is highly unlikely to happen. The guy isn't even playing clay for God's sake we can't except him to compete at Mc and Rome let alone win them both.
I think Novak has the best and most realistic chance to complete the masters career. He only needs one good tournament at Cincy. After that it's Nadal. He only needs one more good HC season. He can even do it this year.
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I think he will do it. Karma owes Federer for his bad luck with two younger rivals and the racket and the slowing down of the surfaces and those rivals failed to meet him at his best.

So, karma will make sure Fed either has 23 majors or beats Nadal in the RG final.
 
ak24alive

ak24alive

Legend
JackGates said:
I think he will do it. Karma owes Federer for his bad luck with two younger rivals and the racket and the slowing down of the surfaces and those rivals failed to meet him at his best.

So, karma will make sure Fed either has 23 majors or beats Nadal in the RG final.
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23 majors more likely.
 
Neil_Fedfan

Neil_Fedfan

Rookie
I Am Finnish said:
Federer made errors on both mp's or was Nadal to clutch?
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One was a bad FH miss (the court was open to hit a winner) and I switched off the TV after that. Never rewatched the highlights again although the match quality was top-notch (a bit below the 2005's final but still great). That match still remains the most heartbreaking to me (greater than Wimbledon '08). Nadal was extremely clutch though after that, didn't give any room and chasing down everything.
 
ak24alive

ak24alive

Legend
Neil_Fedfan said:
One was a bad FH miss (the court was open to hit a winner) and I switched off the TV after that. Never rewatched the highlights again although the match quality was top-notch (a bit below the 2005's final but still great). That match still remains the most heartbreaking to me (greater than Wimbledon '08). Nadal was extremely clutch though after that, didn't give any room and chasing down everything.
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Idk if there's a bigger heartbreak than Wimby '08 and AO '09.
 
ibbi

ibbi

G.O.A.T.
It's an interesting one. Monte Carlo would make sense as its first thus gives him more recovery time for bigger tournaments later, and as it isn't mandatory would presumably offer up a slightly less strong field, which for someone who hasn't played on clay in a couple of years could help. That said, I think it's also the slowest, which is maybe not such a good thing.

Madrid is quicker, and he's already won there a couple of times (even if one was blue clay), so that would make sense.

Rome is probably the most prestigious tennis tournament he has not won, so romantic reasons could tip that way, also as it is last he might be able to take advantage of tired guys :D and it may be the lowest bouncing of the 4 too, so it has that going for it.

There's an argument to be made for all of them, but if in your proposition he's going to play Roland Garros too, then I'd say you'd have to eliminate Rome as it's too close. I guess Madrid is the one, even if there's more kick up there with the altitude than he probably wants.
 
MasturB

MasturB

Legend
ak24alive said:
That doesn't mean he is fine to play Halle before Wimbledon when he has played Rome before RG.
I don't think Rome before RG is the problem. Rome + RG + Halle + Wimbledon is imo.
Hope you see my point.
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If he makes it to the last half week of Roland Garros he will skip Stuttgart anyways.

My goodness peeps.

He played a full clay schedule in 15. MC, Madrid, Rome, RG. He played Halle and Wimby.

Until he played Novak he didn't drop a set and didn't get broken all tournament. It wasn't fatigue in that match as to why he lost.

Please stop thinking his body are tree branches about to snap.
 
ak24alive

ak24alive

Legend
MasturB said:
If he makes it to the last half week of Roland Garros he will skip Stuttgart anyways.

My goodness peeps.

He played a full clay schedule in 15. MC, Madrid, Rome, RG. He played Halle and Wimby.

Until he played Novak he didn't drop a set and didn't get broken all tournament. It wasn't fatigue in that match as to why he lost.

Please stop thinking his body are tree branches about to snap.
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I see your point but he said himself that if he has played less and is fresh he has his best chances to win.
 
Nostradamus

Nostradamus

Bionic Poster
ak24alive said:
Let's say Roger decides to play a clay Masters 1000 and Roland Garros in 2018.
Considering the light schedule he wants and the court conditions and other factors such as his history at the tournaments which clay Masters1000 tournaments should he play??
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do you want roger to get injured ? is that what you want ? fastest clay is best for him like madrid
 
chjtennis

chjtennis

G.O.A.T.
ak24alive said:
How cool would that be if he wins RG without any match practice and beat Nadal in 5 in the final.
Don't kill me its just Fanboy Fantasy.
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Come on. After 2 weeks of grueling clay tennis at FO, he will have to prepare for Halle and Wimbledon. If he loses early at RG, Fed may even want to play Stuttgart to be perfectly ready for Wimby. Federer will take Wimbledon into account on whatever decision he makes about clay season. Playing a clay M1000 + RG and then Halle + Wimby will be too much for his body and he knows that. Madrid? That's a very different clay event to RG so what's the point? Also, Madrid + RG + Halle + Wimbledon is 6 weeks of tennis in 10 weeks(Rome makes it even worse - 6 weeks of tennis in 9 weeks). I don't think Federer will contemplate on that kind of schedule, with 9th Wimbledon title in the back of his mind. If he enters RG without any lead ups, I think his attitude will be like "if I do well, I'll I'll take it. If not, too bad, I'm concentrating on Wimbledon.' He won't be thinking too much about winning RG, but will just do his best and see how far he can go. If opportunity arises so that he gets any chances of winning, then he'll go all out, but he won't invest too much on RG. Playing Madrid or Rome and wasting energy will jeopardize his chances for the grass season, for sure. If he plays Barcelona or Istanbul, however, he will have plenty of rest before RG so I think he can do that. Still, I'm not him, so he may think differently.
 
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D

Deleted member 742196

Guest
chjtennis said:
Come on. After 2 weeks of grueling clay tennis, he will have to prepare for Halle and Wimbledon. If he loses early at RG, Fed may even want to play Stuttgart to be perfectly ready for Wimby. Federer will take Wimbledon into account on whatever decision he makes about clay season. Playing a clay M1000 + RG and then Halle + Wimby will be too much for his body and he knows that. Madrid? That's a very different clay event to RG so what's the point? Also, Madrid + RG + Halle + Wimbledon is 6 weeks of tennis in 10 weeks. I don't think Federer will contemplate on that kind of schedule, with 9th Wimbledon title in the back of his mind. If he enters RG without any lead ups, I think his attitude will be like "if I do well, I'll I'll take it. If not, too bad, I'm concentrating on Wimbledon.' He won't be thinking too much about winning RG, but will just do his best and see how far he can go. Playing Madrid or Rome and wasting energy will jeopardize his chances for the grass season, for sure. If he plays Barcelona or Istanbul, however, he will have plenty of rest before RG so I think he may just do that. Still, I'm not him, so he may think differently.
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Yip. I can dig the idea of either Madrid OR RG direct (not both) come what may.

Hang on, @ak24alive made such a fanboy fantastic statement above I’m now inclined to RG.

To answer the OP: None.

Fed drops Miami and plays RG2018.

He can high altitude train in the Swiss Alps between them - seemed to do him quite well frollicking about in the snow last year. Er, sort of like Rocky.


Federer has become a bit like the gnarly wise old puncher that won’t go away. No matter how many big losses he keeps getting up for the big fight. More than anything these last few years, the heart Federer has shown has impressed me most. Even his fans, myself included, didn’t think he had this in him. And now look at us, we’re all dreaming again with him.
 
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Steve0904

Steve0904

Talk Tennis Guru
MasturB said:
If he makes it to the last half week of Roland Garros he will skip Stuttgart anyways.

My goodness peeps.

He played a full clay schedule in 15. MC, Madrid, Rome, RG. He played Halle and Wimby.

Until he played Novak he didn't drop a set and didn't get broken all tournament. It wasn't fatigue in that match as to why he lost.

Please stop thinking his body are tree branches about to snap.
Click to expand...

I agree with this, as you know. I don't see the point of him playing any clay at this point though. People that think he can win RG are quite honestly delusional, and that's what he's playing for now. To win. If he's playing to make deep tournament runs and lose in the SFs while playing on his worst surface then he's more stupid than I thought.

And if there's any truth to the idea that he feels instability in the knee while playing on clay then his decision should be ridiculously easy.
 
D

Deleted member 742196

Guest
Feather said:
Rome 2006 hurts :(
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I’d love a rematch of Rome between the two. I don’t think Fed would foolishly try to outwrestle Nadal from behind the baseline ever again. Took a decade but he’s learned that lesson.
 
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I Am Finnish

I Am Finnish

Bionic Poster
It is safe to say Federer wont play 3 Clay masters + RG


1. 1 master + RG
2. 2 masters + RG
3. RG
4. Other (example Istanbul + master + rg)
5. None
 
mike danny

mike danny

Bionic Poster
I still think Fed will not play clay. And I don't want him to do it.

All the improvements and tweaks he has done to his game work perfectly on grass and HC. And he has revamped his game to maximize his chances on those 2 surfaces.

He will have to play a completely different game for clay because the one he has employed since last year just won't be effective. So why completely chance a game that has brought him so much success for just one surface that doesn't benefit him because of age anyway. Federer IMO would be stupid to play on clay.
 
Feather

Feather

Legend
mike danny said:
I still think Fed will not play clay. And I don't want him to do it.

All the improvements and tweaks he has done to his game work perfectly on grass and HC. And he has revamped his game to maximize his chances on those 2 surfaces.

He will have to play a completely different game for clay because the one he has employed since last year just won't be effective. So why completely chance a game that has brought him so much success for just one surface that doesn't benefit him because of age anyway. Federer IMO would be stupid to play on clay.
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Agree completely! He is a favorite at three majors at age 36. Seriously, what more you need?
 
MasturB

MasturB

Legend
Steve0904 said:
I agree with this, as you know. I don't see the point of him playing any clay at this point though. People that think he can win RG are quite honestly delusional, and that's what he's playing for now. To win. If he's playing to make deep tournament runs and lose in the SFs while playing on his worst surface then he's more stupid than I thought.

And if there's any truth to the idea that he feels instability in the knee while playing on clay then his decision should be ridiculously easy.
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He said this about his knee post-surgery in 2016. He said it briefly last year but I think that had more to do with him accumulating 4000 pts after Miami last year and focusing on #8. If he didn't do as well in Sunshine or even not win AO he plays clay.
 
J

JackGates

Legend
mike danny said:
I still think Fed will not play clay. And I don't want him to do it.

All the improvements and tweaks he has done to his game work perfectly on grass and HC. And he has revamped his game to maximize his chances on those 2 surfaces.

He will have to play a completely different game for clay because the one he has employed since last year just won't be effective. So why completely chance a game that has brought him so much success for just one surface that doesn't benefit him because of age anyway. Federer IMO would be stupid to play on clay.
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But it will be tempting even for him. To have a better chance for being nr.1. Also, to test if his game can translate on clay and if maybe he can beat Rafa there.

Fed has more to gain on clay than to lose, if he fails, ok who cares, he can still skip RG or pull out and hey no shame if he loses to RAfa.

But, if Fed wins, he will become a god, really. I think he will play masters to test the waters and if he wins it, he will play RG, otherwise, I think he will skip it.
 
Steve0904

Steve0904

Talk Tennis Guru
MasturB said:
He said this about his knee post-surgery in 2016. He said it briefly last year but I think that had more to do with him accumulating 4000 pts after Miami last year and focusing on #8. If he didn't do as well in Sunshine or even not win AO he plays clay.
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I understood why he played on clay in 2014 and 2015 tbh. He made the MC Final in 2014. It was after a disastrous 2013 and he was getting used to a new racquet. It kind of made sense. Even in 2015 he made the Rome finals and Nadal was in terrible form. Theoretically, if he beat Wawrinka and Murray beat Djokovic he may have won RG. At least the chance was there.

But I don't see Federer's current game working well on clay at all, and I don't see the point of him playing any clay events. It just doesn't make one bit of sense to me, especially after he won Wimbledon last year by doing that. It might not be the reason he won Wimbledon. He may have won it regardless, but why take that chance?

If he plays on clay he should be playing to win RG IMO, which I don't think is possible or at least it's not a percentage play for him at this point. He shouldn't be playing to win Madrid or MC or Rome, or make the SFs or even finals at RG. All he should be concerned about is giving himself the best shot at winning Wimbledon and the USO, and right now that means skipping clay entirely. It's not that he can't play on it because he'll snap like a twig. There's just no point to it.
 
E

Enigma_87

Professional
How is that even a question? He always feels best at Madrid, has 2 titles there and is the fastest clay out there, along with more favorable altitude conditions.

The problem is that he doesn't feel well on clay, so if that jeopardizes his chances on grass and the USO I hope he skips it..
 
kevaninho

kevaninho

Hall of Fame
ak24alive said:
Both were big errors. It seems he was searching too hard for the winner. Both Fed and Nad played brilliantly though.
Watch for yourself.
It's a highly entertaining clip:
Click to expand...

That's a small clip that demonstrates how good Fed was on the dirt. People still downplay how great he was. He almost took out the best ever on clay there, and Nadals form then was right up there on clay that year IMO.
 
FHtennisman

FHtennisman

Professional
Won't be voting because he shouldn't be playing clay just for the sake of it, unless he believes he can win RG - why just play it when it it will cut into grass court preparation?
 
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