Why do you like your favorite player?

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Federer - because I just love how he plays, to me it's the best thing in the sport, it's the best thing in any sport really (Love my Milan, but Full Flight Federer is my number 1 sports passion). Fluid movement, attacking style with unequal highlight reels.

Also the storyline. Young crazy years, then has zen moment and goes God mode for half a decade, then gets older and not as great, yet still keeps up with the younger generation and is the most exciting player even in his twilight. The record breaking storyline too is just awesome.
 
Carsomyr said:
Well, if you get the lemons to try and address it through civil courts, know that I have an army of Associated Press attorneys chomping at the bit.:eek:
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I don’t know who bothers with traditional courts anymore these days. As real life continues to accelerate through communication technologies, the overwhelmed justice system just keeps slowing down. Just post it on facebook and let the crowd handle it in real time lol...
 
Is Djokovic the champion of the underprivileged and Federer the champion of the overindulged?
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Yes indeed, Fed giving tens of millions to starving kids in Malawi is the epitome of pampering the "overindulged." Why didn't anyone else think of that!?
 
I guess it's all down to our differences in taste more than anything.

I sort of stopped watching tennis after Sampras lost his no. 1 spot and just disappeared. Just wasn't interested in tennis that much without a player to follow, even though there were this new group of young talents who were highly regarded at the time - Roddick, Safin, Ferrero and Federer. Hewitt didn't get mentioned as the future big 4 that time but ironically, he became more successful than these 4 guys much sooner. Hewitt in early 2000s was a bit like Djokovic of now in the way that he was quite a dominant no. 1 even though he could only manage a couple of slams. He was a cocky character which I didn't like very much, and seeing the guy who I didn't like dominate the game made me turn away from tennis even more(now I like Hewitt but I didn't like him back then). I liked Safin for his powerful game but the guy didn't quite live up to my expectations. Anyway, that was the period when I would only watch occasionally and just followed the scores from big tournaments.

Then in AO 2004, I suddenly followed the tournament closely and saw this guy, Federer, who played unbelievable tennis and kept producing ridiculous shots from everywhere on the court from both wings. He had aesthetically pleasing style as well and I instantly became a huge fan. I had seen him before, of course, but didn't think he would become such a great player. I thought he was a typical media hype job because his fellow prospects - Roddick, Safin and Ferrero - were seemingly achieving sooner than him. His 2003 Wimbledon victory did change my perception on him, but I still had no idea if he would become that good. He had everything. With Sampras, I always had doubts when he played baseliners that he might not match them from the baseline. Also, Pete's BH was decent but was a liability against top guys, but Federer at that time could do anything. His BH was also a big weapon. I had never seen anyone more complete than him. That's how I became his fan and over the years, He made me very happy by completely dominating the game like no one did before.
 
@BeatlesFan: RF is an international brand and a multinational company. All his financial decisions, including charities, are made very carefully and are well informed. What are direct/indirect gains/losses in each of his ventures is difficult to tell for a general public and can’t be used as an indicator of his altruism. I am not saying that Djokovic is a better person than Federer, definitely not. I simply don’t know. In fact, there are some indications that RF is indeed an exceptional human being. As an example, a man who can have any women in the world is married to Mirka (don’t get me wrong, Mirka is a beautiful women, but she is not Miss World). Djokovic is similar in that regard. He married his high school sweetheart, someone who was with him when his destiny was uncertain. When he became reach/famous, he didn’t go for an upgrade, a thing that >90% of man would do. However, regardless of the reality, RF and ND inherently symbolize different things due to different lifestories and backgrounds. Charles Dance, a great English actor, once explained how his mother, a maid, voted all her live for Tories (The Conservative Party) as she thought that people of her class were not qualified to make important decisions (hence, she didn’t vote The Labour Party). What I am saying is that I find some similarities between maid voting for Tories and a Bulgarian/Serbian rooting for RF. In your world, it is like an American of Mexican decent voting for Arnold Schwarzenegger.
 
ABCD said:
@BeatlesFan: RF is an international brand and a multinational company. All his financial decisions, including charities, are made very carefully and are well informed. What are direct/indirect gains/losses in each of his ventures is difficult to tell for a general public and can’t be used as an indicator of his altruism. I am not saying that Djokovic is a better person than Federer, definitely not. I simply don’t know. In fact, there are some indications that RF is indeed an exceptional human being. As an example, a man who can have any women in the world is married to Mirka (don’t get me wrong, Mirka is a beautiful women, but she is not Miss World). Djokovic is similar in that regard. He married his high school sweetheart, someone who was with him when his destiny was uncertain. When he became reach/famous, he didn’t go for an upgrade, a thing that >90% of man would do. However, regardless of the reality, RF and ND inherently symbolize different things due to different lifestories and backgrounds. Charles Dance, a great English actor, once explained how his mother, a maid, voted all her live for Tories (The Conservative Party) as she thought that people of her class were not qualified to make important decisions (hence, she didn’t vote The Labour Party). What I am saying is that I find some similarities between maid voting for Tories and a Bulgarian/Serbian rooting for RF. In your world, it is like an American of Mexican decent voting for Arnold Schwarzenegger.
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Wow, way to over complicate things. It's tennis, you watch a sport or a certain player because you enjoy it, it's not about politics.
 
Here is my preference:

* Touch based game
* Technically perfect strokes
* Ability to take ball on rise
* Single hander
* Clean double hander
* Spot serving ability (Height up to 6ft 3)
* General offensive game
 
ABCD said:
@BeatlesFan: RF is an international brand and a multinational company. All his financial decisions, including charities, are made very carefully and are well informed. What are direct/indirect gains/losses in each of his ventures is difficult to tell for a general public and can’t be used as an indicator of his altruism. I am not saying that Djokovic is a better person than Federer, definitely not. I simply don’t know. In fact, there are some indications that RF is indeed an exceptional human being. As an example, a man who can have any women in the world is married to Mirka (don’t get me wrong, Mirka is a beautiful women, but she is not Miss World). Djokovic is similar in that regard. He married his high school sweetheart, someone who was with him when his destiny was uncertain. When he became reach/famous, he didn’t go for an upgrade, a thing that >90% of man would do. However, regardless of the reality, RF and ND inherently symbolize different things due to different lifestories and backgrounds. Charles Dance, a great English actor, once explained how his mother, a maid, voted all her live for Tories (The Conservative Party) as she thought that people of her class were not qualified to make important decisions (hence, she didn’t vote The Labour Party). What I am saying is that I find some similarities between maid voting for Tories and a Bulgarian/Serbian rooting for RF. In your world, it is like an American of Mexican decent voting for Arnold Schwarzenegger.
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Federer and Djokovic by themselves don't symbolize anything, they're just two guys that are insanely good at hitting a fuzzy ball over a net. You're talking about their PR/marketing manufactured images that I don't care about in the slightest (same goes for their personal lives and choice of life partner, not interested).

I became a Fed fan in his early days when he was just a very young talented headcase with only one title to his name (he was not an international brand in the slightest), I mainly liked his game because it reminded me of Rios (a Chilean player who acted like real jerk at times) and I found it very entertaining to watch, I never thought his talent would amount to anything more than one or two slams (at most). Safin and Hewitt I expected to dominate, Fed was lauded as an immense talent but mentally weak and erratic, I expected him to have an Ivanisevic type career at best.

The problem with people like you is that you observe everything through political lenses (which I personally can't stand), while I view tennis as escapism you're focused on whether a player is from Serbia, Bulgaria, Switzerland, Spain etc. to see if you should root for him or not. You're looking for a political leader and symbol of hope in a professional athlete that spent most of his life banging a tennis ball against a wall while I'm looking for someone to entertain/awe me with his tennis skills while I'm drinking a can of beer and watching my favourite sport on TV.

I am a fan of Novak as well but not because he's from my neighbourhood and he has so much in common with a regular guy me, I'm not gonna run into him in a grocery store and have a chat with him like we're old pals, I don't live in Monte Carlo and don't move in the same social circles. I'm his fan because he's the best ballstriker and returner I've seen since Agassi but with far better movement, athleticism and flexibility.
 
I liked Safin because of his effortless game, and I would have to watch his matches due to the unpredictablity of his game; there were no 'lock' wins, or sure losses. He could beat anyone and lose to anyone.
 
@zagor: Would you support Federer if he was a racist thug as long as he was “insanely good at hitting a fuzzy ball over a net”? Would you support Kyrgios irrespective of what he says/does as long as he continues to be a great ball striker? Do you think that Arthur Ashe winning Wimbledon was nothing different from anybody else winning Wimbledon. Would you agree that Mohammed Ali did not symbolize anything and that people loved him because he was a very good boxer?
 
ABCD said:
@Russeljones: I find quite interesting that a Bulgarian identifies himself with Federer (being someone's fan is a form of identification). Also, I noticed few Serbs on the forum that are Federer fans as well. Swiss and Bulgarian (in average) are quite different mentalities (not to say moral values as well). As Djokovic said after W15 "I am a Serb and he is a German (meaning Becker) and that is significantly different" (explaining why they needed time to gel). I like Djokovic as he succeeded despite being unwelcomed and unloved. Anybody who is underprivileged for any reason can identify with him.
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I am with you on the part that I tend to sympathise with him when he has to play with the crowd against him all the time. It was pathetic that the RG crowd just observed his win over Nadal in some sort of funereal silence. For all that, though, I would still root for Fed in spite of being from a third world country. It gets worse, I rooted for Sampras in the 90s. I have read your other comment in this thread too. I think there is a difference between somebody who did in fact make a political statement like Muhammad Ali and somebody who just happens to hail from a difficult background but is not necessarily political (like Djokovic). Doesn't Djoko park his wealth in Monte Carlo? From that standpoint, I don't see the difference between Fed and Djoko at all. And there's no point in hypothesizing about what if Fed was a vile racist. If he is at all, it's certainly not so that it is very much evident. I can't hold his relatively more privileged background against him, that sounds pretty ridiculous actually. And by the by, I am from a middle class family but my coaches are from a lower strata of society and to a man they rooted for Fed in the Wimb final (this year as well as last) against Djoko. What you don't understand is not everyone is distrustful of ALL people from the upper crust of society or, on the flipside, blindly trusting of people from the lower class. Curious, what country are you from? In India we have thieves (politicians by another name) from the ranks of the rich and the poor alike and one thing they do have in common is they make loads of promises to the poor and cheat them for five years after winning elections. So I don't find your argument very persuasive (re say maid voting for Tories). I guess at least some maids must have voted for Tories by the by for them to win elections?
 
Murray - I can relate to his characteristics - the one who get's down on oneself if one messes up, I'm a musician and nothing get's on my nipples than screwing up on guitar, self destruct, it's about the will to succeed with the ability you've got whilst understanding there's others more talented than you!. As for his game, it's irritating to watch for some but I enjoy the "Murray-Go-Rounds", it's meant to be torturous, arduous and as painful as sitting on many Cacti.

Djokovic, James Blake and Tommy Haas...their fight through adversity is an inspiration, in their cases adversity can be war, illness, injuries and comebacks, loss of loved ones, even looking after their loved ones.
 
For me it's all about Federer and Nadal!

Federer has such beautiful shot making and makes the game look so easy.

I love Nadal's crazy forehand and the spin he generates. He's against the norm and I just love watching him.

I'm not a fan of Djokovic but I dot really know why.... I can appreciate how good he is but I don't find what he does exciting. Same with Murray. To me a Djokovic vs Murray match is rather boring and I'll take it or leave it. But Federer vs Nadal.... Yeeeeees!
 
ABCD said:
@zagor: Would you support Federer if he was a racist thug as long as he was “insanely good at hitting a fuzzy ball over a net”? Would you support Kyrgios irrespective of what he says/does as long as he continues to be a great ball striker?
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As long as they kept that sheet off court then yes probably. I can see your point though, let's say if a player doesn't cross the line into being a complete (insert censored stars here) then I don't care about the particularities of his/hers personality or ethnic background, sexual orientation/life, political leaning etc. I'm not someone who's gonna hang in Fed or Djokovic news thread to look for pictures from their vacation or something and read their every interview but I'll definitely follow their every match if I can (against each other and individually).

In a relatively recent Isner-Kyrgios match thread I said that I'll root of Kyrgios despite the feeling that John is a much nicer guy because I like Nick's game a lot more. That kind of tells you where I stand.

ABCD said:
Do you think that Arthur Ashe winning Wimbledon was nothing different from anybody else winning Wimbledon.
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I'm sure it was for many people, however it means nothing to me (just being honest). From matches I've seen of him I think I would have been very much a fan of Ashe if I was born in his time because he had big all-court game and was a great athlete.

ABCD said:
Would you agree that Mohammed Ali did not symbolize anything and that people loved him because he was a very good boxer?
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Ali was heavily involved in politics from the earliest stages of his career and was forced to miss his prime years because he rebelled against the establishment that wanted him to support a war he didn't believe in.

You're comparing apples and oranges here. There's no comparison between Ali and Novak (or Fed) in terms of being a political figure.
 
forzamilan90 said:
Federer - because I just love how he plays, to me it's the best thing in the sport, it's the best thing in any sport really (Love my Milan, but Full Flight Federer is my number 1 sports passion). Fluid movement, attacking style with unequal highlight reels.

Also the storyline. Young crazy years, then has zen moment and goes God mode for half a decade, then gets older and not as great, yet still keeps up with the younger generation and is the most exciting player even in his twilight. The record breaking storyline too is just awesome.
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Couldn't have put it any better really.

I would add that I try to 'mould' my own game a bit after him (which is impossible with my talent, but still) and there's nothing sweeter than succeeding with a fake dropper or OHB dtl winner (love Wawa as well of course) - in general, I try and mix things up and play an all court game. Because I feel that's the way tennis is played at its aesthetically best. The chip and charge is fun too - and onwards I'll try and incorporate the charge and half volley as well.

btw, just found this interview with Fed from 2004, have a read: http://www.tennis-x.com/fun/federerfile.php

Sysyphus said:
Much like Octobrina, I like my favorite (Dimitrov) mostly for his looks.
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Haha, is she still here? Haven't seen her in a long time. Hopefully, she's working closely with Rafa's team to get him back on track.
 
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I like Federer for a multitude of reasons including: his amazing game, his professionalism and commitment to keep trying his best, his great attitude on the court (for the most part), his passion and love for tennis and his willingness to keep evolving his game.

To expand more on his demeanour on court; he always looks composed and if you tuned in to the match late, you can never tell if he is losing or winning. I know that people keep bringing back the Davydenko match at Ao10 to prove that Fed is a gamesmanship user just like Nadal and Djokovic but he is no where near their levels. In his long career, the amount of times he used perceived gamesmanship is trivial compared to his chief rivals and that's what makes me respect him, as he knows that this is a game and won't go at any cost to win a match.

Last reason is that due to his uniqueness in the top4, you can have great contrast of styles and he fights really hard, like in Wimby08 and Wimby14 against his chief rivals when he was down.
 
Chanwan said:
Couldn't have put it any better really.

I would add that I try to 'mould' my own game a bit after him (which is impossible with my talent, but still) and there's nothing sweeter than succeeding with a fake dropper or OHB dtl winner (love Wawa as well of course) - in general, I try and mix things up and play an all court game. Because I feel that's the way tennis is played at its aesthetically best. The chip and charge is fun too - and onwards I'll try and incorporate the charge and half volley as well.

btw, just found this interview with Fed from 2004, have a read: http://www.tennis-x.com/fun/federerfile.php


Haha, is she still here? Haven't seen her in a long time. Hopefully, she's working closely with Rafa's team to get him back on track.
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Haha, yeah, I haven't seen her in a long time. Probably prepping Rafa for the big title, yes. Or infiltrating the Fed/Novak camp....

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Very interesting the Fed interview you linked, btw. He seemed maybe a bit less self-restrained back then.

Interesting answers about talent, and how he wished he had the guts/skills to play dropshots (we can safely say he learned), and about always banging his head while asleep:confused::D
 
ABCD said:
@Russeljones: Complex issues; difficult to elaborate here. How many Swiss support a Bulgarian athlete? How many people from Asia support Manchester United and how many people from England support some Asian FC? How likely is that white supremacist would support Serena? If Federer was (for example) Pakistani, would his fan base be the same as it is now. One like or dislike a player usually instinctively, but there is always an underlying reason and a lot of influencing factors.
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The problem is you are looking for a value system that would form the foundation to a person's tastes. I don't think the love of sports is subject to such reasoning.
 
Nadal has everything-charisma, passion and unique style. He brings the best out of his opponents. Even when he is not at his best everyone knows that they have to bring their best to the table every time.

Tennis would have lost out big time if Nadal had chosen football over tennis.
 
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Sysyphus said:
Haha, yeah, I haven't seen her in a long time. Probably prepping Rafa for the big title, yes. Or infiltrating the Fed/Novak camp....

---

Very interesting the Fed interview you linked, btw. He seemed maybe a bit less self-restrained back then.

Interesting answers about talent, and how he wished he had the guts/skills to play dropshots (we can safely say he learned), and about always banging his head while asleep:confused::D
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was quite puzzled by the DS bit tbh. Remember him saying than in his hey day (2004-2007) he didn't regard it as a legitimate shot (@suresh) or something like that - or perhaps more of a cheap shot. At any rate, he didn't use it much but described it as something like not really tennis. And then he certainly learned it for his 2009 FO and has put it to good use ever since (though I still regret him hitting his DS out on SP up 5-2 in the FO final!!).

I found it as I wanted to check out Roger's interests in relation to @zagor 's and @ABCD 's discussion above. Remember him saying once that he was interesting in perfume, fashion, didn't read books but just magazines and liked cars and car magazines. Not exactly my interests to say the least, but still love his game.

(the interests I could find were 'cards, friends, music, PS, sports and stuff like that', which I'm more in line with).
@clayqueen, he brings the worst out in Fed ;):mad::mad::mad:
 
Chanwan said:
I found it as I wanted to check out Roger's interests in relation to @zagor 's and @ABCD 's discussion above. Remember him saying once that he was interesting in perfume, fashion, didn't read books but just magazines and liked cars and car magazines. Not exactly my interests to say the least, but still love his game.

(the interests I could find were 'cards, friends, music, PS, sports and stuff like that', which I'm more in line with).
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IIRC Fed didn't know who Sigmund Freud was when he was asked once. I mean, I love his tennis but just saying, there are much better role models to have than a guy who doesn't read books.
 
zagor said:
IIRC Fed didn't know who Sigmund Freud was when he was asked once. I mean, I love his tennis but just saying, there are much better role models to have than a guy who doesn't read books.
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That sounds like an unfair thing to say. Guy was single-mindedly devoted to being a great Tennis player. I doubt he had a childhood or an education like most people's. I think he makes for a great role model for an aspiring Tennis player.
 
The_18th_Slam said:
That sounds like an unfair thing to say. Guy was single-mindedly devoted to being a great Tennis player. I doubt he had a childhood or an education like most people's. I think he makes for a great role model for an aspiring Tennis player.
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Of course.
But some fans here act as if their favorite player is also a larger than life person. But in order to be that good at hitting a fluffy yellow ball, they need to pursue that singlemindedly and leave intellectual pursuits and stuff like that aside.
Nothing wrong with that, it just is how it is
 
I have no particular favourite but I probably get the most pleasure watching Federer. It just seems effortless.
But for sheer unadulterated joy- Santoro
 
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