Fed in Paris: 2011

A bit late in starting, but two rounds completed without incident is the best he could hacve done; indeed, I really thought the 1st round would be a 4-setter, so well done so far!

Tipsy in the 3rd round brings back bad memories, really of the Slam that signalled the best was behind him in Australia 2008; the year of Mono and in my opinion the loss of the half step of speed. He'd also cruised in the first two rounds there so there are too many nasty coincidences for comfort, but I'd be more than surprised if he slipped up.

Ferrer looks the first serious challenge as he's having a great year but let's be honest, he really should be in the semi-final. Then it's almost certainly Djokovic and we have to see him as significant underdog there. I have a sneaky feel Nadal won't be in the final this year so that could end up being very big indeed.

Anyway, good luck to the Maestro as he attemts to compete a second complete career Slam!

Ferrer will certainly be a test for Federer. I think Feds backhand is looking much better then it did Australian Open and the later Hardcourt season Miami and Indian Wells. Feds leads 2-1 on clay against Djokovic. If the 2 were to meet, I would certainly fancy Federer. I think he is regarded the underdog here and it is amazing how he is going through the tournament without much significant mention by the press.

I think it's a good thing that there is no pressure from the media on Fed and if he quitely keeps on winning and building confidence, I feel that Ferrer will be blown off the court in a QF and I expect Fed to come through in 4 against Djoko. Tipsarevic will be a 3set win with one going to tie-break.

I agree Awesome. It feels strange that he isn't being spoken much about. I cannot remember a time like this when you hear nothing said about him.

I agree Legendkillar and I AM AWESOME. Although it is strange that Roger hasn't gotten too much press, I actually it may be good for him. He will not be under as much scrutiny and can continue to work on his game out of the glare of the media spotlight.

As for his chances in this tournament, I still do not like the look of his backhand. Although he has had an easy time in the tournament thus far, his backhand has still looked vulnerable at times. Coupled with his loss of foot speed, I think that more experienced opponents can expose his weaknesses more ruthlessly.

He may have rely more heavily on his serve to get him through this tournament.

kemet wrote:I agree Legendkillar and I AM AWESOME. Although it is strange that Roger hasn't gotten too much press, I actually it may be good for him. He will not be under as much scrutiny and can continue to work on his game out of the glare of the media spotlight.

As for his chances in this tournament, I still do not like the look of his backhand. Although he has had an easy time in the tournament thus far, his backhand has still looked vulnerable at times. Coupled with his loss of foot speed, I think that more experienced opponents can expose his weaknesses more ruthlessly.

He may have rely more heavily on his serve to get him through this tournament.

True he's shanked some easy shots on the BH, hopefully, no matter what happens here in this tournment, he works on his BH with Annacone, although I doubt that will happen. But yeah, I think the biggest bummer for him is the loss in a step or two in his speed, but hopefully he can live now to work around that deficiency. I just hope he can reach SF and give the Nole a tough match.

What's all this talk off Federer playing Djokovic in the semi final about?

Del Potro could quite easily destroy Djokovic tomorrow

sonic_boom10 wrote:What's all this talk off Federer playing Djokovic in the semi final about?

Del Potro could quite easily destroy Djokovic tomorrow

As much as I would like that to happen, it's very doubtful. But hopefully if it does happen, that should open up the draw for the Maestro, given that he gets through Tipsy, Ferrer lol.

I've always said, never write Federer off, he's just too good. whether he's playing Murray or Nadal, he still has the movement and grace of a ballet dancer on court, he never ceases to tire and I still thiknk his backhand is the best in the business, maybe not as flashy as Gasquets, but its constant and fluid and a weapon.

Jubbahey wrote:I've always said, never write Federer off, he's just too good. whether he's playing Murray or Nadal, he still has the movement and grace of a ballet dancer on court, he never ceases to tire and I still thiknk his backhand is the best in the business, maybe not as flashy as Gasquets, but its constant and fluid and a weapon.

Yes....I can see Fed winning Wimbledon this year : )

Solerina

I have enjoyed watching Roger at this FO open, more relaxed and the lack of press and winning streaks on him is good. Cant wait for the quarters and semi's!!

Thanks for setting this topic up again Mods!!

mm15 wrote:I have enjoyed watching Roger at this FO open, more relaxed and the lack of press and winning streaks on him is good. Cant wait for the quarters and semi's!!

Thanks for setting this topic up again Mods!!

I agree that that can have a positive affect on someone like Roger, but it is not nice to have the limelight stolen away from you for such a high profile player.

I'm not talking sour grapes here or anything, but I would expect he would like to be lauded to former levels, so this might give him an added incentive too.

Jubbahey wrote:

mm15 wrote:I have enjoyed watching Roger at this FO open, more relaxed and the lack of press and winning streaks on him is good. Cant wait for the quarters and semi's!!
Thanks for setting this topic up again Mods!!

I agree that that can have a positive affect on someone like Roger, but it is not nice to have the limelight stolen away from you for such a high profile player.
I'm not talking sour grapes here or anything, but I would expect he would like to be lauded to former levels, so this might give him an added incentive too.

I feel ya, the lack of too much notice is disconcerting, he is an amazing sportmans and a legend afterall!! Can you believe, I was was not impressed that he played in Suzanne Lenglen court, ha am such a fan! A former FO winner and seed three shold be noticed....I can take it though

C' mon Roger, up a break 4:1 , I hope that this will be an easy game

Fed cruises again. Tougher tests to come, but he's broken my nasty thoughts about the 3rd round parallell to AO '08 with that.

Stan next up, probably a bit knackered by his match and anyway Fed tends to own him.

Fed can win the FO, he'll need a lot of luck though. Who knows how much damage Delpo and Gasquet can cause from this point before Djoko gets to the semi?
And i won't be surprised if Murray beats Nadal in the semis. That would increase his chances too, wouldn't it?
But let's not forget he had a very good first week last year, and got overwhelmed by the man in form..

Anyway, i think his main goal is Wimbledon this year.

I think Fed has a great chance of wining this FO, he looks relaxed and is really playing good tennis, I cant wait for this match up (Djokovic vs Federer), this semi should be a fire cracker, the game of the tournament, I just hope we get to see this, these two have the all round tennis game that is great to watch . The winner of this game will be the ultimate winner I now feel. Murray was also my pick but his ankle niggle is not good at all and I dont know if he can win his QF!!!!

Monfils to get past first!

Djokovic v Federer does look the strong semi, but of course tennis is all about stone/paper/scissors match-ups, and while I give Fed good chances against Djokovic, and believe Djokovic will comfortably beat Nadal, the Nadal game matches up perfectly to best Federer

Like I say though, Monfils first. He's crazy enough for anything to happen.

Fed's shanking so much ffs.

I AM AWESOME wrote:Fed's shanking so much ffs.

No access to a TV, for Gods sake Monfils sounds even worse; is it windy or is it just one of those matches where they drag each other down to a terrible standard? I saw earlier in the womens matches the BBC said the wind was bad. Still, Fed does these rubbish matches these days.

bogbrush wrote:

I AM AWESOME wrote:Fed's shanking so much ffs.

No access to a TV, for Gods sake Monfils sounds even worse; is it windy or is it just one of those matches where they drag each other down to a terrible standard? I saw earlier in the womens matches the BBC said the wind was bad. Still, Fed does these rubbish matches these days.

To be fair it is very windy out there, they've had to stop playing for a bit just to let the gust go away but some of the quality of tennis has been shokcing from both. Hopefully this was Fed's shokcing performance that was due at this RG and now the real Federer can come out against Djokovic.

Monfils can be a horrible player to play as well; all inconsistency mixed up with stunning power and madcap errors.

Oh well, on to the semi-final. That match will become even bigger if Soderling pulled off a shock tomorrow.

I AM AWESOME wrote:

bogbrush wrote:

I AM AWESOME wrote:Fed's shanking so much ffs.

No access to a TV, for Gods sake Monfils sounds even worse; is it windy or is it just one of those matches where they drag each other down to a terrible standard? I saw earlier in the womens matches the BBC said the wind was bad. Still, Fed does these rubbish matches these days.

To be fair it is very windy out there, they've had to stop playing for a bit just to let the gust go away but some of the quality of tennis has been shokcing from both. Hopefully this was Fed's shokcing performance that was due at this RG and now the real Federer can come out against Djokovic.

Windy conditions aside, this performance from Roger does not inspire too much confidence.

Federer is going to have to play the match of his life on Friday.

bogbrush wrote:
No access to a TV, for Gods sake

You didn't miss much...it was horrible! Almost a total tally of 100 UE's..
But it's what you can expect when these 2 play under such circumstances. Fed's having problems in the wind for years now and Monfils' play becomes even more fickle than it usually is.
I didn't mind the errors though, the annoying part was that Fed got broken back in the second and third set. Fed can't be happy with the fact he had to play a tiebreak

Phew that was a tight 3rd set but Federer got through. He hasn't dropped one set yet and played nearly all good oponents and he can take some confidence from that.

I don't think Friday is "match of his life" stuff, that label would have to be applied to things like the Roddick semi-final before his first Wimbledon. Djokovic goes into it clear favourite, as any player at his peak should do against a guy about to hit 30, but who knows?

The fact remains that at this stage of his career it's still completely routine for him to be in a Slam semi. Amazing.

Not a Fed fan but I think his next match could pull off a surprise and possibly end Novaks run!

I'm so happy about this Fed win, he will play better in the semi, I feel. It was a good game I felt, not the best with the UE, but still a very solid win and good for the next battle.

can't wait for rogers match on friday against novak, as others have said all the talk is on novak going for the slam so hopefully roger saves his best for friday, if its anything like their us open semi final it will be a cracker

Yeah, the problem for Federer is that (i) Djokovic is better than he was at the USO, and (ii) this is on clay, Federers worst surface.

Still, could be a fun match. Personally I'd love it if Federer won because it would completely desroy all this tosh about the current standard of play being so amazingly high; Federer is a shadow of his best level and for him to be routinely making semis of Slams says it all to me. If he beat the current best player on his worst surface, as he approaches 30, the debate would implode.

I like the way he is playing now. I hope that he does not make too many mistakes and maintains the high percentage of first serve. I would want Fed to beat nadal at RG which is very much a possibility.

Although I would prefer to see a fed- murray final.

wow wrote:I like the way he is playing now. I hope that he does not make too many mistakes and maintains the high percentage of first serve. I would want Fed to beat nadal at RG which is very much a possibility.

Although I would prefer to see a fed- murray final.

Deep down Federer knows he can't beat Nadal at Roland Garros. He's had 4 opportunities at it and has been found wanting each time.

Although I would prefer to see a fed- murray final. [/quote]
Deep down Federer knows he can't beat Nadal at Roland Garros. He's had 4 opportunities at it and has been found wanting each time.[/quote]

You never know , there are still quite a few possibilities until we get all the results.

wow wrote:

Although I would prefer to see a fed- murray final.

Deep down Federer knows he can't beat Nadal at Roland Garros. He's had 4 opportunities at it and has been found wanting each time.[/quote]

You never know , there are still quite a few possibilities until we get all the results. [/quote]
If it's Nadal vs Federer you know, as well as I do, that Nadal will try to pulverize Roger's backhand into submission and the previous 4 occasions he has succeeded

Federer said the other day: "i wouldn't be here if i didn't believe i could win".
He knows he's no longer the top favorite but only he cares for 1 thing: to put himself into a position where he possibly could win. An he did that again.
Normally Djoko or Nadal will win here, but you never know.

Personally i'm surprised that the bookmakers consider Federer chances against Djokovic much bigger than Murrays chances to beat Nadal.

Murray has improved quite a bit on clay - his 'worst' surface. He almost took Novak out @Rome. Murray is quite capable of beating Nadal (despite the wobbles against Troicki).

If Fed can control his UEs and the weather cooperates (unlike the Monfils match), he can beat Novak.

Edit: He is in slam SF.

I think the Murray injury is crucial; I really fancied him for this until Troicki, but there you go.

Interesting that Fed/Nole is on 2nd; Djokovic may already be the #1 by that time.

The odds HAVE to be on Nadal/Djokovic, I think Murrays injury and Federers inconsistency are the keys, but if Federer turns up and rolls back the years anything at all is possible, but I do agree with sonic that a final with Nadal means one tactic throughout the match (as usual).

I have watched the 3 finals in which Nole has beaten Rafa. In all the matches he kept tkaing rafa out of position on his backhand side by playing angled forehand shots. In addition, Nole does have an array of attacking shots, strong serve and less errors. If Murray can do the same then he can beat Nadal. Fed can beat Djoko as he has done quite often in the past. Fed- djoko could be a five setter.

Fed rolling back the years. Whatever the outcome, great to see the "old man" of the top playing so well.

And superb sportsmanship from Nole, at such a critical moment.

It has been a fine performance from Federer. Everything has worked today and it has been a joy to watch. For me the backhand slice has been a delight and the net play superb. Hope Murray is watching.

Federer's nemesis (rival is not the proper word to describe Rafa), has foiled him again.

But credit has to go To Rafa to proving why he is arguably the greatest player ever to grace a clay court.

Well played Rafa.

As for Roger, chin up and on to reclaiming your Wimbledon title from your nemesis.

kemet wrote:Federer's nemesis (rival is not the proper word to describe Rafa), has foiled him again.

But credit has to go To Rafa to proving why he is arguably the greatest player ever to grace a clay court.

Well played Rafa.

As for Roger, chin up and on to reclaiming your Wimbledon title from your nemesis.

I'd say Rafael is the best.

Borg comes close, but his loss to Connors at the 1976 USO (when played on clay) makes Rafael the best.

Connors wasn't exactly brilliant on clay.

Wimbeldon- here comes Fed. An early exit by Rafa and Novak will give a chance to Fed to reclaim no. 1 ranking.

I'm so happy for Fed. Although he fell at the last hurdle, there's no shame in losing to the greatest clay courter ever. Federer will have regained some much needed life from this GS and now hopefully this can propel him to go further at Wimby and the US.

I think this las event has seen a massive turnaround in the prospects for Federer.

First, he ends Djokovic's great run, then he runs Nadal the closest ever at RG. All this as he approaches 30.

The signs are good for an extended career at the very top, and more Slams.

bogbrush wrote:I think this las event has seen a massive turnaround in the prospects for Federer.

First, he ends Djokovic's great run, then he runs Nadal the closest ever at RG. All this as he approaches 30.

The signs are good for an extended career at the very top, and more Slams.

Good luck Roger! I hope that Rafa gets Delpo and Raonic in his draw.

wow wrote:

bogbrush wrote:I think this las event has seen a massive turnaround in the prospects for Federer.

First, he ends Djokovic's great run, then he runs Nadal the closest ever at RG. All this as he approaches 30.

The signs are good for an extended career at the very top, and more Slams.

Good luck Roger! I hope that Rafa gets Delpo and Raonic in his draw.

Delpo isn't very good on grass and Raonic is an unknown on grass.

Federer fans clutching a straws

sonic_boom10 wrote:

wow wrote:

bogbrush wrote:I think this las event has seen a massive turnaround in the prospects for Federer.

First, he ends Djokovic's great run, then he runs Nadal the closest ever at RG. All this as he approaches 30.

The signs are good for an extended career at the very top, and more Slams.

Good luck Roger! I hope that Rafa gets Delpo and Raonic in his draw.

Delpo isn't very good on grass and Raonic is an unknown on grass.

Federer fans clutching a straws

But they both have the game to unsettle Rafa. Isn't this thread for Fed fans? What are you doing here, sonc?

I don't care even if Rafa does make it to the final, because if Federer brings his game to Wimbledon, there's gonna be no stopping him. Besides although Rafa has won 2 wimbies, I still don't rate him as a grass player.

Fed withdrew from Halle with a groin injury.

http://tinyurl.com/6fnz5te