Federer on Nadal

What to make of these comments by Federer?

http://www.eurosport.co.uk/tennis/federer-i-knew-from-the-start-that-nadal-would-become-better-than-me_sto5323207/story.shtml

I thought this was a joke. Still tuink it's a joke. Would need a separate link to confirm this madness.

If true though I can't think it's false modesty. PseudoFed didn't become a popular tag because Federer is one for making light of his talents. Would like him to expand on this TBH. Fascinating insight into psyche.

The summary at the end is spot on. I recall Federer saying once how he would wake up wondering if he could still hit all the shots.

Funny to think how even a guy as crazily blessed as him doesn't totally get it.

It is interesting that Federer doesn't say Nadal is better than him, he says Nadal is more talented than me. Which, is very complimentary of Nadal but it says something different than what the headline of the article says. I think he is trying to shake his reputation of Richard Shermanesque post match interviews, it is clearly a plot.

Being a huge Nadal fan, it feels nice to have the mighty Fed saying somewhat how I've felt about Nadal. I.e. That he is supremely talented. That being said, it is more of an unorthodox talent. Federer always had a more elegant therefore by extension "beautiful" looking game aesthetically. So it's very surprising to hear this from the lips of the Almighty Fed. I wonder how 'tennis purists' will look at these comments, for the record I think Nadal's tennis is beautiful to watch when he's in full flow. Fed's tennis isn't too shabby either. Jokes aside when Federer is in full flight, his game is arguably the most 'flawless' looking tennis ever seen, I just prefer Nadal's game.

Mafaveli wrote:Being a huge Nadal fan, it feels nice to have the mighty Fed saying somewhat how I've felt about Nadal. I.e. That he is supremely talented. That being said, it is more of an unorthodox talent. Federer always had a more elegant therefore by extension "beautiful" looking game aesthetically. So it's very surprising to hear this from the lips of the Almighty Fed. I wonder how 'tennis purists' will look at these comments, for the record I think Nadal's tennis is beautiful to watch when he's in full flow. Fed's tennis isn't too shabby either. Jokes aside when Federer is in full flight, his game is arguably the most 'flawless' looking tennis ever seen, I just prefer Nadal's game.

Exactly agree.
I love watching Nadal's game the most, the most thrilling, but Federer is also incredible to watch... especially live.

Had the pleasure of watching federer vs nadal at the WTF 2010, amazing watching them duel at the height of their powers. Something is definitely lost in transmission compared to watching live.

Nice of federer but The article is taking comments out ofcontext though.  The usual bad journalism.  If you see the whole interview- he's clealry talking in terms of what he felt his skill set was like as a teenager. That he didn't feel like he could come out as well as Hingis and nadal did at an early age. Talks about how he had to harness his talent and mental outlook and it took him longer than others like nadal.   Which he's said in a hundred other interviews.

He also never says "I knew nadal would become Better than me" the author makes that statement as If a quote from fed.  All fed says is he realized even when nadal was a young age that he would eventually become a #1.   That's a completely different thing.    No different than nadal a couple days ago saying Zyverev would be a potential #1 some day. Shoddy writer.

Yes, the title is definitely misleading, Federer said he thought Nadal would overtake him in the rankings at some point, that's not the same as saying Nadal would be better.

Mafaveli wrote:What to make of these comments by Federer?

http://www.eurosport.co.uk/tennis/federer-i-knew-from-the-start-that-nadal-would-become-better-than-me_sto5323207/story.shtml

My virus checker won't allow me to access this site labelling it a harmful website.

Elsewhere the following has been quoted from Federer:

“I can’t see myself as the kind of idols [Michael] Jordan were to me, they are so above all the rest, I feel like I’m not like them," he said.
"Maybe I am, but it’s weird. I can’t wrap my head around that..."
So that seems like he recognises he is unable to step outside of his own body and mind to evaluate himself in the context of others.  Perhaps once he has retired and matured his mind he will be able to evaluate his position in sport impartially.


With regard to Nadal it was clear to the impartial onlooker that Nadal was developing a tactic and style and consistency that was particularly effective against Federer - high bouncing heavy ball (top spun) to the backhand.  Studies have shown he was able to put an additional 1000 revs per minute on the ball compared to most others.  He was also a fluid mover, able to withstand tremendous forces in his joints, and had tremendous athleticism and enormous willpower.  In some of the later epics with Djokovic he would often grunt/screech like a baby girl such was the amount of effort he was putting into his shots and his bloody minded willpower.  It sounded like he was in pain.

PS: I think Federer, Nadal and Djokovic will all three be remembered as the greats in the sport of tennis. Nadal was more a clay court specialist who was able to translate his game to other surfaces, but chronic wear in his joints and tendons eventually caused a fall off on grass and then later the hard courts.

I agree the article headline is ridiculous to be sure TRuffin as you correctly point out Federer is not saying he thinks Nadal is better than him at any point. I merely draw attention to the fact that Federer states Nadal is more 'talented', which is at odds with many of Nadals detractors who would have us believe he only managed to win off clay by playing on 'green clay' and subsequently 'blue clay'... Which is ironic considering Federer had no problem with actual blue clay, while Nadal (not to mention Djokovic) had an aversion to the stuff

The usual bumfluffieries. 

Respect is alive in the game between pros which is a good thing.

Always interesting, and a tad touching, how in awe top sportsmen/women are of those who are superstars in another sport. You also sometimes get it with celebrities in general. For example when Mick Jagger met top England cricketers it was reported that it was difficult to work who was more in awe of whom. Happened with Elton John too, I think
Heroes have their own heroes, it seems.

Lest we forget though the praise is hardly one sided. Rafa has always spoken of Fed in glowing terms and has said many times he never professed to be as good as him.  Walking in his shadow for many years.
The mutual respect they have for each other is obvious which I have always found to be ironic given that their fans have for years been at one anothers throats.
Though having always been an ardent fan of Rafas I feel privileged that I have watched them both  play at their peak and have enjoyed their rivalry enormously

Haddie-nuff wrote:Lest we forget though the praise is hardly one sided. Rafa has always spoken of Fed in glowing terms and has said many times he never professed to be as good as him.  Walking in his shadow for many years.
The mutual respect they have for each other is obvious which I have always found to be ironic given that their fans have for years been at one anothers throats.
Though having always been an ardent fan of Rafas I feel privileged that I have watched them both  play at their peak and have enjoyed their rivalry enormously

Exactly

socal1976 wrote:It is interesting that Federer doesn't say Nadal is better than him

Yes he stops slightly short of saying he's not fit to clean Rafa's boots (or tennis shoes)

Haddie-nuff wrote:
The mutual respect they have for each other is obvious which I have always found to be ironic given that their fans have for years been at one anothers throats.
Though having always been an ardent fan of Rafas I feel privileged that I have watched them both  play at their peak and have enjoyed their rivalry enormously

Yes

I think Tenez must have fainted when he read this. I imagine he is still recovering even now.

I think there is some modesty at work here. Still, there's no denying Nadal has talent.

Personally I'd put Federer = Woods and Jordan on talent, and above Nadal.

I do think though that Martina Hingis was indeed more talented than Federer, I will give him that one.

In fact, there is or was probably someone more talented than any of them, who never even got out of juniors due to injury of choking or lack of commitment.

Here's a story for you.

Many years ago (around 1994) I went to see Wolverhampton Wanderers reserves v Man United reserves. I only went because it was Steve Bull's comeback game. The Man United side featured several players that would go on to be internationals including Scholes, Beckham, Butt and at least one of the Nevilles I believe. Scholes and Beckham stood out as two of the best players we'd ever seen in a reserve game, but the man of the match was Ben Thornley.

This guy was dynamic, with flair, dribbling, pace, and he swept in the winning goal. We were sat too far back to see his face and I genuinely thought for a while Ryan Giggs was playing in the reserves for some reason that day. He even had the same haircut.

Years later, and everyone agrees. At that point in their careers, Ben Thornley was a better player than Paul Scholes. Unfortunately, Ben suffered a major injury and was never the same again (not even close) and ended up playing for a succession of lower league teams.

Now, was Ben a fundamentally more talented player than Scholes, who happened to suffer an injury? Or did he just peak earlier?

Why are Hingis and Nadal and Becker waving slam trophies at the age of 18? Is it because that's what raw talent can do? Is Federer not winning slams until his early 20s because he had to practice more to get the same game? Or is it becomes some people just naturally peak later?

Henman Bill. Well you can think what you want but I agree with Federer