Roger Federer

[SirManchester]

I think she's spent most of his money on food.

Bingo. He can do much better. He's got to be on a leash or he has to be a really nice guy.

[Sapphire]

Or he doesn't trust the latest skeez to not use him for his money and prestige.

They met when he was a teenager before he even debuted as a professional. She is a retired tennis player too. And his manager. I think they're in looooove. Awwww. :p

[MtP07]

What good is being rich and famous if you're not with a different model every night??

[cr7torossi]

^ Federer has always had the advantage(over Sampras) in playing in the weakest era of men's tennis that I have seen. The Hewitts and Roddicks of this generation are a complete joke. I haven't seen a bigger loser than Roddick. If there were a few other players who had a similar mental fortitude like Nadal, Rog would have had a much lesser GS tally. Another example would be Nalbandian who can lose a match from any situation.

[sdotsom]

Sampras himself made that argument, though I don't know if I completely buy it.

[Stud83]

I don't see how this era is any weaker than any other one. I mean right now - you look at man's field, probably half of top 20 players have average serves of 125 mph, and a bunch of players that serve 140+ mph. I don't think there's ever been an "era" with so many guys hitting the ball so hard. What makes Federer great is that his serve is very average by today's standards, but he still manages to win games relatively easily against guys who hit bombs.

[Vermont Red]

I don't see how this era is any weaker than any other one. I mean right now - you look at man's field, probably half of top 20 players have average serves of 125 mph, and a bunch of players that serve 140+ mph. I don't think there's ever been an "era" with so many guys hitting the ball so hard. What makes Federer great is that his serve is very average by today's standards, but he still manages to win games relatively easily against guys who hit bombs.

The speeds are directly related to improved racket technology, not to increased ability.

[SirManchester]

It's still a ridiculous argument. Right now the best in the world are young players who are much better at their age than the players from Sampras' time. You can see this in the way Djokovic or Nadal play.

[Vermont Red]

You can only play who's in front of you, which is why these arguments about players in different eras is silly. Its impossible to say what Federer would do in a different era. He is still mentally tougher than everyone else, which is the thing that really separates him. I wouldn't doubt Federer against other legends, but I'd still like to see everyone forced to go back to wooden rackets.

[sdotsom]

Exactly. Like I said, I don't buy it. It's not any different than the argument in the history thread about the 1960's against 2000's players.

Just found out that Federer is playing Sampras in an exhibition match at MSG soon. Should be fun, though it wouldn't say much. Sampras is still semi-retired.

[Stud83]

He is still mentally tougher than everyone else, which is the thing that really separates him.

And it's true for all legends in pretty much all sports.

[cr7torossi]

It's still a ridiculous argument. Right now the best in the world are young players who are much better at their age than the players from Sampras' time. You can see this in the way Djokovic or Nadal play.

The point being made was that players of Federer's age - the Hewitts and the Roddicks and the Nalbandians just don't have that mental fortitude which wins you the crucial points.

The fact that Nadal and Djokovic(and probably Murray) are emerging does not change the fact that Federer won his GSs when they were still playing in youth ranks and his competition were the guys mentioned above who are all mentally weak players.

Federer has to dominate the next few years as these guys mature(it is not as if he is not in his prime in any case so if he is indeed the best ever, he should be able to dominate these players).

You can only play who's in front of you, which is why these arguments about players in different eras is silly. Its impossible to say what Federer would do in a different era. He is still mentally tougher than everyone else, which is the thing that really separates him. I wouldn't doubt Federer against other legends, but I'd still like to see everyone forced to go back to wooden rackets.

Yeah, he is mentally tougher than players of his same age but it obviously helped to have such a weak era. If he struggles against the likes of Nadal, Djokovic and Murray over the next few years, that would reinforce the argument of Federer winning his GSs in a weak era as compared to former greats of tennis.

[JAKE SPEED]

Pissing around in the archives and I found this thread. Don't know if its been mentioned yet, but if you want a great read about Federer, google david foster wallace's "Federer as Religious Experience". Great stuff and enjoyable read.

[sdotsom]

It's funny you resurrected this thread today - he just went out of the Masters in a shock first round defeat.

[Sapphire]

I watched the match -- Federer looked amazing in the first set, then he traded games with Fernando Gonzalez for the next two sets, completely lost the plot in the 2nd set tie-break (I think Gonzalez won it 7-1) then barely got broken in his last service of the 3rd before Gonzalez served to win it. It was a good, close match after the first set, but Federer just seemed to give it away at critical moments.

[cr7torossi]

It's funny you resurrected this thread today - he just went out of the Masters in a shock first round defeat.

Actually, he is not out of it yet. The Masters Cup is a round-robin event and Federer is in the easier group and I still see him winning his next two matches to qualify for the semifinals.

Nalbandian's recent form reinforces what I previously said in the thread, he is a classic example of a player who doesn't work hard and lacks the mental fortitude to grind out matches. I have always counted him amongst the most talented players of his generation with brilliant all-court credentials.

Sadly, we will continue to see short spurts of form(where he beats Nadal(twice), Federer(twice) and Djokovic to win 2 consecutive master series events) before going back to losing to unknowns:(.

[Sapphire]

Actually, he is not out of it yet. The Masters Cup is a round-robin event and Federer is in the easier group and I still see him winning his next two matches to qualify for the semifinals.The announcers on TrueSports were obviously not aware of that. They were talking about how he was out of it. :) This is awesome; I got to see him upset, AND he's still in the tournament so I can see him play more. Yeaaaah!

[sdotsom]

Oh my bad, didn't realize that.

This whole thing the last few weeks with all these controversies in tennis has been fun - Davydenko and match fixing, the Russians poisioning a player at a Davis Cup match, etc. etc.

[Stud83]

Yeah, Davydenko was actually fined for "not trying hard enough" to win. :confused: Unless there is evidence that the player was involved with betting on games involving himself, I really don't see any problem with players giving matches away, especially considering they have to play about 100 tournaments every year all over the world.

[cr7torossi]

Yeah, Davydenko was actually fined for "not trying hard enough" to win. :confused: Unless there is evidence that the player was involved with betting on games involving himself, I really don't see any problem with players giving matches away, especially considering they have to play about 100 tournaments every year all over the world.

It was very unfair on Davydenko; given that there was a lot of spotlight on him, the last thing he would be doing would be deliberately throwing away the match.

As for your second point on players throwing away matches, it is unfair on the organizers(who pay a fat sum as appearance fees to top players), the spectators(who have to pay a bit to enter) and the punters who are betting on the match as well as the fellow competitors.
It is infinitesimally better to sit at home and rest rather than make a joke of the game.