The Federer Fade

This article is written by a certain breed of person who has no business writing about such things: a spectator. I want to hear what Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, Lleyton Hewitt, and even, yes, John McEnroe. They know what Federer can and cannot do, and the others who challenge him.

By the way, I am writing this in August, 2009, and Federer has just won the French and Wimbeldon back to back, setting the record for the most men's singles grand slams.

Hey Mr. Spectator, just do what you do, sit back and watch. Maybe Federer will win, maybe he won't, but your opinion as someone as someone who has never been "there", shouldn't be posted on the internet.

you ignorant man ... today was 15

I'd like to preface my first comment by saying that Federer is unlike any other player. This article underestimates him. His domination has been unlike any other player, his period of injury has been unlike any other player and I predict his future will also be unique and unimaginable. He reminds me of the Zen parable about the butcher who cuts up a cow with such efficiency, economy and accuracy that he does not blunt his blade. It appears effortless. Federer and Nadal are opposites in this way: where Federer appears effortless, Nadal appears effortful. I think that is the biggest difference between them and why Federer still has many exceptional years ahead of him while Nadal is already feeling the effects of his "butchering" style--his knife may blunt sooner, while Federer's will likely remains sharp.

I believe Federer will surpass his past genius in the near future. His career has been marked by extraordinary success and consistent perfection. While other players suffer routine injuries and setbacks in their game Federer has had none of note until his bout with mono at the end of '07 and enduring effects through last year. Even in illness he is unusual. Rather than take time out, he played through the year and still won a major and closed in on three others. It is karmic perhaps that Nadal emerged into his own purple patch at this time. But where Federer stayed in his purple patch for over 4 years Nadal is proving more fallible. Clearly Federer has a huge self belief but perhaps has needed to adjust to being challenged more closely. But once he makes that adjustment I predict we will see the most exciting phase of his career yet--gritty battles won with efficiency and sheer brilliance.

Unbelievable how Roger turned his season around with the win at the French Open, is now tied with Sampras for the Grand Slam record as well as now the leading contender for the title of the greatest tennis player in the history of the sport. I expect him to play freely now and conquer many more Grand Slams before retiring. His tennis is so beautiful to watch (win or lose). Go Roger!!!

In concurring with Gorth, I arrest my case.


Posted By: chicago blues @ 04/18/2009 6:53:27 AM

I think the problem lies less with Federer and more with the analysis here. Federer still has all of the right tools for domination in the sport, yet the score around him has changed a bit, and he's trying to figure out how to adjust amid the changes, at such a pivotal time statistically for the game. Unfortunately, the stakes are quite high for him right now, because of his consistent and prolonged success over the past decade.I think that because he is so close to becoming the greatest player of all time, he is experiencing a stressful juncture. What is so wrong with that? It's completely natural and adds even more humanism to the man. I think if he could have breezed through it all, surpassing Sampras's record, all in a hiccup of time, we wold have heralded him as something other than human. Thank goodness he didn't because it's in watching his struggle when he is so close to the top, that makes us adore his talent even more.
But who do you go to to gain expertise on that? On climbing over the mountain? Sampras? No, he's got to figure this thing out his own way.

The one thing that I do sense from Federer is that he will make it over the top and will become the statistical best that this game has ever produced, although he and Sampras already are the best two that ever played the game.
That's the thing, though. If Tiger isn't winning a few slams each year, with breathtaking putts and physical feats unimaginable, you guys tend to think that he's lost his luster too.
I am just excited for what I think is going to be another top caliber summer of tennis with the Slams -- The French, Wimbledon and U.S. Open. And who knows, maybe our boy Federer could make this article mute by this Fall.


Posted By: chicago blues @ 04/18/2009 7:09:43 AM

One other comment.
I've been watching this game since I was a kid. I've witness the rise and fade of many a tennis great during this time. But I think it does pure injustice to the sport by bringing in this dose of negativism into commentary on the game. I don't recall such criticism of Connors, Lendl, the Swedes, Becker, Agassi or Sampras or McEnroe. And none has rivaled Roger, with the exception of Pete.

Let us tennis lovers and supporters of the game enjoy the game. Keep the negatives on the sidelines or in your journals. Let us all enjoy the history in the making as we again watch Federer and others dual for those majestic crowns this summer, and put on tennis lessons for the ages, as he and Nadal did last summer, by bringing to the game nothing short of the best of talent, style and comraderie that we have adored in this sport and its champions.

This is a gentlemanly sport, being dominated by two or three world class talents, who seem like good people. Stop ringing the Federer death knell and conjuring up the demise of the game's greatest talent's ever.
Go tennis!

Uhmmm, I think we have recent evidence that you are, indeed, wrong in predicting Federer's precipitous decline. He is only human, as we have only recently noticed. But your colorful observations are heavy on aesthetics, and ultimately superficial; failing to apprciate the substance of his greatness.

While I love to watch Roger play as much as anyone, I don't think he deserves the endless accolades which he receives. Federer won 13 Grand Slams in the era of the Roddick, Safin, and Hewitt, and he never had to beat a great grass court player playing at their peak. Sampras won 14 Slams against Lendl, Becker, Courier, Agassi, Rafter, not to mention Goran on grass. When Nadal matured and Federer started to face real competition, he wilted, and his meltdown over the past 5 months has been bizarre and troubling. Unless he turns it around, he will never be in the conversation of gretaest player ever- though Nadal may well be.

After riding the crest of Roger???s wave for four glorious years, I???m afraid that I have to agree with this assessment.

It???s possible that Federer???s excellence inspired Djokavich and Murray. Prior to Roger it didn???t seem anyone could be that good.

Nadal comes to us from another dimension. It???s difficult to compare his game to any except Andre Agassi???s game???except Nadal is much tougher. Nadal???s heavy, left-handed spin makes his shots and his bounces out of the norm that the players experience. Roger???s strength goes to Rafa???s strength, while Rafa???s strength goes to Roger???s weakness. I think that Federer???s inability to penetrate Nadal???s defenses has shaken his confidence, and for the type of game he plays, that is paramount. Roger can???t stand at the baseline and duke it out with these players; he doesn???t have that type of game???he???s a maneuver and strike player. Nadal, along with Djokavich and Murray, with their current dominance over Roger may spell the end of the one-handed backhand.

There appears to be no limit to how far Nadal can take tennis. It will be interesting to see how long his physical frame can stand the pounding that he demands of it.

Looks to me like Sampras' slam record is safe from Feferer. nadal may be another matter.

Roger Federer has been a joy to follow these past few years, and he will continue to be!
Many of the players today have risen to the occasion and are even better because of Roger's incredible
talent and grace. Tennis is in its golden time now, with players as brilliant as both Roger and Rafa.
Thanks to them, American tennis followers can enjoy the red clay of Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Madrid,
and Roland Garros......our eyes are open to a truly international sport! Players like Carlos Moya, Tommy Haas,
Marat Safin, Leyton Hewit opened our eyes to this world.....US Tennis might not be at its peak just at the
moment, but my husband and I enjoy watching everyone from Tommy Robredo and Fernado Verdasco to
Andy Murray and David Ferrer..........Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal have led the way in this exciting sport, and
we thank them!!

Federer's perfection was something out of this world, I prefer the human one, the one who can make mistakes and still can be able to fight back, like any other person. I am sure he will come back. If he really wants to be number 1 again, he should learn from Nadal's patience and strong mind attitude. He never stop fighting even when Federer makes him bites the dust. Nadal is much more than a fast and furious tennis player, think about it.

Well written article!. And for those who are Federer fans; love him for his style of playing tennis but don't assume that he is the greatest pleyer in Tennis History. By no yardstick you could get that analysis right. Most of all, he is unable to win against his greatest rival at his prime!? Just look at Pete Sampras, he has beaten players where the slams won by his opponents put together will be more than what he had won individually including the likes of Andre Agassi (8 Grand Slams with a career Grand Slam - Sampras has a 20-14 record), Boris Becker (6 Grand Slams - Sampras has a 12-7 record) Jim Courier (4 Grand Slams - Sampras has a 16-4 record)and some of the finest players in the history of the Game. Roger Federer has a career record of 6-13 against Nadal and a poor 2-5 in Grand Slams. Here the 2 wins against Nadal come at Wimbledon, where Nadal had equal edge in 2006 and 2007 and finally won it in 2008.

Federer is a great player in Tennis History, but cant call the greatest. His style is unmatched, but completely loses it mentally when he is tested on court.

Biley

I think injury is significant but he won't talk about it. Federer has never left games due to injury because of his excellence of manner and sportsmanship. Other players like Djokovic leave if they have a sore throat(just so they don't lose). In 2008's world championship - Roger had to sit down during a match against Andy Murray -- he just sat down. Later he called a trainer for his back -- his back is injured. He has talked about his back when he has pulled out of tournaments-- he started talking about it at the end of last year-- and after two or more matches in a tournament is just having more trouble.. I think-- and I follow tennis closely and was recently at Indian Wells- that he has a bad back - he hits the tennis ball like a baseball player and after 4 years of utter dominance I think his back has become seriously injured..

it's matter of time and mindset. Now Nadal is leading the all kind of tennis court. and it's a almost skill and powergame game. but to win a game moreover confidence is required. where as federer is loosing now a days. Last year as he has explained the he was suffering from viral fever, because of that he lost a number of game. and which degrade him from number one to second. Now nadal is far ahead of him. so far anybody it's very dificult to think to be numberone. until Nadal stops playing for few month or like that. But there is a guy for whom I'm wishing that Nonak Djokovic. he always fight. and I wish for him to be number one, if Federer is again not claiming to be number 1.

Federer is losing because he got sick last year, never recovered MENTALLY while feeling the physical effects for the early part of the year, lost his most meaningful title by about 2 pts, lost his ranking, got under a ton of pressure from naysayers and his own standards, every player got a second wind against him, and he had another injury in Shanghai. He hasn't recovered mentally from any of that. However he's still playing like a top 5 player. While serving horrifically in the AO final (51% means nothing, he was so poorly off that he had to throw in the weakest first serves i've ever seen just to put it in play) it's still important to remember he played exceptionally well otherwise for 4 sets. He's had a decent year so far, and is easily picked to atleast reach the Wimb final and win the US to say the least.
As for the racket throwing/ etc. it's clear Federer's realized he's lost the mental edge. Every player goes through tough times. Just saying he needs a new coach is difficult, he's had a few already (Roche, Higueras), got nowhere further
And weezer, no one is arguing that Federer isn't a "true champion" except for you, and you are implying that Federer has never had to change his game before, which he obviously did. Look at old videos of his serve and backhand. In the last 2 years federer has added a heavy topspin forehand to wrongfoot opponents, a backhand flick at full stretch, etc. You are also implying that Federer has never had to work for his victories before, which is also nonsense. He's won epics against your hero Nadal, after all.

Ok, do you people honestly believe this stuff you're typing?! Blame it on an over year old case of mono and the changing court surfaces?! Really!??! He has said time & again he feels perfectly fine. As far as the courts go, everyone is playing on the same courts and needing to make adjustments to their game. The difference is that he's been worshiped and bowed down to so long that he refuses to take a look at things and actually make the necessary changes (reality check: people don't fear you anymore and they know exactly how you're gonna play). Perhaps a coach could help with this fact, but alas he's too good for something like that.

When he was constantly beating Nadal, Rafa didn't roll over and blame it on the tendinitis in his knees. Noooooo, he and uncle Tony trained their butts off and made the necessary changes and came back stronger than ever and able to dominate Fed. Rafa got more agressive, started coming to net more and working on his shot placement and angles.

Sorry, but the true test of a champion is not how they act when they are on top and easily winning everything in sight. The true test is when you have to work for your victories and how you overcome the obstacles in your way. As we're seeing now, Fed is failing that test miserably.

Ok, do you people honestly believe this stuff you're typing?! Blame it on an over year old case of mono and the changing court surfaces?! Really!??! He has said time & again he feels perfectly fine. As far as the courts go, everyone is playing on the same courts and needing to make adjustments to their game. The difference is that he's been worshiped and bowed down to so long that he refuses to take a look at things and actually make the necessary changes (reality check: people don't fear you anymore and they know exactly how you're gonna play). Perhaps a coach could help with this fact, but alas he's too good for something like that.

When he was constantly beating Nadal, Rafa didn't roll over and blame it on the tendinitis in his knees. Noooooo, he and uncle Tony trained their butts off and made the necessary changes and came back stronger than ever and able to dominate Fed. Rafa got more agressive, started coming to net more and working on his shot placement and angles.

Sorry, but the true test of a champion is not how they act when they are on top and easily winning everything in sight. The true test is when you have to work for your victories and how you overcome the obstacles in your way. As we're seeing now, Fed is failing that test miserably.

It's not that Federer's competition has gotten better since he dominated the game and he can't adjust to them. Remember Federer had beaten Nadal, Djokovic and Murray in Slam Finals. In Fed's time, he was faced with Hewitt, Safin, and Roddick. All players that reached No.1 status, which means they are very talented players. Fed just wore them down over the years. It's that Federer's own level of play has decreased significantly due to Mono. Mono has a huge effect on people, especially those in sports. Many players have to leave the sports they are in when they contract Mono. Federer played through it!

Anyone who watched Federer play before 2008 and watching Federer play now knows that he can play much, much better. I mean come on, Tipseravic took Fed to a 5th set in the 2008 AO! Everyone knows something is definitely wrong there. Nadal and Murray are retrievers. Ever watch the two of them against each other? Not very interesting. Federer and Djokovic are offensive players who are able to hit winners from many angles. Now Fed is facing a confidence issue. Look how close he was to beating Nadal at the Australian Open and he was only serving at 51%. He has lost his serve over the last year and a half. That's not an issue of the competition getting better. That is simply an aspect of his game that he needs to work on now. He needs to get himself in better shape physically! He needs to restore his confidence, perhaps with a full-time coach! Then everyone will see the true Federer and what he can do to the competition again!