Tennis 2017

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Great final set. so pleased for Federer. I didn't think he'd win, but happy to admit I was very wrong. Not a huge Nadal fan but I felt sorry for him. Will be a huge chance at the French though if he is fit.
 
Sammyjunn said:
He had a 5 hour set two days ago compared to Federers 3 hour set 3 days ago against a similar player who isnt physique.
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The thing is though, Federer's matches tend to be shorter on average than Nadal because Federer does two things differently: Federer takes much less time in between serves plus Federer tends to be more agressive and go for shorter points.
 
Don't think it's been said enough, but for a 35 year old to come back after half a year out and win a slam is just insane. Fed's consistency throughout his career is just ridiculous. Even when he wasn't winning slams he was always either runner up or through to the last four. When you add all that to his 18 slams, for me it puts him as the greatest ever by some distance.
 
Revan said:
I think that the distribution of Nadal's grand slams is a bit bad IMO. He has won 9/14 (64%) GS in French Open. For comparison, Fed has won 7/18 (39%) on Wimbledon.

Essentially, Rafa is the best ever tennis player in a Grand Slam, but take him out of French Open, and he has 'only' 5 GS. Take Fed out of Wimbledon, and he still has 11 GS, which by itself would put him in a shortlist for GOAT.

Then of course, Fed has more finals, more semis, more quarters, more weeks as No.1, more consecutive weeks as No.1 than any other tennis player in the history.

...

Even the record which is absolutely in Rafa's favor, is very biased because they have played so many more matches in clay rather than grass. Rafa leads there 13-2, Federer leads in grass 2-1, Rafa leads on hard courts 9-8. So, outside of their preferred surface, it is just 9-8 for Rafa.

Essentially, Rafa is a more dominant player in clay than Fed is on any surface, and there are so many more matches in clay than in grass, which makes the record so much in Rafa's favor.

But to be considered the greatest, you need to be great outside of your comfort zone too. And Fed is so much better than Rafa outside of their preferred surface.
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But equally there is a big difference between indoor and outdoor hard courts. Believe Fed is 5-1 in indoor matches.
 
Rawls said:
The thing is though, Federer's matches tend to be shorter on average than Nadal because Federer does two things differently: Federer takes much less time in between serves plus Federer tends to be more agressive and go for shorter points.
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That is true but either way there is an advantage with playing a day earlier, but at the same time Nadal extends his matches by his defensive style of play. Federer's games are much quicker.
 
wr8_utd said:
Really hope they do something about the semis being on different days though. Today really was a disadvantage for Nadal with 24 hours lesser of a break and a 5 setter.
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As a big Fed fan this thought keeps coming through my mind as well. Both semi finals should be on the same day as it gives an unfair advantage with so little time to recover and prepare for a final.
 
I thought Federer was done in the 5th when Nadal broke his serve. But the resilience, resolve and character he showed to get back into it was remarkable. He came to the boil just when it was required for him to and that is a sign of true champion. At 35 I didn't think he could win it but I'm delighted he did.
 
Well done Federer. 18 Slams is unreachable for anyone at least in the next years imo.


Very interesting start of the season, difficult to make any predictions now. A lot of people making a thing out of Federer and Rafa playing so good just immediately after injury. But I think the rest for them was needed and even an advantage. I think the comparison with Sampras (dropped out of Top10 in 2001, didn't play lot of games due injury, then a longer rest and won the US Open 2002 with 34) makes sense. Murray looked fecked and tired after his great second season half last year. Djokovic could do with a rest too to get his focus and motivation back. It was clever from Roger and Rafa to not force a comeback last year and start this season fresh with full motivation and a healthy body. If Rafa can keep this level, he will be the big favorite for Paris. But it's still a big if, it will be interesting how Federer and Nadal can deal with a long season. Murray needs to take his chance for at least another slam (he should have done that here already to be honest). Stan will be there for 1 Slam like always. Can Nole get his motivation back? I can't really see a year without Nole winning one slam. Can Dimitrov keep up his 2017 level so far, if yes then he will be upthere too. I hope so, because while I enjoyed this year's AO, the young players really need to step it up, the "oldies" really kicked their ass (woman and men).
 
Incredible match, just finished watching it. Two magnificent competitors and a superb performance from Federer. Weird match in that despite the occasional superb shots neither player was able to gain firm control of the match consistently...Federer managed to grab momentum right when it counted in the fifth set though. Would be fantastic if both could both have one last great full season now and have another couple of epics.
 
First man to win a major after beating 4 top 10 players since Wilander in 1982.
 
Watched Federer vs Nishikori, Stan and Nadal vs Dimitrov apart from the final. Looks like the courts are a bit faster this year? Lot of attacking tennis in the matches I've watched, possibly aided by the fact that none of them feature predominantly baseline players on both sides of the court. Wish Wimbledon and US quicken their surfaces a tiny bit so we get to see a different style of play other than two baseliners playing endless rallies.

Always assumed Federer would retire in 2016 after Rio Olympics and when he skipped everything after Wimbledon semis last year I thought that was that. Great surprise to see him back on court and playing some memorable matches this Open (also caught highlights vs Berdych and Zverev). His serve and FH went kaput in 2nd and 4th sets but the major surprise was seeing his BH work throughout the match over five sets. Didn't expect that to happen against Nadal.

Congrats to both Nadal and Federer - amazing players in the twilight of their careers (even though Federer is almost 6 yrs older) and that was a very enjoyable match throughout.
 
Raoul said:
True. 30 is still near prime time. 35, in Tennis terms is well passed it, which is why Fed winning at this age is so impressive.
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Exactly.I hope Federer win one more GS before he say quit.He's in great form buts it's difficult to predict with Joker/Murray would be back to form as well.
 
Can't quite believe he's done it. As a fan of the great man for the last 13 or so years, this feels fecking brilliant. Not just for the fact that the wait has been so long, but also because he's come so close so many times in between and sustained an absurd level of excellence for a 35 year old.

Then of course to do it against the guy he absolutely hates playing, and in that manner, was quite something. A break down against Nadal in the 5th is usually impossible to come back from but Federer played some remarkable tennis from that point onwards. Nadal didn't lose that 5th as much as Federer won it.
 
Watching the highlights again.

Still can't believe it. 35 years old, 6 months off, down a break in the final set playing against your great and more mentally tough opponent - and overcoming all this to win is simply incredible.
 
Who remembers the days when the Aussie Open was just the fourth wheel of Grand Slams and no one cared.....scratch that, I reckon a few of them remember when people just skipped it for fun. What a tremendous tournament that was, but still so many classic matches come from the AO recently. Another absolute vintage final too.

Pretty sure this brings the Nadal-Fed rivalry full circle too, he would of absolutely collapsed after being broke in the fifth years back. Incredible to bring it back. What an absolute run for the Dodger. The pair of them, full respect, no right to be there by all accounts, but it proves age is not the barrier it once was, or injuries. Have a good conditioning coach, keep your hunger for the game and it's a longer career than ever now. I doubt we'll be seeing many teens running wild in the men's game anymore, even early 20's is a stretch. Sportsmen are figuring out bodies peak later now, so they need to nurture their talent with experience to peak around those years...27-30ish, and then go into your 30's better than history suggests you should.
 
What a match that was. It felt at times we were looking at something like the Federer of old, Nadal not so much. Cracking game though. It'll be interesting to see if either of them can keep it up.
 
Never lost faith in that match. It was surreal as well to see him in person when he did a lap of Margaret Court Arena with the trophy. So so so sweet.
 
I had hope when Nadal went up in the 5th but he just looked shattered. He wasn't even trying to run to get to points like he was Dimi. I guess at this age you can't really expect him to be explosive for two 5 setters in 3 days.
 
Has anyone mentioned Ljubicic yet? Whatever he worked on with Federer during the off-season clearly worked. His backhand hasn't looked this good in years, especially against Nadal.
 
It's amazing they came up in the same era. Without each other one of them could have ended their career on 25 to 30 majors trophies.
 
krazyrobus said:
It's amazing they came up in the same era. Without each other one of them could have ended their career on 25 to 30 majors trophies.
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Nadal not so much. He usually lost to other players during his prime. Federer though?
 
Nadal definitely seemed a step off the pace. All those balls he missee or mishit wide would all have been in a few years back as he would cover the baseline and the court in general incredibly quickly and getting into position to make those impossible shots. Just shows technique lasts so much longer than athleticism. Not to say that Nadal has poor technique but Federer is a cut above the rest of the players from this era.

Down a game in the fifth, no way he would have come back a few years back against Nadal but Nadal is just not the same player he was. A bit sad that but that's how it has panned out.

On a side note, I know Federer is 36 and certainly his career is on its last legs but I have never heard him say if he doesn't see the crowd again next year, then it was a pleasure to be here this year. Maybe a retirement at the end of the season is on the cards. Would be a sad day for tennis. Federer isn't just 'a legend', he is 'THE legend' in tennis.
 
Revan said:
I think that the distribution of Nadal's grand slams is a bit bad IMO. He has won 9/14 (64%) GS in French Open. For comparison, Fed has won 7/18 (39%) on Wimbledon.

Essentially, Rafa is the best ever tennis player in a Grand Slam, but take him out of French Open, and he has 'only' 5 GS. Take Fed out of Wimbledon, and he still has 11 GS, which by itself would put him in a shortlist for GOAT.

Then of course, Fed has more finals, more semis, more quarters, more weeks as No.1, more consecutive weeks as No.1 than any other tennis player in the history.

...

Even the record which is absolutely in Rafa's favor, is very biased because they have played so many more matches in clay rather than grass. Rafa leads there 13-2, Federer leads in grass 2-1, Rafa leads on hard courts 9-8. So, outside of their preferred surface, it is just 9-8 for Rafa.

Essentially, Rafa is a more dominant player in clay than Fed is on any surface, and there are so many more matches in clay than in grass, which makes the record so much in Rafa's favor.

But to be considered the greatest, you need to be great outside of your comfort zone too. And Fed is so much better than Rafa outside of their preferred surface.
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Interesting and good post. I dont think this should be seen as a slight on Rafa, but I think this defo puts Fed on shortlist of GOAT (if hes not seen as it anyway).
Biggest shame though is the Rafa injuries (though I always felt his style would affect him).
But then during Nadals peak he had Murray coming through, Djokovic lighting it up and Federer still around (though probably past his peak).
For Feds peak, his biggest competition was Hewitt and Roddick but he pretty much owned them both.

Interesting though regardless.
 
Piratesoup said:
Has anyone mentioned Ljubicic yet? Whatever he worked on with Federer during the off-season clearly worked. His backhand hasn't looked this good in years, especially against Nadal.
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I was watching it on Eurosport and they put down Federer's improvement down to Edberg. I can't remember if Frew McMillan or Mats Wilander said it, but one of them did say that Federer told them the first thing Edberg wanted to work on was the backhand, not serve-and-volley.
 
krazyrobus said:
It's amazing they came up in the same era. Without each other one of them could have ended their career on 25 to 30 majors trophies.
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Yep. So lucky to have seen Federer-Nadal (and to be fair, Nadal-Djokovic, Federer-Djokovic and Djokovic-Murray to lesser extents) AND Ronaldo-Messi in their prime. Just surreal athletes who've pushed each other beyond any reasonable expectations.
 
Rawls said:
I was watching it on Eurosport and they put down Federer's improvement down to Edberg. I can't remember if Frew McMillan or Mats Wilander said it, but one of them did say that Federer told them the first thing Edberg wanted to work on was the backhand, not serve-and-volley.
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Yeap. He hit so many cross court backhands and even returns today that would have went to net in years past. It was freaky to see his forehand letting him down in the 2nd and 4th set instead.

It would be a great injustice had he lost today. Double the amount of winners and triple net points. Of course the UEs number isn't pretty but he was the one making the play throughout. Rafa stuck to his usual script but physically he weren't at his peak and couldn't pressure Fed the way he'd have liked.
 
Sylar said:
Interesting and good post. I dont think this should be seen as a slight on Rafa, but I think this defo puts Fed on shortlist of GOAT (if hes not seen as it anyway).
Biggest shame though is the Rafa injuries (though I always felt his style would affect him).
But then during Nadals peak he had Murray coming through, Djokovic lighting it up and Federer still around (though probably past his peak).
For Feds peak, his biggest competition was Hewitt and Roddick but he pretty much owned them both.

Interesting though regardless.
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There was also the likes of Safin, Nalbandian, Davydenko, Gonzalez, Haas, Grojean, Ferrer....

Wasn't totally full of mugs.
 
I'm so glad that Fed won today! Its been a long time coming, this 18th title. And its somewhat poetic that he did it against Nadal. I think the first time I thought that Fed's may not win many more slams was when he lost to Nadal at Wimbledon 2008. So, to defeat the same man in the fashion that he did (coming back from 1 break down in the fifth) is just incredible.
 
I wonder what took place in his mind at the fifth set. His backhand reached otherworldly levels.
 
Just saw the final set. Every single game going to deuce or 40-30. I don't believe it happened.
 
InfiniteBoredom said:
Yeap. He hit so many cross court backhands and even returns today that would have went to net in years past. It was freaky to see his forehand letting him down in the 2nd and 4th set instead.

It would be a great injustice had he lost today. Double the amount of winners and triple net points. Of course the UEs number isn't pretty but he was the one making the play throughout. Rafa stuck to his usual script but physically he weren't at his peak and couldn't pressure Fed the way he'd have liked.
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There was one backhand that Federer played which Wilander called Wawrinka-esque. I think it was during one of the two Nadal service games which were broken in the third.

With regards to the unforced errors, Federer's was always going to be significantly higher considering how aggressive he was. Although it would be fair to point out that he could have hit the same amount of winners with much less UEs had he been more accurate. Funnily enough, Wilander was saying that Nadal would have preferred Federer to have hit less UEs; Federer was making points shorter even through making unforced errors which would benefit him more in the course of the match more so than it would disadvantage him in the course of one game.
 
berbatrick said:
Just saw the final set. Every single game going to deuce or 40-30. I don't believe it happened.
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Every single game that Rafa served after the breaking Fed's serve you mean? Fed pretty much ran through the service games which got him to 1-2, 2-3, and 4-3. Or is my memory already failing me. I thought that was the most mentally 'in-it' that I've seen Fed against Rafa since 2008-09. He just looked like he will not let Rafa get away.
 
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