BEL18VE

Federer speaks about injury & ranking drop

Switzerland’s Roger Federer reacts during a break in the Swiss Open second round tennis match against Germany’s Daniel Brands in Gstaad yesterday. – Reuters pic, July 25, 2013.

Its been a long and dry summer for Federer fans who watch on as Roger struggles with back injury and uncharacteristic losses.  Just one year ago Roger Federer raised his game to defy critics who called for his retirement and end throughout 2009 & 2010.  First the back issues:

“I’ve had serious problems with the back, I had to get some anti-inflammatories last week in Hamburg due to the pain,” he said after yesterday’s loss, his third of the summer against an opponent ranked outside the top 50.

“I will have to do a lot of exercises and see how it all feels. My main priority now is to fix my back. I would love to be able to train at 100%,” said the former world number one.

“I’ll have to see if the rehab is enough to let me play in Montreal. If it is, I’ll go; if not, then it gives me another week.”

Second his drop in ranking and desire to win?

“I don’t think my ego would suffer if one day I was no longer in the top 10,” Federer told Le Matin. “There’s a moment when the rankings aren’t that important anymore. Honestly, I don’t even know what my current ranking is.  Today, my ranking isn’t that important to me anymore.”

“I don’t think my ego would suffer if one day I was no longer in the top 10,” Federer told Le Matin. “There’s a moment when the rankings aren’t that important anymore. Honestly, I don’t even know what my current ranking is.  Today, my ranking isn’t that important to me anymore.”

“In terms of rankings at least. Lleyton Hewitt is a great example in my mind. Whether he’s 170th, 20th or fifth, his ranking isn’t important to him. He just takes a lot of pleasure in playing.”

“I don’t have any problem with critics,” Federer said. “But I expect people to be honest. This situation is not new for me. In 2009 and 2010, people were already saying, ‘He’s won everything, now he’s done.’ The more people comment, the greater the probability that someone will say something stupid.”

I admire the positive attitude Roger Federer has about the sport.  Though he has played more matches than almost everyone current on the ATP tour, his love for playing Tennis still shines through.  Tennis is a tough sport on the body.  He has done a masterful job managing the pain and balance it takes to continue to play and continue to win.  I believe we are far from over for Federer. Even though the reality of wear and tear is hard to deny we are still talking about the most talented and majestic tennis player who ever picked up a racquet.  As long as Roger Federer is content to play, I am very content to watch and learn.

 

Related articles

• Roger Federer deserves better fans. (lovesetmatch.wordpress.com)
• Roger Federer Changing Tennis Racquets. What It Means and Why We Should Care. (lovesetmatch.wordpress.com)

Federer not to play in Gstaad for back problems?

The internet is going crazy over a rumour that has spread in the last few minutes.

The twitter account @letstalktennis1, a Swiss tennis blog, reported:

According to “Berner Zeitung” there were rumors yesterday that Roger won’t be able to play today because of his back.

All we can do is just wait and see what happens, knowing that Roger would play even on one leg, today. (He withdrew before a match only TWICE in his career -and NEVER during a match- and I don’t think he will do it again in Switzerland for his highly anticipated first round match).
But it’s not what happens today that worries me.
What worries me is Roger’s health and his serenity. I don’t think all this tension around his conditions helps him.

Let’s hope for the best,
Allez!

Roger Federer deserves better fans.

The last couple of months have taught me one thing: Federer deserves better fans.

Or better, many so called “Federer fans” are just pathetic hypocrites that jump on the bandwagon and get off as soon as he doesn’t win everything THEY think he should win.

Exactly. If you have recently spent just  five minutes on a social network of your choice , you must know what I am talking about.

Of course, everyone has their personal opinion and everyone wants to give advices to their favourite player, as we’d all do towards someone we love, a close friend, a relative. Especially if we are afraid for them, if we think they’re not doing the right choices.

But everything has a limit. In so many occasions lately I’ve been struck by the incredible amount of “Roger must do this/mustn’t do that”, “it’s impossible for Federer to.. “, “he has to…”, “he can’t even think about doing…” and the harshness in which these comments were written.

I’m also puzzled by the variety of topics in which Roger apparently needs our assistance: which tournaments he has to play and what results he has to achieve at least, which racquet he has to play with, what kind of injury he has/has not, how he has to live his family life… and the evergreen: the retirement issue.

Needless to say, some losses are painful. More than I could ever express in any language, let alone in my poor English. It hurts seeing him struggle and not being able to express his genius in the way we are used to.

BUT.

It’s just a matter of respect towards the player and the person. Even if he wasn’t to win another single title, even if he went down to number 358404843 in the world rankings, I just feel we have to respect his choice to do what he loves doing. It’s too easy to celebrate every win and stand beside him when he breaks record or climbs the ranking and then criticize him every time he “disappoints” our expectations.

Are you guys kidding?

We are talking about a man that has nothing else to prove to anyone -save maybe himself alone- and whose legacy will be forever written in golden capital letters in every tennis book, no matter what happens next! And, what probably means the most to me, a man that gives us so many emotions every single time he steps on a tennis court. A man that loves what he’s doing so much, that he refuses to give up. A man that puts himself to the test day in day out. Who else at his age, having won all he’s won, would have decided to try out a new racquet in two minor events? (By the way, this should tell a lot about those who say that Federer is just a talented spoiled Swiss guy that doesn’t work as hard as others and doesn’t care as much as others.)

If we truly love and support Roger, we should at least respect his decisions and stand by him, no matter what. We owe him that. We owe him.

Roger Federer talks of Hamburg Defeat

“I think he was a bit better than me today,” said Federer, a four-time former winner of the bet-at-home Open – German Tennis Championships.  “Both sets could have gone either way. So, it’s clearly a pity I couldn’t win either of the sets because I was starting to feel better towards the end of the match. But unfortunately I couldn’t push him further and create more chances today.

“I think the conditions were totally different to last night. It was wet and heavy last night, under the lights,” said Federer, who had battled past Florian Mayer on Friday evening. “It’s a quick turnaround to quick conditions today and a totally different opponent. But that’s no excuse.”

“I don’t think it had much to do with the racket today,” said Federer. “I tried everything I could at this tournament. It’s been a difficult week throughout. But I’m happy I fought through many matches. It gives me the matches I was looking for.

“I was clearly hoping, after winning a tough one yesterday, to somehow get through today and then give myself an opportunity to win the title tomorrow. It’s disappointing, but defeats like that happen sometimes.

“I had a great time. I really enjoyed playing in front of the people here in Hamburg on the Centre Court where I’ve had so many nice moments in my career. Unfortunately, I couldn’t make it to the finals, but nevertheless, I did have four good matches and these are the kind of matches I need.”

This tweet caught my eye:

.@rogerfederer loss No 114 @FedeDelbonis 1st time lost in back-to-back tournament outside Top 100 since ’02 @Wimbledon (Ancic),Gstaad (Stepanek).

1		R. Federer	67	64		Semifinals
		F. Delbonis	79	77		Jul 20, Completed

VIDEO Roger Federer discusses new racquet

After his first match against Daniel Brands where he beat the hometown hero on his 26th birthday, Federer talked about his new racquet and the process in which it came about.

“I’m pleased how it’s playing. I kind of knew it from practice, so it wasn’t like just jumping into the water, but I’m very happy that under match conditions I was feeling comfortable with it. I’m satisfied.” said Roger

“I’ve been very close on numerous occasions to change racquets in a bigger way. But then very often, time was the issue. Maybe also just the records of Grand Slams – I was always keeping on playing quarters and semis – so then it was also a bit more difficult to change it because of the time.

“This time around, all of a sudden I just had the extra 10 days, two weeks I was looking for, and I really was very serious about it. Wilson flew to Switzerland and we went through the whole process and I was very happy how things went over there.” said Federer.

to add humor to this big change – a twitter account has been set up called @FedsNewRacquet which has posted fun comments like

Once you 98″ you never go back 😉 #exciting #Team98

iamkringlozano  posted “I am now being followed by @FedsNewRacquet. Can’t wait to be smashed, served, and volleyed by a big head. I like it rough.”

witty banter indeed! Would be genius if it was set up by Wilson themselves?? Perhaps another @PseudoFed account?  Let us know what your guess is in the comments below!

 

UPDATE PseudoFed has released this picture of “himself” playing with the new racquet

Tennis Technology: Racquets of the Big 4 Federer Nadal Djokovic Murray

Just read this really great article called “Tennis Racquet Technology: How The Big 4 Differ” which outlines the racquets of Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Andy Murray.  This article gives you great insight into how the technology of each racquet suits the players style and form.  It also addresses tennis string tensions and string types as well.

Roger Federer

The Wilson BLX Pro Staff 90

Novak Djokovic

Head YOUTEK Graphene Speed Pro

Rafael Nadal

Babolat AeroPro Drive

Andy Murray

Head YOUTEK IG Radical Pro

 

Key Points

• Roger uses the smallest racquet on tour
• He also strings at the lowest tension of the top 4 to offset the loss off power caused by the frame he uses
• Federer’s racquet has the thinnest beam and is the most “traditional” compared to the others making it harder to play with
• Nadal strings at 55 lbs on both crosses and mains whatever the court surface or conditions
• Djokovic has the densest string pattern to suit his flat hitting style
• Federer, Murray and Djokovic all use a gut and synthetic set up on their strings, Nadal uses full poly

Read the full indepth article here

Rafael Nadal meets Rafa Nadal?

Josh Berry is famous for his impersonations of the top male tennis players. But how good is he? Will he pass Rafa’s test? Not only Rafa, but Josh does a pretty great Andy Murray and just ok Roger Federer 🙂

UDPATE: More fun from Josh Berry impressions of the Top 6 mens players in the world!

Here is a fun interview of Josh at WimbleDONE where he explains his passion for tennis 🙂

Serena Williams beaten. All the Champions have fallen

Sabine Lisicki has done the unthinkable~  Beaten Serena Williams the world champion and No#1 player of the WTA.  No one could have expected that Serena would lose as she was in form and looked to have a clear path to the trophy with both Sharapova and Azeranka out of the way.  Lisicki was crying emotionally after winning the match even in the post match interview.

Now with Serena out all the Champions have fallen.  Rafael Nadal was first out Roger Federer second Maria Sharapova 3rd and now Serena Williams.  All other champions dropped out due to injury built up through the year or earned on this slippery grass surface.  SW19 has taken its toll on tennis and although it is often thought of as the dream of all tennis players, this year has created many nightmares for players as Wimbledon dashes their hopes.  The few champions left in the game are Djokovic and Kvitova

On the bright side, we are seeing good tennis from players whom we may have never heard of and possibly will not hear from again as all giant killers have lost their following match.  For up and coming players the heavens have opened and a chance to go deeper than they ever have.  Like any novelty, it’s fascinating to watch although I think many people have dropped off watching or caring for Wimbledon.  There is no favorites any more. Good luck to all the upcoming players.

UPDATE: Serena Williams drops 1720 ranking points at Wimbledon….Maria Sharapova now less than 2700 points from the top position

UPDATE: This picture shows how gracious Serena Williams was in defeat.  She also waited patiently for Lisicki to exit Wimbledon court together. Very impressive for someone who hates to win as much as she does!

Federer through 1st Wimbledon Match in Imperious form!

Defending champion Roger Federer beats Victor Hanescu in three straight sets 6-3, 6-2, 6-0

“I don’t think any one here feels short changed. It was an exhibition performance from Federer. His serving was so sound and he gave Hanescu no opportunities whatsoever. He’s hardly broken sweat he could fold that shirt up and re-use it.”  “[Roger] Federer is giving his opponent so few opportunities in this match. He’s certainly not complacent, he’s blessed to do what he does but he still has enormous hunger and motivation and that’s a true credit to him as a tennis player. He still has the desire for more. When you talk about the first day it’s not always easy. Coming out as the defending champion there would have been some nerves and some expectation behind Roger [Federer] today. Realistically though grass is probably his only chance of winning a Grand Slam now.” Tim Henman, BBC Sport

UPDATED:  here is the press conference after the match