2019 Australian Open, Melbourne - ATP GRAND SLAM

[DarthFed]

This match with Tsitsipas never looked like a beatdown of the underdog .

If Roger converted one of the set points for 6-4 and a two set lead? Maybe not beat down but still looking routine.

 

[lob]

I think it is mental, but shouldn't be taken in isolation. In other words, I think he's losing these big points because he has no confidence that he's playing well enough to play them on his terms, so he's not fully confident with his ground strokes (forehand in particular) which makes him hesitate to pull the trigger or be as aggressive (he's had plenty of DTL forehands perfectly lined up and he hit them more towards the middle rather than go for an outright winner). So yes, that is mental, but the mental block on these points is a result of him just not playing good enough. The return is poor, so he's not having many opportunities to break his opponent's serve, which in turn is making him tentative so he's not really going after the points. It feels very reminiscent of 2013. Also, much like that year, his movement seems off. A clear split step slower and that changes things drastically. The domino effect entails and all of a sudden, he's not confident in his ground strokes, return, etc... which changes his tactics, his approach on the big points, etc...

Where I would agree that the mental block is costing him, is that he's not being a good enough front-runner. He won the first set, as he did against Millman at the US Open, then just failed to ride any wave of momentum. Plus, when he realizes that his opponent isn't going anywhere, that's where he seems resigned to a close match and starts going in "I have to find a way to navigate through this match" mode, rather than "I just have to play my game" mode.

Good summary! The biggest factor is the return. Tsitsi learned more from the Hopman cup match than Roger.

However, I find comparisons to 2013 unnecessary. When Roger, young or old, is unable find a way into a good player's service game, anything can happen. Unlike RN or ND, he cannot generate that many opportunities to break. Roger couldn't break RN over five sets in 2008 Wimbledon. Also, Roger struggles with being a front runner when a quality opponent isn't going anywhere. Nothing new there too. 2009 USO F and 2014 Wimbledon F.

That he is 37 y.o. matters of course. He doesn't have a second gear. And is there any doubt who wanted to win this match more? To me, 4th round of AO 2019 is on par with 4th round of Wimbledon 2001. The kid is destined for greatness. God bless him.

 

[DarthFed]

Darth, you and the rest need to Stop with the 37 year old comments..when he wins nothing is mentioned but when he gets his butt handed to him like Andy Dufrense loosing another battle to the Sisters, Roger is old. Stefanos just out played Roger by controlling the net and staying heavy on Roger's fh. Serena's coach Patrick M has been working with this kid since he was 12 due to his father's Greek Hertiage. Stefanos is a great mover and didn't allow Roger to control the center of the court. The Rafa fans are just simply saying that if he would've defeated Rafa last year , the Fed fans would've place him on the Rafa killers Mt.Rushmore with (Pouille , Borna Coric , F3 , DB and etc).. Well at least Front, GSM and El Dude is giving Stefanos credit but all that 37 year old noise is pathetic..If Roger is too old, there is pretty room on the McEnroe geriatric tour that his old prison bitch Roddick is a member with guest appearancesm.There's nothing wrong with Roger and you guys are correct, you had better be glad it wasn't Rafa..

Roger lost because he sucked ass, simple as that. He is ancient and he looked ancient, slow as hell around court. He served decently but aside from that he did nothing even remotely well.

If this is the best he can do from here on out he will retire very soon. But you, me, and most importantly Roger, knows he still can do a lot better than his pathetic form since Wimbledon last year.

 

[lob]

If Roger converted one of the set points for 6-4 and a two set lead? Maybe not beat down but still looking routine.

Good observation. But what that means is that anything can happen when two outstanding players play each other. It went the wrong way for us. That Roger couldn't clinch those set points shows that he was not confident. He was hoping to sneak through. He didn't. Isn't that a gripe many of us have with RN? That he mostly sneaks through far more often than he outplays.

You are right it might have *looked* routine but it would not have *been* routine. I was very worried since the Hopman cup match. I was hoping Roger and his team had a plan. But the kid was inspired. I won't be surprised if he loses the quarters.

 

[atttomole]

Nadalgoat is a nice person but he likes to wind Federer fans up & his favourite phrase is "Nadal's going to win as he's the champion" or something of that sort.

Nice, not really. I think he is nice today because he is euphoric after Federer’s loss.

 

[atttomole]

Good summary! The biggest factor is the return. Tsitsi learned more from the Hopman cup match than Roger.

However, I find comparisons to 2013 unnecessary. When Roger, young or old, is unable find a way into a good player's service game, anything can happen. Unlike RN or ND, he cannot generate that many opportunities to break. Roger couldn't break RN over five sets in 2008 Wimbledon. Also, Roger struggles with being a front runner when a quality opponent isn't going anywhere. Nothing new there too. 2009 USO F and 2014 Wimbledon F.

That he is 37 y.o. matters of course. He doesn't have a second gear. And is there any doubt who wanted to win this match more? To me, 4th round of AO 2019 is on par with 4th round of Wimbledon 2001. The kid is destined for greatness. God bless him.

Actually Federer does generate opportunities to break, like RN and ND, but he did not capitalize on the opportunities. He had many break points in that match.

 

[Nadalfan2013]

Federer will never retire until he believes his record is safe from Nadal and Djokovic. If one of them wins this Australian Open then expect Federer to continue playing for a long time. And that’s even if he’s at a low level so get used to it. He will keep trying to add slams and hope for a miracle.

 

[the AntiPusher]

Roger lost because he sucked ass, simple as that. He is ancient and he looked ancient, slow as hell around court. He served decently but aside from that he did nothing even remotely well.

If this is the best he can do from here on out he will retire very soon. But you, me, and most importantly Roger, knows he still can do a lot better than his pathetic form since Wimbledon last year.

He lost because he wasn't able to convert the pressure points ( break points and TBr ) ..it was deja Vu to what he did to my dawg Pete in SW19 in 2001.. Stefanos did everything that Roger typically does to his opponents. He applied heavy pressure and was the aggressor. Unlike wacky Nicky or non grand slam Sasha, Stefanos was able to mamman his nerves like Fed did that unforgettable day vs Pete..You ain't upset that Roger lost but rather annoyed that the Dirt Devil is still available to continue into the second week

 

[Fiero425]

Nice, not really. I think he is nice today because he is euphoric after Federer’s loss.

I try not to take those posts too seriously since it's just stirring the pot unnecessarily! It's to be expected from a Nadal-ite! :whistle:

 

[the AntiPusher]

Huge Nadal fan here. He is absolutely not hitting his forehand better now than ever before, if that’s what you’re implying.

Agreed..Rafa is just pulling the string early in the rallies..Man..I am disappointed..I wanted Rafa to face Roger and Novak at AO under an open roof..

 

[lob]

Good post but the thing is he is starting most of the matches well, including really tight first sets like this one and the match vs. Evans. But then it's as though as soon as something doesn't go his way, like converting set points or break points late in the set, he just kind of slowly collapses. Maybe some of it is fatigue and not just playing well but a lot of it is mental. And surely the guys on tour are well aware of it. These past few major losses are classic cases of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

The way I see it, the past few major losses are about being unable to sustain momentum. One big occupational hazard of being RF is that everyone lots of people would kill to beat RF. So when RF misses opportunities, some opponents smell blood. Anderson, Milman and Tsitsipas.

And you are being highly optimistic.

 

[the AntiPusher]

Federer will never retire until he believes his record is safe from Nadal and Djokovic. If one of them wins this Australian Open then expect Federer to continue playing for a long time. And that’s even if he’s at a low level so get used to it. He will keep trying to add slams and hope for a miracle.

Roger's game is still able to defeat 95 percent of the current ATP tour consistently..no need for him to retire unless he can't win slams..

 

[The_Grand_Slam]

-24 on FH groundstrokes.
-3 on BH (7 winners/10 unforced errors)

 

[atttomole]

Federer will never retire until he believes his record is safe from Nadal and Djokovic. If one of them wins this Australian Open then expect Federer to continue playing for a long time. And that’s even if he’s at a low level so get used to it. He will keep trying to add slams and hope for a miracle.

All 3 of them will try to win as many slams as they can. They want the slam record. At 32, Nadal is still tweaking his serve, which tells you that he desperately wants the record. And if Djokovic wins this AO, he will be within 5 slams of Federer and 2 of Nadal.

 

[Fiero425]

All 3 of them will try to win as many slams as they can. They want the slam record. At 32, Nadal is still tweaking his serve, which tells you that he desperately wants the record. And if Djokovic wins this AO, he will be within 5 slams of Federer and 2 of Nadal.

At this point in their careers, what else can it be but to win SLAMS! They're in trouble if they start saying "for the love of the game!" Then we can expect some bad losses by "The BIG 3!" Right now, they're still competing well; 2 better than the other, but as long as Fed thinks he can be competitive, more power to him! I find it very entertaining to see him battling these kids; using every trick in the book to get thru these matches! He's been written off many times; sooner or later it'll be true!:whistle:

 

[Vince Evert]

View attachment 2023 View attachment 2024

-24 on FH groundstrokes.
-3 on BH (7 winners/10 unforced errors)

thanks. Those are very telling stats on the forehand speaks for itself. Same thing with break points squandered. You cant expect to win a match of this level after wasting 12 break points.

 

[DarthFed]

The way I see it, the past few major losses are about being unable to sustain momentum. One big occupational hazard of being RF is that everyone lots of people would kill to beat RF. So when RF misses opportunities, some opponents smell blood. Anderson, Milman and Tsitsipas.

And you are being highly optimistic.

Optimistic would be saying he's definitely winning more majors. I have a feeling that ship has sailed, because there is a pretty obvious transition as we speak in the depth and competitiveness of the field. I have a feeling we will be looking at it as a highly competitive field for the first time in a long time.

However, I guarantee Roger won't continue to be so pathetic as the last 8-9 months (currently now at #6!!!). If so then I'd imagine he calls it a career after this year.

 

[atttomole]

Optimistic would be saying he's definitely winning more majors. I have a feeling that ship has sailed, because there is a pretty obvious transition as we speak in the depth and competitiveness of the field. I have a feeling we will be looking at it as a highly competitive field for the first time in a long time.

However, I guarantee Roger won't continue to be so pathetic as the last 8-9 months (currently now at #6!!!). If so then I'd imagine he calls it a career after this year.

I agree. Even with a loss like this at 37, the margins are small. Roger is that good and I think he can still win more slams.

 

[Fiero425]

Optimistic would be saying he's definitely winning more majors. I have a feeling that ship has sailed, because there is a pretty obvious transition as we speak in the depth and competitiveness of the field. I have a feeling we will be looking at it as a highly competitive field for the first time in a long time.

However, I guarantee Roger won't continue to be so pathetic as the last 8-9 months (currently now at #6!!!). If so then I'd imagine he calls it a career after this year.

Well we all know he won't have another one of those miracle runs after 5 years waiting for 2017 AO! I figured he was done after '12 Wimbledon, but thanks to Murray and Djokovic being "on the shelf," it helped his chances and he was able to add 3 more majors to his resume holding Rafa at bay for a little while anyway! :whistle:

 

[Andy22]

Federer said he will likely play the clay court season, which gives him one more chance at the Double career slam.