Federer Gunning For ATP No. 1 in Rotterdam

[scoop]

Scoop Malinowski writes:

Catherine, I wonder why or who changed that and initiated the finalist and champion to make their speeches? Do you remember when this change was instituted? I think it's a good idea and it shows a different view of the players. It makes the grand occasion even more grand.

 

[Busted]

Well its going be hard for anyone to beat Federer oldest 1no but it can happen. Players like Djokovic, Andy Murray ,Nadal could bet it.

Unless those 3 guys make some changes to their games and play shorter points - they'll be retired long before 36 1/2.

 

[Busted]

I'm kind of surprised to see Roger take a wildcard into Rotterdamn, but his Dubai contract is up - and Rotterdamn is a lot closer to his home in Switzerland. I think it's a good idea to play Rotterdamn and then if he doesn't get enough points he can always play Dubai the last week of Feb. Nadal's going to lose 300 points and needs to make the final just to retain those points. The good news is that if Roger wins Rotterdamn, even if Nadal wins Acapulco - he can't take back the #1 slot until IW. And then he's got about 4680 clay points to defend...

 

[scoop]

Scoop Malinowski writes:

Busted, Fed did not have an overly taxing Aus Open. He has a rare opening to actually be No. 1, he has to take it and it's no surprise that he is going for it. Anything can happen, any injury can happen at any time. Any chance to be no. 1 you have to take it. Surely there are huge bonuses involved I would reckon with Nike, Wilson and maybe more of his sponsors. I know Rios earned $2.5m bonuses from both Nike and Yonex when he beat Agassi in Miami to be no. 1 in 1998. I would guess Fed's bonuses are far greater.

 

[Busted]

Well its ik

Well its OK then Federer cry then he wins, but then does it then he losses it make Federer look like a cry baby.lol AO 09 Federer is not a good loser

Wow, you Nadal fans are so stuck on that. Roger cried because he was playing for history - to tie Pete Sampras at 14 Slams. Some people were touched by how much it meant to him to make history and that he showed that side of himself on such a big occasion. Andy Murray cried at the 2010 ceremony after he lost to Roger and you Nadal fans aren't still shitting on him about that. It's at the 2:40 mark...

 

[Federberg]

The AO finals speech thing is brutal. It takes so long, and you're forced to stand out there and stew in front of the entire world. I don't fault any player for crying. I would rather give props to the ones who can hold themselves together like Rafa. That's proper man stuff right there

 

[Busted]

Scoop Malinowski writes:

Busted, Fed did not have an overly taxing Aus Open. He has a rare opening to actually be No. 1, he has to take it and it's no surprise that he is going for it. Anything can happen, any injury can happen at any time. Any chance to be no. 1 you have to take it. Surely there are huge bonuses involved I would reckon with Nike, Wilson and maybe more of his sponsors. I know Rios earned $2.5m bonuses from both Nike and Yonex when he beat Agassi in Miami to be no. 1 in 1998. I would guess Fed's bonuses are far greater.

I agree that he has to go for it. I just assumed he would play Dubai since Nadal has 300 points to defend that same week. But, this way if he at least makes the semis he'll be #1 for a few weeks. Nadal will have to win Acapulco to get back to #1 so he could still be #1 when IW starts.

 

[scoop]

Scoop Malinowski writes:

Federberger; One of the most touching emotional moments I ever saw in sports was Buster Douglas being interviewed by Larry Merchant after he knocked out Mike Tyson in Tokyo in 1990, giving Tyson his first professional loss. And Douglas was overcome by the emotions of the moment when Merchant mentioned the inspiration of his mother who had recently passed away. Buster suddenly broke down and cried but it did not tarnish the beautiful moment at all. Made it far more special.

 

[scoop]

Scoop Malinowski writes:

Duke, incredible interview. Tomic is very smart, very bright, well spoken, intelligent and he has his head on straight. He is not mentally off like Hewitt suggested. Tomic also clearly has the dirt on Tennis Australia and the corrupt figures involved that need to be removed. Stunning to hear him insinuate that Tennis Australia is corrupt like FIFA with their match fixing. Clearly Tomic has leverage and evidence of corruption of corruption and he plans on using it as leverage to get back into the good graces of the Davis Cup team. He might even use that leverage to force TA to remove Hewitt. The tone and certainty and defiance of Tomic's voice regarding TA corruption does not sound like a bluff at all. This situation is very interesting and I applaud and support Tomic on his way back to reaching the top 15 and 5 of tennis. The media is going to try to smear and slander him so he will need to be strong to take on the TA establishment.

 

[Federberg]

Scoop Malinowski writes:

Federberger; One of the most touching emotional moments I ever saw in sports was Buster Douglas being interviewed by Larry Merchant after he knocked out Mike Tyson in Tokyo in 1990, giving Tyson his first professional loss. And Douglas was overcome by the emotions of the moment when Merchant mentioned the inspiration of his mother who had recently passed away. Buster suddenly broke down and cried but it did not tarnish the beautiful moment at all. Made it far more special.

Yes I remember that. Don’t get me wrong I hold nothing against the guys who cry. In fact I find it touching, I warmed up to Murray after his 2012 loss to Roger in Wimbledon for example. But I’m even more impressed by the guys who hold it together like Roddick in 2009. He cried in the privacy of the dressing room, somehow that feels more poignant to me

 

[scoop]

Scoop Malinowski writes:

Nobody, no man wants to cry in public ever. But it happens on rare occasions and you have to understand and accept there was a pretty poignant reason for a man to breakdown and cry in public. No shame in doing it by any man. Emotions are too strong to control sometimes.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

Kyrgios is one player who could potentially stop Roger before Roger reaches SF (as he needs to get to #1), especially as Kyrgios is not a top 8 seed in Rotterdam. However, Kyrgios withdrew from Rotterdam today due to Elbow injury.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

I can take crying by winner by and large. I can understand and sympathize with the crying of loser (my only problem is that it
may spoil the mood for the winner and his team) and I agree that it shows how much they care.

But, one crying I cannot take is the crying during the match (like Sabine Lisciki did in Wimbledon finals). Come on, please
cry before or after the match. Please focus on playing the game during the match.

 

[Moxie]

To be honest, despite being Fed fan, I did not like Fed crying in 2009 after AO loss. I felt it took the limelight away from Rafa.
However, Fed did not do it intentionally and it was just that he was genuinely overcame by strong emotions. Nowadays, I am used
to his crying.

p.s. Funny, they call Stan the cry baby who has never cried even when people insult his GF.

I was upset with Federer for that, at the time. I did think it took away from Rafa's moment. But I got over it. There was a lot of pressure on Roger to tie Pete, it was a tough loss, and Rafa handled it really well. I appreciate that you saw that, though.

 

[Moxie]

Scoop Malinowski writes:

Federer cried in 2009 when the crowd roared for him if I remember correctly during his consolation speech, combined with the presence of Rod Laver, he just was overcome by all the emotions. It did not take any glory away from Nadal. I would say it made the triumph even more special and more memorable for the fans. Special moment in tennis history. Signature moment, sort of like Guga drawing the heart on clay on Chatrier.

When Roger couldn't continue his speech, Rafa threw his arm around Roger's neck and spoke to him. Then they gave Rafa the trophy, and he didn't hold it above his head, only at shoulder level. He honored the tournament and the crowd, but he didn't show up a great champion. That's nothing you could have prepared for. I think it was one of Rafa's best moments, as a gentleman and a sportsman. It showed his character, which some do disparage.

 

[Andy22]

Unless those 3 guys make some changes to their games and play shorter points - they'll be retired long before 36 1/2.

Not really Djokovic has only one major injury He's got at least 5 more years left , Murray might not make to 36 but will get close. Nadal we don't know how long he will play could be just 3 more seasons or it could be 6 So well will see in time.

 

[scoop]

Scoop Malinowski writes:

Roger is going to win and rename the event Roggerdam

 

[scoop]

Scoop Malinowski writes:

GSandM, if tears flow naturally during a match it should not be criticized. It's natural, Tennis is a game of agony and ecstasy. It's hard to watch a player cry during a match and to see that level of suffering but it's part of the sport, like violent displays of rage, you just have to accept.

 

[scoop]

Scoop Malinowski writes:

yes Moxie, the drama of that emotional trophy ceremony showed us new aspects of each of Rafa and Fed's characters. So it was special and we should just accept and appreciate what we saw and not condemn Roger for losing his emotional self control. There are no perfect people in the ATP top 100 as far as I know.

 

[scoop]

Scoop Malinowski writes:

Duke, Tomic said with rock solid concrete certainty that he stands by the nuclear bomb accusations that he unleashed on Tennis Australia and most likely Hewitt. He did not flinch. Obviously he has the information and the dirt and he intends on using it to his advantage. I'm sure he will eventually get his way, if he can regain his fitness and confidence and top 20 results. Which I believe he has made clear he is going to work hard to do. And he did it once before falling to around 150 then fighting back to top 18. So Tomic has done it and he can do it again. I think there are some major tensions between Tomic and Hewitt and from what I could detect in this interview by Tomic, Tomic is going to be a tough man for Hewitt to get rid of. Gonna get very interesting this Tomic vs Hewitt feud.