Federer's Schedule 2018

[Andy22]

And lost both times. If only the ATP would move the darned thing to clay! He'd show 'em then...

Well yes only fair the Wft should be on clay, for the next 3 seasons, better for the player's less Injury's.

 

[El Dude]

Well yes only fair the Wft should be on clay, for the next 3 seasons, better for the player's less Injury's.

Big tournaments by court type:

Outdoor Hard: 7 (Australian Open, Indian Wells, Miami, Canada, Cincinnati, US Open, Shanghai)
Indoor Hard: 2 (Paris, WTF)
Clay: 4 (Monte Carlo, Madrid, Rome, French Open)
Grass: 1 (Wimbledon)

So let's see, take away one of only two indoor hard tournaments and turn it into a clay tournament, just so your favorite player has a chance to win it?

Or we could take one of those outdoor hard Masters and turn it into grass to diversify things a bit, and honor "the" traditional court type more, but maybe that's just me...

 

[Andy22]

Big tournaments by court type:

Outdoor Hard: 7 (Australian Open, Indian Wells, Miami, Canada, Cincinnati, US Open, Shanghai)
Indoor Hard: 2 (Paris, WTF)
Clay: 4 (Monte Carlo, Madrid, Rome, French Open)
Grass: 1 (Wimbledon)

So let's see, take away one of only two indoor hard tournaments and turn it into a clay tournament, just so your favorite player has a chance to win it?

Or we could take one of those outdoor hard Masters and turn it into grass to diversify things a bit, and honor "the" traditional court type more, but maybe that's just me...

its not for nadal it help with less injurys to players better for everyone, and I agree they sould have more grass events maybe a masters. also could have the A0 on clay or at least slow down the court.

 

[DarthFed]

its not for nadal it help with less injurys to players better for everyone, and I agree they sould have more grass events maybe a masters. also could have the A0 on clay or at least slow down the court.

Your tears are delicious. I tell you what, I will gladly have them slow down AO again if they speed up Wimbledon and USO to where they used to be. Roger could be winning slams past 40 if those were playing properly fast.

 

[Andy22]

Your tears are delicious. I tell you what, I will gladly have them slow down AO again if they speed up Wimbledon and USO to where they used to be. Roger could be winning slams past 40 if those were playing properly fast.

the USO can stay the some, good how it is now, Wimbledon I agree.

 

[DarthFed]

USO is terrible how it is, they've ruined dear Moxie's hometown tourney

But since they sped up AO the net effect is the same so I won't complain. Surprised you'd want grass sped up.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

It is official. Fed is not playing in Dubai

I think he made a good decision. Possibly, defending IW & M is more important.

 

[Federberg]

It is official. Fed is not playing in Dubai

That's good news. It makes sense because it means he can now focus on the sunshine double. Defend those points if possible, then hopefully hibernate through the clay season

 

[Busted]

Well yes only fair the Wft should be on clay, for the next 3 seasons, better for the player's less Injury's.

Sometimes I goad you just to see what silly thing you'll say next. As Roger has said - there's an entire clay court season (that stretches from Feb to early August!). Grass court season is only 5 weeks. The tour finals is during WINTER when it's indoor season so why should it be played on clay when half of the season is already played on clay? Too bad, so sad for Nadal. Doesn't really speak well of his fans' faith in him when they think the only way he can win the tour finals is to move it to clay. Actually...we know Nadal thinks that as well since he keeps complaining that it's nto fair that it's always played on indoor hard courts. Boo hoo hoo.

 

[Busted]

Big tournaments by court type:

Outdoor Hard: 7 (Australian Open, Indian Wells, Miami, Canada, Cincinnati, US Open, Shanghai)
Indoor Hard: 2 (Paris, WTF)
Clay: 4 (Monte Carlo, Madrid, Rome, French Open)
Grass: 1 (Wimbledon)

So let's see, take away one of only two indoor hard tournaments and turn it into a clay tournament, just so your favorite player has a chance to win it?

Or we could take one of those outdoor hard Masters and turn it into grass to diversify things a bit, and honor "the" traditional court type more, but maybe that's just me...

You can't reason with Nadal fans on this. The fact of the matter is - Nadal can play on clay courts from Feb to August if he so chooses. Sure, a lot of the events are 250 events, but that's beside the point. He's made a fortune winning the same 5 tournaments - Monte Carlo, Madrid, Rome, Roland Garros, Barcelona). They account for 42 of his 53 clay titles and 22 of his 30 Masters titles. If Roger spent as much time bitching about the lack of grass court Masters events as Nadal spends whining about the tour finals not being on clay, then his fans would be all over Roger and calling him a spoiled diva....which is what I'm calling Nadal for always whining about the tour finals...

 

[Busted]

Your tears are delicious. I tell you what, I will gladly have them slow down AO again if they speed up Wimbledon and USO to where they used to be. Roger could be winning slams past 40 if those were playing properly fast.

Just think of all the Slams he lost because they slowed down the courts. Or just think how much more Nadal's fans would be whining if they had sped up clay the way they've slowed down grass and hard courts.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

Now that the uncertainty is over till end of March, let us begin speculation over the (possibly non-existent) Clay court schedule of Fed.

Minimum Schedule on Clay - No brainer here, none at all.
Maximum Schedule on Clay for Fed - Madrid, Rome and RG.

The speculation is on where exactly it will be between the above two extremes.

My take on it as follows.

1. If Fed thinks he has decent chance of winning RG, he should play just Rome and RG.

In this case, after that he should skip Stuttgart, play just Halle and Wimbledon.
Also, he should skip Canada, play just Cinci and USO.
Then, time to reassess.

2. If Fed thinks he does not have decent chance of winning RG, but none the less feels
that some clay points are needed to boost his YE #1 Chances, he should play Madrid
and Rome and skip RG. Chances of Fatigue will be less, as he will be playing only
three set matches on clay. Also, most probably he will not go deep in both and so
fatigue will be less. Also, as he is skipping RG, he will have time to reorient himself
from grinding style to ultra-aggressive style. Further, as he is skipping RG, he can
enter Stuttgart and possibly gather another easy title and also get more practice
on grass as reorientation of style is an issue here.

In this case, after that he should play Stuttgart, Halle and Wimbledon.
After that, he should skip Canada, play just Cinci and USO.
Then, time to reassess.

3. Skip clay completely. Focus on winning both Wimbledon and USO. If he can win
both, he is virtually assured of YE #1, even with 0 clay points.

In this case, after that he should play Stuttgart, Halle and Wimbledon.
After that, he should skip Canada, play just Cinci and USO.
Then, time to reassess.

I hope he does either 1 or 3. Option 2 is weird and should be considered only
if he flunks at both IW and M.

What do you guys think? Which one of the above three ideas is good for Fed?

 

[The_Grand_Slam]

Now that the uncertainty is over till end of March, let us begin speculation over the (possibly non-existent) Clay court schedule of Fed.

Minimum Schedule on Clay - No brainer here, none at all.
Maximum Schedule on Clay for Fed - Madrid, Rome and RG.

The speculation is on where exactly it will be between the above two extremes.

My take on it as follows.

1. If Fed thinks he has decent chance of winning RG, he should play just Rome and RG.

In this case, after that he should skip Stuttgart, play just Halle and Wimbledon.
Also, he should skip Canada, play just Cinci and USO.
Then, time to reassess.

2. If Fed thinks he does not have decent chance of winning RG, but none the less feels
that some clay points are needed to boost his YE #1 Chances, he should play Madrid
and Rome and skip RG. Chances of Fatigue will be less, as he will be playing only
three set matches on clay. Also, most probably he will not go deep in both and so
fatigue will be less. Also, as he is skipping RG, he will have time to reorient himself
from grinding style to ultra-aggressive style. Further, as he is skipping RG, he can
enter Stuttgart and possibly gather another easy title and also get more practice
on grass as reorientation of style is an issue here.

In this case, after that he should play Stuttgart, Halle and Wimbledon.
After that, he should skip Canada, play just Cinci and USO.
Then, time to reassess.

3. Skip clay completely. Focus on winning both Wimbledon and USO. If he can win
both, he is virtually assured of YE #1, even with 0 clay points.

In this case, after that he should play Stuttgart, Halle and Wimbledon.
After that, he should skip Canada, play just Cinci and USO.
Then, time to reassess.

What do you guys think? Which one of the above three ideas is good for Fed?

From your options,3rd is the best
Regarding Clay-

Most likely he will skip it all but just for speculation purpose,
In my opinion,he should play-
1.Monte Carlo-most top guys except Nadal skip it as its the only non-mandatory masters event (last years field was very easy)and if he wants to go for points he should try it here since even if he doesn't feel physically well on the surface there's plenty of time to recover for grass season and you never know he might get lucky and Nadal falters he gets a missing masters title

2.Madrid-If he's really targeting a clay title,this should be the one.

3.Rome-Since Madrid and Rome switched spots and due to its close proximity to French Open many top clay guys might not give their all here.And again an opportunity to add a missing masters title if stars align

4.French- Test out the clay game in a clay masters and Play only if he feels physically fine on the surface.

 

[MartyB]

I feel that the next time Fed plays the French is when he does his goodbye tour. There are certain tournaments that players have a history of doing well in and if he's going to play any clay Madrid seems the one. I suspect he would even have a decent shot at beating Nadal on that clay surface. As for the rest concentrate on the grass tournaments Halle/Stuttgart before Wimbledon as you guys said skip Canada go to Cincy hopefully win the US Open.He will play Shanghai and Basel.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

From your options,3rd is the best
Regarding Clay-

Most likely he will skip it all but just for speculation purpose,
In my opinion,he should play-
1.Monte Carlo-most top guys except Nadal skip it as its the only non-mandatory masters event (last years field was very easy)and if he wants to go for points he should try it here since even if he doesn't feel physically well on the surface there's plenty of time to recover for grass season and you never know he might get lucky and Nadal falters he gets a missing masters title

.

That is an interesting take on Monte Carlo. However, I am positive that Fed will not be playing there this year. MC happens just two weeks after the tiring Sunshine Double. Fed likes a long break ( at least a stretch of five weeks of not only no match play, but also no practice) at
this time and so I am sure MC is not under consideration.

 

[Moxie]

Sometimes I goad you just to see what silly thing you'll say next. As Roger has said - there's an entire clay court season (that stretches from Feb to early August!). Grass court season is only 5 weeks. The tour finals is during WINTER when it's indoor season so why should it be played on clay when half of the season is already played on clay? Too bad, so sad for Nadal. Doesn't really speak well of his fans' faith in him when they think the only way he can win the tour finals is to move it to clay. Actually...we know Nadal thinks that as well since he keeps complaining that it's nto fair that it's always played on indoor hard courts. Boo hoo hoo.

Not to totally derail this thread, but just to be accurate: Half the season is not played on clay. One third of it is, since you're including all tournaments in regular ATP. Also, WTF is only played in winter in half of the world...the other half is having their summer.

Big tournaments by court type:

Outdoor Hard: 7 (Australian Open, Indian Wells, Miami, Canada, Cincinnati, US Open, Shanghai)
Indoor Hard: 2 (Paris, WTF)
Clay: 4 (Monte Carlo, Madrid, Rome, French Open)
Grass: 1 (Wimbledon)

So let's see, take away one of only two indoor hard tournaments and turn it into a clay tournament, just so your favorite player has a chance to win it?

Or we could take one of those outdoor hard Masters and turn it into grass to diversify things a bit, and honor "the" traditional court type more, but maybe that's just me...

You can split these tournaments up a few ways and skew the results of percentages differently. MS1000s are 60% HC, 30% clay. But is it really correct to pull out indoor HCs and treat them as if they're the poor relation? I mean, the majority of the tour is played on HCs...over 54% of all tournaments, and rather more than two of them are on indoor HCs. Hard courts are 50% of the Majors + YEC. Clay 25% of Majors, even though it represents 33+% of the calendar, and grass is 25%, although grass is only played in 12% of tournaments. Obviously, it would be silly to split the Majors any other way, given that there are only 4, and respecting tradition. The one that could float is the YEC.

The only argument I've ever made about the YEC is that is should rotate surfaces and venues. It would help to even out the surface preference to HCs in the biggest tournaments, the Euro-/GBR/USA monopoly of same, and it would give more representation to grass. The regular season is over after Bercy. There is no prescription that the YEC has to follow on with indoor HC, or even be played in Europe/UK/winter. Davis Cup finals also comes after the regular season and is not beholden to indoor HC.

 

[El Dude]

@Moxie, I don't have any problem with the WTF rotating. But let's be honest: Rafa and some of his fans want it to rotate (or on clay) so he has a better chance of winning it.

If I were to make adjustments to the schedule, I'd rotate the WTF between hard, grass, and clay, and get rid of one of the hard Masters and replace it with Halle as a Masters.

 

[Moxie]

@Moxie, I don't have any problem with the WTF rotating. But let's be honest: Rafa and some of his fans want it to rotate (or on clay) so he has a better chance of winning it.

If I were to make adjustments to the schedule, I'd rotate the WTF between hard, grass, and clay, and get rid of one of the hard Masters and replace it with Halle as a Masters.

What extremist Rafa fans want is of no interest to me. What Rafa and Toni have said, over the years, is that the WTF should at least sometimes be played on clay. That is what you and I are both saying. So I don't think you need to denigrate Nadal for saying it, if you actually think it would be fair. Separate that from Nadaltards.

Around these parts, we've all been in favor of a MS1000 on grass. I don't think there's a serious tennis fan that wouldn't campaign for that. I don't care if it's Halle or Queens, though Halle would be a better distribution, geographically, and I think the grass is considered to play faster there, so it would satisfy many complaints. I know there is a minimum facility requirement, but I don't see why the ATP couldn't help Halle meet it, financially. I believe that Queens is more size-restricted, too, so the real option is Halle, or taking one of the 250s and kitting out their facilities to make a proper 1000.

 

[DarthFed]

The Dude is being diplomatic in regards to the YEC rotating. There is no reason for it, moving it to clay would render the indoor season meaningless and you'd have a tournament of the 8 best players having to adjust their games to a completely different surface. It makes zero sense and there's a reason it's only Nadal and his fans pushing for it. "Please let me win, I suck when ball doesn't bounce high, no?

 

[DarthFed]

Just think of all the Slams he lost because they slowed down the courts. Or just think how much more Nadal's fans would be whining if they had sped up clay the way they've slowed down grass and hard courts.

They cry enough about YEC as is. It'd be crazy if it suddenly switched to everything playing faster.