Federer's Schedule 2018

[Andy22]

What do you mean by coming from nowhere? I said in the forums after their 2009 match that next time Nole plays Rafa on clay he will beat him. You could feel that if you watched the 2009 Madrid semi that Nole was supposed to win, but choked in last couple of points. For the rest, he was top 3 or 4 player for several years before 2011. Did you expect him not to improve ever?

I did not mean like , that clearly djokovic was one of the best players in the world going in to the 2011 season, but going from being 3rd best for 3 years to best in just 6 months was a bit weird to me. Federer was past his prime at the time so OK?

 

[Mastoor]

I haven't manage to find following discussed here. According to Rafa, Federer called him one day and said he'd like to play a 5 setter with him. He said he assumed Federer probably meant at Roland Garros since that was the closest slam. Then, he says Federer called him again 2 days later and said he won't play on clay. Rafa pointed out a contradiction in that.

I guess the first call was on the 1st of April.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

I haven't manage to find following discussed here. According to Rafa, Federer called him one day and said he'd like to play a 5 setter with him. He said he assumed Federer probably meant at Roland Garros since that was the closest slam. Then, he says Federer called him again 2 days later and said he won't play on clay. Rafa pointed out a contradiction in that.

I guess the first call was on the 1st of April.

I have no clue what you are talking about considering Fed announced right away after his Miami loss that he is not playing on Clay this year. Can you post some link or other evidence to what you are mentioning.

 

[Mastoor]

I have no clue what you are talking about considering Fed announced right away after his Miami loss that he is not playing on Clay this year. Can you post some link or other evidence to what you are mentioning.

Of course, if you understand Serbian. Here it is, educate yourself:

http://sportklub.rs/Tenis/ATP/a237187-Rafa-Zvao-me-je-Rodzer-nesto-je-tu-kontradiktorno.html


and googling I found the same in English

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tennis/...r-avoiding-facing-clay-suggests-rafael-nadal/

 

[GameSetAndMath]

I haven't manage to find following discussed here. According to Rafa, Federer called him one day and said he'd like to play a 5 setter with him. He said he assumed Federer probably meant at Roland Garros since that was the closest slam. Then, he says Federer called him again 2 days later and said he won't play on clay. Rafa pointed out a contradiction in that.

I guess the first call was on the 1st of April.

Funny, you posted as though Fed made a telephone call to Rafa and said something. When I asked you to post a link, it becomes clear that no such call was made. At best, some general statement made by Fed has been taken out of context.

 

[Moxie]

Funny, you posted as though Fed made a telephone call to Rafa and said something. When I asked you to post a link, it becomes clear that no such call was made. At best, some general statement made by Fed has been taken out of context.

Or a joke from Rafa that was taken out of context. A question was asked, a comment made, and then headlines get written. Very silly.

 

[Busted]

Funny, you posted as though Fed made a telephone call to Rafa and said something. When I asked you to post a link, it becomes clear that no such call was made. At best, some general statement made by Fed has been taken out of context.

Nadal didn't say this convo happened recently and he was making a joke. I think he's referring to last year in Shanghai. Roger was asked in the press conference after winning his last 4 or 5 matches against Nadal. Roger joked that part of that was avoiding Nadal on clay. A reporter then asked him if he'd ever again play on clay and play Nadal on clay. Roger said he'd love to play Nadal in another 5-setter on clay.. Then a reporter told Nadal what Roger had said and he said something about asking Roger about it. Now Nadal is joking about it and that reporter just misinterpreted what he said.

 

[Moxie]

Nadal didn't say this convo happened recently and he was making a joke. I think he's referring to last year in Shanghai. Roger was asked in the press conference after winning his last 4 or 5 matches against Nadal. Roger joked that part of that was avoiding Nadal on clay. A reporter then asked him if he'd ever again play on clay and play Nadal on clay. Roger said he'd love to play Nadal in another 5-setter on clay.. Then a reporter told Nadal what Roger had said and he said something about asking Roger about it. Now Nadal is joking about it and that reporter just misinterpreted what he said.

Thanks for making sense of that.

 

[monfed]

Fred did the right thing by skipping clay. I hope he skips Laver Cup and Canada MS. Also he should start skipping Basel for Bercy.

 

[isabelle]

he confirmed his come back in Stuttgart

 

[monfed]

Fred is making a mistake playing Stuttgart. This will screw up Wimbledon if he goes deep in both Stuttgart and Halle. The upside is that if he loses Wimbledon, he will be highly motivated to win another USO which is more important for his legacy than another Wimbledon as he already has the record there.

 

[10isfan]

Let’s see if Fed can do what his fans hoped he would have done last year, protect against injuries to win 3 of the 4 majors.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

Fred is making a mistake playing Stuttgart. This will screw up Wimbledon if he goes deep in both Stuttgart and Halle. .

No, grass matches are much faster and typically Fed won't be on court for more than 80 minutes per match. Also, there is a week of gap between Halle and Wimbledon. So, this is not a bad scheduling decision (like playing in Montreal last year).

Stuttgart remains as the answer to the trivia question "Name a grass tourney that Fed has played but never won". So, it would be nice to have a win there. Further, these titles will help him get to Connors faster (even though the title count of Connors as all of us know is essentially made up of disproportionate number of Small tourneys, almost like Vilas on Clay).

Finally, playing both Stuttgart and Halle, gives himself the protection of actually getting enough match practice on grass, even if he were to lose early in one of them.

 

[Moxie]

^ I agree with this. Roger will be well-rested by skipping the clay season, and he'll have the advantage over everyone who plays RG by having his feet in the grass earlier. Unfortunately (for some of us,) he should be placed to be peaking on grass by Wimbledon.

 

[DarthFed]

At most he would play 9 matches on lightning fast grass and have a week off. Assuming he doesn't have a bunch of long struggles he'd be fine but if he does lose early in Stuttgart again it's not really a big deal. He will be gunning harder for Halle, it'd be 10 there if he wins this year.

 

[monfed]

No, grass matches are much faster and typically Fed won't be on court for more than 80 minutes per match. Also, there is a week of gap between Halle and Wimbledon. So, this is not a bad scheduling decision (like playing in Montreal last year).

Stuttgart remains as the answer to the trivia question "Name a grass tourney that Fed has played but never won". So, it would be nice to have a win there. Further, these titles will help him get to Connors faster (even though the title count of Connors as all of us know is essentially made up of disproportionate number of Small tourneys, almost like Vilas on Clay).

Finally, playing both Stuttgart and Halle, gives himself the protection of actually getting enough match practice on grass, even if he were to lose early in one of them.

Fed is almost 37, he can't go more than 2 tournaments in a row, three is risking it specially if the third one is the most important one. So he should get some practice in Stuttgart and Halle but win only one of them(preferably Halle) and goes with a full tank in Wimbledon.

 

[Moxie]

...Halle, it'd be 10 there if he wins this year.

Der Zehnte!

 

[Busted]

Fred is making a mistake playing Stuttgart. This will screw up Wimbledon if he goes deep in both Stuttgart and Halle. The upside is that if he loses Wimbledon, he will be highly motivated to win another USO which is more important for his legacy than another Wimbledon as he already has the record there.

I don't think it's a mistake. I think it's more about acclimating himself to grass before Halle. He has no points to defend in Stuttgart since he lost in the first round last year. He has 500 to defend in Halle and 2000 at Wimbledon. I think he just wants to get in some grass court practice and work on his grass game. Plus, by Stuttgart it will be 3 months since he last played a match. He needs to get in some matches before Wimbledon. Losing first round Stuttgart because he's rusty? Meh. Losing first Halle because he's rusty? Problematic. Losing first round Wimbledon because he hasn't played enough matches over the last 4 months? Catastrophe with 2000 points on the line.

 

[Busted]

Fed is almost 37, he can't go more than 2 tournaments in a row, three is risking it specially if the third one is the most important one. So he should get some practice in Stuttgart and Halle but win only one of them(preferably Halle) and goes with a full tank in Wimbledon.

Read the schedule again It is only 2 tournaments in a row. Wimbledon is 2 weeks after Halle. Grass matches are much quicker and easier on the body. Stop worrying like an old woman. This ain't Roger's first year on the tour. He knows how to manage his schedule and his body better than anybody on the tour. He made it to age 34 without a serious injury that required surgery or a long time off the tour and NONE of the other top guys can say that.

 

[DarthFed]

I don't think it's a mistake. I think it's more about acclimating himself to grass before Halle. He has no points to defend in Stuttgart since he lost in the first round last year. He has 500 to defend in Halle and 2000 at Wimbledon. I think he just wants to get in some grass court practice and work on his grass game. Plus, by Stuttgart it will be 3 months since he last played a match. He needs to get in some matches before Wimbledon. Losing first round Stuttgart because he's rusty? Meh. Losing first Halle because he's rusty? Problematic. Losing first round Wimbledon because he hasn't played enough matches over the last 4 months? Catastrophe with 2000 points on the line.

Losing Wimbledon any round is a disaster, past time for #9 this year.

But I agree that he has to play Stuttgart because of the possibility he just shows up to Halle and loses early. Worst-case scenario is he plays 9 matches and we all know if he's in good form those matches will average an hour at most. The worry would be if something crazy happens and he gets stretched to 3 sets a bunch of times.