Will Federer ever compete at world tour finals ever again?

[mightyjeditribble]

Points to defend aren't really relevant here -given that he has nothing much to defend, his best ranking this year is virtually guaranteed to be his YE ranking.

Last year Djokovic won two GS and reached another final, not to mention however many MS events he won. He still only ended up as #2.

Ok, this year is likely to see the points a bit more split around. Even so, I don't think Roger can or should play the kind of schedule that would make this likely. If he wins Wimbledon, it could happen I suppose. But it will depend on the other guys too.

Barring injury, top 4 seems much more likely. But let's remember that there are quite a few players who will probably be in contention. Are we really expecting a big 4 YE top 4? If not, who would drop out? Fed has a head start, but the year is very very young.

 

[Front242]

Djokovic is defending a ton of points till RG as is Murray for the whole year. Still think Roger makes year end top 2.

 

[mightyjeditribble]

Djokovic is defending a ton of points till RG as is Murray for the whole year. Still think Roger makes year end top 2.

How is defending points relevant? Surely all that matters is how much they win for the rest of the year. In 2015, Fed won 6 titles, including 1 MS, reached 11 finals (including 2 GS + 3 MS + WTF) - and still ended up #3 in the world.

Of course, I'd love to see it - but not at the cost of injury / fatigue leading to losing out at the big titles.

 

[Front242]

It's relevant as Roger was number 2 till he got injured. Now that he's fit again I expect him to have a good chance to return to the top if the AO is anything to go by.

 

[mrzz]

In fact, as far as the year end rankings are concerned, it is better to defend points than not, as it means you are better seeded. Anyway Federer did himself a nice favor with his jump in AO. One good showing in Dubai an he might be already top 8. Being top 4 by Wimbledon is doable, and in fact the 4# seed there is easier for him than the #4 spot in the rankings given their own system. Then, barring upsets and injuries, a top 4 seed at USO is doable to say the least.

 

[Kieran]

You mean, you think he has "a good chance" to become #1 again?

 

[mightyjeditribble]

It's relevant as Roger was number 2 till he got injured. Now that he's fit again I expect him to have a good chance to return to the top if the AO is anything to go by.

Afaik, Roger got injured in/after AO 2016. He lost his #2 ranking by end of 2015.

I'm not saying it's impossible, and I'd love to see it; I just think he'll play a lighter schedule than he did then, and it'll be some feat to match the level he played at then (even though he didn't win a GS, so he's ahead on that count now).

In short, in addition to having a great year, Fed would have to rely on a significant fall in level from Djokovic and/or Murray, a limit to Nadal's resurgence, and none of the non-"big 4" pack making a big enough breakthrough.

Of course, I also didn't think Roger would win the AO ...

 

[Front242]

You mean, you think he has "a good chance" to become #1 again?

Good chance of number 2 I reckon if Novak's slump continues and Murray is a beatable and not dominant number 1 as we've already seen. Points wise either is possible but clearly number 2 would be more realistically possible. Number 1 is merely a chance but it's not impossible. Winning a slam at age 35 against his nemesis shows anything is possible with the right draw. Got to get that disclaimer in there.

 

[El Dude]

Ironically Roger had the "wrong" draw, or at least a very hard one that was slightly ameliorated by Mischa rather than Andy.

 

[Front242]

Yup, his initial draw was extremely tough but his actual draw as it turned out was also very tough. He truly won this one the hard way.

 

[Shivashish Sarkar]

Berdych
Nishikori
Wawrinka
Nadal

That's some line up.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

Berdych
Nishikori
Wawrinka
Nadal

That's some line up.

It is very simple to realize how tough was Roger's actual draw, if you look at the following tidbit. The last time a player needed to score four top 10 match wins to win a GS title was in 1982. That was Mats Wilander. It was 35 years ago.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

The funny thing is that many times it looked like stars aligned for Roger to win one more GS (like in 2014 W, 2014 USO, 2015 W and 2015 USO). But, it didn't materialize. So, many posters (such as Moxie, who is no longer around these boards) posted saying even when stars align Fed is not making it happen and so he is done and there is very less chance that he will win another one.

This time stars "anti-aligned" so to speak and Fed delivered. :laydownlaughing

 

[Shivashish Sarkar]

The funny thing is that many times it looked like stars aligned for Roger to win one more GS (like in 2014 W, 2014 USO, 2015 W and 2015 USO). But, it didn't materialize. So, many posters (such as Moxie, who is no longer around these boards) posted saying even when stars align Fed is not making it happen and so he is done and there is very less chance that he will win another one.

This time stars "anti-aligned" so to speak and Fed delivered. :laydownlaughing

Yeah, the 18th title came in a odd situation.

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[isabelle]

The funny thing is that many times it looked like stars aligned for Roger to win one more GS (like in 2014 W, 2014 USO, 2015 W and 2015 USO). But, it didn't materialize. So, many posters (such as Moxie, who is no longer around these boards) posted saying even when stars align Fed is not making it happen and so he is done and there is very less chance that he will win another one.

This time stars "anti-aligned" so to speak and Fed delivered. :laydownlaughing

Yeah, the 18th title came in a odd situation.

Sent from my Titanium Octane using Tapatalk

both Andy and Novak decided to offer Mr Vavrinec a nice present for his comeback...they lost early to allow him to win, aren't they great friends ??? let's see if they do it again all year long

 

[Shivashish Sarkar]

The funny thing is that many times it looked like stars aligned for Roger to win one more GS (like in 2014 W, 2014 USO, 2015 W and 2015 USO). But, it didn't materialize. So, many posters (such as Moxie, who is no longer around these boards) posted saying even when stars align Fed is not making it happen and so he is done and there is very less chance that he will win another one.

This time stars "anti-aligned" so to speak and Fed delivered. :laydownlaughing

Yeah, the 18th title came in a odd situation.

Sent from my Titanium Octane using Tapatalk

both Andy and Novak decided to offer Mr Vavrinec a nice present for his comeback...they lost early to allow him to win, aren't they great friends ??? let's see if they do it again all year long

Mr. Bollywood wasn't the guy to be beaten at Oz Open anyway. Murray was, but he let himself drown by playing too passively against Melzer. He seemed to be lacking grand slam temperament inspite of having won 3.

 

[Front242]

Roger will not only play more WTFs, he'll win more.

are you kidding ? i bet you are !!

I'm still serious about this. Still think I'm kidding? Must suck for the Fed haters.

 

[Front242]

Going out on a limb here to say I think Roger has a good shot at ending the year in the top 2 due to lack of points to defend and more importantly how both he and the competition are playing. A lot can change over the year of course but I'm sticking with my prediction.

Well, I made this prediction on Feb 1st and I'm sticking to it.

 

[El Dude]

Yes, he will.

Should I just lock this thread now?

 

[Kieran]

I recall back in more innocent times, sepia-toned days - 2013, in fact! - when mere stripling of 26 years old eased himself back into the fray by scaling the leisurely clay inclines of Guatemala and Tibet, it was suggested quite strongly that his subsequent run of brilliance was down to something shady and nefarious. A 26 year old, no less - not even a 27 year old, or indeed, a 30 year old.

I first called Federer The Deathless One in 2014, because his results then were "noteworthy" and his endurance and energy levels were incredible for a 33 year old. Now, three years further down the road, rather than his return displaying signs of rust, age, fatigiue, etc, he's playing like a player 10 years younger. His recovery times are non-existent, and I'm thinking that as a nickname, The Deathless One (and its colleague, The Octogenarian) might be considered compliments. I think I'll need a more exact upgrade on these, as nicknames go. Dorian Grey comes to mind, though this is unimaginative. Leave it with me, I been busy lately, I'll get back to you.

As for the point in question, of course Federer with play the WhatTheFeck. He qualified after Oz, no? But he'll not only play it this year: he'll play it the next five, or ten years, as long as his rejuvenated conditioning holds. he's taking time off now for a recharge before Paris. The mind boggles, somewhat. He'll be like an aged 100m sprinter smashing world records soon.