Will Roger Use New or Old Racquet when he comes back in Cincy?

[GameSetAndMath]

if he goes back to his old one he is finished.

he needs a raquet that gives him a bit more power and a bigger sweet spot,,his reactions and speed are too slow for his 90-ins racquet.

Perhaps, you misunderstood my question. This thread is specifically
about what he will use in Cincy.

I do believe, like you, that he should change racquets. But, I am
of the opinion that he should postpone this change at least until
after USO, if not after WTF. Does not look like a good idea to
experiment at this critical stage.

naah..he was turning rubbish with the 90ins one..he clearly does not believe in it any more otherwise he wouldn't have changed, so he should stay with the new racquet..his back injury had more to do with the swiss open loss more than the racquet, so new stick (98) at cincy and usa open.

It'd be more of a critical stage if Fed was considered any kind of a decent favorite at the USO. His ranking has dropped, he has no confidence and his back is an issue. New racquet or old racquet Fed is a long shot at the USO so there is no need to suddenly switch back and hope he magically starts playing great.

I am not expecting him to win the USO. But, I do want to make
a decent run there. It is critical as making it to the WTF depends
to a large extent on this. We don't want to get into a situation where
he plays all kinds of crazy tournaments like Malaysia etc just to
qualify for WTF.

 

[ashwin#1]

Roger will be using the new racquet. Just saw A recent pic in twitter where he's with Denis Kudla in cincy courts & the black coloured racquet is near his bag..

 

[GameSetAndMath]

Roger will be using the new racquet. Just saw A recent pic in twitter where he's with Denis Kudla in cincy courts & the black coloured racquet is near his bag..

According to this article, it appears Roger is still undecided or
at least he has not made his decision public.

http://www.tennis.com/gear/2013/08/sampras-federers-racquet-switch-worth-try-beware/48699/#.UgXUGxDD-M8

 

[GameSetAndMath]

Roger has answered the question. He plans to play with the
new 98 sq. in. racquet in Cincy. He also claims he is free of
back pain and is fit, mentally motivated and passionate.

http://sports.inquirer.net/114187/tennis-healthy-federer-says-back-pain-a-memory

p.s. Mods, you can close this poll at this time, if you can.

 

[DarthFed]

Roger has answered the question. He plans to play with the
new 98 sq. in. racquet in Cincy. He also claims he is free of
back pain and is fit, mentally motivated and passionate.

http://sports.inquirer.net/114187/tennis-healthy-federer-says-back-pain-a-memory

p.s. Mods, you can close this poll at this time, if you can.

Glad to hear the 1st part, but regarding the back I will believe it when I see it. He isn't going to tell his opponents his back still feels like crap.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

Roger has answered the question. He plans to play with the
new 98 sq. in. racquet in Cincy. He also claims he is free of
back pain and is fit, mentally motivated and passionate.

http://sports.inquirer.net/114187/tennis-healthy-federer-says-back-pain-a-memory

p.s. Mods, you can close this poll at this time, if you can.

Glad to hear the 1st part, but regarding the back I will believe it when I see it. He isn't going to tell his opponents his back still feels like crap.

I agree with you. I thought my skepticism about it was implicit by the phrase "He also claims".

 

[DarthFed]

The weird thing is I find myself hoping the back has been the reason for all the poor play but I doubt it. It seems Roger has back spasms/pain popping up here and there the past 4 years but it is getting more frequent and really acts up in cool weather. It is probably something he will have to deal with from here on out but the main thing is just playing half decent. If he loses early at Cincy I think we might see the same at the USO.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

The weird thing is I find myself hoping the back has been the reason for all the poor play but I doubt it. It seems Roger has back spasms/pain popping up here and there the past 4 years but it is getting more frequent and really acts up in cool weather. It is probably something he will have to deal with from here on out but the main thing is just playing half decent. If he loses early at Cincy I think we might see the same at the USO.

The first time I heard of Roger's back problems was when he mentioned it after losing
to Berdych in Wimbledon and Berdych got very upset about it. I think it is 2010 Wimbledon.
So, he has it on and off for 3 years.

The worst part is he did not bother to sign up for doubles in Cincy. If he had done so,
that would have given him some insurance on much needed match practice, in case
he goes out early in singles.

This is another reason I feel his remark on fitness and back is bogus.

 

[DarthFed]

The weird thing is I find myself hoping the back has been the reason for all the poor play but I doubt it. It seems Roger has back spasms/pain popping up here and there the past 4 years but it is getting more frequent and really acts up in cool weather. It is probably something he will have to deal with from here on out but the main thing is just playing half decent. If he loses early at Cincy I think we might see the same at the USO.

The first time I heard of Roger's back problems was when he mentioned it after losing
to Berdych in Wimbledon and Berdych got very upset about it. I think it is 2010 Wimbledon.
So, he has it on and off for 3 years.

The worst part is he did not bother to sign up for doubles in Cincy. If he had done so,
that would have given him some insurance on much needed match practice, in case
he goes out early in singles.

This is another reason I feel his remark on fitness and back is bogus.

He mentioned his knees in particular after the Berdych match. Roger first started having trouble with his back near the end of 2008, he pulled out of Paris and then had a lot of trouble with it at YEC. So it is actually close to 5 years instead of 4.

I don't read anything into him not playing doubles. There is no reason to play as that is not real match practice anyways.

 

[masterclass]

Lest we forget, Roger Federer's reoccurring back spasm problems have been present even prior to capturing his first Wimbledon title.

Like all male Swiss citizens, Federer had to undertake national military service but in 2003, he was deemed unfit because of a long-standing back problem. It has occasionally affected his tennis. Sometimes he has managed to win despite it, sometimes not.

We probably don't even know every time his back bothers him. He usually doesn't like to call attention to any injury problem he might have, but on occasion it has just been too obvious.
Tell-tale signs are his service speed going way down and restricted movement and groundstroke power, especially on the forehand side. And obviously, if he has to call for the trainer.

Here a couple of articles and a video regarding the Wimbledon 2003 4th round back incident:

Federer through despite back injury

Wimbledon 2003 - Federer moves into quarters but back concerns loom

[video=youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oHP7bhckVs[/video]

My guess is that as he gets older, it is more difficult for him to combat the problem when it occurs and exhaustion takes more of a toll. He says that it takes him much longer to warm up prior to a match then it use to a few years ago. Cool weather can obviously trigger and exacerbate the problem. It's probably one good reason that Federer had chosen to have a residence and train in the Dubai desert.

He trained heavily in Dubai at the end of 2011 before and during his stretch of 9 title wins from October 2011 (Basel) through August 2012 (Cincinnati). One may note however, that he did things differently at the end of 2012, where he went on his South American tour. I don't know that he has been in Dubai for any length of time since then.

As I recall, after losing to Rafa at Indian Wells 2013, and prior to his return in Madrid, he returned to Switzerland and practiced on the clay locally, even indoors. Maybe he enjoyed being in his native land among family and friends. But for the sake of his back, it may be time for a return to the heat of the desert. Of course, who am I to presume to advise Mr. Federer, on what's best for him.

On the topic of the racquet, I would imagine he will continue to try it and see how it works for him. But he needs to be free of injury to make any real assessment. He has always taken a long term approach to his schedule and play. So if he "sacrifices" a few tournaments and a few ranking slots for a long term potential gain, it is worth it to him. That's another reason he has called 2013 a "transitional year".

Respectfully,
masterclass

 

[britbox]

Good post mc. Although I think it would be a retrospective step to go back to the old racquet.

 

[masterclass]

I would tend to generally agree, Baron Britbox. But experimentation does not always result in change.

If he finds for some reason that he cannot get good results with the bigger racquet after tinkering with it's weight distribution and string combinations, I imagine he might go back to the racquet that's given him the fantastic results he has had over the years, even as recently as last year.

Let's not forget in this age of "what has he done lately" thinking, that while using his "old racquet" he was the #1 player in the world at this time last year after his 7th Wimbledon title, all the way up to Paris. Many wrote him off after he failed to get a major title in 2011, though he was knocking on the door.

As to how much time he is willing to give to this racquet experimentation, I would guess that he would like to determine one way or another prior to the end of 2013. I think he would want to go into 2014 with everything in place.

Respectfully,
masterclass

 

[britbox]

I would tend to generally agree, Baron Britbox. But experimentation does not always result in change.

If he finds for some reason that he cannot get good results with the bigger racquet after tinkering with it's weight distribution and string combinations, I imagine he might go back to the racquet that's given him the fantastic results he has had over the years, even as recently as last year.

Let's not forget in this age of "what has he done lately" thinking, that while using his "old racquet" he was the #1 player in the world at this time last year after his 7th Wimbledon title, all the way up to Paris. Many wrote him off after he failed to get a major title in 2011, though he was knocking on the door.

As to how much time he is willing to give to this racquet experimentation, I would guess that he would like to determine one way or another prior to the end of 2013. I think he would want to go into 2014 with everything in place.

Respectfully,
masterclass

Well that's true as well of course. In the Internet age, the "What did you do for me yesterday" argument seems to have been magnified ten-fold.

Even Djokovic, who has won a major and made two other slam finals is being called into question, for what would be a career year for most players.

I guess the thing I am happiest about with Federer and the new racquet is that it still shows that some desire is there. He's still looking to get an edge. Maybe it won't make much a difference but in the terms of attitude, it ticks a box.

 

[DarthFed]

Lest we forget, Roger Federer's reoccurring back spasm problems have been present even prior to capturing his first Wimbledon title.

Like all male Swiss citizens, Federer had to undertake national military service but in 2003, he was deemed unfit because of a long-standing back problem. It has occasionally affected his tennis. Sometimes he has managed to win despite it, sometimes not.

We probably don't even know every time his back bothers him. He usually doesn't like to call attention to any injury problem he might have, but on occasion it has just been too obvious.
Tell-tale signs are his service speed going way down and restricted movement and groundstroke power, especially on the forehand side. And obviously, if he has to call for the trainer.

Here a couple of articles and a video regarding the Wimbledon 2003 4th round back incident:

Federer through despite back injury

Wimbledon 2003 - Federer moves into quarters but back concerns loom

[video=youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oHP7bhckVs[/video]

My guess is that as he gets older, it is more difficult for him to combat the problem when it occurs and exhaustion takes more of a toll. He says that it takes him much longer to warm up prior to a match then it use to a few years ago. Cool weather can obviously trigger and exacerbate the problem. It's probably one good reason that Federer had chosen to have a residence and train in the Dubai desert.

He trained heavily in Dubai at the end of 2011 before and during his stretch of 9 title wins from October 2011 (Basel) through August 2012 (Cincinnati). One may note however, that he did things differently at the end of 2012, where he went on his South American tour. I don't know that he has been in Dubai for any length of time since then.

As I recall, after losing to Rafa at Indian Wells 2013, and prior to his return in Madrid, he returned to Switzerland and practiced on the clay locally, even indoors. Maybe he enjoyed being in his native land among family and friends. But for the sake of his back, it may be time for a return to the heat of the desert. Of course, who am I to presume to advise Mr. Federer, on what's best for him.

On the topic of the racquet, I would imagine he will continue to try it and see how it works for him. But he needs to be free of injury to make any real assessment. He has always taken a long term approach to his schedule and play. So if he "sacrifices" a few tournaments and a few ranking slots for a long term potential gain, it is worth it to him. That's another reason he has called 2013 a "transitional year".

Respectfully,
masterclass

Very good post and I do remember hearing that it has long been a problem but I think the frequency/level of pain has grown more and more over the past few years.

 

[britbox]

Darth, what do reckon Roger's got left in the tank?

 

[DarthFed]

Darth, what do reckon Roger's got left in the tank?

He will be better in 2014 as he should be more motivated to prove he still has it after this year. Also it is hard to gauge just how much the back has been bothering him this year. Of course the back might get worse and worse which will make it tough for him to really recover. I'd like to think motivation has been the biggest issue and that after so many losses the fire will build back up as he will feel that he needs to prove something. But if 2014 is as bad or worse than this year I don't think he will carry on.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

Masterclass,

Great post. I was completely unaware of it.

 

[masterclass]

Thanks all.

Now to further confuse matters

Roger Federer plays Philipp Kohlschreiber tonight in Cincinnati, as Kohlschreiber defeated Mardy Fish yesterday.

Meanwhile the rumor is that Federer might return to play with his old 90" racquet in Cincinnati.

He practiced for many days in Cinci with his prototype 98" racquet, but yesterday practiced with Tommy Haas using his old racquet. So who knows?

Here are some pics of Federer practicing yesterday with his "old" racquet:

The Wilson "PROSTAFF ninety" as it says on the racquet in this pic

Here he is practicing with the "prototype" racquet a few days ago

Respectfully,
masterclass

 

[GameSetAndMath]

Wow, interesting.

I am sure of one thing. Whatever racquet he uses in Cincy will be the same one which he
will be using in USO.

Also, if he goes back to old racquet, he will definitely not enter Winston-Salem. Otherwise,
I would give it about 3% chance (if he loses at or before QF).

 

[GameSetAndMath]

I get to have the last laugh. Roger is there in the court with his old wand.