Federer plays Roddick tonight

[Samarta]

I played tennis at what I guess would be considered a pretty high level and was fortunate to see a lot of the greats and until Federer came along I thought McEnroe was the most talented player I had ever seen. Not necessarily the best because of records, but man he had the softest hands ever. Federer has taken it to a level, that puts him in the Jordan/Woods class. He is flat out amazing. At this point, I think he is clearly the most dominant athlete in sports. I think even more so than Tiger.

There was some talk about Safin in the thread. He does have game but it's one dimensional and he's got nothing between his ears. But the scary thing about a guy like that is he is capable of beating anyone if his timing is right because he hits it so damn hard.

I just hope that Federer can figure out a way to win the French becaue at this point unless something bizarre happens, I think he is a lock to win the other three legs of the slam. He is one of those athletes that I feel priviledged to be able to watch.

He has surpassed Borg.

And thats as good as it gets. Borg was the best I have ever seen. We also must realize the technology shift in the racket has led to players that might not have done so well with the old rackets. It would be really interesting to see how well Federer would do with the old rackets that Borg and later, McEnroe had to use. I used those rackets... you had to hit the ball dead center and they were heavy. Even hitting the ball dead center, the ball would not come off with near the velocity or control.

I would think he still would be great. But I think it would be harder to win so many matches. Those old rackets were really a pain, way heavy. Guys like Safin would be dead meat with the old rackets. McEnroe was a master with those old rackets, but Borg was so much quicker than McEnroe they dont even compare from that point of view. Borg is the quickest I have ever seen. Best footwork ever.

[Gander]

I agree with both your posts (Pgard and Samarta). I wasnt privileged to remember Borg, I grew up watching guys like Becker, Edberg, Sampras and Agassi, all who I thought were excellent. But all of them had notable weaknesses with 1 or 2 big weapons. Agassi had the return of serve, Edberg had a beautiful net game, Sampras the huge serve and forehand and Becker the backhand and agility.

What Federer has is...all of the above. He secretly has a wonderful serve which he hardly gets any credit for because for people like Roddick thats all they have. He gets no credit for his agility because Nadal steals his thunder there.

The guy has it ALL. Hes the best I have ever seen and right now no question is even more dominant than Tiger Woods.

Originally Posted by Gander

I agree with both your posts (Pgard and Samarta). I wasnt privileged to remember Borg, I grew up watching guys like Becker, Edberg, Sampras and Agassi, all who I thought were excellent. But all of them had notable weaknesses with 1 or 2 big weapons. Agassi had the return of serve, Edberg had a beautiful net game, Sampras the huge serve and forehand and Becker the backhand and agility.

What Federer has is...all of the above. He secretly has a wonderful serve which he hardly gets any credit for because for people like Roddick thats all they have. He gets no credit for his agility because Nadal steals his thunder there.

The guy has it ALL. Hes the best I have ever seen and right now no question is even more dominant than Tiger Woods.

I think mainly the guy is such a gentleman that he is underappreciated. Its almost like you got to be some sort of a-hole (see McEnroe, Nastasi). McEnroe had a great serve. His placement was outstanding without tremendous velocity. He would vary his serve constantly just like a pitcher. It was beautiful. Federer has the best ground strokes ever. He plays wonderful games with his ground strokes... hard, soft, overspin, underspin,short, deep, he keeps opponents off balance because he basically can do anything with the ball.
But anyone can have a bad day. He is just so much better that he has got to have a really bad day and his opponent must be at a peak.

[Samarta]

I saw Borg play a lot and he was extremely fast when he needed to be. As far as hand quickness, McEnroe was and still is in a world all alone. He was flat out amazing. Now if I had to rank them 1 and 2 I would probably rank Borg ahead of him just based on record. I just hope that Federer doesn't have the same misfortune with the French as did Johnny Mac and as Borg did with U.S. Open. Now Gander mentioned a guy that was also extremely impressive to watch in person and that is Boris Becker. Reason being is he was a monster. When he was playing he was 6'4 245lbs. The guy was amazing to watch. Equipment does have a lot to do with some of the stuff they do, but it's that way in every sport. Jack Nicklaus never hit a 460 cc driver and is still considered the greatest ever by most. Right now I think everyone would agree that both Federer and Woods will go down as the greatest to ever play their respective sports, but Federer could get it done this year by winning the slam.

[SCUDSBROTHER]

Originally Posted by Pillow Pants

Safin could play the best tennis of his life and it still wouldn't be enough to beat Federer. Federer's game has improved tremendously since 2005.

Nobody(except Safin) was able to hang with Federer at the Aussie in 2005.Federer easily beat Safin at the Aussie Open in 2004.Sometimes Safin is too good.When he serves well etc.,etc.(every 5 years.)Don't kid yourself,if he is really on,nobody can beat Safin. If he gets hungry again,he will get another slam. Most likely, one of the 2 he has won already.

Federer is playing a man that is absolutely playing out of his skull. This should be interesting if this guy can stay focused. If he can continue to play as he has, we may see some of the best tennis ever.

[Gander]

Don't kid yourself,if he is really on,nobody can beat Safin.

I dont know about that Scuds. Thats a big, big if, and Federer has gotten a lot better since 2005. I agree that Safin has worlds of talent but I think you are giving him far too much credit. Hes one of very few that has weapons that can beat Federer, true. But to say Federer cant beat Safin when Safin is on, I dont agree with that. Every part of Federer's game has gotten better, most notably his return of serve, which could easily neutralize the big Russian's game.

[Gander]

Federer is playing a man that is absolutely playing out of his skull. This should be interesting if this guy can stay focused. If he can continue to play as he has, we may see some of the best tennis ever

Federer in 3 straight sets tonight. One of the sets may be close but this is a grand slam final. Beating Tommy Haas is one thing but beating Federer on his stage is quite another.

Originally Posted by Gander

Federer is playing a man that is absolutely playing out of his skull. This should be interesting if this guy can stay focused. If he can continue to play as he has, we may see some of the best tennis ever

Federer in 3 straight sets tonight. One of the sets may be close but this is a grand slam final. Beating Tommy Haas is one thing but beating Federer on his stage is quite another.

He slaughtered Nadal as well. And he has gotten to the Final easier than Federer. This is a grand slam final. This guy is playing out of his mind. I hope he keeps it up, because we will be in store for some great tennis. Thats really what I want to see... and Federer win.

[Samarta]

Gonzo played as well as he could...Federer is simply that good. He served horribly in the first set. I think the # was 47%, but you still had the feeling he was in total control even when he was down 2 set points. 2nd and 3rd sets were just a lesson in precision. To go through a Grand Slam event without losing a set in todays game is simply unbelievable. I said it before and I'll say it again, I just hope that he can come through in Paris in the Spring. Guy is amazing.

[packerbacker7964]

Did you see Andy's interview after the match? He was a comic during the whole thing laughing and smiling all the while. I think the guy has been beat down so many times by this guy he's a huge disadvantage everytime they play now.

[SCUDSBROTHER]

Originally Posted by Samarta

Gonzo played as well as he could...Federer is simply that good. He served horribly in the first set. I think the # was 47%, but you still had the feeling he was in total control even when he was down 2 set points. 2nd and 3rd sets were just a lesson in precision. To go through a Grand Slam event without losing a set in todays game is simply unbelievable. I said it before and I'll say it again, I just hope that he can come through in Paris in the Spring. Guy is amazing.

No,Gonzo did not play nearly as well as he had been playing.He served for the 1st set,and what did he do? All of the sudden he started missing his 1st serves.I can tell you that guys who have won Grand Slams (and have fast serves,) don't choke like that.I am not gunna say he was gunna win,but he should have served that 1st set out.That was simply a choke.That is the difference between somebody like Safin,and Gonzo.When Safin is playing well,that serve of his is huge,and every time he needed a point against Federer, that ace was there.The way people beat Federer(off a clay court) is by having a very hard dominant serve.This guy is still inconsistent with his serve(it is not the weapon it needs to be.)It really is pretty fundamental.Guys like Safin and Ivanisovic have Grand Slam titles because they were able to serve aces CONSISTENTLY.Guys like Fernando and Roddick need to start right there.They both evidently have strong serves.......Oh really?? Come back when you can serve aces under pressure(when you have to have it.)Anybody who claims to want to beat Federer on a hard court needs to start right there.Because I have seen guys like Safin go to the well with 3 straight aces against Federer,and you don't really stand a chance if you are just getting your 1st serve "in." It needs to be a vicious weapon(or else you are S.O.L)

[Samarta]

All you have to do is serve aces under pressure. See that's a great idea until you are ahead 5 - 4 in the first set of your first major and you realize Roger Federer is on the other side of the net. The only way anyone is going to beat Federer at this point in his career is for him to have a bad a day and whoever is playing him to play the best match of their career. If any of the big servers bring their best day, (and let's be realistic, Roddick is the standard as far as big servers go) and Federer is playing his best, the servers got no shot. None. Nada. The only way anyone is going to beat him anytime soon is for him not to play well. Safin??? puhleeeze!

Originally Posted by Samarta

All you have to do is serve aces under pressure. See that's a great idea until you are ahead 5 - 4 in the first set of your first major and you realize Roger Federer is on the other side of the net. The only way anyone is going to beat Federer at this point in his career is for him to have a bad a day and forever is playing him to play the best match of their career. If any of the big servers bring their best day, (and let's be realistic, Roddick is the standard as far as big servers go) and Federer is playing his best, the servers got no shot. None. Nada. The only way anyone is going to beat him anytime soon is for him not to play well. Safin??? puhleeeze!

Federer is also very good at returning serve. Part of that is guessing like a hitter. A good serve does not have to be big. He can tell by the toss and the body set up which way a serve is to be placed. Placement and deception is much more important than pure velocity. And mixing it up. McEnroe did this.

I agree with Samarta. Federer has got to be bad. He continues to improve.

[SCUDSBROTHER]

Every year,Gander says Federer is going to win the French Open.Gander,is this also your prediction this year?

[Samarta]

I'll take him....Actually as great as he is, it might actually be do or die time as far as the French goes for him. This is the one tournament that is so unpredictable and every year a Spainard or a South American seems to jump up and grab their 15 minutes. The reason why I say it might be do or die time is that at the moment, his game is so advanced that he needs to get it done now. Once he does that, he can relax and have fun on the clay, but until that happens, he is vulnerable. But like I said, I sure wouldn't bet against him.

[Gander]

Every year,Gander says Federer is going to win the French Open.Gander,is this also your prediction this year?

Yes Scuds. I think Federer wins the French this year. I'll go further and say he wins the French at least 2 times before he retires. It will be the tournament he wins the least amount of times but he will win it. He nearly did last year until Nadal got his head on straight. This year Fed is playing better and Nadal is in rocky form and who knows if he will even play in it this year with that injury of his.

Like somebody else on here said, Nadal has a style of tennis that leads to injuries.

[SCUDSBROTHER]

Federer is proof that robots rarely get hurt.He even celebrates the Major victories the same exact way each time.

1)fall to ground like hit by Tazar Gun

2)put FACE DOWN against the playing surface

3)look toward center of the court

4)momentarily act in disbelief

5)act like an Iraqi soldier surrendering to American forces in Desert Storm

I am thankful that he hasn't been wearing that God awful blazer while on the court.I think he either gets beat early at the French,or he finally wins it.Don't think he gets beat in the semis,or final this year.Can't happen that way every year.Something new this time please.To me,the French is the best slam(FOR THE SIMPLE REASON THAT RARELY CAN ANYBODY F'N WIN IT 2 G D YEARS IN A ROW.)I think 95% of people watch sports for a display.It is obvious that they don't like competition.They watch it like they watch a story or a famous play(one they already know the outcome of.)I respect both Tiger and Federer,but they take the competition totally out of the game,and I am bored by that.Most people are opposite,and don't care about competition(they just want to see the dominant display.......same in racing..people love to see Lava Man win at 2/5 in SoCal.)That is uncompetitive,and boring(to me.)

[randallscott35]

Originally Posted by SCUDSBROTHER

Federer is proof that robots rarely get hurt.He even celebrates the Major victories the same exact way each time.

1)fall to ground like hit by Tazar Gun

2)put FACE DOWN against the playing surface

3)look toward center of the court

4)momentarily act in disbelief

5)act like an Iraqi soldier surrendering to American forces in Desert Storm

I am thankful that he hasn't been wearing that God awful blazer while on the court.I think he either gets beat early at the French,or he finally wins it.Don't think he gets beat in the semis,or final this year.Can't happen that way every year.Something new this time please.To me,the French is the best slam(FOR THE SIMPLE REASON THAT RARELY CAN ANYBODY F'N WIN IT 2 G D YEARS IN A ROW.)I think 95% of people watch sports for a display.It is obvious that they don't like competition.They watch it like they watch a story or a famous play(one they already know the outcome of.)I respect both Tiger and Federer,but they take the competition totally out of the game,and I am bored by that.Most people are opposite,and don't care about competition(they just want to see the dominant display.......same in racing..people love to see Lava Man win at 2/5 in SoCal.)That is uncompetitive,and boring(to me.)

Disagree on Federer. As a tennis player, he is so much fun to watch...so unique. And he has nothing but class. I root for him in every match. I don't do that for other dominant athletes. Something about his personality makes him so easy to root for.