It seems Roger Federer only has himself to blame for recent losses to Andy Murray and today is no exception.
The defending champion, who's been dealing with a sore back and stomach illness, was sent packing from the Masters Cup today after being narrowly defeated 4-6, 7-6(3), 7-5 by the Brit baller, his second consecutive loss and fourth overall to Andy. It's also the first time since 2002 Fed has failed to reach the semifinals at the season-ending championship.
Momma Murray believes comments made by Fed back in March have been the catalyst for her son's more aggressive approach to the game.
After being defeated in Dubai by the 21-year old Fed told the press,[Andy's] going to have to grind very hard for the next few years if he's going to keep playing this way. He stands way back. He tends to wait a lot for his opponent to make a mistake. Over a 15-year career, you want to look to win a point more often than wait for the other guy to miss.
Oh Fed - you probably don't want to give your opponents any more pointers on how to beat you especially after they just hit you with a loss using the game they already own. It sounds wacky and all but they might actually take your advice since you're a 13-time Grand Slammer and arguably the GOAT.
Not very smart, but your foes sure are thankful!
(image via Getty)
Friday, November 14, 2008
Fed the generous tennis giant, offers foes tips on how to beat him
Labels: Andy Murray, Masters Cup, player quotes, Roger Federer, tennis
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We need Howard Cosell to yell, "Down goes Federer! Down goes Federer!" ;)
ReplyDeleteI feel bad for Roger, but it's nice to see the other guys get a chance to win something. I'm going to cheer for Murray or Simon to win it.
And, because I know you can't have a complete day, Rich, without me mentioning him...I miss Rafa and his his glory!!!!
Oh Roger ....
ReplyDeleteI wonder if he's going to come out and say he was feeling very sick, stomach illness, sore back, maybe a sore wrist or two, a bad elbow, a mental block ... oh and he's still dealing with mono ... :P
Poor Roger -- the king may finally be on his official decline. Even when he wants to put his whole heart into the game (as stated in a presser with the infamous "I'm not #2" quote), he gets shot down. Let's see what the beginning of next year brings -- he should have retired when he was on top. Now he just looks like that sad helpless puppy on the side of the road that everyone feels bad for but nobody wants to help in fear of contracting his 'disease'.
Roger extreme greatness leads most to believe he can come back with proper rest.
ReplyDeleteThe 11-month tennis season is ridiculous. I did the math on Rafa's 93 matches. Subtract 60 days since he bowed out Nov 1. In 300 days he had to play a top-level professional match every 3.2 days. That's absurd. The human body needs time to recuperate especially since they have to adjust to different surfaces, different time zones, different altitudes, and different food and water. Lactic acid in the muscles anyone? I don't know how any of them do it. They are all supermen.
Poor Roger, c´mon, he would never say this about himself. Just as Andy Roddick said it perfectly, with except Rafa, everyone of the players would take Roger´s "bad year" with all their might. He´s just produced a monster by his almost perfect four year run, so get realistic. He´s just showed everyone of the "The king is dead party", who the real king here is, he doesnt need to win the Masters for that. Even Murray has said so after the US Open Final, who is the best player on the circuit. Roger in full strenght will be just as lethal as before, you cant loose that, it is more about his motivation staying intact so he executes the killer instinct that was missing this year.
ReplyDeleteI think next season will tell the tale with Fed. If he enters the season at full strength with his usual training practices then we'll really see where he's at in terms of his game.
ReplyDeleteWhat irks some fans is that he gives partial credit to the ballers who defeat him but qualifies it either directly or indirectly with the effect the mono has had on his season. He'd be better of just saying "too good" and leaving it at that but he's very prideful.
So we'll see next season. My guess? He'll struggle just because he's moving into his later years while the young guns have figured out his game including Rafa, Murray, and to some extent Nole. It's just the way it is. He'll be in the mix and will still win majors but his dominance dance is done.
That's what Roger said afterwards:
ReplyDelete"Tough to start off with. Tough to end. But I think it gives me the opportunity to start over all new again next year."
Allez Roger 2009!
Look at it this way, if anybody CAN pull off a huge Agassi-esque comeback next year, it's Roger Federer. I mean, with the year he's been having, he might as well just have been in retirement this year.
ReplyDeleteRe-TIRE ment.
Bloody hell.
Everybody has their bad days, months, years. This year is Roger's. But come to think of it, he still has a better year than a lot of journeymen in this sport.
ReplyDeleteOh Roger ....
I wonder if he's going to come out and say he was feeling very sick, stomach illness, sore back, maybe a sore wrist or two, a bad elbow, a mental block ... oh and he's still dealing with mono ... :P
Oh I don't know. But I'm pretty sure Novak Djokovic would. /sarcasm
Sure his "dominance" might be over, so to speak, yet he's already made a mark in the sport with all the records he made and broken... and still will make and break.
It's just a rather down ending for ATP 2008 that their top 2 guys are injured.
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