Fed Fans – Roger Federer Talk

[GameSetAndMath]

Just watched the post-loss interview of Fed. I am attaching the video below.

Here are the salient points.

1. When asked is this the last Wimbledon for him, he said he would of course like to play again, but at his age he cannot say what is around the corner anymore.
2. When asked explicitly "Is retirement an active possibility now", he said "No".
3. As expected, he said he will decide about playing in Olympics after a few days after talking with Team and Family.
4. Finally he assessed his loss more due to he not being a "better player" as opposed to he not having had enough match practice.

Here is the full interview

 

[Fiero425]

Just watched the post-loss interview of Fed. I am attaching the video below.

Here are the salient points.

1. When asked is this the last Wimbledon for him, he said he would of course like to play again, but at his age he cannot say what is around the corner anymore.
2. When asked explicitly "Is retirement an active possibility now", he said "No".
3. As expected, he said he will decide about playing in Olympics after a few days after talking with Team and Family.
4. Finally he assessed his loss more due to he not being a "better player" as opposed to he not having had enough match practice.

Here is the full interview

I stopped listening to these press conferences ages ago! You can't expect these people to be honest; esp. after a very difficult loss!

 

[El Dude]

I stopped listening to these press conferences ages ago! You can't expect these people to be honest; esp. after a very difficult loss!

OK, but what is he being dishonest about? Do you know what he's thinking?

My guess is he's assessing his career, tournament by tournament, that he'll see how (or if) he improves over the season, then decide on 2022 during the winter. It is hard to imagine him just up and quitting, so I could see him playing a selective handful of tournaments next year, with Basel 2022 his final tournament.

If he plays better and reaches a Masters final or two, or does better at the US Open, he might feel like he can approach 2022 more fully.

Meaning, I don't think he knows. He loves to play, but I imagine his fire is a bit diminished - maybe not having Mirka changes things for him and he's wondering if he'd just rather stay at home. I mean, he's going to be 40 in a few weeks.

 

[Fiero425]

OK, but what is he being dishonest about? Do you know what he's thinking?

My guess is he's assessing his career, tournament by tournament, that he'll see how (or if) he improves over the season, then decide on 2022 during the winter. It is hard to imagine him just up and quitting, so I could see him playing a selective handful of tournaments next year, with Basel 2022 his final tournament.

If he plays better and reaches a Masters final or two, or does better at the US Open, he might feel like he can approach 2022 more fully.

Meaning, I don't think he knows. He loves to play, but I imagine his fire is a bit diminished - maybe not having Mirka changes things for him and he's wondering if he'd just rather stay at home. I mean, he's going to be 40 in a few weeks.

I'm speaking of anyone doing these interviews! The players resent them and I don't blame them in the least! They're lame Q & A's that are embarrassing at time with dumb questions from so called smart people! As for Fed, pls cry me a river! Rankings determine being in a draw or not! Roger's been living on borrowed time due to the system and he doesn't deserve to be in the top 100! He's going to eventually retire the 2nd bonafide billionaire (after Tiriac), but we're supposed to feel something? I don't think so! I'll get weepy for covid victims, people who can't fly private jets, and others who aren't invited to be an ambassador! End RANT!

Update: On another tennis MB, the same argument is going on! Most are saying Fed's aura has been tainted by hanging on these last few years even though taking 3 more majors! It hurt his legacy as the H2H with 2 rivals didn't change; if anything it got worse with Djokovic! Our thinking is, he probably should have hung it up in 2012, but that OG going to Murray made him hang around for another cycle as he started believing his own legend!

 

[GameSetAndMath]

The interesting (and depressing) thing about Fed's press conference to me is that contrary to my expectations, he did not blame his performance on not being match tough. In fact, he said his loss is because he is not the better player and not so much because he did not get enough matches under his belt going in. The reason why this is depressing is that it means he is not giving us hopes for his performance improving.

He says "Clearly there's still a lot of things missing in my game that maybe 10, 15, 20 years ago were very simple and very normal for me to do. Nowadays, they don't happen naturally anymore. I got to always put in the extra effort mentally to remind myself, Remember to do this or do that.” In other words, whatever were happening subconsciously before are not happening in the same manner now. There is a gap between mind having the idea and the body executing it. When that happens, it is hard to get back to the previous state. In other words, I myself feel that this is "the beginning of the end".

I hope he gets to go out on top like Pete with one more slam victory (even if the number will be surpassed by one or both of Nadovic) or at the very least he can ensure that a bagel set is not his last set on the hallowed grounds of Wimbledon.

 

[don_fabio]

The interesting (and depressing) thing about Fed's press conference to me is that contrary to my expectations, he did not blame his performance on not being match tough. In fact, he said his loss is because he is not the better player and not so much because he did not get enough matches under his belt going in. The reason why this is depressing is that it means he is not giving us hopes for his performance improving.

He says "Clearly there's still a lot of things missing in my game that maybe 10, 15, 20 years ago were very simple and very normal for me to do. Nowadays, they don't happen naturally anymore. I got to always put in the extra effort mentally to remind myself, Remember to do this or do that.” In other words, whatever were happening subconsciously before are not happening in the same manner now. There is a gap between mind having the idea and the body executing it. When that happens, it is hard to get back to the previous state. In other words, I myself feel that this is "the beginning of the end".

I hope he gets to go out on top like Pete with one more slam victory (even if the number will be surpassed by one or both of Nadovic) or at the very least he can ensure that a bagel set is not his last set on the hallowed grounds of Wimbledon.

He will come back next year Wimbledon to say goodbye I am sure of that and he won't end up bageled at the end.

 

[tented]

 

[Jelenafan]

The interesting (and depressing) thing about Fed's press conference to me is that contrary to my expectations, he did not blame his performance on not being match tough. In fact, he said his loss is because he is not the better player and not so much because he did not get enough matches under his belt going in. The reason why this is depressing is that it means he is not giving us hopes for his performance improving.

He says "Clearly there's still a lot of things missing in my game that maybe 10, 15, 20 years ago were very simple and very normal for me to do. Nowadays, they don't happen naturally anymore. I got to always put in the extra effort mentally to remind myself, Remember to do this or do that.” In other words, whatever were happening subconsciously before are not happening in the same manner now. There is a gap between mind having the idea and the body executing it. When that happens, it is hard to get back to the previous state. In other words, I myself feel that this is "the beginning of the end".

I hope he gets to go out on top like Pete with one more slam victory (even if the number will be surpassed by one or both of Nadovic) or at the very least he can ensure that a bagel set is not his last set on the hallowed grounds of Wimbledon.

Chris Evert once said that it's the mental toll that gets to you, paraphrasing her she said that you know what you should do, but the mind can't reboot the body to do that automatically anymore. I remember when she got to her last USO she said was happy just to make her draw seeding, and the earlier Chris Evert would have slapped her hard for just that being her goal.

Two things, Federer's ranking is going to plummet within a couple of months, and understandably he's most likely cutting down on his playing schedule if he continues; So that means he is going to get tougher matchups in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th round matches going forward; which logically means more early losses. IMO that was what took it's toll on Sampras his last year, (ie losing to Bastle at Wimbledon) so even though he was able to win the USO he was mentally exhausted.

Next year's Wimbledon Federer will be just short of 41, and I think how his schedule goes between now and then will determine if he plays W. It's not expecting to win every tournament that is the issue,

Which brings me to the second thing: I think he's reconciled himself to his new age/injury limitations, so it's if Federer can maintain his pleasure/enjoyment playing tournaments. That is the key. Some champs can go through a stretch of losing in the twilight of their career for a sustained period, but some can't. They can't bear it. Neither is right or wrong, it's just what their comfort level is. If Federer is just going through the motions he will know it and he will hang it up,

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Roger Federer will call time on his tennis career when he decides to.Roger has earned that right,( or any tennis player).
We can all think of different scenarios regarding Roger and his tennis career going forward
Roger still loves the game,he would not be playing tennis at nearly age 40 if he didn't.
Roger will know when it is time to hang up his racket.

 

[Front242]

The interesting (and depressing) thing about Fed's press conference to me is that contrary to my expectations, he did not blame his performance on not being match tough. In fact, he said his loss is because he is not the better player and not so much because he did not get enough matches under his belt going in. The reason why this is depressing is that it means he is not giving us hopes for his performance improving.

He says "Clearly there's still a lot of things missing in my game that maybe 10, 15, 20 years ago were very simple and very normal for me to do. Nowadays, they don't happen naturally anymore. I got to always put in the extra effort mentally to remind myself, Remember to do this or do that.” In other words, whatever were happening subconsciously before are not happening in the same manner now. There is a gap between mind having the idea and the body executing it. When that happens, it is hard to get back to the previous state. In other words, I myself feel that this is "the beginning of the end".

I hope he gets to go out on top like Pete with one more slam victory (even if the number will be surpassed by one or both of Nadovic) or at the very least he can ensure that a bagel set is not his last set on the hallowed grounds of Wimbledon.

I listened to his interview rather than reading it and gotta say I respect his honesty. As the Metallica song goes, sad but true in relation to the above bolded part.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

Roger has a tough decision to make about Olympics now. There are good arguments on both sides (see table below). Whatever he decides, he will not be announcing before Monday. He would not want to be seen as stealing the news cycle before Wimbledon is completed.

Switzerland wants him to play.	He cannot go with family due to Bubble.
Uniqlo wants him to play, especially as Olympics is in Japan.	There will be no fans and he likes to play in front of fans.
It will give him a chance to compete for singles Gold medal which he does not have. Also, he will be seeded in top 8. If you are not in it you cannot win it.	There is no real chance of getting Gold medal. In fact, if he falls in Novak's half (which has 50% chance), he will lose in SF and so the best he can hope for is bronze while he already has silver. Also, forgetting Novak, many other players can beat him in his current state.
It will also act as match practice for USO, considering it is being played on hard courts.	Rather long distance and comes very quickly before he gets a chance to lick the wounds.
He can also play mixed doubles with Belinda Bencic.	Nobody seriously cares about MD and a Gold medal may not pan out there also.

 

[tented]

Roger has a tough decision to make about Olympics now. There are good arguments on both sides (see table below). Whatever he decides, he will not be announcing before Monday. He would not want to be seen as stealing the news cycle before Wimbledon is completed.

Switzerland wants him to play.	He cannot go with family due to Bubble.
Uniqlo wants him to play, especially as Olympics is in Japan.	There will be no fans and he likes to play in front of fans.
It will give him a chance to compete for singles Gold medal which he does not have. Also, he will be seeded in top 8. If you are not in it you cannot win it.	There is no real chance of getting Gold medal. In fact, if he falls in Novak's half (which has 50% chance), he will lose in SF and so the best he can hope for is bronze while he already has silver. Also, forgetting Novak, many other players can beat him in his current state.
It will also act as match practice for USO, considering it is being played on hard courts.	Rather long distance and comes very quickly before he gets a chance to lick the wounds.
He can also play mixed doubles with Belinda Bencic.	Nobody seriously cares about MD and a Gold medal may not pan out there also.

Nice display of pros and cons.

My guess is he won’t go, mainly because of the family/bubble issue, the distance & schedule disruption, and knowing he has no realistic chance of winning gold.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

Fed is currently ranked at #40 in the race. Considering he has not done well in USO for a long time, it is unlikely that he will suddenly perform well there after two knee injuries. In view of his limited schedule, it is almost certain that he won't make the cut for the WTF this year. Most probably, after the USO he will play the Laver Cup and IW and then call it an year (the Basel tourney is cancelled this year; Shanghai is not yet officially cancelled but may be cancelled).

 

[Fiero425]

Fed is currently ranked at #40 in the race. Considering he has not done well in USO for a long time, it is unlikely that he will suddenly perform well there after two knee injuries. In view of his limited schedule, it is almost certain that he won't make the cut for the WTF this year. Most probably, after the USO he will play the Laver Cup and IW and then call it an year (the Basel tourney is cancelled this year; Shanghai is not yet officially cancelled but may be cancelled).

You're kiddding? I can't even believe you referenced Fed's name with this YEC! Even of he came in as the 39th alternate, he would end up being abused and worked over in each RR match! How ridiculous would that look; sorta like Rafa back in '09 dropping all 3 of his matches!

 

[tented]

The nature of the Fans threads (this & the ones for Rafa & Novak) is to have a safe space, so to speak, where fans can discuss their favorite players without having others come in to criticize them or make fun of them. Those things can be done elsewhere.

 

[monfed]

Fed's soul left his body after Wim 19 F so it's hard to decifer what he really means in his presser.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

Fed has not even played a top 16 player so far this year. When you are coming back from surgery, one way to get confirmation that everything is alright is if you play a top player (at least a next genner) and score a win or at least feel that you are being competitive if you lose. He has not got that confirmation yet.

Fed is 8-4 so far in this year. His losses this year were at the hands of Bailashville, Andujar, FAA and Hubi.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

I hope Fed plays Olympics, both in Singles and Mixed Doubles. The 2021 Wimbledon may or may not be his last Wimbledon - we are not sure. But, we can say for sure that this is his last Olympics. He surely won't be around for Olympics 2024 (and if still playing won't make the cut). This is actually another reason why he should go and why he will go.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

In the event, he decides not to go to Tokyo for Olympics (actually even otherwise), he should play both Toronto and Cincy. The general recommendation that we (Feddies) were making for him in the past few years was that he should not play back to back masters as it will be taxing on the body and he will have nothing in tank for USO. Ironically, now that he is even older, I would recommend that he play both.

The reason being that in the current state he is not expected to go deep in them. He will most probably lose early in one or even both of these tourneys. So, it won't really be taxing on the body.

Finally, in the event he really goes deep in Toronto and feels it is tiring, he can always drop out of Cincy. But, if he does not even go to Toronto and just plays Cincy directly and goes out early in Cincy, then he will be going to USO with no match practice.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

A nice article one Fed, retirement and his fans.