posted Apr 27, 2007

STEELPRO

you know nothing about tennis.

the only reason i refer to federer would have won 2 rgs is in response to the article that says federer & clay dont mix which is rubbish quite obviously.

at least i have an opinion tactically whether it be right or wrong which shows i made the effort to observe whats going on as opposed to numbskulls like yourself who just state generalisations because they do not know enough about the game tactically & just blank out when watching the matches.

anyway if you had bothered to read my last article which was a work of genius i might add you would have noticed that i said that federer would have to change his tactics to beat nadal on clay.

federer has overcome players who have great holds on him before & he will probably do so again.

He has great strength in the mind. Thats how he came back from such a devastatiing loss to record another 3 slams in a row

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posted Apr 27, 2007

Kingsoapboy,

You are clearly misunderstanding my comments, Federer does have great mental strenghts, as you do not win what he has won on sheer physical ability alone, it is just when he plays Nadal on clay, i feel there is something
there mentally from stopping him winning.

Ok then you say you have a opinion on tactics on what he must do, but you have not stated that opinion. what is it?

I am a huge Federer fan, though find it painful to watch the way he seems to concede to Nadal rather easily on clay.

I have also read your last article and responded to it accordingly.

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posted Apr 27, 2007

banzai739 and informative posts on message boards just don't mix

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posted Apr 27, 2007

STEELPRO

what jibberish are you going on about? read it. start observing life a bit instead of blanking out all the time & copping out with generalisations.

the tactics are there in my article. slice on the backhand more but make sure its deep, throw in high loopy balls. drop shot, attack & go to the net at the right moment. basically mix it up alot more as opposed to playing one way i.e full on or top spin backhands.

yes perhaps i should be federers coach cos roachy aint doing alot as far as i can see

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posted Apr 27, 2007

Bjorn Borg was the greatest. 5 Wimb and 7 French Opens then he retired at 25.
His problem was the USOpen and he never played the Australian Open for back then wasnt much of a deal.
Tell me another player that at 25 had won 5 W & 7 FO

NOBODY!!

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posted Apr 27, 2007

Err...Elche 2002, isn't it six French Open Borg won and not seven?

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posted Apr 27, 2007

elche2002 and facts just don't mix

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posted Apr 27, 2007

"Hey Rog, come here a minute, will you?"

"Sure Rafa, what is it?"

"Well it's these damn sox of mine, they keep coming down. I have to pull them up after every point. Can you help?"

"Well, let's see". Federer kneels in front of Rafael trying to work out the problem. This happened in the French Open final 2007, during the pause after the second set, after Roger bagelled him in the first two.

Nadal bends over to see what Fed is doing and puts one hand on his shoulder and another on the back of his head. Then, expertly, he inserts the mind-reading device his uncle has been working on underneath Federer's headband. Rafa's ambition is to be the world's number one and to that effect his uncle has been working feverishly for over a year to create this device specifically geared toward Roger's vibes and mindset. He completed it about a week before Roland Garros and Rafa was eager to try it out the next time he plays him, especially if he's in trouble.

"I think I've got the problem solved, Rafa. All you have to do is fold them a couple of times and they wont come down anymore".

"Oh geez, thanks Fed, this is great".

Federer to serve first. "He looks like he's expecting a wide out serve so I will go down the middle" he thinks to himself. Alerted, Rafa hooks a deep return to Fed's backhand in the corner and finishes the rally with an easy volley at the net.

"No sweat", Roger thinks, "I'll go down the middle again cause he won't expect me to repeat myself as I'm known for my unpredictability". But Nadal runs around the backhand and angles a blistering shot on the line for another winner.

"Damn, I better be careful. He never quits and I can't give him an opening or he'll gain confidence and a confident Nadal is a lethal combination. Time for a serve and volley". Again Rafa expects it and his expert lob catch fed flat footed and the score is love forty.

"Shit, what's gotten in to him. I've never seen him anticipate like that before". A tense Federer and a confident Nadal get into a prolonged rally on the fourth point. "OK, it's time for my signature 4-5 shot set-up. Cross court a couple of times and then an inviting half-court sliced backhand to bring him to the net and an easy passing shot should do it". Knowing what's coming Nadal figures out a counter strategy and Federer loses his serve at love.

"Boy, what's going on, I don't like the feel of that", Fed thinks. And sure enough, as the set unfolds it becomes increasingly obvious that a major turn around is occuring. Soon it is Federer who is bagelled and then once more in the fourth set.

In the pause before the fifth set a thunderstorm crashes on Paris and play is haulted, both players retiring to their dressing room for what would turn out to be a one hour break. The walls between the dressing rooms act as a barrier so the mind-reading device becomes ineffectual. Federer is totally bewildered by what is happening to him as this is becoming a nightmare of cosmic proportions. Fortunately for him he removes his headband and the device drops to the floor. Picking it up he inspects it carefully and figures out what it is. And he recalls Rafa putting his hand on his neck two sets ago.

"Shit, that's how he can read me so well. I've got to devise a different strategy. Oh, I know, I will intentionally send out thoughts and do the opposite. That should rattle him".

......................

Hey guys I have to leave for work in a few minutes (I live in Canada). Perhaps some of you can continue this thread. Have fun.

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posted Apr 28, 2007

I am a Nadal fan firstly

-Obviously Nadal is incredible on clay
-Obviously Federer is the 2nd best player in the world on clay
-Federer is obviously incredibly talented, and he does have the arsenal to beat Nadal.

however i dont think he has the mental or griding capacties to do that.

In my opinion Federer is too used to walking on a court and players trembling at his present, and him playing tennis like a god. However when he steps out on a clay court against Nadal he playing something just as good as him if not better, with an intinsic advantage(left-hand heavy topspin to his single handed backhand) and when he isnt playing his absolute best i just dont think he has that grinding capability on clay against Nadal to beat him.

Federer also has the tendency to go walkabouts mentally for peridos of games, like he did after failing to break Nadal in the first set in MC. So until he prepares himself mentally for it I dont think he will ever be able to beat Nadal, and Nadal will always have a consistently outstanding level on clay, which Federer would need to match to beat him. Also i feel Nadal is playing much better now than he was last year, as hes being more aggresive and positive, and not so far behind the baseline.

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posted Apr 28, 2007

A lot of what you say is right Tj, but come on, you think other players don't try their hardest against Federer?? You seriously think they're all scared of him?? He doesn't beat opponents because they "tremble at his presence", give me a break

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