posted Apr 11, 2008

He needs to be careful about burn out - mentally more than physically.

It is clear he was not firing on all cylinders at the start of the year in Australia - illness or not.

He has now dominated for 5/6 seasons (which have included some tough encounters) and this is now taking its toll. This was the same as Borg when he reached 25 and lost to Mac in '81. He lost a cutting edge and threw in the towel as he realised Mac heralded a new era which Borg did not have the appetite for.

Federer has had some bad losses this year which will undermind his confidence - he is not used to such a losing streak. Before he would bounce back in the next tournament.
The loss to Roddick will be a big blow to his confidence and he needs time (where does he get that now as he also needs to prepare for the French which he so dearly needs to fulfill to demonstrate his all round dominance)to regroup.

He needs a good team around him (and quickly) to arrest this mid term decline. Initially, this will entail rebuilding his mental attitude which has always been a key advantage to him against his opponents. They now see a chink in his armour and most of the top 20 do not fear Federer at present.

The next 6 months will be critical in Federer's quest to overhaul Sampras's record.

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posted Apr 11, 2008

I think the problem with Federer is not age or his speed although I agree with other postings that he does seem less explosive and a touch slower.
I think his slight lessening of form is due to 2 factors one being he has been ill and the second the fact that he has no coach. I beleive Federer would benefit greatly from a coach not to change or amend his game. But someone to just tell he is doing things right, someone at his side to give him a "pep" talk when he needs one.

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posted Apr 13, 2008

Like all Roger's fans, I have been disappointed in his start to the season, but (hopefully) it is early days yet. In spite of being ill he has got to the final stages of most of the t'ments he's been in, bar Dubai, where he was just over his mono & hadn't practised. It appears he can play 3 or 4 rounds & look like himself, but then he seems to run out of steam after that. This has been enough to have him at no 6 in the 'Race' for 2008.
Aapparently he is practising with Higueras in Estoril and we all know how successful he has been with some of the top players of the past, so hopefully he does have a coach for the claycourt season.
Of course, as someone else pointed out, Nadal hasn't won a title for 9 months & no-one has been making a big fuss about that. We shall see if he can keep up with winning(almost) every clay t'ment he plays again this year.

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posted Apr 14, 2008

People, can't you see that the man is sick? Prior to Australian Open he was very ill indeed. He shouldn't have played - and it only later emerged that he had glandular fever. That sometimes takes a year from which to recuperate.

Check his recent performances. He is clearly out of sorts. He sweats (perspires) when he plays these days, somthing he never did before. Before the Australian Open he lost something like 7 or 8 kgs. Even now he looks gaunt and drawn, his eyes sunken.

My advice, in good faith, is good home Roger. Rest, Get strong again and come back in '09 and then do it again from scratch. You will be better for it, so will the game.

So what if you lose your rating as #1. Five years is as long as anybody has ever had it and the Serb is going to inherit the title anyway.

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posted Apr 14, 2008

It's got to be obvious to anybody but a blind person that Fed is still got the bug. He doesn't need to go home and rest til he's 100% cause he can still get to the Q or S and keep his ranking. But don't expect to win another major this year. He can still stay numero uno or top three by a small enough margin to make it back to ONE once he regains TOTAL FORCE. Sure his confidence gonna take a hit man, without no championships, but he has the goods to regain that, too, when his physique gets back on the Fed Express.

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posted Apr 15, 2008

Federer needs to re-hire a coach. Not just a coach for the clay court season, but for 6 months of the year. If he does then I think the drive and the will to grind out results when not playing his best tennis will re-emerge.

He was the greatest ever player 3/4 years ago, unquestionably in my opinion. However he has struggled to live up to the lofty expectations placed on him since then as everytime he steps onto court nowhe is is expected to not only win but to play majestic tennis in the process. He is only human and temporary blips in form will happen.

There is no reason why he can't regain his form, start winning tournaments as regularly as we are all accustomed to, and I believe he will. But whether he will rediscover the sort of tennis we saw 3/4 years ago is, jaw dropping shot making of unbelievable talent and ability, is questionable

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posted Apr 15, 2008

Federer, if he has been suffering from glandular fever, only has one recourse: homeopathy. I had that malady for five years and was told by a doctor that there was nothing I could do about it, even though he tried to deny I had the condition to begin with. This is because, of course, it is viral and conventional medicine is powerless against viral conditions. However, friends of mine also contracted the glandular fever virus, saw a homeopath and were cured within two weeks with no recurrences of the condition. Since hearing this, I have switched to homeopathy and have dealt with all of my health issues in this way. If anyone is reading this who knows Federer, get him to go to a homeopath. It's as simple as that.

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posted Apr 15, 2008

I am a die hard supporter of Roger, whose loss at any time i share as if we share the proceeds equally.
Now his consistent losses is of grave concern. Now, i think more than the virus; Roger need a Coach urgently to brush him about more tecnicalities of the game. He has the natural ability that is unparallelled in the circuit but it seems others are catching up after studying him extensively and are cashing in on few weaknesses.
He should still rule for the next 4years and break Sampra's record.
Get a Coach very fast.

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posted Apr 15, 2008

I believe that Federer's dip in form is not as big a problem for him as people have suggested.

Federer lost at the A.O because he was ill with Glandular Fever over the x-mas break; but he still reached the Semi-Final, and was beaten by the eventual champion. Not a bad result at all, since Djokovic was playing the tennis of his life and won the A.O by dropping one set. His loss to Murray was down to the aftermath of the G.F, and also because of lack of match practise (i.e. he couldn't build on his one set advantage to take Murray out in two, when Murray stepped up his game). Thirdy, the loss to Mardy Fish was simply the fact that Fish played a fantastic match and hit clean winners on every point; thus there was nothing Federer could have done to defend against a barrage of shot making (seen with Tsonga against Nadal and Tsonga vs Djokovic - first set). The recent loss to Roddick was a culmulation of events that led to a loss in confidence, and Roddick serving at 80% + first serves, made it impossible for Federer to make inroads of serve. The pressure grew, he won the second set 6-4, but wasn't threatening Roddick's serve in the third and so broke down in an error strewn 7th game and Roddick won the match. It doesn't seem that Federer's played a match where he could have won, and faltered, nor has he played in a match where he has played particularly badly. It seems that what Federer needs to do is to win a tournament... and that win could come this week in Estoril.

This week, on Tuesday, Federer won against Olivier Rochus 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, and it was not that much of a struggle when you look at the statistics - Federer was dominant in all but one service game, whenever he was brought to 0-30 he came up with 4 superb points and he only lost his serve to 2 amazing back-hands up the line and a silly double fault on break point. After he lost the first set, he went up a level and was too strong for Rochus. He was superbly consistent in the third set and proved to have too much for the Belgian. If Federer can beat Davydenko at some point this week and win the tournament, he will have given himself great confidence heading into Monte Carlo and the rest of the clay court Masters Series'.

Federer, with enough practise should be back to full strength and mental fitness by Monte Carlo, and this will stand him in good stead for the French Open. I believe that Federer, who was tired in the French Open Final last year, will be far more relaxed, stronger, more mentally tough and ready to take on Nadal and the other contenders for the title. I believe these three things because though Federer's pride and confidence, it will have hardened his determination to do well, more than any other loss he sustained last year.

For this year, I believe Federer will win the French Open and Wimbledon and lose the U.S Open to Novak Djokovic, however he will have tied level with Pete Sampras' 14 Grandslam titles.

Though Federer will not have been as dominant throughout the year, I believe he will amass at least 7 titles including 2 Grand Slams. He just needs the time to adjust to his illness and move forward positively, starting first by winning Estoril.

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posted Apr 15, 2008

Excellent, rational, post tomf90 (U5339900).

I hope that Federer can win at Roland Garros this year. To me, his game has always been fantastically well-suited to [playing on] clay; it's just his mentality that can let him down, from time to time. His movement is soooo good on red clay, especially moving into the court, on transition points.

I do believe that he would have won RG at least three times by now had it not been for Rafael Nadal. Nadal, if anything, seems to have retrogressed, so for me the door is flung wide open for Federer to take advantage... i just hope that Roger has fully recovered his confidence [in his game] by the second week.

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