^^No prizes for guessing who Bozo has in mind as using “false humility to enhance his reputation”. Rafa wins AO 2014 and Bozo, together with his Federazzi brethren, will reach for the hemlock…………….
What I have noticed is that the haters seem to be running out of things to criticize about Rafa. They end up repeating themselves over and over. It gets quite boring. No imagination.
I would love to see what Bodo will write should Rafa win the 2014 AO and the double career slam! That will be teeth gnashing time for sure! 🙂
I actually like the humble version of Roger. Just last week, I watched a Tennis Channel program on Andre Agassi and I was reminded once again of what he had to do in his comeback. He was playing qualifying tournaments and doing whatever he needed to do to be at the top of the game again. While I don’t expect Roger to ever fall as far in the rankings as Andre did, if Roger can use his love of the game to do what it takes to remain competitive, I’d look forward to it. I’d love to see him change his game, become more of a grinder and go toe to toe with the top guys. Age has diminished some of his skills, but he could work on improving the skills he never had to hone because of his superiority in other areas. His most rabid fans may not like a grinder Roger, but I would love to see it.
roger has posted on his facebook page that he just finished his training week with stephen edberg! So we can throw the idea of a ‘grinder roger’ out of the window…
Fed will never become a grinder. It actually makes more sense to know that he has been practicing with Stephen Edberg. For one thing, he’s too old to start grinding. That can take a toll on the body. For another, it’s never been his style.
Fed is delusional. He thinks serve and volley will win him matches against the big boys? All he’s doing is telling the rest of the locker room that he can’t run anymore. Well, maybe he’s in it for the love of the game as he says, not to win.
Agassi was just 27 when he played challengers. His problem was a loss of interest and focus. Fed’s problem is age and evolution of the game.
The SHBH, while pretty, is obsolete. I don’t see Dimitrov winning a single major. He will be 23 in May and he’s only made the 3rd round of one major. Similarly, Wawrinka and Gasquet have maxed out their potential.
@haweye. or anyone else who knows,
Who was the oldest player to win a first slam and did they go on to win more? Seems to me there’s definite boat you have to catch and if you don’t, you’re stuffed.
Why Andy’s fans were so worried at one time.
#ButNotAnyMore 🙂
Deucy: I think the oldest male to ever win his first grand slam was Andres Gimeno, who won the French Open at age 34. It’s the only slam he ever won and he’s still the oldest to have ever won it, period. Ken Rosewall is still the oldest to have won any grand slam when he won the AO in 1972. Agassi was 32 year and 8 months when he won his last GS, the AO, in 2003 against Rainer Schuttler in straight sets. I really don’t see Roger winning another slam and if he insists on playing the same game he always has, I don’t think he’ll win much of anything. As Hawkeye pointed out, the game has evolved. It’s the nature of sport.
^^Not that I can tell. I looked up DGT on Wikipedia to see if it would be mentioned and Andres isn’t listed as a relative, so I’m assuming no. No connection is mentioned on Andres’ site either. Interestingly, there was a paragraph that said that a couple of years ago, Andres lost all of his money (didn’t say how) and that most of the Spanish Armada played an exhibition to raise funds for him.
I don’t see Fed winning another slam unless some extraordinary circumstances would take out Rafa, Djoker and Murray. He can’t beat the top three anymore. He is having trouble beating the top ten at this stage of his career.
I don’t know that Fed has any choice but to play the same game that has won him seventeen slams. It’s his style of play. A player can make some adjustments and tweak his game, but the basic game is what it is. Rafa is a great example of a player who has worked on his game to strengthen different aspects and make some incremental changes. It’s what has kept him at the top and competitive. However, Rafa has always made it clear that his basic style of play will always be the same.
Agassi was fortunate to get that one last slam at 32. But men’s tennis has become much more competitive and the game has become more physically demanding..
Never say never. After all, Murray won 2 slams plus Olympic Gold due to extraordinary factors that he did not have to play Rafa, either because Rafa was out injured or because he went out early at Wimbledon.
Waiting for the eggs coming in my direction. But that’s the truth, no?
Fed is now a dark horse in majors but under the right circumstances, he can win. Is he one of the Top 3 contenders anymore? No. But I still put him up there with Delpo if his back is healthy (big if).
In tennis, people are too quick to write players off time and time again (see Rafa end of 2012). Any player who won a major within the last 18 months (six majors) or so, is a contender, especially a great like him.
Who thought fedfan would win Wimby in 2012? .He took Muzzy to five sets at AO semifinal less than 11 months ago!!!
Not much has really changed since that time except he is 18 months older and seriously I believe had back problems. Murray has improved under Lendl and won two majors but his form after back surgery and lack of play is an unknown.
So under the right circumstances…
Rafa is no given to make it to later rounds at Wimby as shown over the last two events. He doesn’t like the slick grass. Get him to the second week and he’s good but he has to get there first.
I still think fedfan can get into Nole’s head like he did at FO 2011 and Wimby 2012.
So if fedfan can avoid Rafa and Nole can take out Muzz or if it’s a rainy Wimby and key matches are played with the roof, then fedfan’s chances become more realistic.
^^^When I first saw the article, I thought it was going to focus on Roger and what he needed to do to reach the holy grail, 18. Instead, Bozo pivots to the “pink elephant in the room”, Rafael Nadal. Rafa has nothing to do with Fed making 18 or not. Rafa cannot stop Fed, Fed has to win the matches on court. This Federazzi obsession with Rafa needs to stop………….
Fed is 5th because there is a huge drop off in capability after Rafa, Novak, Muzza and Delpo. In fact I am surprised he is 5th, who is 4th? Does anyone really rate Ferru higher than Fed in terms of chances to win in Oz? That is the point. Fed cannot crack the Rafa, Novak, Muzza glass ceiling anymore, and you can include a fresh Delpo in that group.
^^Delpo was not fresh then. That has always been Delpo’s problem, not pacing himself well, he always over-plays and ruins his chances at the important tournaments.
I am the last person to write off Fed. I said that he would win one more slam when many were saying he was done. I thought he had one more great run in him. With Rafa out of the way at the 2012 Wimbledon, Fed capitalized and also got the #1 ranking.
One has to be careful to never say never, but I don’t see a scenario where the big three will not be there in the semis of slams. Djoker certainly isn’t going anywhere. He will be even more determined in 2014 to get back the #1 ranking and wipe out some of the disappointments of 2013. Murray may need some time to get into his best form, but I expect him to come back healthy and strong. That back was bothering him off and on for a while and finally getting surgery to take care of it should help him.
Rafa is not going anywhere either. He got a good report from his doctor on the knee and that’s really the key for him. If he’s healthy, then he’s going to be in the mix. As far as Wimbledon, we will have to wait and see if Rafa’s knee can handle the grass. But I am not counting him out there.
If Delpo stays healthy, this might be the year that he wins his second slam.
I think Fed’s back problems are being exacerbated by simply getting older. That’s how it goes. Maybe he will be competitive in slams, or it could be more of the same in 2014.
Imagine this: if Fed hires Edberg as his coach, the ATP won’t have to go thru the rigmarole of running a poll to see who wins the Stefan Edberg award, Roger will be the winner by virtue of having Edberg in his corner!
And then there’s this gem on Roger from the pen of Bodo. I particularly noticed this sentence, 5th paragraph: “Federer has never used false humility as a way to enhance his reputation or image.” http://espn.go.com/blog/peter-bodo/post/_/id/546/dont-expect-self-pity-from-roger-federer
^^No prizes for guessing who Bozo has in mind as using “false humility to enhance his reputation”. Rafa wins AO 2014 and Bozo, together with his Federazzi brethren, will reach for the hemlock…………….
What I have noticed is that the haters seem to be running out of things to criticize about Rafa. They end up repeating themselves over and over. It gets quite boring. No imagination.
I would love to see what Bodo will write should Rafa win the 2014 AO and the double career slam! That will be teeth gnashing time for sure! 🙂
Tell you what, I prefer the arrogant, insensitive, entitled Roger Federer to this:
https://twitter.com/Clijsterskim/status/412627052492496896/photo/1
Too defensive/pathetic for me………………
I actually like the humble version of Roger. Just last week, I watched a Tennis Channel program on Andre Agassi and I was reminded once again of what he had to do in his comeback. He was playing qualifying tournaments and doing whatever he needed to do to be at the top of the game again. While I don’t expect Roger to ever fall as far in the rankings as Andre did, if Roger can use his love of the game to do what it takes to remain competitive, I’d look forward to it. I’d love to see him change his game, become more of a grinder and go toe to toe with the top guys. Age has diminished some of his skills, but he could work on improving the skills he never had to hone because of his superiority in other areas. His most rabid fans may not like a grinder Roger, but I would love to see it.
roger has posted on his facebook page that he just finished his training week with stephen edberg! So we can throw the idea of a ‘grinder roger’ out of the window…
Fed will never become a grinder. It actually makes more sense to know that he has been practicing with Stephen Edberg. For one thing, he’s too old to start grinding. That can take a toll on the body. For another, it’s never been his style.
@vamosrafa and @nativenewyorker7;
It’s Stefan, not Stephen Edberg.
Stephen Edberg hahahahaha
^^Indeed. Serve-and-Volley Edberg is the antithesis of grinding. So much for my wishful thinking.
Fed is delusional. He thinks serve and volley will win him matches against the big boys? All he’s doing is telling the rest of the locker room that he can’t run anymore. Well, maybe he’s in it for the love of the game as he says, not to win.
#Confused
Agassi was just 27 when he played challengers. His problem was a loss of interest and focus. Fed’s problem is age and evolution of the game.
The SHBH, while pretty, is obsolete. I don’t see Dimitrov winning a single major. He will be 23 in May and he’s only made the 3rd round of one major. Similarly, Wawrinka and Gasquet have maxed out their potential.
@haweye. or anyone else who knows,
Who was the oldest player to win a first slam and did they go on to win more? Seems to me there’s definite boat you have to catch and if you don’t, you’re stuffed.
Why Andy’s fans were so worried at one time.
#ButNotAnyMore 🙂
Deucy: I think the oldest male to ever win his first grand slam was Andres Gimeno, who won the French Open at age 34. It’s the only slam he ever won and he’s still the oldest to have ever won it, period. Ken Rosewall is still the oldest to have won any grand slam when he won the AO in 1972. Agassi was 32 year and 8 months when he won his last GS, the AO, in 2003 against Rainer Schuttler in straight sets. I really don’t see Roger winning another slam and if he insists on playing the same game he always has, I don’t think he’ll win much of anything. As Hawkeye pointed out, the game has evolved. It’s the nature of sport.
is he related to DGT?
^^Not that I can tell. I looked up DGT on Wikipedia to see if it would be mentioned and Andres isn’t listed as a relative, so I’m assuming no. No connection is mentioned on Andres’ site either. Interestingly, there was a paragraph that said that a couple of years ago, Andres lost all of his money (didn’t say how) and that most of the Spanish Armada played an exhibition to raise funds for him.
is he related to DGT?
Thanks for that J.p. Very interesting. Dimi has time on his side but might have to wait till Andy and co retire, as Tomic suggested.
Well, he could, but a lot would have to fall into place for it to happen. It’s not on his racquet anymore.
I don’t see Fed winning another slam unless some extraordinary circumstances would take out Rafa, Djoker and Murray. He can’t beat the top three anymore. He is having trouble beating the top ten at this stage of his career.
I don’t know that Fed has any choice but to play the same game that has won him seventeen slams. It’s his style of play. A player can make some adjustments and tweak his game, but the basic game is what it is. Rafa is a great example of a player who has worked on his game to strengthen different aspects and make some incremental changes. It’s what has kept him at the top and competitive. However, Rafa has always made it clear that his basic style of play will always be the same.
Agassi was fortunate to get that one last slam at 32. But men’s tennis has become much more competitive and the game has become more physically demanding..
Fed wins a Slam hereon I will donate my Ipad to Ricky’s favourite charity. I promise.
#ForgetIt
i will hold you to that
#ThankYou
^^Please do, Ricky, please do. This is one bet I ain’t losing, thanks Fed!
*Dearie me, did I just type without thinking……again??*
Never say never. After all, Murray won 2 slams plus Olympic Gold due to extraordinary factors that he did not have to play Rafa, either because Rafa was out injured or because he went out early at Wimbledon.
Waiting for the eggs coming in my direction. But that’s the truth, no?
Not going to take that bait, m’dear.
You play whose there on the day.
#Fact
Fed is now a dark horse in majors but under the right circumstances, he can win. Is he one of the Top 3 contenders anymore? No. But I still put him up there with Delpo if his back is healthy (big if).
In tennis, people are too quick to write players off time and time again (see Rafa end of 2012). Any player who won a major within the last 18 months (six majors) or so, is a contender, especially a great like him.
Who thought fedfan would win Wimby in 2012? .He took Muzzy to five sets at AO semifinal less than 11 months ago!!!
Not much has really changed since that time except he is 18 months older and seriously I believe had back problems. Murray has improved under Lendl and won two majors but his form after back surgery and lack of play is an unknown.
So under the right circumstances…
Rafa is no given to make it to later rounds at Wimby as shown over the last two events. He doesn’t like the slick grass. Get him to the second week and he’s good but he has to get there first.
I still think fedfan can get into Nole’s head like he did at FO 2011 and Wimby 2012.
So if fedfan can avoid Rafa and Nole can take out Muzz or if it’s a rainy Wimby and key matches are played with the roof, then fedfan’s chances become more realistic.
More from Bodo on Roger trying to reach #18. He also writes about Serena’s attempt to nab #18 and the race to see who will reach #18 first. I think there’s only one answer to that. He also refers to Rafa’s title of “King of Clay” as “cheesy.” http://espn.go.com/blog/peter-bodo/post/_/id/550/federer-serena-aiming-for-history
^^^When I first saw the article, I thought it was going to focus on Roger and what he needed to do to reach the holy grail, 18. Instead, Bozo pivots to the “pink elephant in the room”, Rafael Nadal. Rafa has nothing to do with Fed making 18 or not. Rafa cannot stop Fed, Fed has to win the matches on court. This Federazzi obsession with Rafa needs to stop………….
It has to do with Rafa, Nole and Muzz. Beyond those three, with little if any exceptions, it is on his racquet (and back) again.
Fed is currently 5th oddsmakers’ favourite behind Delpo to win AO.and 4th at Wimby.
Given variables such as draws, scheduling, weather, injuries, etc., I wouldn’t count him out.
Fed is 5th because there is a huge drop off in capability after Rafa, Novak, Muzza and Delpo. In fact I am surprised he is 5th, who is 4th? Does anyone really rate Ferru higher than Fed in terms of chances to win in Oz? That is the point. Fed cannot crack the Rafa, Novak, Muzza glass ceiling anymore, and you can include a fresh Delpo in that group.
Fed beat Delpo not 1 month ago.
^^Delpo was not fresh then. That has always been Delpo’s problem, not pacing himself well, he always over-plays and ruins his chances at the important tournaments.
I am the last person to write off Fed. I said that he would win one more slam when many were saying he was done. I thought he had one more great run in him. With Rafa out of the way at the 2012 Wimbledon, Fed capitalized and also got the #1 ranking.
One has to be careful to never say never, but I don’t see a scenario where the big three will not be there in the semis of slams. Djoker certainly isn’t going anywhere. He will be even more determined in 2014 to get back the #1 ranking and wipe out some of the disappointments of 2013. Murray may need some time to get into his best form, but I expect him to come back healthy and strong. That back was bothering him off and on for a while and finally getting surgery to take care of it should help him.
Rafa is not going anywhere either. He got a good report from his doctor on the knee and that’s really the key for him. If he’s healthy, then he’s going to be in the mix. As far as Wimbledon, we will have to wait and see if Rafa’s knee can handle the grass. But I am not counting him out there.
If Delpo stays healthy, this might be the year that he wins his second slam.
I think Fed’s back problems are being exacerbated by simply getting older. That’s how it goes. Maybe he will be competitive in slams, or it could be more of the same in 2014.
Imagine this: if Fed hires Edberg as his coach, the ATP won’t have to go thru the rigmarole of running a poll to see who wins the Stefan Edberg award, Roger will be the winner by virtue of having Edberg in his corner!
#TimeSaved
#MoneySaved