The second day of Australian Open quarterfinal action will take place on Wednesday, when Roger Federer is back on the court against Tomas Berdych. A far more surprising showdown–one of the most unexpected in slam QF history–features Hyeon Chung and Tennys Sandgren.
Tomas Berdych vs. (2) Roger Federer
Roger Federer and Tomas Berdych will be squaring off for the 26th time in their careers when they battle for a spot in the semifinals of the Australian Open on Wednesday night. Federer is dominating the head-to-head series 19-6, but there has to be at least some optimism for Berdych. After all, six wins in 25 attempts is a smashing success compared to the standards most players set for themselves against Federer. Moreover, the 32-year-old Czech is playing far better tennis right now–albeit with a very small sample size–than he was throughout a prolonged slump in 2016 and 2017 that kept him out of consecutive Nitto ATP Finals. During those two seasons he went 0-4 against Federer and 1-11 total sets–including 0-2 (0-6 in sets) at the Australian Open. Berdych earned himself another shot at the Swiss thanks to mostly routine victories earlier in the tournament over Alex de Minaur, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, Juan Martin Del Potro, and Fabio Fognini.
Federer was the favorite to defend his 2017 title before the fortnight even started and his status as such has only skyrocketed due to recent losses taken by Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, among other top 15 players. The world No. 2 has not come close to suffering a similar fate, as he punched his ticket to the last eight by cruising past Aljaz Bedene, Jan-Lennard Struff, Richard Gasquet, and Marton Fucsovics all in straight sets. Federer is obviously in fine form and he has to be supremely confident against Berdych with an 8-0 record at the underdog’s expense dating back to 2014.
Pick: Federer in 3
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Tennys Sandgren vs. Hyeon Chung
It will be one of the most surprising Grand Slam quarterfinal matchups in ATP history when Chung and Sandgren collide on Wednesday afternoon. Byron Black vs. Vladimir Voltchkov at Wimbledon in 2000 is on a similar scale, but not much else can rival this one. Most of that, of course, has to do with Sandgren. The 26-year-old American had been a perennial Futures and Challenger level player until now, with only two main-tour match wins in his entire career. Ranked 97th in the world, Sandgren has emerged from nowhere to make a miracle run in Melbourne at the expense of Jeremy Chardy, Stan Wawrinka, Maximilian Marterer, and Dominic Thiem.
Chung’s quarterfinal appearance is a surprise more because he had no past history of success at Grand Slams and a difficult draw. For him, natural talent has never been a question mark. The 21-year-old South Korean captured the inaugural NextGen ATP Finals title last fall in Milan and he beat two fellow NextGen stars earlier in this tournament (Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev). Chung also advanced by taking out Mischa Zverev (via retirement) and six-time Aussie Open champion Novak Djokovic. Although Djokovic is a shadow of his former self at the moment, nothing can be taken away from what was an awesome performance by Chung throughout a 7-6(4), 7-5, 7-6(3) triumph on Monday night. The world No. 58 is in outstanding form, has already played in Rod Laver Arena twice (Sandgren never has), and he just beat Sandgren three weeks ago in Auckland.
Pick: Chung in 4
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who ya got??
Roger chung.
I’m going to say Federer in 4 very right ones, maybe even 5. I think that Berdych has to be viewing this as, from a QF and on standpoint, the single best opportunity he has ever had, and probably will ever have, to finally get a major singles titles. He could come out with a desperation that we haven’t seen in a “Fedych” match at a Major in a long time….
However, as I pointed out previously, Federer’s post-2013 ultra-aggressive style of play has for whatever reason been just impossible for Berdych to penetrate… Sure, he can really damn close in Miami last year, but if that were a best-of-five match, I don’t know about you all, but I would absolutely have expected Fed to still come through that match.
But Miami 2017 match aside…. Berdych has almost been the perfect match-up for Federer. For whatever reason, since 2014 Berdych has just brought the best of out Federer, especially in Majors, ESPECIALLY at AO! I just feel like Berdych is just one of those guys, similar to Gasquet in a way, who seems to make Federer so comfortable when he plays him.
At AO last year, Fed had looked relatively sub-par leading up to the Berdych match, in the Hopman Cup and first two rounds of AO. But once he stepped out onto the court with Berdych, it was almost like Berdych was exactly what the Fed doctor ordered. That match was definitely one of the most truly flawless matches he had ever played, but more importantly, it seemed to remind him that he is capable of producing a level that can beat the world. Now, I’m not going to pretend like he looked anywhere near as flawless as that match throughout the rest of the tournament last year (until maybe the 5th set of the final). But that Berdych match did seem, to me, to unlock some sort of belief in Federer that he was able to bring out when his matches got tight against Nishikori, Stan, and Rafa.
I guess the main point I am trying to make is that I believe that Berdych is the perfect person for Federer to play when he has played well through to the QF, not dropping a set and serving relatively well, but hasn’t yet shown us a REALLY high level that could be required in the deep stages of a major. And I think that facing Berdych now could be that opportunity for Fed to really kick it up a notch, and remind everyone of why he’s #2 in the world and the defending champion. And I believe that Fed knows that he has that opportunity for the taking.
But Fed also knows that Berdych is not to be taken lightly. He knows that Berdych IS capable of just dominating and taking the racquet out of his hand, and beating him handedly at a major… because he’s done it more than once.
So I’ll end by saying that Berdych absolutely, positively CAN beat Federer tomorrow. And he might! And anyone who thinks that isn’t true, is just ignoring history. However, Federer is way, way, way, WAY better at beating Berdych than Berdych is at beating Federer. Therefore the deck is stacked in Federer’s favor. That is also undeniable.
To me, percentage-wise, it feels closer to a 60-40 split in Fed’s favor this time as opposed to the typical 80-20 in their matchup. I should also add that I think that a lot of people last year thought Berdych would beat Fed in round 3 just because of how little Fed had competed til that point. More people last year picked Berdych than they are this year, I believe. And we all know what happened last year!
So it could be Federer rout just like last year. Or it could be a career-defining statement win for Berdych in 4 sets. But I believe it’s most like to be a Federer victory in 4, maybe, possibly 5, very tight sets.
Agree with pretty much all of this.
It’s hard to actually say what Fed’s level is right now, but he’s not been at the level he was when he crushed Berdych at last year’s AO. Is that because he’s just not found that kind of form, or because he hasn’t had to? I don’t know, I’m more inclined to think the former, but it could be a bit of both.
Whoever wins, I feel like Chung should offer a stern test from here, as should Cilic, if he’s on the other side (surely he will be, but who knows). Cilic is actually in a great position right now, he’s on the 2 day break half of the draw and ‘only’ has to get through Edmund. Hit eighty-something winners against Rafa, should be able to do the same in a final.
Kevin, congrats on a great analysis of this QF matchup.
You are right, 2 new faces, Cilic and Chung have a great chance of reaching this years AO finale! I give Cilic more chances to reach the final. Cilic has to play at a high lvl without any mental breakdowns else Kyle Edward will pounce on this Golden opportunity ( Kyle feels that he is representing not only Andy Murray but the Whole UK at AO!. Playing for her majesty the great Queen Elizabeth will give Edwards lots of confidence to win the SF.) with his powerful forehand working and playing with tremendous confidence having beaten World No.3 Dimi!
Kevin is right on somethings but I didn’t read all your comment 😂.
Agree with much of what Kevin said. I’ve actually not seen much of Fed during this tournament, so I don’t feel like I have a good feel for his current level. What I’ve seen of Berdych has really impressed me, and Kev is right that he is capable of dominating when he’s in the zone, kind of like Cilic but generally more consistent, imo. Still, Fed in 4.
Berdych in 5
Chung in 5
Fed in 4….Chung in straight.
Scoot, congrats on predicting “Chung in straight”!
Hope your next prediction of “Fed in 4” also comes true.
Fed in four Sandgren in five
Roger vs Chung in semi would be exciting to watch. who knows Chung continues to slay giant until the final, that would be most phenomenal start of a year.
Wow. Chung is seriously going to be a FIGHT for Federer or Berdych in the semis… People should not sleep on this guy right now. He can make these 30+ year old guys look their age, quite easily if he wants to. Hasn’t he actually beaten Berdych before? Maybe even in a major?
Chung plays like a young Djoko (from 2011 onwards); he’s just so quick and gets every ball back. He can hit some unbelievable passing shots on the run too. I agree, he makes the 30 something players look slow; the 20 something too!
Congrats to Chung! He’s the youngest SFinalist since Cilic at AO2010.
He’s playing Djoko style tennis, and who says the defence/offence style couldn’t survive on quick HCs? Rafa had proven he could last year reaching the final; Chung proves that he can too reaching the SF now.
Berdych taking it to Fed at the outset, up a break at 3-0. Playing very smart tennis, keeping the ball deep. This is the Berdych I’ve been watching this AO. Fed making a lot of errors, but Tomas is pressuring him.
What is Fed doing? He has no more challenges remaining so no need to argue with the umpire.
Berdy come on, man up. Please dont hit all the wrong shots!
Luckystar will you take it easy, chill.
Tomas Berdych is playing well in the 1st set.
Sigh, Berdy is forever like this, tensed up once hes about to win the set. If he cant overcome this problem, he’ll never win a slam!
Oh come on give some credit to Roger who was aggressive in that game. I think Berdych is playing great tennis as he was doing in Wimbledon.
I want Roger to win this title but if T. Berdych wins this match, I will be happy for him.
He hasn’t won a slam b4 and he is getting old.
If Tomas wants to win this match, he has to make most of his opportunities, R. Federer never gives up, he will have to raise his game high.
My goodness Roger Federer is the best, this guy is awesome👍.
T. Berdych missed a big opportunity to take the 1st set.
Nah, Berdych was serving poorly in that game and hitting all the wrong shots, hitting right back at Fed! Its more tobdo with Berdych being tense than Fed playing well!
After Sunday, I hope you dont turn up and say whole men’s field was tensed up and 36 year old guy won AO without dropping a set. Anyone would love to be in Fed’s shoes if he can get rest of 127 guys tensed up.
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂, this guy is funny.
So, it takes 50 minutes for a 36 year old guy to just break down a free swinging guy. I thought Berdych started great but Fed has just too many weapons to counter him. 22 winners to 8 winners for Fed in comparsion with Berdych.
I thought Roger had lost it at 5-6, but he has played this tiebreak brilliantly. If he keeps this level he should win in straights.
As usual, Berdych will lose this despite playing well all tournament. Fed is also Berdych’s nemesis, just like Djoko/Rafa are to Berdych.
This Bedrcyh would have beaten both Rafa and Djoker that turned up at this AO.
It’s possible, I am sure he would have defeated Novak.
I doubt so! Rafa and Djoko would make him run like crazy, both know Berdy’s game inside out!
Rafa might not defeat him, Berdych was/is playing better than M. Cilic that’s my take.
Berdy is Berdy, when facing the big three, he cowed to them, nothing new.
I thought 1st set is gone. This guy never ceases to impress. It’s easy to take all the credit from Berdych (due to his lack of mental toughness) and give it to Fed, but it can’t be just that. It has to do with Roger as well.
One thing Federer is really doing well in this match since mid-1st set is varying the pace of his shots. Not just on the slices, but on his FH drives. He wasn’t hitting his shots early on, and instead of just continuing with the same strategy, he has gone to a plan B.
He’s also hitting some ridiculously good drop shots.
He is versatile.
He’s capitalizing on Berdy’s lack of movement and lack of mental strength. He knows Berdy’s weaknesses very well.
Berdy winning points is more to do with Fed’s errors than Berdy’s brilliance. Berdy plays a predictable game, Fed knows exactly where to hit to that Berdy just couldn’t reach.
I think he is playing better tennis than Cilic. I dont think Cilic will come this close with Fed.
You sure? We’ll see! Cilic at least serves better than this Berdy. He’s able to serve it out for a set, unlike Berdy!
Lets not go too far. Wimby 2017 final is still fresh in everyone’s mind. Check Cilic’s 4th round match. Had the break in first and fourth set. Could not serve out against the Spainard.
Nah, against Rafa he could. Where it mattered most, he responded, sensing the weakness in his opponent, unlike Berdych. Berdych was having the upper hand for most of the set yet he tense up when he’s about to win the set, that’s the difference to me!
Agree.
Berdych is playing pretty well, but Cilic hit 83 winners against Rafa. I don’t think you can say that Tomas is playing better.
Berdych might have topped that, Roger is different from Rafa.
Exactly Joe! This Berdy is hopeless! When serving for the set, he couldn’t get his first serve right so often that gave Fed the chance to fight back. A few good serves was all that’s needed yet Berdy as usual couldn’t do that.
TBH, Fed wasn’t even playing that well, with all the DFs and overhitting and hitting into the net but Berdy failed to capitalize! Fed when given a chance would be sure to fight back and used his varieties to ‘confuse’ Berdy.
If Berdych had won the 1st set, Roger will be in trouble.
Tomas might not recover, when you miss an opportunity with Fed it is difficult to get it back.
Tomas is still fighting, I like that.
Fed may not be playing his best tennis, but he’s playing a very intelligent match.
Agreed, Joe. He used his varieties well to attack Berdych ‘s weaknesses. Fed need not be in top form to beat this Berdych.
It’ll be interesting to see Fed vs Chung, and see how far Chung could go against this Fed.
And I’ve to add that it’s a pity Delpo didn’t play well enough to face this Fed;I guess a Delpo who’s playing well will be a tougher opponent for Fed, compared to a Berdych.
Frankly this is a masterclass from the Fed. Cant believe my eyes that a 36 year old is playing this well.
👍! He is ageless.
Well, Berdy is no youngster, he’s 32 and therefore he’s not moving all that well, given that he’s not a great mover to start with when he was younger. He made Fed looked good for a 36 year old!
Yes, Berdych made Fed look good. Cilic will do the same on Sunday.
Youre sure they will reach the Sunday match??
Fed 50 winners to Berdy’s 16!!
luckystar’s comments are so full of hatred. I can understand being a Rafa fan , she absolutely want any idiot on this world to win AO, but writing utter garbage here. If you dont know the scoreboad and are not seeing the match, you will think Fed is playing absolute rubbish.
Fedexal, you’re the one feeling the hatred for me in particular. Read my comments carefully, I’m watching the match and I say it when I see it.
Fed served a few DFs, he wasn’t great but just played enough to trouble this Berdych. If you think this Fed is playing very well, then I think you set your expectation too low on Fed!
You replied Cilic does not have any problems serving for the set. I gave you two instances of his 4th round match. If I am not wrong, you were cursing Cici the most after Wimby final. You are a junk ! Get some life. Dont change topics if you run out of answers.
Fedexal, mind your language even when you’re getting angry for no reasons! I criticized Cilic at Wimbledon, what’s wrong if he’s doing something like what Berdych is doing now?
But, at this AO, against Rafa, at least he didn’t cow to Rafa, served it out when he had the upper hand, unlike Berdy here! So, I can’t criticize the players but you can? Who do you think you are??
I dont want to argue with an over jealous person.
Over jealous?? Who are you talking about??
I have my Rafa, what else do I need to be jealous about? Don’t you find yourself laughable, being talking like this?? You hardly know anyone one here to comment about what they are!
Look at thinwhiteduke’s summary, he gets it, and that’s pretty much how I feel about the match, and about how both Fed and Berdych played!
Guys it’s okay, it’s just a game, Fed is/was awesome but others can have a different view, please chill.
Luckystar you owe me an apology, you deceived me lol, I thought you were a man and not a woman.
I disagree with some of your views on tennis but I love your passion and knowledge in tennis even though I disagree with some of them because they are wrong, you are passionate and I like that.
It is all over, I think. bye bye berdych
😂.
How exciting it would be if Chung manages to beat Fed and win AO. All the players in the generation between big 3 & 5 to Chung would be kind of ‘lost generation’.
While Chung is playing very well, I think he lacks the experience to deal with Fed. Fed may not be in top form, but he’s smart enough to use his varieties and will grab any chances when he sees them so Chung will have a hard time and have to play a perfect match to have any chances.
Not a great match by Fed, but enough to get past old Berdy anyway.
Fed got off to a crap start, and Berdych’s forehand was firing on all cylinders. Uncharacteristic DF’s from Fed, as well as the early UE’s that have been par for him in recent matches. Looked like the refreshed 2018AO Berdych could be a slightly different breed to the old one, but lo and behold, the naysayers were right, and the usual Berdych turned up to serve for the set at 5-3. Missed pretty much all his first serves, Fed upped his level slightly, and then took it out easily in the breaker.
Couple of standard sets after that where Fed got a break ahead, all over ho-hum. Berdych actually got a break back in the third after taking an MTO. Frankly, this did not really look concerning for this match, as it looked like Fed could break again easily enough anyway. It does however indicate that Fed’s level can actually go a bit higher from here, despite the fact he hasn’t lost a set yet. He did still make some damn impressive passes though, and the drop shots were right on point too. He hit 4-5 drop shots and I think won all of them, on about 3 of them the ball just died once it went over the net, Berdych with his movement wasn’t gonna get near those.
👍 Good summary, thinwhiteduke!
Allez Roger!! 💪🏼🔥
Fed is playing the best tennis since last year. He made some smart movies, skipping RG last year, preparing for Wimby. He was unlucky in USO, had he been 100% healthwise, he would have won the big apple for sure. He does not want to slip AO now. He is being helped by draws but still he would have beaten the formidable opponents, if they happen to meet him anyway.
I just hope Cilic if he gets thru final puts up a decent show otherwise we might see a repeat of Wim 2017.
A healthy Fed would have won the USO the same way a healthy Rafa would have won the AO. This is tennis, not fantasyland. You lace up the sneakers and play the game. You win or you lose. No woulda, coulda, shoulda.
Regarding Fed’s “smart” scheduling decisions, how about playing Montreal? He was reaching for #1 and fell on his face. Should have skipped it as he usually does. And skipping the WHOLE clay court season? Ridiculous. Handed Rafa the #1 right there. Fed’s a superb tennis player and smart, but he’s human and he makes mistakes.
Skipping the whole RG season was the best move. He would not have won RG and would have lost twice or thrice to Rafa on clay court tourneys and would have lost the mental edge. And would have lost the freshness as well.
Playing Montreal was not that bad a decision, its just that he actually got injured.
Healthy Rafa would not have won AO 2018.
The point is that even with skipping the entire clay season, Fed was not able to avoid injury. Do evrn with the most careful scheduling as he did in not playing the entire clay season, his back still acted up in Montreal. He had to skip Cincy.
Fed played at the USO even though it was obvious from the start that he was not physically 100%. He got pushed to five sets by both Tiafoe and Youzhny. He was not moving well in those matches. Ultimately he lost to Delpo in the quarterfinals and said afterwards that he was ready mentally and his game was not there. Yet he opted to play.
This is not an exact science. Players have their doctors and team to help guide them with scheduling and dealing with injuries that come up.
Rafa has said that he was told in 2016 that he could play at Rome even with his wrist problem. He said that it turned out to be the wrong decision because he had to withdraw from RG in the early rounds.
That’s why I don’t like criticizing the players for their scheduling. Even the doctors don’t always know for sure if an injury will get worse or not. It’s part of the risk of playing sport.
Fed said he was NOT ready mentally at the USO. *
Healthy Rafa always beats healthy Fed in slams since Wimby 2007.
Nothing new there.
Fedfans have no class.
So, Rafa was not healthy in AO 2017 final ?
No. FFS he had JUST come off injury.
Do you even follow tennis?
So, Rafa had just come off injury ? What about Fed who was away from tennis for 7 months which was more than Rafa’s break.
I wont ask you the question, whether you follow tennis or not, because I know the answer.
Fedexal, sad to say, you seriously have a problem here!
What’s this hate or jealousy about? You’re truly imagining things! I post what I think, about any player, not just about Fed!
If there’s one player a Rafa fan should ‘hate’, it’s Djoko, not Fed! Who beats Rafa 7 in a row not only once but twice; and which top player is leading Rafa in the H2H?
I’m fair with my posting about other players (I may be biased in favor of Rafa of course). I call it as I see it; I’ve no problem acknowledging Djoko is the best player who could dominate on all surfaces; I’ve no problem acknowledging Fed is the best grass and fast court player among the current active players. I don’t see why I’m ‘hating’ or am ‘jealous’ about Fed??
You think I’m sore about Rafa losing? Nah, I saw that coming after watching the Schwartzman match. He’s simply being too defensive and got caught into a long grinding match, asking for trouble. His fitness was in question too when he said the humid conditions out there bothered him.
You should tell yourself to relax, don’t think that others are hating or feeling jealous, life is not about being so negative towards others! Why would people want to hate somebody when they don’t even know that somebody personally??
PS. I supported Berdy in this match because I feel sorry for him for not winning a slam; if he’s playing anyone else not named Rafa, I would also want Berdy to win, nothing to do with hating Fed.
I answered the question you asked and my original statement stands.
Want to make another homophobic response? It’s all you have left.
Lucky @6:22PM.
I agree with 100% what you said right there regarding fed, Rafa’s form, Nole and this poster.
fedexal was like this on TennisTalk years ago and was banned there for racist and homophobic statements.
And do you have a class? Always predicting Fed will win and Nadal will lose and if fed wins you start your rubbish about scheduling, day/night, draws, roof, fast/super fast court, centre court, etc and if Nadal wins you will claim he is better than Fed. Such a double standard person you’re.
Are you referring to me or the guy who has lived all his life in closet ?
Referring to hawkeye
BP, show me where I predicted that incorrectly please.
And show me when I started pointing out draw and scheduling favouritism, etc. only AFTER fed wins. It’s the other way around.
So many extreme fedfans with double standards. PeRFect example is fedfans saying fed had the better year overall in 2017 because of h2h yet h2h “never mattered” until then.
And fedexal’s at 5:32 “class” cracking a homophobic joke. Quite pathetic and telling. You should get along well with stanley, another classy fedfan here.
Hawkeye this is where you predicted Fed will play Bercy and he will get random draw and he will win
and
I hammered you. But you are shameless. Enough said . Now you want proofs, here is one.
https://tenngrand.com/2017/10/28/finals-previews-predictions-federer-vs-del-potro-tsonga-vs-pouille/comment-page-1/#comments
#GETLOST
Not proof of anything only that Fed didn’t even play Bercy so how could he get preferential treatment if he didn’t even play there?
Show me proof of what you said (without your homophobic insults). I remember you were banned on tennistalk for racist comments. You were homophobic there too I remember.
No proof. Just avoidance.
Hawkeye, there is no point whether you predict after or before the draw because you always predict the same. According to you Fed will win against every other player including Rafa(except clay) I don’t have a problem with your prediction because as a Fed fan I too have the same feeling but the problem is you start your usual hatred towards fed with favourable draw infact it shouldn’t matter as according to you fed will anyway win against whoever he faces.
Actually Rafa gets mostly the easiest draw, take some 10 good players according to you whom you consider good and check number of times Rafa and Roger played against them it will give the correct picture.
Djokovic from 2008-2012 in non-clay slams (where fed got murray instead) more often than not because Nole was better on clay than Murray.
All the proof I need fedexal.
You said this “Anyone who thinks federer won’t play Bercy be bat shite cray”.
Eventually Fed did not play. Enough said. No more proofs required. Shamelessness exposed.
How many times djoko’s has played against fed in semis in a GS. This number is much higher than Rafa against Djokovic in semifinals
“would have lost his ‘mental edge’?” You really think Roger Federer is that fragile mentally??? If he were he’d have spent the last 10 years cowering under his bed, afraid the big bad Nadal was coming for him.
Ramara, this particular poster is trying to bait others and calling others hypocrites, don’t fall for it!
And you really think that if someone has a mental edge over you it implies that the first guy is mentally fragile ? Can’t it mean the other way around ? Can’t it possibly be that other guy feels very confident playing against you ?
Check Fed’s thoughts here https://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/index.php?threads/federer-honest-about-the-mental-block-against-rafa-in-interview.581341/
If you could turn this jealousy towards Fed into love and peace the world will be a happier place.
I can understand that you are hurting today, but still how can you hate Fed so much ?
fedexal should look in the mirror and examine his homophobia as a priority ahead of telling others to make the world a happier place (like another extreme fedfan here).
As if a guy in closet can teach a thing or two about peace. I have already EXPOSED you , but your continious writing just shows that you are SHAMELESS guy.
Lucky,
I agree! Well said!
😉
fedexal the homophobe and racist who was banned on tennistalk.
Shameless and hateful. Just more self projection.
Very sad indeed.
I agree with you, Ramara- shoulda/coulda/woulda is so pointless. It can be a combination of reasons why someone is holding the trophy on that second Sunday, such as they played really good tennis, they played well in clutch moments, they took care of their body/played a style of tennis that is less injury-prone, etc. When it comes down to it, however, the person who is raising that trophy on that second Sunday was ALWAYS the best player of that tournament… Every time. That includes Rafa at USO. Whether it was because Fed made the mistake of playing in Montreal, or he just didn’t play well enough in NYC, or a combination of reasons, the fact is that he was not the best tennis player that fortnight- Rafa was!
And if 36 1/2 year-old Federer manages to get by Chung and Cilic/Edmund, and is holding the trophy on Sunday, then that means that Federer was the best tennis player in the tournament. Same as Rafa in the previous major.
No shoulda/coulda/woulda. Shit is pointless because there is no way to know. All we ever know is that one player was good enough to beat the players that the other players weren’t good enough to beat (or even get far enough to face). Period.
👍Fair point Kevin.
I also believe could’ve would’ve shit is pointless. I am just trying to ape a poster here who on the 1st page posted that DelPo “Could” have been a tough opposition for “this” Fed and is now agreeing to the comment that we should not indulge in imagining. This site has a bunch of hypocrites led by that poster.
Ha ha fedexal, still feeling sore huh?
Delpo could have been a tougher opponent for Fed if he’s playing well, not difficult to know that based on H2H with Fed, compared to Berdych’s vs Fed. I think that’s not science and yet this fedexal guy couldn’t accept it!
Did ‘that’ particular poster say that Delpo could’ve beaten this Fed?? Huh?
Can you seriously differentiate the difference, huh? Not difficult to figure out right? I thought that’s common sense?
Did I say that “that” poster say DelPo could have beaten this Fed. I just copied what that poster said on the first page of the thread .
I said that there is a junk poster here who always brings out this could’ve would’ve junk .
And you fedexal is trying to bait others by posting could’ve, should’ve scenarios and you are calling others hypocrites?? Have some manners, you’re obviously lacking in that area.
And so fedexal still couldn’t figure out the difference!
Well said Lucky.
We dont know if Federer wouldve won the USO even if he was fit, wouldves, couldves, shouldves mean nothing in sport, goes for Nadal, Djokovic, anybody, and yes even Federer ….
This was one of the match I was worried but at the end it happens to be a straight sets win for Fed. Some of them may say Fed not playing that well or not to his standard but defeating an inform Berdych in straight sets with one tiebreaker should be considered good. You can’t imagine Fed to be in God mode in all his matches and expect him to have a scoreline with mostly double break of serves in every set.
It might look that Fed not playing great because of his unforced errors but one has to understand he plays a rushing game and doesn’t give opponent enough time to react but while doing so he too can’t construct a point so errors tends to happen, so while judging Fed’s form you need to see it bit differently like winners to unforced errors and just not concentrate on errors. Fed might have more unforced errors than Rafa even when he would have played one of his best match but then there would be a big difference in winners.
If Fed plays such an aggressive game and if you expect him to make very few errors and if he really makes unforced errors similar to Rafa then I don’t think there would be anyone who will ever have even a remote chance to defeat Fed.
Yes Fed is past his prime and he is still winning in 3 sets in tournaments where
his younger rivals are finding it hard to complete a match. Fed’s prime is termed as “WEAK ERA”.
fedexal talking to yourself again.
Yes, Fedexal, weak-minded “weak-era” advocates are fond of stressing that Nadal was still a baby from 2004-07, whilst forgetting that Fed was in his prime in those years and was past his prime from 2011, when Rafa and Novak were in their’s.
5-6 years is practically a generation in men’s tennis, and explains a lot of the various disagreements between fans of the big three.
If Fed was “past his prime” from 2011 to 2016 what’s he in now? Second childhood?
Ramara, look at Federer’s results from 2011 through mid 2014, and then compare them with his results
a) before that time; and
b) since that time
What we see is that his results were best during 2004-10, which was his prime, and that they declined after that point, until mid 2014, which is totally normal.
What has happened since mid 2014? Fed changed (and got used) to a larger racquet. That best explains his greater success in the last 3 1/2 years, which otherwise makes no sense (unless he is taking PEDs). Tennis players do not improve between the ages of 33-36.
Federer played some of the best tennis of his life in 2017. However, he is well past his prime. There is every reason to think that he would have been even better from 2004-11 if he had played with a larger racquet during those prime years.
The thing is when he plays Chung, he’s playing against the momentum of Ching as well. He’s never played against him before. If Fed plays Chung like he’s Chung he will lose the match, Fed needs to play his like he’s playing Djokovic. Chung beat Novak in three sets that’s danger for anyone
Federer is going to blow Chung away. The kid’s good but not that good. Yet. He’s going to get a master class from the old master.
Chung is a decent player no doubt but what in form player has he beaten who’s ever done anything at a slam???
#ReturnOfTheWeakEraAllOverAgain
Fed will show Chung that Chung is “next-gen” champion. A 36 year oldie still reigns current generation.
I am not wondering, since Fed is well past his prime and aged as well, he still is winning decent. I wonder the era in which we saw Fed at his best 2004-07, would anyway be categorized as a Weak Era” irrespective of the competition just because Fed best is head and shoulders above everyone else.
04-07 Weak Era fed is not as good as recent fed.
Recent fed stats prove that out.
Just like fed to win easy draws, all night matches but one when the rest of the Big five are not in form.
#ReturnOfTheWeakEra
#TennisHasAPeRFectSteroidProblem
Fed only played as well as he had to in 2004-7.
Hard for any guy to beat Chung and Ching at the same time.
Stop reaching, Oliver. If Fed treats Chung like Djokovic, he wins. If Fed treats Chung like Chung, he wins. If Fed treats Chung like Oprah Winfrey, he wins. Bottom line: he’s gonna win.
Hawkeye’s prections exposed – https://tenngrand.com/2017/10/28/finals-previews-predictions-federer-vs-del-potro-tsonga-vs-pouille/comment-page-1/#comments
Beware of this shameless guy. He is full of hatred .
Thanks for posting a link to an earlier page with more of your homophobic bile fedexal. As far as hatred goes, stop self projecting and check a mirror. Stay “classy”.
fedexal OCTOBER 30, 2017 AT 3:57 AM
I think there are few posters with whom you never want to mess.
#LivedAllTheirLifeInACloset
#NeverFightWithAPig
https://tenngrand.com/2017/10/28/finals-previews-predictions-federer-vs-del-potro-tsonga-vs-pouille/comment-page-1/#comment-285798
Also notice on that link and here that “fedexal” and “BestPlayer” seem to show up and disappear around the same time.
I guess you have to find a friend somehow.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxtNxV4yZeE
If you want to say I have multiple ids blah blah , name two user ids and we can get ip’s checked .
But if you are proved wrong, would you get lost then or shamelessly linger on like you have done till now ?
Hawktard, my one and only, you are special to me, a special kind of Moron, please when you mention my name show me some respect OK.
I like Rafa and even though I didn’t want him to win the title, I like him and i respect his talent, sportsmanship etc
Hawktard please stop being foolish, try and be decent or at least hide your stupidity and stop acting like a brainless Moron.
#ReturnofthestupidEra
#Myoneandonly😂😉
ip’s are easily masked with a simple chrome add-on.
And you are the same racist homophobe that you were when you were banned on tennistalk years ago.
You and stanley have much in common.
Pop goes the Moron, when will you learn, you are a sad filth and I am tired of feeling sorry for you.
As a black man I know that you are a racist, you project who you are upon others because they disagree with you and expose your foolishness.
You are trying to normalize racism but it won’t work, you are a racist Fool.
An obsessive ignorant sadist who is consumed and blinded by immorality, hate, deception etc honestly you lack wisdom and you are a waste.
You are a failure & U failed again, try again later Moron, you might win this time.
I hope you change for the better.
#ReturnofthestupidEra
#ReturnOfShamelessGuy
#KeepsComingBackAfterGettingExposed
Oh so, you know all the techniques. So, what are your other ids. I have already seen hawk** other ids.
Any sane person wont have his id prefixed with “hawk” so that he is not mistaken as yet another guy in closet.
Hawkeye, I always keeps reading comments from others, I actually don’t like commenting as I am not good at it but I like reading others. Today I was happy after Fed won so was going through all the posters here.
I like yours, lucky star, Nny, VR, Benny posters but unfortunately you will dislike my comments as I am Fed fan and most of them are Nadal fans here. I will disappear again but only from writing but will always follow.
I like comments from most fedfans here because they are very reasonable and well thought out. Benny, Kevin, Eugene are great fedfans here just to name a few.
There are only a few extreme fedfan bad apples here (and just two obvious racist homophobes who don’t even try to hide it). They are the exceptions.
Thanks hawks I enjoy your comments as well, even the ones I disagree with. And I am a fan of the sarcasm as well 😂 #DontForgetHerbert
@Ricky – There are enough comments already which are accusing people of calling racist. High time hawkeye is banned . If you want to ban me, thats fine too. But this guy’s false accusations need to be stopped
Fedexal, I agree that some of the crazy fighting and comments need to stop. I think it’s as simple as everyone’s just gotta chill out 😂
I happen to search for “hawkeye” and I got this page. If you go thru his posts here , you can easily make out this guy is sick.
http://www.tennistalk.com/en/news/20120511/Nadal_vows_to_stay_away_from_blue_clay_forever
Interesting that a lot of those posters are still here as well. It does sound like an especially juvenile version of Hawkeye. Are you sure it’s the same guy?
I wonder how Rafa fans here would react if someone were to start labelling Nadal “Punchbag,” given his recent string of losses to Federer.
This needs to stop. If you have an issue with someone, then email Ricky. We should be talking tennis.
Federal, this is being beaten to death already. You have made your point. Many times. Now it’s time to let it go. You aren’t any better than the person you are attacking if you do the same thing.
Sorry, autocorrect changed it to Federal! I was directing my comments to Fedexal!