Roger Federer is one win away from No. 1.
Next Monday, Federer will become the oldest-ever top-ranked player in ATP Tour history if he beats Robin Haase in the quarterfinals of the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament on Friday night. The 36-year-old would break the age record currently held by Andre Agassi, who was 33 the last time he held the No. 1 spot.
Only a third career meeting with Robin Haase stands in Federer’s way. The head-to-head series stands at 2-0 in favor of the 20-time Grand Slam champion, who cruised 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 in a clay-court Davis Cup tie in the Netherlands five years ago and also prevailed 6-3, 7-6(5) in the Montreal semifinals last summer.
Federer’s summer was highlighted by another triumph at Wimbledon, which gave him two major titles in 2017 and put him in contention for the No. 1 ranking in the latter stages of the season. The Swiss did not quit get there, but thanks to more outstanding play–including a successful Australian Open title defense–he is once again on the brink. Federer has improved to 9-0 this year with straight-set victories this week over Ruben Bemelmans and Philipp Kohlschreiber.
“I played at the Australian Open not thinking about the rankings, but I knew I had the flexibility in February over my calendar,” Rotterdam’s top seed explained. “After the Australian Open was over, I thought I’d love to play Rotterdam and give it a go…. You have to do it, not because it’s the right thing to do, but you have to be here with all your heart and really go for it. Try my very best. Having the option of getting to number one is highly motivating and very exciting to say the least.”
This is a big match, too, for Haase in front of the home fans. The 42nd-ranked Dutchman booked his spot in the last eight of this 500-point tournament by taking out countrymen Thiemo De Bakker and Tallon Griekspoor in easy straight sets. Haase has played at every opportunity this season and is sporting a decent 7-6 record for his efforts, with a quarterfinal performance in Pune and a semifinal showing in Auckland.
Federer was not at his absolute best against Kohlschreiber during a hard-fought 7-6(8), 7-5 victory on Thursday, so the door may be ever-so-slightly open for Haase. Like the German, however, Haase often struggles on big points and that will likely be his downfall even if he simply does well enough to be somewhat competitive against Federer.
Pick: Federer in 2 losing 8-10 games
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Why would they be “hard pressed”?
Who exactly is going to stop them?
Man please. Just stop.
There are good players who can stop them, they just have to be confident in their game.
Some good players are sometimes intimidated by this guy’s and that just hurts them.
If I played tennis professionally, Rafa, R. Federer and others won’t have there way with me, the H2H won’t be ugly.
I don’t think rafa can win the US Open this year, he might do really well on clay but Wimbledon & USO might not be possible this year.
Herbert will stop them.
Nadal will be favorite on clay, Federer at W, USO is a more open GS, thats been shared out ever since 2011 with no repeat winners, Federer hasnt actually won the USO since 2008 strangly ….
Actually, the USO has been open since 2010 when Rafa won it for the first time confounding all the doubters.
Joe Smith FEBRUARY 17, 2018 AT 2:03 AM
“I think Roger has to be the favourite to finish YE #1 at this point, even if he doesn’t play on clay again.
Going forward, I think both men will be hard pressed to repeat those results this year, but I think Fed is likely to come closer. In particular, I think it is unlikely that Rafa will do *as well* on clay this year, and unlikely that he will win USO again.”
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Again, you are stating you prejudiced opinion as fact. You don’t think Rafa will do as well on clay this year contrary to the evidence of his domination on clay in his entire career, but you are sure Federer will defend all his points when he hasn’t been quite as dominant in those tournaments. The mind boggles.
Nadline, each one of those sentences in the second paragraph is prefaced with an “I think”: obviously the whole thing is my opinion.
I also emphasize the *as well*: Rafa could hardly have done better last year on clay (he could have won Rome, that’s all); I just don’t think he is likely to do as well this year.
Finally, Fed has already won a slam this year. Going forward, he would only have to win one more to match last year; Rafa would have to win two.
@Joe Smith FEBRUARY 17, 2018 AT 2:03 AM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ri79ScVwvY
nadline, what do you expect him to say? If he said he’s the best tennis player at the moment that wouldn’t look smart really, not even for Fedfans. And some would call him arrogant. Great players and great characters are being humble when asked about their achievements and their rivals.
It doesn’t matter what they say in these kind of circumstances about current ranking. The points speak for their achievements.
Humble Federer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGxawB9iPts
It’s neither smart or dumb. At No. 1, Fed simply is as of this moment the best player with the most points over the last 12 months at almost 37 AND having done so by skipping the whole clay season.
#TWE2.0
#GoldenEraRIP
Balding:
https://pbs.twimg.com/card_img/964639884253323266/fTqZve_M?format=jpg&name=600×314
Wimbledon hasnt exactly been a happy hunting ground for Rafa since 2011, but he has won three of the four USOs of the finals hes made ….
Federers looks never did much for me augusta008, hes OK looking but doesnt make me swoon like some players looks do ….
Alison Hodge AT 3:57 PM,
I paraphrased Fedfans who have bashed Rafa for years.
Yeah Al!!…Detail!!Do tell!Hehe..
Details Alison… which players make you swoon:)? Just being curios 🙂
Fed is, to me, much better looking in person. He just does not photograph well, maybe because of his blunt features. Of course I saw him back when he had hair. 🙂 Balding, it’s what men do. Except for Bjorn Borg, of course!
Ramara says AT 5:40 PM: “Balding, it’s what men do.”
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‘Balding’ has been part of Fedfans’ anti-Rafa campaign for years.
augusta, your information about Rafa’s circle is incredible and I guess even the media doesn’t have access to some of those personal details. All that and his achievements during his amazing career probably make you a happy fan. So, why focus on some people who comment about Rafa’s or someone else’s balding issue… LOL. And it’s not a fact those are true Fed fans. They are probably trolls. You find them everywhere, so called RM and Barcelona ‘fans’. Not everyone deserves to be called a fan, which is someone who respect his idol and his rivals, which is not aligned with the behavior you are paying so much attention.
Eugene says AT 6:08 PM: “your information about Rafa’s circle is incredible and I guess even the media doesn’t have access to some of those personal details.”
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Hmm. I get information about Rafa from the media & social media available on the Internet, and I usually cite sources.
Nowadays, even journalists use social media as a news source.
Eugene says AT 6:08 PM: ¤¤ …They are probably trolls. You find them everywhere, so called RM and Barcelona ‘fans’. Not everyone deserves to be called a fan…¤¤
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I have no idea what you mean. I don’t follow football.
It was not about football. I hope you got the idea. If not, it’s ok.
Eugene says AT 6:08 PM: “why focus on some people who comment about Rafa’s or someone else’s balding issue…”
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If I may ask, why do you focus on me?
I am not. Commenting freely on a forum is my right. I treat people individually. Don’t tag them and judge them or generalize.
Saying something like Russians are alcoholics can upset a lot of them, because that’s generalizing to say at least. In the same way, you put Fedfans everywhere. Who cares about Nadal scalp? I wish him well. Everyone is losing hair.
Eugene says AT 7:14 PM: “Who cares about Nadal scalp?”
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Fedfans have cared about it for years.
Would be nice to have more Djokovic fans here. The discussions are pretty much going around Fedal, same subjects, same habbits.
Or maybe we can discuss about new generation and who are you gonna root for after all Big 4 retire.
I’m not a fed fan per se but even this makes me swoon.
https://goo.gl/images/SsgZ9v
OMG and this!
https://goo.gl/images/2mVnFL
#Swoon
Not to mention his humility also soooooo swoon worthy…
https://goo.gl/images/pefZ8z
#Swoon
https://goo.gl/images/n65ZS6
#Swoon
The swooning! God, it’s killing me!
https://goo.gl/images/7kW11f
Eugene /Mira Andi lol i would need to think about that one Chardy, Fognini to start with 😉
Oh, I’m actually glad you said Chardy and not Paire. Although Paire and Fognini have something in common: they are both so unpredictable. But… we don’t talk tennis here, so yeah – crazy Fog bad boy :))
Eugene Paire doesnt do it for me, i like Jo and Gael though, Foggy is a headcase but i love a bad boy, wouldve said the retired Safin, but the guy seemed too much in love with himself that there couldnt be any left for any woman lol ….
Would not be surprised if a Dimitrov beats Fed. He’s not been playing that well and as he said he “doesn’t feel like the best player in the world”. Will be a great final!