Congratulations

The sight of a very, very old man at the top of the game is enough to warm even the coldest cockles, so I thought I'd like to pop by this nest of Federista fandom to say that I, genuinely, feel rather pleased for you Fed Fans.

There have been some painful near-misses in recent years, but that down payment of agony must make this current period all the sweeter. 

Federer is doing something fantastic this year and is doing it with some real panache. I've never seen him play in a more entertaining way. He lacks the raw speed of peak years but I don't think I've ever seen him utilise the whole court as well as he does now. He's playing 3D tennis on a tour that is frustratingly two dimensional. It's wonderful to watch.

If he'd made the switch to a new racquet five years ago, rather than stubbornly persisting with a frying pan, I think he'd be past 20 slams by now. Shame really, but then old people can be stubborn and stuck in their ways...

Enjoy.

Nice. And I get mucho kudos on here for asking you over. 

Hello HMM,

good to hear from you 

Surely Novak'll get his act together at some point. Hopefully not before the USO 

Emancipator wrote:Surely Novak'll get his act together at some point. Hopefully not before the USO 

I think this year is a write-off.

He appears to have many and varied problems to address and I'm not sure he's even established the foundation to build on yet.

Hello HMM, good of you to show up and thanks. You stopped posting last year which I thought was a shame as I always enjoy reading your posts. I suppose, with Nole having won RG, tennis was no longer as intense for you as before?

Your man just disappeared after that RG triumph. Can't say I mind but he is still just 30. With the tour aging, he may still have time to turn things around and add some serious numbers to his totals.

summerblues wrote:Hello HMM, good of you to show up and thanks.  You stopped posting last year which I thought was a shame as I always enjoy reading your posts.  I suppose, with Nole having won RG, tennis was no longer as intense for you as before?

Your man just disappeared after that RG triumph.  Can't say I mind but he is still just 30.  With the tour aging, he may still have time to turn things around and add some serious numbers to his totals.

Hi SB, good to hear from you.

It was exactly as you described. My emotional investment eased right off with that win, plus V2 really seemed to deline, so I stopped posting.

It would be nice to see Novak find some good form again but what I'd really like is for another, preferably young, player to step up.

As much as I'm enjoying this greatest hits tour from Federer, the future looks like a bit of a wilderness at present.

What the hell do you like in Novak HMM....besides the fact he beat Nadal ....and Murray, i can t see anything appealing in his game and now his roars are unbearable.

Welcome HMM 

Been a while. Hope all is well with you.

HM Murdoch wrote:

Emancipator wrote:Surely Novak'll get his act together at some point. Hopefully not before the USO 

I think this year is a write-off.

He appears to have many and varied problems to address and I'm not sure he's even established the foundation to build on yet.

The coaching team is a mystery. All was good with Vaida a fixture and Becker bringing a more positive match focus. 

Now it's all gone tits up with this love guru mentalist, his crap brother, and Agassi, who I'm not convinced is coach material (too wealthy, occupied and selfish). In any case what difference does he bring to Novak game? I totally get Moyà for Rafa (who would need something as close to family as he could find), and Federers use of Edberg for volleys and now Ljubicic for game approach and backhand seem very clear. But what's the point of a (small) part time celeb coach who more or less played the same game?

Then there's the injury, which I assume just needs time away.

And finally, recapturing the mojo. You seem like a mirror for him, HMM, losing something after RG16. Who knows what happens there?

Tenez wrote:What the hell do you like in Novak HMM....besides the fact he beat Nadal ....and Murray, i can t see anything appealing in his game and now his roars are unbearable.

t's hard to offer a rational explanation for something which is ultimately irrational!
 
I found myself supporting him against Roger and Rafa at USO10. Then he impressed me with his performance and winner's speech at AO11. By the time Dubai came around, I suddenly found I *cared* about his results.
 
It was never about the shots. Even at my peak fandom, I could see other players had better shots (although I do love a crushing return of serve or an open stance, sliding BHDTL!).
 
It was about the stories he created: The Streak, The Shot, The Novak Slam, The Nearly Man to Dominant #1.
 
I could maybe liken it to a novel you pick up in an airport - yes, some of the prose is a bit clunky but it's an exciting read!
 
By contrast, my response to Federer has been a bit like my response to Shakespeare - I recognise the genius but I never became invested in the stories.
 
But I agree with you absolutely about the roaring. In fact, I find his on-court persona has become very uncomfortable to watch. There's a constant feeling of being on the verge of erupting in rage which jars with all that affected throwing love to the crowd. And the all screaming and racquet smashing would be a bad enough from a young kid finding his way in the game. It's totally unacceptable from 30 year old father whose massive success has made him a high profile star of the game.

Fair enough. I don t mind showing emotions but to the point of not controlling them.....

The roaring doesn't bother me at all. I like it. Shows how much he cares. Even the shirt ripping thing was great and, after that OZ final, somehow seemed appropriate. Almost like he was saying, "look at me, I'm a beast".

^I don't mind roaring in itself but I think it's become a bit contrived. Less a natural expression of something he feels, more of a device he is employing.

I had similar feelings about the shirt rip. I liked the one versus Rafa as it was a spontaneous act in an emotional moment. The one versus Stan seemed contrived and I thought spoiled the moment.

HM Murdoch wrote:^I don't mind roaring in itself but I think it's become a bit contrived. Less a natural expression of something he feels, more of a device he is employing.

I had similar feelings about the shirt rip. I liked the one versus Rafa as it was a spontaneous act in an emotional moment. The one versus Stan seemed contrived and I thought spoiled the moment.

Nah...
Nole's emotions have never been contrived. They are his most attractive side. He wears them in his sleeve.

I miss his pre-PR years when he was saying what he thought...and understand his passion & ways is not everyone's cup of tea as he is quite wild.

He's been through a lot in the last 18 months and is still walking with that lovely straight posture.

What has always intrigued me was how Federer detested him and loved Nadal.

Those 2+2 are hard for me to add up.

... wrote:What has always intrigued me was how Federer detested him and loved Nadal.

Those 2+2 are hard for me to add up.

I don t think Federer likes either of them. He even said that he "would not go on hols with Nadal". But the fact he has a negative H2H prevented him to be too negative towards Nadal as it woudl have made him look like a bad loser...and that is somthing he clearly did not want.

I think you are making too much of their relationships. They all get along ok.....they are professional and with time, all will remember the good time on the tour...at the top. Like Borg, McEnroe, Lendl, etc....

Tenez wrote:

... wrote:What has always intrigued me was how Federer detested him and loved Nadal.

Those 2+2 are hard for me to add up.

I don t think Federer likes either of them. He even said that he "would not go on hols with Nadal".  But the fact he has a negative H2H prevented him to be too negative towards Nadal as it woudl have made him look like a bad loser...and that is somthing he clearly did not want.

I think you are making too much of their relationships. They all get along ok.....they are professional and with time, all will remember the good time on the tour...at the top. Like Borg, McEnroe, Lendl, etc....

That may be so one day...but in the meantime, what they say to and about each other matters a lot while they are playing each other.

Apart from watching tennis itself, I also enjoy observing all the details of how players carry on etc..it's better than any theatre.

Just like those injuries you like to keep record of.

Right now, while their careers are "live", I don't want to gloss over it all, and brush it under the carpet in the name of what it may look like in the future.

That's PR-ing it a bit.


Those little things reveal much to me.