US Open - 2019

legendkillar wrote:

barrystar wrote:

legendkillar wrote:

barrystar wrote:Agree with lk that Fed's w/o at the WTF in 2014 was v. much not his finest hour, but perhaps 'appalling' is a bit tough.  He came in with pretty good form and won four matches before scratching (including a mini epic vs. Stan), and he lost in straight-sets to Monfils on the first day of the DC final.  Those results tended to show that the problems which caused him to scratch were both late in coming, i.e. not necessarily predictable when he entered the WTF, and genuine enough.  Maybe he would have risked them if Switzerland were not in the DC final....

I thought of it as appalling given how much time there was to make a decision. I mean he had months. He's been spot on with scheduling. Plus such a statement would've given the DC the shot in the arm it needed (and still does!) that a top player puts stock in it.

Even now it strikes me odd someone reaches the final and pulls out. I could've even stomached a tank in the group stages. I just think if you go that far, just see it out. To then have the paying crowd endure an exhibition match was the poo frosting on a poo cake!

He perhaps should have given Paris a miss after winning Shanghai and Basel, but it did look as though the problem cropped up then and there.

I get your wider point - Federer usually gets this stuff right.

He should've missed the WTF given how close it was to the DC. I think now the gap is 2 weeks? The WTF he would still be in contention the following year whereas DC, totally dependent on other team members performance and fitness levels.

Absolutely. He's spot on normally, but this is the one rarity where he wasn't.

bogbrush wrote:That's a bit tough; it only happened because of that epic with Stan. Had that been a reasonable match I'm certain there'd have been no problem. He could hardly anticipate that could he? 

That one is especially stupid when you consider Osaka's mixed race! And to put my own circumstance in context I speak as a man whose grandson is mixed race. He got his mums (fair) complexion and his Dads (curly) hair. Looks rather stylish actually.

barrystar wrote:

legendkillar wrote:

barrystar wrote:

legendkillar wrote:

barrystar wrote:Agree with lk that Fed's w/o at the WTF in 2014 was v. much not his finest hour, but perhaps 'appalling' is a bit tough.  He came in with pretty good form and won four matches before scratching (including a mini epic vs. Stan), and he lost in straight-sets to Monfils on the first day of the DC final.  Those results tended to show that the problems which caused him to scratch were both late in coming, i.e. not necessarily predictable when he entered the WTF, and genuine enough.  Maybe he would have risked them if Switzerland were not in the DC final....

I thought of it as appalling given how much time there was to make a decision. I mean he had months. He's been spot on with scheduling. Plus such a statement would've given the DC the shot in the arm it needed (and still does!) that a top player puts stock in it.

Even now it strikes me odd someone reaches the final and pulls out. I could've even stomached a tank in the group stages. I just think if you go that far, just see it out. To then have the paying crowd endure an exhibition match was the poo frosting on a poo cake!

He perhaps should have given Paris a miss after winning Shanghai and Basel, but it did look as though the problem cropped up then and there.

I get your wider point - Federer usually gets this stuff right.

He should've missed the WTF given how close it was to the DC. I think now the gap is 2 weeks? The WTF he would still be in contention the following year whereas DC, totally dependent on other team members performance and fitness levels.

Absolutely. He's spot on normally, but this is the one rarity where he wasn't.

If he was fine going into the WTF why miss it?  The problem evidently cropped up during the course of the tournament.  Where I am with you more globally is that he gave himself a big schedule in 2014 of 85 matches - more than he'd done for a while and after the problems he'd had in 2013, so he was taking a bigger risk than normal.  Paris would still seem to me to be the more usual tournament to miss - but one caveat against me is that the DC final was on clay.

Anyway - let's see what happens here.

Tenez wrote:I'd disagree with LK here.

Can we say to a player who reaches the Final of a prestigious tournament that he should have rested because his back deteriorated along the way?

That does not make sense to me. And as we know a back pain can come and go.

We saw how Fed won Wimbledon 2012 with a back pain where we thought for a while he would lose to in straight sets to Benetteau. There was always a risk he would feel just too much pain after his Benetteau match and "should have retired or simply not enter Wimbledon as some of us saw a clear pain at the FO 12 already (well documented here).

No I am afraid, one cannot blame Federer for withdrawing from that London final. Sad....but hey that's sport.

On the other hand I agree that Djoko shouldl have made the effort to roll the ball 2 more service games and give the win to Stan and the crowd.

However if I were Djoko, I would not care much about the crowd....they don't really like him and it seems they never will. So why please them? Lendl was the same in a different style. I loved the fact Lendl was disliked by most and loved by a few. Djoko is simply liked by Serbs...not many outside the country.

summerblues wrote:What do you guys think of Marin's chances today?

He beat Rafa last time they met in a slam.  His form has been poor this year, but maybe it is on the mend now that he is in Rd4.  A well playing Cilic is to me one of the toughest opponents outside Nole/Fed that Rafa can face.  That is still not very tough, but who is very tough for Rafa?

I have some (misplaced?) hopes.

Jahu wrote:Cilic as an early trigger puller, if in mood has some chance, that is if he doesn't melt in the changing room.

barrystar wrote:Poor old Cilic's form has stunk this year.  I don't give him an earthly vs. Nadal who will be super pumped.  In their 6-2 H2H Cilic's two wins were when Nadal was in a bad way physically (2009) or he retired (2018 Aus O).  It looks as though Nadal is in good shape and good form on hard having won Canada and taken Cincinnati off, whilst Cilic has had a patchy year.

bogbrush wrote:Zvetev really is so mediocre. Little Diego might be limited but he has real guts.

naxroy wrote:berretini will make the final