WORLD TOUR FINALS 2012, London

Federers backhand is really breaking down under Djokovics pounding

It's painful to watch Federer unable to move.

Trust me Fed does not look tires ar all . Hitting from both wings sharo as a whistleNole pkaying more loosely and aggressively that's the difference

If anything his BH is better than FH tonight

noleisthebest wrote:If anything his BH is better than FH tonight

Because the FH is his attacking shot. And attacking is more difficult than defending as you know, especially against a rubber band man

Tenez wrote:Djoko trying a FH DTL and that cost him the break back.

Glad you noticed

Fed looking really lack-luster
I cant see him winning this match the way he is moving

I'm afraid it's going to end up like always: when you most expect him to win he does not but wins like yesterday when you least expected him to.)

I think Djoko has yet to hit a FH DTL winner.

Youb are all so funny Both players are playing a brilliant matchFed"s serving's fantastic , it's just a point here and there separating the two.

Tenez wrote:I think Djoko has yet to hit a FH DTL winner.

He hit one in the first set

Particularly enjoying Bh to BH rallies so beautiful !

gallery play wrote:

noleisthebest wrote:If anything his BH is better than FH tonight

Because the FH is his attacking shot. And attacking is more difficult than defending as you know, especially against a rubber band man

I hope youcan all see how much better Nole is than Murray

noleisthebest wrote:

gallery play wrote:

noleisthebest wrote:If anything his BH is better than FH tonight

Because the FH is his attacking shot. And attacking is more difficult than defending as you know, especially against a rubber band man

I hope youcan all see how much better Nole is than Murray

I hope you can see how much better Fed is than Djoko

I font know zbout the players but Im cooking in here

gallery play wrote:

noleisthebest wrote:

gallery play wrote:

noleisthebest wrote:If anything his BH is better than FH tonight

Because the FH is his attacking shot. And attacking is more difficult than defending as you know, especially against a rubber band man

I hope youcan all see how much better Nole is than Murray

I hope you can see how much better Fed is than Djoko

He he

Wow,what a blown opportunity by Fed

Looks like Fed did not want to play a 3rd set.

Fed played badly the imporatnt points. That's unlike him but I suspect it's because he was rushed to make it short.

As they said making a 31 yo to play 3 tough matches in a row was a bit too much.

Fed really lost concentration towards the end of the second set
but congratulations to Djokovic,it was a well deserved win
Question now is whether Federer will ever win the WTF again...??

Bravo NOLE

Fed was done mid second set

hats off to djoko, great player, he just keeps on coming back!

feds just ran out of gas, it seemed both players took a while to recover after that amazing first set, maybe feds never did

It's not nice to see Federer on his knees.

Why does Ferrer can run for ever and why can't Federer. He made so UEs because his mouvement let him down.

He showed at the beginning of the first set how much more talented he is much coudl not sustain.

The speech from Fed sounds so formal and unlike Federer. Looks like he can;t even think straight due to his loss and/or fatigue.

I have never seen Fed's eyes so deep inside his skull.

noleisthebest wrote:Fed was done mid second set

I felt that too and the crowd really sensed it,looked like he gave up after losing the break..

Just saw him from up close He is so skinny !

Tenez wrote:I have never seen Fed his eye so deep inside his skull.

He's had a great year Nole simply hungrier tonight, the young lion!

haha take that piers newberry!

got ya good on twitter and he responded!

Fed had loads of chances,he couldnt hold onto the lead,if he did he could have won in straight sets.Fed had more chances then Djokovic so he cant complain

Djokovic.

Federer. Onwards to 2013.

Sat at Paddington...25 minutes to kill...hungry pigeons flying around...
Took lots of pictures and had some amazing conversations from people all over the world ... Some flew from NY just for the day.
Amazing scene of empty stadium with all the glory of lights a d cameras minutes before only to be swept away by some industrial vacuum cleaner under the dim lights of aftermath.

So here we are my dear tenns friends, all the glitz and glamour of a fanulous and memorable tennis 2012 now behind us like a dream...
We had some fiery debates ... And joys and sorrows, didn't we?
Well, it was great to share them with you all, day in day out ... In the midst od daily burdens and grind none of us can avoid.
So nice to have this sunny corner to share our love for tennis . A big hug to all from noleisthebest

Veejay wrote:Fed had loads of chances,he couldnt hold onto the lead,if he did he could have won in straight sets.Fed had more chances then Djokovic so he cant complain

No different than the many opportunities Federer had v Nadal in their many encounters...except that tonight Federer was even more tired than v Nadal in the past. Crossing the line while tired is a very difficult thing to do in tennis. You tend to rush and panick on the important point.

I must say I never saw Federer as tired in his all career as tonight. Maybe Wimby 2009 v Roddick was close.

Just look at how he played in the first 3 games and thereafter. Huge difference.

Congrats Nole, good win and therefore well deserved YE #1 ranking!

As I said before, I was worried that Nole would thrive more from the need to make a statement as a loss would mean he wouldn't be as well deserving of a #1 but he did it, so

Now, the only bit that is unfair is why we always need to have Fed play with the least rest when it is important to him more than the other like USO 2009 or WTF 2012 (yes, this one). It's not to find an excuse but had the orders of play all been reversed, Fed having one day of rest playing Murray vs Murray none and the victory in SF would have been earlier and less damaging while Nole (6 years younger) would have had to play 3 matches 3 days in a row and less rest before the final so would not have been as fresh and it would have balanced the fitness of both players. They're both fit, but one is 6 years older and had 3 matches 3 days in a row when the when the other one had only 2 matches 2 days in a row with a day rest before and had an extra half a day of rest between the two last matches... The positive though is despite all that Fed played some beautiful tennis at times, some good serving at times, managed to break Nole a few times, and the match was still super close. Makes you wonder what could have happened with more rest but also could be a good omen for next year as with a bit of luck, Fed could win a few important matches vs. Nole. I could even see Fed winning AO 2013 if Rafa is on Nole's side and Murray on Fed's and Fed's has more rest than Nole for the final Or he could also win USO 2013 if he has the first SF etc. So for 2013.

Who thinks he's likely to retire next year though?

True Sphair. However those strings are the real killer. They allow easy angles and lots of running corner to corner where the fitter simply wins, even more so if yuo hve a DHBH cause it gives you also much more consistency.

They shoudl do something about it.

Fed played well, but only in patches. At times he looked very vulnerable to Djokoivi'c attrition game. His serve definitely deserted him on the times he really needed them.

Djokovic played solid and tried to force errors as much as he could.

A fine and exciting match

Nole: Congrats. You showed us why you’re #1,
Championship of the fittest, strongest and
greatest retrieval techniques is alive and well. Who needs nadal?

Roger: You were the one being fried. I said you had what it took but was in denial about your
lack of form. Playing back to back matches killed your chances. Of course a
tired old dog was no match for the young lion’s sprightly athleticism and superior control.

Losing is part of the business and nothing inspires a true champ like a bad
loss. Now rest up and give it another go at the AO.

"I was just trying to hang in there," said Djokovic.

"It's not the first time that Roger started so well against me. I've experienced before his aggression, really trying to put his mark on the match."

He added: "Whenever I needed to come up with some really good shots - really focus myself and get every ball back in the court - I did that, so I cannot be more thrilled than now."

=======================

Says it all.

Isn't that glimpses of "death-of-tennis"?

Tenez wrote:"I was just trying to hang in there," said Djokovic.

"It's not the first time that Roger started so well against me. I've experienced before his aggression, really trying to put his mark on the match."

He added: "Whenever I needed to come up with some really good shots - really focus myself and get every ball back in the court - I did that, so I cannot be more thrilled than now."

=======================

Says it all.

Oh c'mon Tenez, give credit to Djokovic, no sour grapes please.

The only time I refuse to give credit is when a player cheats to win.

But if he can win by out-powering rather than out-playing or out-smarting, he still wins fairly and deserve the title. Whether we like his style of play is a separate matter of taste.

I can give credit to Djoko when he beats the other physical players though I typically don;t even bother if you noticed....but sorry I cannot give credit to beating a tired Federer by "bringing the ball back". There is something in me that accepts it and says "fine" but not "congrats".

To say congratulations I need to see something that needs to be congratulated. Should I congratulate Djoko to be flexible, younger, faster? I could if he was using all those things to dictate but he uses his physical superiority to "contain" a tired player.

It's like congratulating your banker cause he made lots of money thanks to the interest you are paying him back. Shall I say sour grapes cause you don't send your banker a Xmas card?

PS, must add my view above is based on the assumption that Djoko is not using banned substances.

Tenez wrote:I can give credit to Djoko when he beats the other physical players though I typically don;t even bother if you noticed....but sorry I cannot give credit to beating a tired Federer by "bringing the ball back". There is something in me that accepts it and says "fine" but not "congrats".

To say congratulations I need to see something that needs to be congratulated. Should I congratulate Djoko to be flexible, younger, faster? I could if he was using all those things to dictate but he uses his physical superiority to "contain" a tired player.

It's like congratulating your banker cause he made lots of money thanks to the interest you are paying him back. Shall I say sour grapes cause you don't send your banker a Xmas card?

From my lofty seat, I can say I really enjoyed the match, it was a very close affair.
there were some exquisite shots from both players and the ball-striking & movement was fantastic from both.
Fed was sharp and painted outside of baseline loads of times, Nole did well to get those balls back in play.
Fed lost focus a few times and that cost him in the end.
Novak was sharp the entire match in that way, although nervous to start with.
I was expecting more of Fed coming to the net, it looked even from both players to me, haven't seen the stats., but one stat sums how close the match really was: Nole won 96 and Fed 95 points!

Yes but imagine imagine if DJoko had to play another match tonight. This is what we asked Federer...at 31.

So Fed was anything but sharp after the first few games. Shame cause he certainly looked pretty good for a 3 games.

Tenez wrote:Yes but imagine imagine if DJoko had to play another match tonight. This is what we asked Federer...at 31.

So Fed was anything but sharp after the first few games. Shame cause he certainly looked pretty good for a 3 games.

Nole's had his fair share of junk draws and scheduling. From what I could see, Fed was playing a very good match but chose to rally rather than mix it up a bit more like he did against Murray.

He did attack wih his forehand but not enough in my opinion. Nole sensed the two-mindedness and went for it himself.

If Fed was tired at all, he was tired mentally, not physically, on that court he was a physically stronger and more imposing figure.
A lapse in the second set cost him, there was a very visible shift in the momentum and I knew he was gone, amazing how much better and easier it is to see live. than on TV, you can almost hear them breathe, figuratively speaking.

He pushed Nole behind his baseline with his forehand a lot of times and his serving was exquisite, that was the shot that stood out to me last night form him, another beauty to behold.
His BH was also excellent and he pulled out a lot of winners with it.
Bottom line, it was a base-line contest and Nole was just a step hungrier and younger, it really was that close esp in the first set.

Nole started finding his FH range in the second once he loosened up after winning the TB.

Fed admirers have nothing to worry about, the full package is still there, will still be the man to beat in SW19 next summer.

noleisthebest wrote:Nole's had his fair share of junk draws and scheduling.

Yes and I am not doing a career comparison.

From what I could see, Fed was playing a very good match but chose to rally rather than mix it up a bit more like he did against Murray.

He started well and played good shots all along but his mouvement and explosiveness was terrible...after the first few games. It was just plain obvious.

He did attack wih his forehand but not enough in my opinion.

He did try to attack on teh important points but made UEs almost every single time cause he could not push on his legs.

If Fed was tired at all, he was tired mentally, not physically, on that court he was a physically stronger and more imposing figure.

That's the funny bit. How can you demonstrate he was tired "mentally" when you cannot even see he was tired physically? Once you play teh game other than recreational you may understand what being "Physically" tired really means...and then you will see how it affects your mental side of it if you see a young player jumping mad on the other side of the net.

A lapse in the second set cost him, there was a very visible shift in the momentum and I knew he was gone, amazing how much better and easier it is to see live. than on TV, you can almost hear them breathe, figuratively speaking

I knew Fed woudl struggle to win that set despite being a break up...and I bet he knew too cause he had nothing left and having to play a 3rd set must have appeared like lining up another marathon after just finishing one. Is that what you call "mental" fatigue?

Nole started finding his FH range in the second once he loosened up after winning the TB.

SO does Djoko hit the ball flat(ter)?