Fed returns to clay court

[bksballer89]

I assume this means he will play the French unless he gets hurt

Federer to make clay court return in Madrid

 

[Old Lion]

Dumb move IMO. He could hurt himself and miss out on the 2 Majors he has his best chance of winning.

 

[bksballer89]

Dumb move IMO. He could hurt himself and miss out on the 2 Majors he has his best chance of winning.

He probably felt bad

 

[Hs0022]

Two reasons, he needs points badly to get back up in the rankings to be seeded higher at Wimby, and he has no points to defend at the clay swing where he is a very decent player outside of the Nada-Djoker equation and two this could quite possibly the last year for Fed.

 

[Old Lion]

Two reasons, he needs points badly to get back up in the rankings to be seeded higher at Wimby, and he has no points to defend at the clay swing where he is a very decent player outside of the Nada-Djoker equation and two this could quite possibly the last year for Fed.

Yes, I was kinda thinking that too. This could be his farewell year. Would not be surprised but Australia will be pissed if he does not show now. I think maybe next year where he can do a grand tour. Maybe just the majors.

 

[Vegas]

Yes, I was kinda thinking that too. This could be his farewell year. Would not be surprised but Australia will be pissed if he does not show now. I think maybe next year where he can do a grand tour. Maybe just the majors.

Fed is going for his 100th title this weekend. I could see him hanging around until he surpasses Jimmy Connors who won 109.

 

[Hs0022]

Fed is going for his 100th title this weekend. I could see him hanging around until he surpasses Jimmy Connors who won 109.

Likely he will quit before passing Connors. That type of strike rate he doesn’t have anymore he would have to win five title every season for next two years which are his maximum possible fruitful years.

 

[nuraman00]

I just found out about this.

Great news.

He's a great clay court player, and it gives him a chance to to do some things he doesn't do on other surfaces.

Roger Federer announces 2019 French Open return!

 

[nuraman00]

Dumb move IMO. He could hurt himself and miss out on the 2 Majors he has his best chance of winning.

He didn't miss the Australian Open.

 

[nuraman00]

Dumb move IMO. He could hurt himself and miss out on the 2 Majors he has his best chance of winning.

Putting it another way, playing the French Open in the past has never caused him to miss one of those two above majors, the Australian Open.

 

[Old Lion]

Putting it another way, playing the French Open in the past has never caused him to miss one of those two above majors, the Australian Open.

No but he was not pushing 40 then either.

 

[nuraman00]

Federer to play in Madrid.

I kind of would have liked Rome instead, but either way, good to see him playing a little more (without over-doing it).

 

[nuraman00]

Federer issues French Open warning to Nadal and Djokovic: 'My body is in a great place'

"It was never the plan to miss three French Opens.

"In 2016, I had to. In 17, I went on clay for a couple of days [then] spoke to the team and asked them what they thought and they said be really sure that you want to do this and I was like 'I'm not so let's not do it.

"In 2018, I was just not in the mood. I was happy to have an extended break again for longevity reasons that I could still stay in the game.

"And then this year, I was not in the mood to have a massive break.

"I was also excited about the idea of going back onto the clay because I really feel the body's in a great place right now.

"And I'd like to play the French Open again and mix up the schedule.

"It actually came very naturally and I asked the team what they thought and they said 'don't ask us, as long as you're happy to keep playing tennis, that's all we care about and whatever tournament you want to play that's all good'.

"So that was very nice of my team."

 

[Hs0022]

I am happy he is playing the clay swing. Could be his last

 

[Hs0022]

Dumb move IMO. He could hurt himself and miss out on the 2 Majors he has his best chance of winning.

What about the chance of winning one of the 2 Masters he has never won? Monte Carlo and Rome??

 

[Old Lion]

What about the chance of winning one of the 2 Masters he has never won? Monte Carlo and Rome??

I though he won Rome not too long ago?

 

[Hs0022]

I though he won Rome not too long ago?

God knows how close he got but lost many finals most of them to butt picker.

 

[nuraman00]

I though he won Rome not too long ago?

God knows how close he got but lost many finals most of them to butt picker.

2003 - Lost to Felix Mantilla in the Finals, in 3 sets (best of 5)

2006 - Lost to Nadal in a 5th set tiebreaker in the Finals. Was up 2 sets to 1.

2013 - Lost to Nadal in 2 sets in the Finals (changed to best of 3 by then)

2015 - Lost to Djokovic in 2 sets in the Finals.

So no, he's actually lost to 3 different people in 4 Finals.

(I didn't look up the other years).

I guess I'll look up his SF losses.

2009 - Lost to Djokovic in 2 sets in the SFs.

2012 - Lost to Djokovic in 2 sets in the SFs.

 

[Hs0022]

2003 - Lost to Felix Mantilla in the Finals, in 3 sets (best of 5)

2006 - Lost to Nadal in a 5th set tiebreaker in the Finals. Was up 2 sets to 1.

2013 - Lost to Nadal in 2 sets in the Finals (changed to best of 3 by then)

2015 - Lost to Djokovic in 2 sets in the Finals.

So no, he's actually lost to 3 different people in 4 Finals.

(I didn't look up the other years).

I guess I'll look up his SF losses.

2009 - Lost to Djokovic in 2 sets in the SFs.

2012 - Lost to Djokovic in 2 sets in the SFs.

I was counting both masters events but thanks for pointing these stats out.

 

[nuraman00]

I was counting both masters events but thanks for pointing these stats out.

You meant both Monte Carlo and Rome? I'll look up some of his losses in Rome later, and who he ended up playing.