Federer should just skip the clay season

[Old Lion]

Might as well prepare for Wimbledon and the US Open. Obviously there is still some hard court play between now and then too so its not like he will be completely dormant for 5 months.

 

[bksballer89]

Can he really do this and not be rusty before Wimbledon? Remember you only have 1 or 2 tuneup tournaments before Wimbledon.

 

[Smart]

It can't happen because he has already committed to playing certain tournaments and he won't want to cancel and piss people off/lose his appearance fees.

But yes, I agree. The only three he is playing are Madrid, Rome, and Roland Garros. The problem is that the ATP has no hard courters going head to head against them. The last hard courter is Miami, so it would be a 3 month break. His only option would be to drop down and play Challengers, which isn't going to happen. In a perfect world, he shouldn't play clay when it is harder on his back and likely hurts his rhythm.

 

[JuiceTheGator]

His sponsors want their labels on the teevee.

 

[lhagen931]

why not change it to grass?

 

[nuraman00]

I like Federer on clay, during this latter stage of his career. I liked the way he played at the 2011 and 2012 FO, for example. He also won Madrid in 2012.

I don't like him on grass anymore, because he can't break serve. He's been in tough matches against Falla, Benneteau, and Stakhovsky because he couldn't break their serve.

I want him to play whenever he does, because he's still a good player, no matter the surface.

 

[Smart]

I like Federer on clay, during this latter stage of his career. I liked the way he played at the 2011 and 2012 FO, for example. He also won Madrid in 2012.

Yeah, but that was blue clay. That's the thing: for all the talk of Nadal's greatness on clay, any attempts to add some variety to the clay on tour instantly gets shut down by him. He wants monotony because he doesn't have the adaptability of Federer. His game is entirely dependent on understanding bounces, and he's mastered those with ease on red clay, so anyone be damned if they try to change it up.

The last time Fed won a major red clay tourney was the French Open in 2009. He's a solid clay courter, but it's tough to compete with moon ballers who have lived their entire lives in the red clay.

 

[Old Lion]

I don't mind the "real" clay half as much as the red brick crap that most of the tourneys are played on. That stuff is ridiculous. Might as well play volleyball on the beach if you are going to be in that much sand. At least there are girls in string bikinis.

 

[nuraman00]

Yeah, but that was blue clay. That's the thing: for all the talk of Nadal's greatness on clay, any attempts to add some variety to the clay on tour instantly gets shut down by him. He wants monotony because he doesn't have the adaptability of Federer. His game is entirely dependent on understanding bounces, and he's mastered those with ease on red clay, so anyone be damned if they try to change it up.

The last time Fed won a major red clay tourney was the French Open in 2009. He's a solid clay courter, but it's tough to compete with moon ballers who have lived their entire lives in the red clay.

Was the blue clay really that different though? I know most players didn't like it, but it didn't seem to be playing that differently to me. I think players were just blaming losing on the blue clay.

I did think that blue made for a better contrast with the ball then red did, so I also liked that aspect of it.

 

[nuraman00]

Yeah, but that was blue clay. That's the thing: for all the talk of Nadal's greatness on clay, any attempts to add some variety to the clay on tour instantly gets shut down by him. He wants monotony because he doesn't have the adaptability of Federer. His game is entirely dependent on understanding bounces, and he's mastered those with ease on red clay, so anyone be damned if they try to change it up.

The last time Fed won a major red clay tourney was the French Open in 2009. He's a solid clay courter, but it's tough to compete with moon ballers who have lived their entire lives in the red clay.

To me, it's not just about winning, but FED has also played some great matches on clay too.

Beating Del Potro twice at the FO. Beating Djokovic in 2011.

I thought the Simon match last year was good too. Simon was using the surface to his advantage, I thought both players had raised their game. It was interesting to watch how both players would win the points IMO.

 

[bksballer89]

Yeah I never got all the hate for the blue clay

 

[JuiceTheGator]

I've played tennis all my life - mostly clay but a lot of hardcourts and loved the few times on grass. But I've never played on red clay court...can't recall even seeing one anywhere. It looks filthy and miserable.

 

[nuraman00]

I like Federer on clay, during this latter stage of his career. I liked the way he played at the 2011 and 2012 FO, for example. He also won Madrid in 2012.

I don't like him on grass anymore, because he can't break serve. He's been in tough matches against Falla, Benneteau, and Stakhovsky because he couldn't break their serve.

I want him to play whenever he does, because he's still a good player, no matter the surface.

I think I'm going to take this statement back.

Thinking about the way FED played at this year's AO, it reminded me of how he played at 2003 Wimbledon.

So he could still be interesting to watch on grass to me. But I'm also going to see how he handles returning serve there. Is he going to get in another tough 5 setter in an early round, because he can't break his opponent?

 

[Hs0022]

Federer is a very good clay court player. Only a handful that can beat him when he is at his 32 yr best. Only one player could beat him when he was at his prime. So nope I see no reason why he should skip the clay season.

 

[Old Lion]

I've played tennis all my life - mostly clay but a lot of hardcourts and loved the few times on grass. But I've never played on red clay court...can't recall even seeing one anywhere. It looks filthy and miserable.

My sentiments exactly. I have been on 1 red clay court. It was at some swanky country club on the ocean and I refused to play on it. Made my co-captain play. Everyone was filthy when they were done. I enjoyed myself just drinking beer and watching tennis and the sun set instead of getting aggrevated.

And that is with the court being in one of the most humid places on earth. I cant imagine what it would be like inland.