Very lucky if you ask me....but I will add "for once"!
Has he ever had such an easy draw in his whole career? However his form being very poor in his first 4 matches should have cost him an early round loss. Benneteau was at 2 points from winning it 4 times if I remember.
Malisse had to deal with a completely powerless Federer but was simply overwhelmed by the centre court and the occasion. Federer even apologised to him at the end. Same thing happened with Youzhny losing his focus though Federer started to play a bit better making it even more one sided than v Malisse.
Then came the semi v Djokovic, clearly by then Fed's back was improving fast but again Djokovic was noticeably well under par, in fact under the weather it seems as a cold was blamed for his relative poor performance.
But surely Fed would be tested v Murray in the final and any sub-par performance by Federer would be exposed by the Scott. And so he was with a few points for a set and a break down, nearly 2 sets down...only saved by some pieces of luck again and great skills from the maestro. But Federer's luck would not stop there; the rain came also on time to shut the element out of that final and allow the lucky champion to play indoors where his timing is most efficient and can make the difference against the other top 4 players. With his back well warmed up into that 3rd set he would surely be unstoppable. But lady luck wanted to make sure Federer would get his 7th Wimbledon. Indeed, having just watched the last 2 sets, it;s clear that Murray was physically struggling badly with his mouvement. Whether it's his back or too much lactic acid in his huge thighs he is a shadow of the player he was in set 1 and 2. Federer noticed it too and can play freely that beautiful tennis only him can produce.
5 days later, I am still stunned Federer won that Wimby on the form he was in. Remember, he lost convincingly in 3 v Djoko at the French open a month ago, and in 2 v old Haase a week before Wimbledon. I really expected Federer to lose, for the first time in 10 years in the early rounds and Benneteau almost proved me right. But though the tennis gods had blessed Federer with ridiculous talent, they never made it easy for him, giving the toughest challenges, toughest draws, slowest and adverse conds, giving his opponents hyperhuman powers. They certainly owed him one!
Wasn't Federer lucky?
posted on 17/7/12
I agree, compared to what goes on in other sports, this all looks innocent and like nit-picking most of the time.
I suppose tennis is one on one, you cannot hide on the tennis court, it really bares all, and that is one of the biggest reasons I love it, a tennis match is better than the best theatre play to me, there's so much on offer to observe.
I hi srecent interview Federer alluded to how difficult it is to be a tennis player these days (compared to say, 10 years ago) with this almost merciless scrutiny very top players are exposed to.
I mean, compare top players to top footballers for example...maybe we are too critical of players, but that's part of following tennis fervently.
posted on 17/7/12
Yep, certainly. Like there is not much to criticise of Tsonga, Kholi, Youzhny, Haase and many more. Federer belongs to that group imo and it's better to talk about their games than the meaningless wrongs they might do off court.
posted on 17/7/12
yes; if we're desperate we can always talk about Nadal's antics
posted on 18/7/12
Talking about arrogance......
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/tennis/18764325
Does he mean it?
posted on 18/7/12
Does he mean it....
It was a very measured, composed, mature, answer and the one I would've given, too.
When the heat is taken off the moment, one should be able to give replies of that kind.
The real test comes when the head and heart are hot.
posted on 18/7/12
I also think it is a stupid question to ask in the first place: Are you the greatest?
What did he expect
posted on 18/7/12
What did he expect
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But the funny bit was the clip on the ATP site when old greats were invited to comment: And the most hilarious common answer is from Edberg "He is "probably" one of the best player than ever played the game"! Thanks Stephan I like the way you pull your neck out.
posted on 18/7/12
Yes, one of the things that stuck out to me is how reluctant the "legends" were to give praise, esp Sampras. You can hear all the right words coming out, but the face didn't match them
I can only conclude that none of them are properly happy in their lives now, otherwise they would not be clinging to those "records" so dearly....weren't the joyful moments of lifting all those trophies, the great matches they played, the adoration they received all over the world, enough?
Pete and Laver come particularly "affected"
posted on 18/7/12
weren't the joyful moments of lifting all those trophies, the great matches they played, the adoration they received all over the world, enough?
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But that's the thing, it must be tough to be in the spotlight all your childhood, having health, fame, money and fans and knowing only that almost before relatively suddenly entering the shadow for the rest of your life with physical, financial, personal problems all coming at once ...in most cases.
I did not find Laver particularly "affected" as he has always been really complementary of Federer. I think he really enjoys his tennis.
What I find interesting is how Becker discovered Federer over the years. He was very reluctant to give him his full credit 5, 6 years ago, now he seems a huge fan. As if he finally understood the talent and achievements of Federer.
I presonally also think that applies to 90% of fans. We don't quite grasp the phenomenon he is. It's when he retires and maybe years later that we will realise the challenge he really faced.
posted on 18/7/12
"I presonally also think that applies to 90% of fans. We don't quite grasp the phenomenon he is. It's when he retires and maybe years later that we will realise the challenge he really faced. "
That's a good topic to talk about.
Tennis fans are all very different and enjoy different aspects of tennis bubble, depending on what makes them tick. I am not talking about individual players' fans here , just pure tennis fans (who can be an individual player fan at the same time).
I ask a lot and I suppose I get a lot back when it comes to tennis.
Federer's role has been huge in many respects and I have often said that he is the best thing that happened to tennis (vice versa for Nadal).
Regardles of whether you prefer other players, he provides such perfection and fullness when he plays all court tennis (like he did in the last set against Murray), that you can just lie back and enjoy it.
He is one player I can watch regardless of who he plays, it doesn't even matter if he's bagelling the guy, he is almost self-sufficient, just captivating.
I can go on a long time about him, but I certainly won't have any regrets when he's retired. I'll miss him, but I think I have enjoyed his tennis fully and proprely all the time.
Becker....it says a lot more about him than Federer than he didn't like him straight away when his game was the most potent and awesome.
Now it's the most complete and endless in variations, but the young Fed was just something else in that attacking mode.