Federer's bitter explanation of the Djoko fh return winner!
Q. When a guy hits a shot like that forehand on match point, is that a function of luck, of risk, or is it a function of confidence that someone would make kind of...
ROGER FEDERER: Confidence? Are you kidding me? I mean, please. Look, some players grow up and play like that. I remember losing junior matches. Just being down 5 2 in the third, and they all just start slapping shots. It all goes in for some reason, because that's the kind of way they grew up playing when they were down. I never played that way. I believe in hard work's gonna pay off kinda thing, because early on maybe I didn't always work at my hardest. So for me, this is very hard to understand how can you play a shot like that on match point. But, look, maybe he's been doing it for 20 years, so for him it was very normal. You've got to ask him.
http://www.usopen.org/en_US/video/20...tml?promo=home
Do you agree with Fed?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by CoachV - William Vazquez on -
A shot like that can change momentum...when it works.
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Permalink Reply by Hal Wagner on
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Tough for Fed, you think you got it in hand, opponent gives up and just blasts one, goes in, you lose focus and bang your done. But Fed should have regrouped and finished him off, brain cramp.
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Permalink Reply by Tim Prapong on
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I played a five setter against a community college boy this week. He kept hitting the same first serve for his second serve. They kept going in and I had to wait for him to cool off later in the match. I think he was just playing out of his mind and told him sooner or later, you're gonna stop getting so lucky. He just merely said, "Well, it's working for me now."
Finally, he started double faulting and losing his rhythm. and I won the match 6-1 in the fifth, rallying heavy groundstrokes over his pecking blocks. But at the same time, I went ahead and ripped a monster flat return straight at him, after he knocked a big serve jammer. He never served and volleyed after that.
So I think that Fed is saying, "It should've been won on skill and perserverance, not risky shotmaking." But I definitely see the value of laying it all on the line. Sometimes, you need to crunch a flat return to make them think twice about coming in. I think this is what Djokovic does as a big returner.
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Just wished that Federer would've just gone for an ace on those two match points or taken a little bit more chance. I don't feel he closes matches the way Sampras would, one of the finest closers in tennis history.
Kudos to Djokovic for maintaining his backbone and going for it at 40-15 with that outstanding forehand return. I kept replaying the shot on youtube and cannot for the life of me see the ball. But it was something Jimmy Connors, his true predecessor, would've done. Just lay into the ball and rouse the crowd behind him.
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Well, I no longer credit Federer as having the best forehand of all time. I believe Djokovic's has more spin and power available to it with that 3/4 Western grip. Federer's forehand so frequently comes in with a 20-25 degree swingpath, he is bound to have errors.
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Imagine having to swing with a wide and narrow racquet face angle/swingpath on every ball, and then having to adjust it, opening it slightly when you needed more lift. I think that is Federer's fh dilemna, especially when he has to deal with heavy topspin going away from him into the corners.
He really does have to chase after those balls and cut them off or his forehand is not going to have the zip he needs. Djokovic or Nadal can be a little late or hit a great defensive fh with heavy topspin and still be in the rally, duking it out. Fed will make an error or hit a lower pace lifter which gets munched on.
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Federer is a young 30. He is playing better at 30 than Sampras played at 30. Hal, you're right that being a pro takes a toll. But if he's still in the game and expects to win, he needs to be concerned with his margin of error on his forehand. He needs to match or better his forehand's margin of error to Djokovic or Nadal. If his legs are less able to get to the ball on time, he needs to increase his margin of error or be able to finish the point.
Changing the swing path angle is one obvious solution, but then perhaps Fed's fh would not be the fh we know and love. You know, Agassi always had that great 40-45 degree swingpath. He always had the ability to crunch the ball.
Well, I'm just going down the list, and trying to figure out what Fed could've done differently and this one comes to mind. Hal, I wouldn't know what Fed is thinking or concerned with, but I know that narrow swingpath with a low start point is problematic. Why not use a higher takeback if he's gonna go that narrow? It worked in 2005-6 when Fed's forehand was fearsome and feared.
It's too bad Fed lost. I was rooting for him. But I'd like to see him make a few changes in his favor.
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Permalink Reply by Jazz Burks on
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That lucky FH return by the Djoker was just that, luck. The fact that he had the confidence to try that down match point is the by-product of being basically on an out of this world streak. Fed still should have closed it out on his serve. I left for work after the 2nd set and I still don't know why I was looking at a 5th set was I was on the job. I looked though that Fed had righted the ship and got the important break. 40-15 and then that slapshot winner? I'd be bitter too!
Once again its Novak's world and we are all just paying rent, even The Mighty Fed!
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It may be luck, but it sure was emphatic. Sends a definite message to your opponent that you're not afraid. Has as much psychological effect as a Sampras second serve ace, a Becker dive on grass, or a Mac touch drop volley. Whether it is confidence, skill and/or luck, we can really never know what was truly in Nole's mind.
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