Do you think Roger Federer has gone a bit soft? Do you think he is covering up or accepting losses more, or in a different way than he used to?
Don’t get me wrong, I think the world of Federer. I think in tennis...
Do you think Roger Federer has gone a bit soft? Do you think he is covering up or accepting losses more, or in a different way than he used to?
Don’t get me wrong, I think the world of Federer. I think in tennis he’s been the best thing since sliced bread, but I am a bit frustrated with the way he is outwardly handling a loss nowadays.
I would dearly love to see him equal or even pass Pete Sampras’ record of 286 weeks as world number one but the way things are going, I don’t know if that will be the case. Federer is sitting on 285 with his early loss at last year’s French Open robbing him of that achievement.
Up to as recently as three months ago I still thought he could get back to No.1 but I have started to have doubts. He’s made it clear that he wants No.1 back and I would love to be proven wrong. Certainly he has opportunities to pick up a lot of ranking points over the next six months but with the likes of Novak Djokovic playing so well and Rafael Nadal firmly situated at the top of the rankings heap, you got to wonder if he will.
Sure, absolutely, he is still playing well but it isn’t quite the same. Up to Miami, Djokovic was the only player to beat him, three times, in 2011. Nadal got him in Miami and then Jurgen Melzer, who had never won a set from Federer, beat him in Monte Carlo.
There is nothing wrong with losing but it’s the aftermath that is the interesting aspect.
“It's always disappointing regardless against who you lose,” Federer said. “I wish I could have gone further in the tournament (Monte Carlo). I got three matches. I'm pretty happy.”
Hello! Was I hearing right? He got three matches so he’s pretty happy. What? Are you serious? What happened to the days when not reaching at least the final was a disappointing result?
He then added: “I don't think I played terrible. Obviously, it was still the first week of clay, so I don't expect myself to play my very best. I think it's been a solid tournament.”
This is the sort of comment he’s been making a bit too often and it doesn’t quite sound like a fighting spirit.
Federer is never going to cuss and abuse after a loss but there was a time, not that long ago, when any loss was such a downer. Sure he has other priorities these days that are more important than tennis, but I think most people and fans want to see a bit more umph in his mannerism. He seems to be taking it on the chin a bit too much.
He returned to Switzerland to get “mentally and physically fit for the tough stretch ahead”. What’s he been doing in the mean time? Just before the Melzer match he said how well he was playing. Roger seems to lose matches very soon after he makes such comments – coincidence or just a fact? What do you think?
