RF Tennis News 2017

KEY BISCAYNE, FL - APRIL 02: Roger Federer of Switzerland poses in front of the Miami Skyline after defeating Rafael Nadal of Spain during the Men's Final and day 14 of the Miami Open at Crandon Park Tennis Center on April 2, 2017 in Key Biscayne, Florida.
(Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)


Richard Evans: Federer Stands Tall

BY  Richard Evans | April 03, 2017
Tennis Channel


Under the swaying palms of the California desert and the Florida Keys, the year’s first two ATP tour 1000 events played out to large and wildly enthusiastic crowds. And if it would be unfair to say all the cheering was for one man, much of the noise was all about Roger Federer, a champion whose performances at the age of 35 continue to defy logic and belief.

There are two pertinent aspects of the titles Federer won at Indian Wells and Miami to go along with his Australian Open crown.

The first concerns the way he, along with Rafa Nadal, stepped so effortlessly into the sudden vacuum created by the two players who were supposed to be the men to chase this year – Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic.

Neither Murray nor Djokovic made any kind of impact at Indian Wells and then absented themselves from Miami, both complaining of elbow injuries. Green lights should have been flashing in the locker room for that little army of highly talented, hard working pros who keep beating on the door of the Top4 and so rarely gain admittance.

Stan Wawrinka, usually the first in line, managed to fight his way through to the final at the BNP Paribas Open after Federer had stopped Nadal in his tracks in just 68 minutes in the quarters, but it was Roger who grabbed the title and when finals day arrived at the Miami Open who walked on court to face each other for the 37th time? You know who.

Federer went on to win the 91st title of a career that seemingly has no end while Nadal was left with the runners-up trophy for the 5th time in Miami. All told, 58 of the last 62 ATP Masters 1000 titles since 2010 have been won by a member of the Top4. That was the stat Greg Sharko of the ATP came up with but let me embellish it. BEFORE 2010, Federer won sixteen 1000’s and Nadal thirteen. These are staggering statistics.

One day, of course, Father Time will have his say but the beauty of this year’s Miami Open lay in the emergence of at least two of the young players who will prove themselves ready to step up in the not too distant future.

The draw set it up perfectly. First we had Nick Kyrgios facing the German teenager Sascha Zverev for the first time at such a big event. It will not be the last. Their quarter final produced everything one could ask of two young players who are still learning their craft.

Zverev, with his blond locks held in place by a wide head band, cuts an attractive figure on court, while Kyrgios has established himself as one of those rare performers that demand your attention – Ilie Nastase, Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe, Andre Agassi are others who come to mind. Obviously the Australian does not compare as far as achievements are concerned as yet but, after Federer, he is well on the way to becoming the biggest ticket seller on the ATP tour.

The entertainment value is undeniable. Kyrgios came up with two tweeners in one point against Zverev and then, after the German had produced an exquisite lob to reach set point at 10-9 in the second set tie break, he tried another and blew it.

“A tweener on set point,” Nick muttered afterwards. “What was that?”

It was Nick Kyrgios. That’s the answer and there is no point in dwelling too long on the tactical niceties. He knew it was the wrong shot but, unlike a year ago, there is evidence now that Kyrgios is learning how to manage his talent. There was no melt down after losing that set and he was the better player in the third, finally winning 6-4, 6-7, 6-3.

The quality of the tennis had been high and the crowd feasted off this glimpse into the game’s future. What came next was the perfect clash of generations – Federer playing a young man thirteen years his junior.

Some critics are already calling Federer’s 7-6, 6-7, 7-6 victory over Kyrgios under the lights the best match of the year (quite a statement after Federer’s five set win over Nadal at the Australian Open) and one of the best they had ever seen. It was hard to argue.

Frequently, Federer’s shot making was majestic but, as in their first meeting which Kyrgios won at Madrid last year, the Swiss could not break Nick’s serve. The pair have now played six sets and all of them have gone to the tie break. Remarkable.

The Australian’s ability to hold serve will, of course, form the bedrock of his game as he moves ever upwards. It is not simply the speed he can generate – regularly touching 135/136 mph – but the way he varies the delivery. He hit an ace that was no more than 115 mph. Occasionally, he would throw in a second serve of around 85 mph. Federer, one of the best returners in the history of the game, worked furiously to find the key but the lock never turned.

A major factor in this extraordinary encounter was the way the Florida crowd made their presence felt. OK, they were always going to scream and jump up and down for Federer but a section of them decided there had to be a villain as well and were absurdly harsh on Kyrgios.

Apart from bouncing his racket just hard enough for it to crack after losing the first set (for which he received a warning) Nick did little wrong. But there were people on his back all the time and it needed some expert umpiring from the vastly experienced Mohamed Lahyani, who is Swedish in case you didn’t know, to keep things under control.

Even then, some idiot called “Out!” as Kyrgios, with the match on his racket, prepared to serve at 5-4, with the mini-break, in the final breaker. Exasperated, Kyrgios turned and mouthed “Shut the f…….up!” He should have received a second warning for that but Lahyani was sympathetic. He knew just what Kyrgios had had to endure.

Sadly, the disruption did seem to have an affect and Kyrgios promptly double faulted. In a flash, Federer seized his chance and won an unforgettable duel with an unreturnable serve.

Federer, needless to say was impressed with the talent he had needed to quell and the difficulties he had faced. The closeness of the encounter could be spelled out by the length of the tie breaks – 11-9, 9-11, 7-5. A match of tiny margins.

Happily for American tennis, there were signs of home grown talent blossoming, too. Jack Sock, who has started the year in great form, reached the quarter finals before falling to Nadal while Jared Donaldson, whom Sock blitzed 6-2, 6-1 in the fourth round, had played impressively to beat the older Zverev, Mischa, 6-4, 6-4 in the second round and Britain’s powerful Kyle Edmund in the first.

And then there was Frances Tiafoe who found himself on Stadium Court facing Federer in round two. He went down 7-6, 6-3 but was not overawed. “I think he’s going to be really good,” said Federer. “I think he’s going to learn a lot from a match like this because playing on center court with a lot of people, under pressure, saving break points, making break point, playing breakers – that’s what it’s about and it should feed a player like him with a lot of energy moving forward.”

In all sorts of ways, tennis moved forward as well as standing still to preen itself in on Key Biscayne, Federer’s pavonine ( )  performances demanding the accolades he receives from his adoring fans.

Roger Federer‏Verified account @rogerfederer

Some fans have no respect...

Some fans have no respect... pic.twitter.com/FQkSIr3xnh

— Roger Federer (@rogerfederer) April 4, 2017

Roger Federer, Microsoft's Gates to play doubles for charity



SI - Sports Illustrated


SEATTLE (AP) How's this for a doubles team? Roger Federer and Bill Gates.

The 18-time Grand Slam champion and the billionaire Microsoft co-founder will pair up in a one-set exhibition match in Seattle on April 29 to support children's education in Africa.

Federer and Gates will play against John Isner - the American who won the longest match in tennis history - and an as-yet-unannounced celebrity partner. Then Federer and Isner will square off in a best-of-three-sets singles exhibition.

Proceeds from the Match for Africa 4 will benefit the Roger Federer Charitable Fund and Roger Federer Foundation.

Tickets go on sale Thursday.

Federer added to his record total of major championships by winning the Australian Open in January.

He is 19-1 this season, including a title at Key Biscayne, Florida, on Sunday.

That's good news!...  Not a surprise, but nice to hear it, none-the-less!  

ATP understandably already using Roger Federer in promotion for the ATP Finals. pic.twitter.com/XrjWPjqFzf

— Stuart Fraser (@stu_fraser)
April 4, 2017

Do you remember this?... Rogerfederer.com 2005!  

And this one?... Roger's first website in 2000!   :lol!:  

Roger announcing his new revamped website in 2010...

Click the image to access the page

And sniff, sniff...  The Forum! (2011)

The Best Ways To View Archived Versions Of Web Pages

September 8, 2015 / ConsciousAwarenessForAll
 


Web pages change quite often. What was there yesterday may not necessarily be there today. So what do you do when you want to see old version of web pages? You look at their ARCHIVES!

Web crawlers are constantly scouring the internet, saving and indexing. You can search this indexed content. Here are some FREE websites that you can use to do this:

► WayBack Machine: Powered by the Internet Archive, this site allows you to search for and view old versions of web pages. Search using key URL’s and narrow the results by specific date. This one is BY FAR the best of the lot, with over 400 BILLION web pages archived.

———-► Archive-It / GigaBlast: These websites are virtually identical. Powered by the Internet Archive‘s ‘WayBack Machine,’ they allow you to search for and view old versions of web pages. Unlike the WayBack Machine, they also allow you to search using key words, not just URL’s.

► Archive: Allows you to save current versions of web pages, as well as search for and view old versions of web pages. Search using URL’s.

► WebCite: Allows you to search for and view old version of web pages. Search using URL’s, a specific date and/or a Snapshot ID.

► The Coral Content Distribution Network: Allows you to search for and view old versions of web pages. Search using URL’s.

► Time Travel / What Did It Look Like?: Powered by MementoWeb, these sites (both part of the same network) allow you to search for and view old versions of web pages. Search using URL’s and specific dates.

► Search Engine Caches: All major search engines (Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc) allow you to view cached (saved) versions of web pages. Use their search engine to find the page you want. When the page shows up in the search results, there is an option to view the cached version.

When all is said and done, Roger Federer is above all else a family man in the old-fashioned sense

It can often feel as though Roger Federer has more families than the average person.

Roger Federer faced Andy Murray in the Match for Africa 3 charity event in Zurich  Photo: Marianne Bevis




Roger Federer won the Australian Open in January Photo: Marianne Bevis