RF Tennis News 2017

^^^^

Hmmm. I take issue with some of the stuff in this article and since we are waiting our man to return I am happy to launch a 'civilized debate' . I do think the qualities Roger embodies like grace in victory and defeat are worthy of emulating and teaching our children. Yes, young Roger had a temper but he learnt to control it and this is what we want our young ones to do- e.g. Denis Shapovalov (apart from all the other young and old people). I'm not sure which qualities the author thinks are devilish in Roger circa 2003/04. His clothes? He cites the medical timeout??? Roger had a practice in privacy- it was well known that he had tweaked his adductor. He talks about insincerity and cunning without any evidence.

No, I don't think nice guys or gals finish last. Our nice guy finished first. A little more civility and respect will go a long way in all walks of life!

And, don't let me get started on comparing CR with our Rog. UGH.

Thanks for all the articles everyone. I haven't had a lot of time lately to come here but I'm just happy to have a "here".

And Vinny, what's this you say about the old forum? Please do tell!

I really enjoyed that Janan Ganesh article actually!! (But androgynous?? With all that body hair? LOL!)  While I also find myself agreeing with Pheebe (and possibly contradicting myself) because there is so much in Roger that is worth emulating,  it is precisely the "Federer Quotient" (Roger That!)  that I particularly enjoy about Federer the man.  I love his humble bragging, I just adore his strutting, I love his barbs at his opponents when he's feeling all sour and surly in his presser after a bitter defeat, like the remark quoted in the article re Djoker and he's said some less than gracious (albeit true) things about Rafa in the past too, although he doesn't do any of that any more, much to my chagrin.   I agree with the author that it is these utterly normal and human qualities that make Roger so admirable a model, or inspiration as I prefer to look at it because you see how well he has managed and overcome these ordinary frailties to achieve his personal goals and objectives as well as in carrying the role of Elder Statesman for his sport.  He isn't super human, he's just better at being human and shows us how you can manage your dark side.

That said, he HAS become far too diplomatic and nice of late.  I've always said having his twin girls first, then the boys softened him - not in a pathetic way - but smoothed those sharper edges and in my own opinion, smoothed him a little too much and he lost a bit too much of the killer ruthless streak and hence his edge in the most important moments of a Championship Final - mainly against Djoker or as he put it himself in that same TIME article, the determination or commitment to 'get the victory'.  But some things are good and its nice that he tries not to bagel an opponent now.  I like that. It's kind to younger, lesser players and respectful of his peers. Hopefully all that has changed and with this 18th Slam confirmation, he's now fully recognised that he's still got all that it takes to win a major Trophy and that level of confidence will not subside quickly - as long as he can stay perfectly fit.

There's an argument going on some website at the moment after someone quoted the TIME article in which he says (and I'm only slightly misquoting from memory) "My grit has always been underestimated and has been overshadowed by my virtuosity, my grace, my skill, my technical expertise and my shot-making "  
Some folk think it 'typically' arrogant of him to say this, while some fans think it so arrogant that The Fed couldn't possibly have said it   He has said other things about his own ability in the past and invited criticism for arrogance.  I don't care whether it is or it isn't.  If it is, I love it. It's just true and Fed is always honest, even to his own detriment sometimes - like saying just a little too much about that MTO before his final set against Stan.  I love that he's so honest that he felt he had to 'confess' almost that he'd taken it (albeit he had a genuine injury) mainly because Stan had taken one and asked the crowd for leniency cos he hardly ever takes an MTO - also true.

I love the Federer Quotient concept. I think if's peRFect.

Re: Forum

I like this Forum. I think it's an improvement. We just need mountains and oldlady and a few others to find their way here. I don't like the new website - it's just some commercial enterprise and you can't even read the stuff written over the Foundation pictures, and there's absolutely nothing about Roger's tennis on it but for the headline quote and some not so flattering (IMO) bragging about his status in the sport. It might be true, but why put it there? but I've heard that he likes the website. Shrug.

Yeah I agree Avasbar, the 'Federer Quotient' was a perfect way of forming a way of understanding how he's 'liked' so much. Even if the whol article wasn't spot on, I think parts of it make for good reading and another angle to digest.

^^^
Cool article Doris, thanks!

Here is the TIME MAGAZINE article I was referring to above.


Q&A: Roger Federer Talks to TIME About Nadal, That Win in Melbourne, and Partying Till Dawn

https://amp-timeinc-net.cdn.ampproject.org/v/amp.timeinc.net/time/4659015/roger-federer-interview-tennis/?source=dam&_js_v=7

TIME spoke to the tennis legend three days after his stunning victory
SEAN GREGORY @SEANMGREGORY
FEB 3, 2017 4:06 PM EST

This week’s issue of TIME features a story on Roger Federer, who on Jan. 29 became the oldest man in 45 years to win a Grand Slam singles final when he beat his arch-rival and nemesis, Rafael Nadal, in a five-set classic. Federer, 35, won his 18th slam — adding to his all-time men’s record — after missing the last six months of the 2016 season because of a knee injury. At best, he thought he could reach the quarterfinals of this year’s Aussie Open.


On Feb. 1, three days after his stunning victory, TIME spoke to Federer by phone—he was at his house in the Swiss alps. You can read the feature story here. Below are expanded excerpts from the interview, in which Federer discusses everything from his rehab process to mental fortitude — and partying till dawn.

You’ve had a few days to reflect on the win in Melbourne. What does that title mean to you?


Maybe to believe and to work hard and persevere and all that stuff. On the surface, everyone sees my technique, the way I play, sort of everything’s easy and comes very natural to me. Maybe this [win] is a different type for me. I was able to show, especially after the tough year I had last year, how to make the right decisions and get past that. And how to move on and right away to create this sort of fairy tale story at the beginning of this year.


Honestly, I never thought I’d be able to win this tournament. That’s what stands out to me three days later. I still can’t believe I was able to make it all happen. This one has a very special, different taste than all the other Grand Slams I ever won. Coming back, getting older, and people have written me off maybe, makes this one so unique.

Last year was really one to forget, but to learn a lot from. At the first press conference after the first match [in Melbourne] I said I would be happy having lost today if my body is feeling well. It would have been a successful trip for me. Because the reason why I went to Australia was to find out where my body was at. In practice I knew it was good. Matches are a different animal, it’s a different story. I thought in the best case I could make the quarters, and beat one good player. Maybe two if things went crazy well. That was my expectation. That’s why it feels to much better, this one, because I never thought in a million years I was going to win.

I thought it would be a stepping stone for the season. Basically my year would start 100% in April. That’s how I saw it. It started 100% at the get go.

Did you do any different kind of training, different kind of diet during your rehab, that might have keyed the recovery?

With diet, I just didn’t want to become heavy. Because all of a sudden you can’t train as much as you usually do. I was just paying attention there.


The knee was screaming for a rest. That’s when I made the tough decision [to end his season], and we started doing rehab, with quad exercises. I eased into fitness, a little running, a little side shuffling, a little sprinting. And eventually you can do more and more hours a day, more days in a row, and eventually I got into tennis. We’re mixing fitness and tennis. And at the end of October we were going kind of full out already, but in short bursts of time, not too long, not too many days in a row, always a sufficient break. Because I took six months off, I actually had sufficient time to get through all the processes we were looking forward to. Then at the end, all of December, I was going all out. It was just being clever with my scheduling, making sure I’m not getting hurt.

Andre Agassi told me “every time I was away from the game, it was a mental battle more than it was a physical battle. You have to watch guys win tournaments, knowing that every week, you’re sort of going in the wrong direction.” Was it a mental battle for you?

Honestly, that part for me was on the easier side. In life, I like to choose. I want to be healthy as a person, [that’s] number one for me and my family, and, number two, to play tennis again. After playing for almost 20 years, all of a sudden you realize, “I think this body, and maybe the mind, deserve a break.”

The doctors and the team told me, “Look, buddy, you need to rest right now.” Once the decision was done, we [Federer and his wife, Mirka] walked out of the room, and we looked each other in the eye and said, “No problem. OK. We’ll take six months.” I mean, it hurt for a few days. Like it’s supposed to. Then, honestly, for me it was over. It was done. I knew I wasn’t supposed to be playing. I dealt with it like I think I should.


Watching the Olympics didn’t hurt because I didn’t know what I missed. I hadn’t been in Rio before. I thought the U.S. Open was going to be hard to watch — but my knee. I could play for half an hour, then it would swell up again. So I was like, you know what? It was the right decision.

And honestly I was having such a good time away from tennis as well, with my family, doing hikes in the mountains, spending an incredible amount of time together with friends and family. So here we are, all of a sudden saying, shall we do a trip to Paris? I went to fashion shows in Paris. Caught up with friends there. We went to Greece for a vacation for the first time without our kids. I had so many just open dates where I could plan something. I never really have a lot of days where I could catch up with people in advance and say “Let’s meet up on Wednesday at 2:00 p.m. for lunch and do this and that.” I was doing tons of that stuff. That’s what I enjoyed the most.

That gave me a lot of power for this year. I said I have to come out of this six months rejuvenated. Fresh. Hungry. Ready to go. We were able to achieve that.

In your matches against Nadal, the narrative has always been that he has the superior mental toughness. Do you think your mental game is under-appreciated?

I know the way I play is more visible than my mental toughness. I really had to work a lot on my mental toughness. Early on in my career, I was quite unstable. If people were going into a match with me, they knew if you could hang with me for two hours, after two hours, you’d probably be the favorite. Because I would run out of gas, or start checking out. It didn’t come naturally for me, the whole mental toughness.


I wanted to create a kind of aura that if people played against me, I was not going anywhere mentally and physically. That took me years to build up. Only when I started to win consecutive Grand Slams, and I was able to show that tenacity week in and week out, that’s when I felt like the locker room was actually starting to respect me. Before that, maybe I had that image [of mental inferiority] sometimes. In the years since, I don’t really think I’ve had this.

My mental toughness has always been overshadowed by my virtuosity, my shot-making, my technique, my grace. That’s why when I lose, it seems like, “Oh, he didn’t play so well.” And when I win, it looks so easy. I had that already when I was a little boy. You know, “Why don’t you try harder?” I mean, honestly I tried everything that I possibly could. Just because I don’t sweat like crazy and I don’t grunt, I don’t have this face on when I hit the shot like I’m in pain, doesn’t mean I’m not trying hard. It’s just how I play. Sorry.

Down 1-3 to Nadal in the fifth set, what specifically did you do mentally to stay in it?

I told myself, “You have one more set to play, pal.” It’s so easy to get down on yourself, and say, “Look, it was a great run, it is a great comeback, be happy with the final. It’s fine. It’s all good.” I didn’t allow that to creep into my mind. I told myself, “It’s one more set, give it everything you’ve got. He’s in pain. I’m in pain. Everyone is fighting out there, just try to play offensive tennis and take it to him. Go for your shots. Play free. Enjoy it out there. Play the ball, don’t play the opponent. Try everything. Hopefully, that’s enough.” And it was.


What else do you want to get out of this year?

By winning this, I have even less pressure I would think. It gave me a totally different outlook on the season. I don’t have to overplay. I’ve got a month here, so really relax, take my time. When I play I want to enjoy it. That seemed like the right philosophy, going into Australia. These last years on tour, I want to make the most of it. I’ll pick the tournaments where I feel like I have the best chance at doing well, and then we’ll see what happens. I’ll play Dubai in a month, then Indian Wells and Miami (in March). I probably won’t play too much on clay. I’ll play the French Open and after that play grass, Stuttgart, Halle, and Wimbledon, then we’ll see. That would already be a dream if my body can sustain all of that until July.

In Australia you won your 18th Grand Slam, adding to your singles record. Do you have a Grand Slam goal in mind? Twenty would seems like a nice round number.

I don’t know (laughs). I mean, I had to wait for this one for four-and-a-half years. Really, let’s enjoy this one.

I tried to party like it was my last one. At a night final, by the time you finish it’s like 11:30. Then there’s three hours of press and doping tests and everything, and seeing my friends quickly. I got out of the building at like 3:00 a.m.. And I went straight o the bar with my friends. We partied and danced all night long, we had a DJ. We got back at 6:30 a.m., the kids were just getting up as I came back with the trophy. One after the other, the kids came over to look to look at the trophy. It was an epic 12 hours.


Let’s see. I honestly don’t know. I know my best chances this year will come at Wimbledon and at the U.S. Open. I know a lot of people talk about the Grand Slams. That why it’s been super hard in the last 4-and-a-half years to win a Grand Slam. But also I won the Davis Cup, I got back to world number two, I won a ton of tournaments. I did have great years. It’s not like I was completely somewhere else and I wasn’t playing.

But plans are important. They make a lot of dreams come true. And that’s what happened to me in January.

Roger Federer accepts Andy Murray's invite to Glasgow charity event

Australian Open champion and 18-time Grand Slam winner Roger Federer has accepted Andy Murray's invitation to play in Scotland for the first time. The 35-year-old Swiss will take part in Andy Murray Live, the world number one's charity exhibition event at Glasgow's SSE Hydro in November.

"He's just extremely popular," said Murray, 29. "He's one of the best players that's ever played the game.

"It's not just how much he's won, but the way he plays and carries himself."

Federer accepted Murray's invitation after he agreed to play at the Swiss star's own charity event in April after scheduled participation at tournaments in Dubai, Indian Wells and Miami. Murray added: "I saw a little video where he was wearing a kilt when he was announcing that I was going to play in his event over in Switzerland.

"He's returning the favour in November. It's really good he's doing it.

"He said a few years ago he wants to go to places he's not been. It's great."

Murray's first exhibition in Glasgow sold out in 48 hours and raised £300,000 for children's charities.
Roger Federer accepts Andy Murray's invite to Glasgow charity event - BBC Sport

BASLER ZEITUNG

Thursday 9 February 2017 06:28
Arthur Cohn calls for a Roger Federer Arena

http://mobile2.bazonline.ch/

A fair sportsman and noble ambassador, this should also be rewarded.


Roger Federer with his victory, which overwhelmed everyone. (Picture: Keystone)


Roger Federer has a brilliant comeback from Roger Federer on the penultimate Sunday: After a long injury break with surgery and five years after winning his last Grand Slam tournament, Roger Federer has managed, which no one thought possible: He has the legendary Australian Open Won. The incredible match against Rafael Nadal not only reminded Federer's best days - he managed to play even more brilliantly than before! The world bowed to King Roger and his ultimate coronation as champion of his generation.
ADVERTISING

This fact and the joy of us Baslers that one of us has achieved something that has been haunted and cheered all over the world - on every continent, in every country, in every city - by countless millions, has to be a lasting honor of the Tennis aces and wonderful people Roger Federer. It is not enough to praise his performance; It is not enough that countless international newspapers devoted all their titles to Roger Federer. We must ensure that the memory of this great victory, the great comeback - and, above all, the fascinating performance of Roger Federer in Basel, is and is always present.
So, I believe, it is a great idea to name him after him, the St. Jakobshalle in Basel, where Roger Federer celebrated so many triumphs. This is the best kind of personal appreciation of Federer for his phenomenal victory, and will be of great importance to him, because something of him will remain forever in his hometown. I can imagine how happy he is when he comes to Basel with his four children, who recognize with joy and pride that he will be playing in the Roger Federer Arena and that there is such a respectful memory of him.
As in Australia
Let's remember that Federer has played and won in Australia at the Rod Laver Arena, the traditional center court of the Australian Open, named after the Australian tennis legend. We must therefore place a lasting monument in ours, the greatest Basler of our decade, who has so much encouraged and enriched so much in our cultural city through his presence and his sporting abilities. There must be no envy in this - we must be proud of Roger Federer for what he has achieved.
He has become known world-wide as a big tennis player, as a fair sportsman, as a noble ambassador of Switzerland and especially Basel. Yes, I also mention the significance of my hometown for my work and my life at every opportunity - but as an ambassador to Basel, Roger Federer is my greatest model.
So I am already looking forward to the inauguration of the Roger Federer Arena!

Arthur Cohn proposes to reshuffle the Basler St. Jakobshalle in the Roger Federer Arena. Are you for it?
Yes
75 %
No
25 %
Arthur Cohn is a film producer and a six-time Oscar winner.

Thank you for this beautiful article, there are great photos but here in this new forum I have no idea to post them, so sorry  

schneewitchen wrote:

thank you for this beautiful article, there are great photos but here in this new forum I have no idea to post them, so sorry  

Here are a few of them - my faves!

schneewitchen wrote:

thank you for this beautiful article, there are great photos but here in this new forum I have no idea to post them, so sorry  

schneewitchen - Top post a picture, using "Quick Reply", place your cursor where you want to insert the image in your message, then click on the "Insert Image" button on the toolbar (blue picture icon) and just paste the image URL where indicated.  That's it!

This on the Team behind the Champ

http://trolltennis.com/propellers-fed-express/

Propellers of the Federer express
By Balraj Shukla - February 1,

"I can do a lot by myself, but I need my support team to push me the last 1%, 5%, 10%, whatever it is because I'm not in the same mood every single day." - Roger Federer

Snippets ( but go to the link for the real deal)
Pierre Paganini – The Fuel
   Any train requires some fuel, an engine to keep moving, some wheels to lean on and a steering to drive it. The Fed express works on the same principle.

“In sport as in life, you look at the details.”
If Pierre Paganini were to be some kind of fuel for real, he would probably be the most trusted brand.

Tennis World English @TennisWorlden
Pierre Paganini: 'Federer feels like he is 25, has a big passion for the sport'   http://dlvr.it/Mh0nXf

For Roger, you have to be good to find exercises that give him trouble. He’s so coordinated. In 2000, when we started working full-time again, I proposed a complex thing and sensed while he was doing it that it was more and more perfect. He then explained at the end why I had asked him to do it. It was fascinating to me. He had understood as an athlete how to do it, but also understood why.
He had the internal and external aspects covered. He’s not someone who consumes. He’s someone who creates.  What I find interesting is that he is just as motivated now as he was as a junior. I’d say even more so for the physical training. When he was young, he was an artist who wanted to be an artist. Now he’s an artist who knows exactly what he needs to do to express his virtuosity.”
– Paganini in an interview with New York Times

Severin Luthi – The Engine
“When I joined Roger’s team I always said: if you want to win a grand slam title, you need to be able to win seven matches at the fifth set.”

‘In December in Dubai, I told him, you trained very well and could win Australian Open.
During that moment we thought about things that were different than Australian Open. But in November and December I felt that everything could have been possible because I had seen that all was going well and that he had a positive mentality every day. I have been saying it for years: I am convinced that Roger will win a Grand Slam title. At Least one. He has been in semifinals or finals many times, even if winning is much different. I am very happy for him. When I started to work with him in 2008, he had the grandular fever, and people asked: is it the end? Now we are in 2017 and he won Australian Open. And all the newspapers write that he is the greatest ever."

Ivan Ljubicic – The Wheels

Before Roger’s campaign began at Australian Open, Ljubicic said:
“I would be happy if he wins the title (laughs). On the other hand, for what does he play? He is not a junior player who says ‘I reach the quarter-finals and I earn points in the rankings’. He is Roger Federer and hasn’t forgotten how to play tennis.”

Mirka Vavrinec Federer – The Steering
“Roger gave my tennis life back to me. When he wins, it’s as if I win as well.”
“She was there when I had no titles and she is still here 89 titles later.”

– Roger Federer

Clive James: ‘When I am a break down to Nadal in the fifth, I contemplate giving up. Not Federer’

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/feb/11/clive-james-break-down-to-nadal-roger-federer

I'm sorry if this interview with Wilander has been posted but I absolutely loved it. Roger is speaking so freely in it.

https://youtu.be/gTAmH8QN3g4

Not new, but worth repeating!  

"Roger Federer is a benchmark for this sport" - Lleyton Hewitt pic.twitter.com/mCFgS3WLcR

— Amber (@AmberRajen) February 9, 2016

sorry can't get this to resize