RF Tennis News 2017

wcr wrote:

Vinnie wrote:This is my contribution to the "News" thread Or should it go in Social Media?


Roger Federer liked your Tweet.

Vinnie Richards @FedererLive
https://twitter.com/VINIRichards

Roger Federer ‏@FedererLive 18 days since #RF18.

VR:

After the past few years of your supplementing any Roger Federer forum with nothing less than brilliant, detailed, imaginative commentary, Roger 'likes' your graphic message.  When it comes to the less-is-more divinity of Roger's game, so might one conclude the same goes for his preferred reading material.  Cartoons!  

-wcr

wcr,

I agree and I laughed. I think I remember some effort by Roger to send tweets that were just emoticons maybe a year or so ago. I have tweeted maybe 10 times in my life and it's only ever been to give a shout out to Roger. The PM was nice too (I put that in the title of my post here...where no one looks I guess).

Also, I may get access to an article about Fed Fans to bring to this thread soon. Someone from the old forum gave my name to a certain tennis journalist based in London the day after the AO. He's writing a piece on what makes Fed Fans tick and he wanted to interview fans from across the world. Anyway, he got my name and contacted me, and then we skyped for about a 1 hour interview.

I figured nothing ever came from it, but yesterday he followed up with me to do some fact checking about my Grandfather's HOF stats along with a few things regarding Bill Tilden. I got him the information and he said he would send me a draft when it's time to publish. So as soon as I see it..or find it in print...I'll post it here.

Cheers, Vinnie

^^ amazing VR! Can't wait to read that piece!

Saw a lot of photos of Roger in Prague today promoting Lavers Cup. He simply looks stunning!

Good news! Roger has signed a new contract with Basel for three years. Seems like he intends to play at least until 2019. Music to my ears!

Link for all the Swiss German speaking people on here: http://www.blick.ch/sport/tennis/neuer-drei-jahresvertrag-mit-basel-roger-federer-spielt-mindestens-bis-2019-id6256150.html

^^^^

as optimistic as it sounds, I'm pretty sure there would be a clause in that contract letting him out of it should he decide to re____ (I can't say the word). But it is a good sign. It means he intends to keep playing for as long as possible. His comment during his speech at the AO where he implied that he may or may not be back next year was a little disturbing. I've never heard him say something like that before and it made me think for the first time that the end may be on the horizon. Now I'm a little more confident. I think as long as he stays healthy and injury-free he will play for a long time still.

Woo that is a good sign! If he stays injury-free for the next three years, who knows what can happen?

Great news! 8) The more Roger the better!

Roger was truly freaked out by that knee injury and having to have his first (and hopefully only) ever operation - he experienced knowing nothing is forever and nothing about his body can now be taken for granted. Only a couple of years ago he spoke about himself being young. Now he says what an old guy he is &etc.

Don't worry RogerNo1 - that's all that was on his mind when he said that at AO - he's repeated and explained it several times now, so nothing to be concerned about.

And Aprilpoon I'm really into textiles and thought that suit material was just gorgeous. and how does he manage to look 10 x smarter than anyone else? Money helps of course! The shoes were pretty funky too (I'm also really into mens shoes - yeah wierd, I know)

There is a new article from Chris Clarey out today - based on a phone interview with Roger yesterday in Prague.  (No reference to signing with the Basel tournament as a result.)

Title:  Retirement? Roger Federer, Still Celebrating, Says He’s Not Done Yet

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/21/sports/tennis/roger-federer-retirement-laver-cup.html?_r=0

highlights

- only briefly thought about immediate retirement
- returning to Dubai today (Tuesday)
- upper leg injury still an issue and he is not practising at 100%
- happy to have had a long period to enjoy the win
- details about how he took "Norman" to the top of the mountain and what it meant
- when compared to FO win this AO win was not a "meant to be" win and he explains why

Last paragraph/quote from Roger - retirement - not yet!!

“The goal, when I took my break of six months, was doing this for the next couple years, not just for one tournament,” Federer said. “I understand people who say, ‘Oh, this would be a perfect moment to go.’ But I feel like I’ve put in so much work, and I love it so much, and I still have so much in the tank.”

RogerNo.1 wrote:
as optimistic as it sounds, I'm pretty sure there would be a clause in that contract letting him out of it should he decide to re____ (I can't say the word).

According to another Swiss newspaper the contract is a commitment and if Roger should decide not to fullfill the 3 years there won't be any contract consequences for him.

I'm sure if Roger wants or needs to retire he can get out of the commitment he made with the tournament, but it does show he intends to play for a few more years like he has been saying.

Thanks Rufus1 for the interview. Bummer the leg is still bothering him. Hope he can play Dubai next week.

^^^^

All contracts are just that - commitments to play barring unforeseen circumstances - ie injury etc., or potentially retirement, in Roger's case at this point in his career.

What this contract does do however, is lock up his participation in Basel should he be in condition to play.  It means that he cannot negotiate with any other commitment during that timeslot - He will not play Vienna for example.  (Just like his lifetime contract with Halle means that he will not play Queen's Club while they are in the same weeks)

It is a win for the tournament - they know that if Roger is able, he will play the tournament and all the benefits that that brings to the organizers and fans - he has a track record of not withdrawing for anything other than medical circumstances.  If Roger has formally retired, then, of-course, he will not play.  He would no longer be part of the drug testing programme and that automatically precludes one from playing!!  If Roger is on a reduced playing schedule by the time he is 38 then I would expect this contract to be honoured - given that this is his home tournament with such strong ties, this would NOT be a tournament that he would cancel to reduce workload!!

It is a win for Swiss fans - they know that they can buy tickets when they are first issued and that Roger will participate unless injured/sick etc.  They have something fixed to look forward to.

It is a win for Roger because he now has something firm in place and will not have the stress of negotiating on a yearly basis.  Hopefully the hatchets are truly buried and Roger can simply enjoy himself for the rest of his career. I find it interesting that this is a term contract as opposed to the lifetime contract that he has with Halle.

Rufus1 wrote:There is a new article from Chris Clarey out today - based on a phone interview with Roger yesterday in Prague.  (No reference to signing with the Basel tournament as a result.)

Title:  Retirement? Roger Federer, Still Celebrating, Says He’s Not Done Yet

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/21/sports/tennis/roger-federer-retirement-laver-cup.html?_r=0

highlights
- only briefly thought about immediate retirement
- returning to Dubai today (Tuesday)
- upper leg injury still an issue and he is not practising at 100%
- happy to have had a long period to enjoy the win
- details about how he took "Norman" to the top of the mountain and what it meant
- when compared to FO win this AO win was not a "meant to be" win and he explains why

Last paragraph/quote from Roger - retirement - not yet!!
“The goal, when I took my break of six months, was doing this for the next couple years, not just for one tournament,” Federer said. “I understand people who say, ‘Oh, this would be a perfect moment to go.’ But I feel like I’ve put in so much work, and I love it so much, and I still have so much in the tank.”

I am concerned about his upper leg problem - if it's still bothering him after 3 weeks - perhaps missing Dubai would be a good idea as to aggravate a problem in this area could wreck his summer season (I remember Wimbledon 2010 after he'd hurt his leg in the Halle Final where he lost to Hewitt). Hope he and his team can make the best decision for him.

Damn, why does it have to be Dubai next. I so want him reclaiming the Trophy not to mention breaking records and getting his first #8 there, but Wimby is more important.
He's all about staying healthy so he'll make the right decision for sure but there's only a week to go and I read somewhere this injury takes 6-8 weeks to fix
So how did he manage to keep playing 5-setters in Aussie and move like he did if he can't even practise properly yet??

avasbar wrote:Damn, why does it have to be Dubai next.  I so want him reclaiming the Trophy not to mention breaking records and getting his first #8 there, but Wimby is more important.
He's all about staying healthy so he'll make the right decision for sure but there's only a week to go and I read somewhere this injury  takes 6-8 weeks to fix    
So how did he manage to keep playing 5-setters in Aussie and move like he did if he can't even practise properly yet??

This is Roger 5.0, and he no longer feels like he can't use the rules (MTO's) that are available to EVERY single player. He also seems happier than EVER to talk to media...and he knows how to use it to his advantage. Now, he may very well withdraw from Dubai due to his leg, or just to rest up for later tournaments. JMHO, but Roger has watched the other 3 players (of the big 4...but I include Stan, Cilic, Kei, and Delpo) always discussing, or publishing, ongoing supposed injury issues for most of his career; and then they are hailed as true heroes when they manage the "impossible".

Some of them are legit injuries. But since Nole won the French Open, he's dealt with vague foot, arm, shoulder, wrist & head issues. He even said that he was struggling mentally from July - Dec of 2016 because Roger & Rafa were missing from the sport. Kind of a low blow towards Andy, but they all do this. Well guess what, Joker, they are back, & Roger is once again, front and center, the face of tennis. He always has been...but now he's somehow elevated himself to even greater heights. So high that now even Toni has cried "uncle" and left Rafa to fend for himself!

Roger 5.0 is at a new place mentally. He has nothing left to prove, yet when healthy, he's still the best player in the game. Instead of the 18th slam being "the end" for Roger (like Pete), he seems really energized from this title...more so than at any time in perhaps a decade. He knows where his game is at...and he's defeated his biggest nemisis by just letting it fly...going all out and believing it would be good enough to win. And it was. And he knows it.

JMHO, but Roger wants titles more than ever attm. The whole underdog/fairytale/comeback "hero" thing seems to suit him just fine. Maybe...just maybe...he will enjoy being the "over the hill", "past his prime", age & injury plagued "underdog" until the 2020 O.G., smashing every record left in tennis along the way. I dreamed he would win the AO...so why stop there?

Vinnie wrote:... But since Nole won the French Open, he's dealt with vague foot, arm, shoulder, wrist & head issues. He even said that he was struggling mentally from July - Dec of 2016 because Roger & Rafa were missing from the sport.

And here I thought Djokovic was distracted by non-tennis matters that led to buying expensive jewelry for the wife.  And Becker - who had the temerity to publicly state that Djokovic isn't training hard enough - has been replaced by some spiritual guru meant to help him renew his enthusiasm. In what or for whom I'm not exactly sure.  

Just having a little fun here.

Thankfully Roger is back.

according to this twitter account, Roger has arrived in Dubai
https://twitter.com/hamdi_RF/status/834294892625018881