French Open 2021

Floppybits wrote: »

Yeah think he couldn't hold it together to beat one of the greats of the game. Thought he was very disrespectful when he just missed a shot up the line and then questioned it, walked around the net to check it himself and the spat on it. He got docked a point for that and rightfully so.

Yeah, not a good look.

Royale with Cheese wrote: »

I'm a huge Federer fan but cmon now, you don't turn up at one of the grand slams to so openly use it as a training session and pull out at the first sign of it getting a little bit difficult.

He should have got more grief for doing it in the ATP final a couple of years ago. If he signs up he should play. Very disrespectful to everyone to just pull out.

HeidiHeidi wrote: »

Is there any way to watch matches back? The looked like a cracker, but I missed it

You can watch replays on Eurosport player. I paid the €7 for 1 month and it's pretty good.

yerwanthere123 wrote: »

Not really getting the outrage tbh. Surely at Federer's age, and with everything he's contributed to tennis, he doesn't really have to explain himself if he's prioritising looking after his body and extending his career? As for Koepfer, I think the onus is on him to take his chances rather than hope for a Federer withdrawal. Don't think Federer has anything to apologise for tbh.

I agree Koepfer had his chance ,I supose Federer could easily have said the knee was acting up and regrettably he had to withdraw and nobody would have doubted him,he told the truth so we should respect him for that.The big regret is the hole it leaves in the playing schedule.

Very poor form by Federer. I found it strange when he said in a press conference the other day, he saw no way of getting past the Djokovic quarter. While i appreciate he has been out injured up until recently, very strange for a player to say something like that even if he thought it was a real possiblity. To just enter to play a few matches in preparation for another tournament seems disrespectful.

I think Djokovic would have beaten him handy enough anyway, Federer hasnt beaten Novak since 2012 in a grand slam. Even still, I dont think it looks good if he isnt actually too injured to play.

Girly Gal wrote: »

Why give Koepfer the win, he beat him fair and square, the match obviously drained Federer more than he thought it would, at the end of the day he's almost 40, been out for over a year and only played 2 or 3 matches before the French Open. If he hadn't withdrawn, it's likely he would have had to retire during the match anyway, which think is actually worse, because he would have known coming into the match he probably wouldn't be able to finish it, so at least this way everyone can just get on with it. I don't like seeing walkovers either, but, I don't think Federer took this decision lightly and it probably means his knees aren't up to Grand Slam level tennis anymore, which will probably be proven at Wimbledon if he's involved in an extended match.

I have nothing against Koepfer, but if he can't beat a near 40 year old Roger on his worst surface who is clearly worried about his body, then nope I have no sympathy whatsoever.

I'm not keen on the call, but I understand it from a pragmatic POV.

whiterebel wrote: »

That's terrible. Much as Koepfer wasn't a bundle of manners, its extremely ignorant to him as well. He should have had every evantuality planned well in advance and shaken hands (or racquets) and given him the win.

Very disrespectful to both Koepfer, the tournament and the public for that matter. Federer raised his arms in victory last night, to pull out today without any real injury is not really on. I wonder will he be fined and/or penalised in any way. If he tries to enter again, maybe they'll put him in the qualifiers.

Furze99 wrote: »

Very disrespectful to both Koepfer, the tournament and the public for that matter. Federer raised his arms in victory last night, to pull out today without any real injury is not really on. I wonder will he be fined and/or penalised in any way. If he tries to enter again, maybe they'll put him in the qualifiers.

Why disrespectful to Koepfer, he wasn't able to beat a clearly tiring Federer, it would be a lot more disrespectful to retire from a match he was winning and went onto win. In all likelihood he'd likely have had to retire during his next match or take a really heavy defeat, so at least this way the organisers and Berrettini know in plenty time and can plan accordingly.

glasso wrote: »

As the current joint record men's GS titles holder, quitting on the stool before a match in the second week of a GS is poor.

Don't be in it if you're not trying to win it.

If you're not Nadal you know you're unlikely to win it! Federer knows his own body and obviously knows his body can't take another match tomorrow. Federer used the French Open to find out if his body could stand up to GS level tennis after his long layoff, I have no problem with that, obviously he's found out that his body can't take it right now, he also knows continuing on risks his participation at Wimbledon which is likely to be his last one, so I don't really blame him for pulling out. He had nothing to gain and a lot to potentially lose.

Federer was basically saying in recent days his mind is on Wimbledon. That is hugely disrespectful to the French open organisers and public. If Djokovic pulled out like that he would be getting abuse left, right and centre. Federer is the media darling and they dare not say a bad word about him.

Disappointed to see such a poor showing here from Nishikori. Really thought he would win more than he did, a very talented and likeable player but he never quite lived up to the heights I expected. I thought back around 2013 he was destined to win a few slams, would love to have seen it. David Nalbandian was similar, he was even better and on his day he was nearly unbeatable but just never got the slam wins his talent and ability promised

Girly Gal wrote: »

Serena out now, not surprised as she looks very slow around the court, looks like number 24 is out of reach

After Azarenka lost earlier to Pavlyuchenkova, Serena looked to have a straightforward path to the final, although winning that might have been a very difficult proposition.

The French has been her poorest slam since she returned to the tour in 2017. I think she's just not putting in the effort on clay anymore. She's played two matches in Rome in that time, and none in Madrid. She did play a smaller event in Parma this year, but lost to the first good player she faced (Siniakova).

She'll try harder to win Wimbledon, even without playing a warm-up tournament. But there are a lot of good grass court players who probably won't be seeded. She can't get lucky with draws for ever (... can she?)

The women's draw is now completely unbalanced, and there could be another one-sided final this year.