"...Time waits for no man"
And in classic Lord of the Rings style, Federer unties the pony tail to let it all hang down and announces, "I am no man".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrCvgiQGh1o
(Apologies for the digression)
I know that, I was just saying it was probably his original plan to retire in 2020, he was probably hoping to win Wimbledon or Olympics or at least go close to doing that as he did with Wimbledon 2019 to finish on a high, then the knee injuries and Covid came along to upset those plans and he tried to comeback this year, probably more in hope than anything else, but, as we saw he was no where near competitive as his body is no longer able for top level tennis and is only going to decline further. Time waits for no man.
Federer would have missed Wimbledon and Olympics 2020 as he was out of action (also with knee surgery - one after Melbourne and had to get a second one not planned)
Had he won Wimbledon 2019 or 2020 (if it had gone ahead) or the Olympics 2020 ( had it gone ahead in 2020), he'd have been retiring at the top, on a high similar to how Sampras won the US Open and retired, it doesn't get better than that, winning your last Slam, last match of your career and none of your rivals ever having the opportunity to beat you again, instead he's stuck in a situation where he's no longer able to compete at the top level and when he is able to play is struggling against or losing to fairly average players, not exactly the dream finish to a career.
No way would Federer have retired if he won either Wimbledon 2019 or 2020 imo, why bow out and let Djokovic overtake you when you're still winning slams? He'll only go when it's patently obvious he can no longer contend at the top level any more, which is pretty much where he's arriving at now. Prediction for next year; he'll play Halle and retire after making the QF's of Wimbledon.
I reckon Federer had planned to retire in 2020, he was probably hoping to win Wimbledon 2020 and have a tilt at the Olympic singles Gold which eluded him throughout his career. If he had had a good Wimbledon and had won the Gold I think he'd have retired, he may even have retired if he'd beaten Djokovic at Wimbledon 19. Then in early 2020 the knee injuries hit and Covid came along, which actually gave him a chance to recover from his knee injuries, that clearly hasn't worked out and he's now back to square one, but, a year and a half older, knees crocked, an unsatisfactory end to Wimbledon for him and not able to even play the Olympics. Even though he's had a brilliant career he still probably feels theirs some unfinished business and can't admit that his career is over.
I think he should retire now, as he will never again be competitive at the top level, but, he has also earned the right to call time on his career whenever he likes, as have both Nadal and Djokovic.
I can understand that Federer would like to play a farewell season.
I can understand that his fans would like to see him play one more time.
But let's be realistic, why would anyone expect it to be an improvement on this year?
Many of his fans said he shouldn't have tried to return this year and should have retired a few years ago, closer to the height of his powers.
Nobody took any enjoyment out of seeing him bageled at Wimbledon and I think that whatever participation he'll manage next year will only tarnish our memory of him.
Be great to see Federer back
Very hard to see Federer come back from this, sounds like it'll be next year at the earliest before he attempts a comeback, he'll be heading for 41 and only have played a handful of games in over 2 years. It's a sad way for a great player to end his career, but, it looks like we've probably seen the last of Federer, be very surprised if he doesn't announce his retirement in the next 6 to 9 months or so, but, he's probably holding out hope for a Wimbledon farewell.
Apparently she has been told to play more conservatively and constructively*. She's always had a great record against top players for someone with a much lower ranking, implying her ranking ought to be a good deal higher. That's 3 wins over Pliskova in the last 2 months or so. I'm not sure what was the deal with all the lipstick though.
*Whether she can play as well against someone who really varies the play a lot is another matter.
Camila Giorgi continues her decent form from the Olympics by winning the Rogers Cup. Weird to see her like, constructing points and stuff. Has she finally learned at the age of almost 30 that just slapping the ball back and hoping for the best probably isn't the best way to play?
Farewell at Halle and Wimbledon next year then, maybe the US.
Oh wow, Federer needs more knee surgery and is out of the US Open. I think that's pretty much the death knell for his career tbh.
Sinner becomes youngest ever ATP 500 winner (since category was created in 2009) by taking the Citi Open
It seemed like he had gone off the boil a bit (even though he got to the Miami final earlier in the year)
Still has no real record to speak of in terms of beating current Top 10 players - will have to show that next.
And it was not exactly a stacked field at this event
He's up to number 15 himself now
Nadal drops out of the top 3 for the first time in 4 years, Tsitsipas enters the top 3 for the first time...Federer turns 40....
someone should write a folk song maybe...
Even before Federer returned, most/all of us were thinking it was very ambitious/optimistic at his age and given the nature of the operation.
Getting to the quarter finals of Wimbledon and the fourth round of the FO wasn't that bad a return given his lack of match practice.
I think if he can make the 2nd week of the US Open he should be happy with that and call it a day.
He spent over a year out with a knee injury aged 39, only to come back and basically have it flare up again within a month. I can't see him coming back from this, it would take til next season to be in any way competitive again and he'll be even older again by that point.
He was (I assume) hoping to go out on a high with a solid run in Wimbledon or maybe the US Open, but he's so far off the pace. It's very hard to see him being able to generate a sustained run of matches going forward, which he badly needs to be any way sharp for the bigger tournaments.
Its a sad way for a career to 'peter out', especially a career like Federers. Not everyone can go out like Sampras I guess.
Federer out of both Toronto and Cincinnati. Bodes well for the US Open 😬 Mad that his loss to Dimitrov in 2019 might have been the last time he played in New York.
I'm not sure what the reams of posts/rants about Osaka or 'girls are chancers' have to do with that.
As for Djokovic, one can greatly admire his tennis endeavors (as I do) without necessarily buying into the rest of the stuff, some of which is not the behaviour or opinion one would like to see from a world no 1 or, frankly, an intelligent 34 year old. 'Complexity of character' is all very well but it only provides so much road.
This forum used to be a fairly well reasoned, mannered affair, I would prefer if it would reflect more of the tennis and less of the twitter crap, there are plentry of other outlets on the web for Djokovic /culture / gender wars.
Personally I blame Djokovic for levelling up GS titles with Nadal and Roger and surpassing Roger for weeks at No. 1.
How dare he.
It's never moderated anymore, but that was the case long before the new layout 😔
Can someone please take charge of this thread, the level of discourse has somewhat diminished.
Personally I blame the new site layout which is clearly driving people over the edge.
it's a term in the English vernacular now
hater
/ˈheɪtə/
you want him to lose every time he plays and express your dislike for him constantly - if that is not the definition of the term what exactly is?
seems a very reasonable attribution to me.
don't be puerile about it 🤣
I'm a "hater"... riiight. Between all this talk of "fedtards", "karens", "goatovic" and now "haters" I feel like I'm talking to a 13 year old men's tennis forum user. I mean I know Boards isn't exactly a high brow site or anything, but can we maybe try and keep the dialogue slightly above reddit or something?
I'm not sure anyone would be coming to you on any kind of objective commentary on Djokovic's 'injury' either. Given the many emotional essays you've written about him on here and personal attacks on anyone who dares say a bad word about him, I'm not entirely sure you're in a position to comment on reliability. Seriously, it's almost a year after he was defaulted from the US Open and you're still holding a grudge against the lineswoman for the crime of.... getting hit in the throat with a ball? This is puerile stuff.
I don't want to be engaging in arguments on here, life's too short for this kind of shite, but when you're naming me in posts and picking fights I'm obviously going to respond. You're a member on here since 2005 so must surely be well North of your teens at this stage, time to grow up a little bit. We don't all have to fawn at the altar of Djokovic.
you've just proved the point.
in the case of Djokovic you're a hater so completely unreliable in terms of any commentary on him even more than any supporter on the converse
nobody is going to be coming to you for commentary if he was injured or not!
even to the most casual observer Djokovic was not near his usual level in terms of pretty much every stat vs Carreno Busta who's only previous "result" vs Djokovic was when the flushing meadows Karen gag-dropped for a DQ and was handily beaten in any other encounter
and even a hater could see that he was exhausted 🤣
His play has been consistent enough to win 3 slams on the trot so if there is a big drop in level it's because he's not right.
really tho should have said that he was pulling out for his mental health and all would have been fine in the world!
Snopes have even published an article on the misreporting of his Biles comments. He's truly gone mainstream!
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/djokovic-simone-biles-pressure-privilege/
He claims he was injured, obviously those watching can make up their own minds. If he can play a three set singles match then I'm sure he could play a two set mixed doubles match too. Maybe he really was injured, but I simply don't believe him. I think it was more wounded pride than anything else, and if he'd won the singles match then he'd have played mixed doubles. Basically, he was a sore loser.
And so what if I don't want to see him do the calendar slam? We're not all obligated to fellate him at every given opportunity 🙄
The Mainstream media have an agenda.
They are keen to push the fallacies of White Privilege and Toxic Masculinity.
Virtue signalling and identity politics on steroids.
Undoubtedly it was disappointing for her, but I think I must be missing something because I don't get the 'unfairness' angle a few people have posted.
Both Djokovic and Stojanovic were at the Olympics to compete in the singles. If Djokovic hadn't suggested taking part in the mixed doubles, Nina would not even have been in that position of possibly winning a medal. There was nobody else from Serbia at the Olympics that she could have paired with.
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