when will Fed retire?

I have been an avid Fed fan. I was a Boris Becker fan but when he fizzled out, I liked Aggassi for a while and then Sampras started to win most of the times I got slightly disillusioned. It was only when a young federer decided to stood against mighty Sampras, my interest in tennis increased.

I still remember the match when Fed defeated Sampras for the first time. It was Wimbledon 2001. The most starking thing of that day was the calmness of federer. He did not show too many emotions till he got the win. Even at the match point I was not too sure if this guy will be able to pull it off, considering the invincibility of Sampras. Federer executed the winning shot brilliantly and then broke into tears. It was a no mean achievment for a 19 years old. Since that day I became federer fan and I have enjoyed following his tennis.

A time came when he was winning everything except the French Open. It should not be surprising because Nadal has been the greatest clay courter of all times. We all know that clay plays differently than other surfaces and mostly players who succeded on clay have not done very well on other surfaces except Borg. Nadal did break that mould but even then majority of his success has come on clay only.

Coming to my question, when fed is going to retire. I think Fed will have following four goals before he can call it quit but if the slides continue then it might be sooner than expected:
1. To win olympic gold.
2. To win another slam.
3. To regain no. 1 rank for another one week.
4. To win Davis cup for Switzerland.

WoW.. should you consider winning DC a worthy addition to your list?

IMVHO, he will continue to play for long, but fewer tournaments as parental duties and responsibilities increase.

Out of the three I would think that Olympic Gold would be the most likely, if at all.

A slam possible, but again unlikely .

No.1 - After his performances so far this year, doubt it - he is now going in the wrong direction!

If he gets to this point next year and hasnt won any of the above can see him chucking the towel in.
He may say he loves tennis and wants to keep playing but he's also a guy full of pride and there's nothing worse than knowing what it takes to be at the top but you know you cant do it anymore.
Anyway, its not been a bad career...I dont think he'll be too unhappy whenever he walks.

Good post wow. I followed the same path of being a Becker then an Agassi fan - interesting given there was no love lost between the two judging from AAs book. I was particularly torn during the Wimbledon semi in 1995. Sampras would have beaten whoever was in the final anyway though so I needn't have bothered.

Alas, our paths diverge after that as I couldn't call myself an avid Federer fan, but admire his game and contribution to tennis greatly.

They are sensible goals that you state. 2 is more likely than 1 which is more likely than 3 in my view. As for when he calls it a day, I think it depends how he feels about being a dark horse for tournaments rather than the main man. If he is happy with that status and enjoying the challenge, and I think he is, then he will continue for some time yet.

lydian wrote:If he gets to this point next year and hasnt won any of the above can see him chucking the towel in.
He may say he loves tennis and wants to keep playing but he's also a guy full of pride and there's nothing worse than knowing what it takes to be at the top but you know you cant do it anymore.
Anyway, its not been a bad career...I dont think he'll be too unhappy whenever he walks.

?? Lydian, what constitues a glittering career then?

P4S, I never liked Sampras so whoever beat him I was his fan (liked ancic too).

Quite a lot is down to how much his love of winning contributes to his love of tennis - he may not know the answer to that until his form really drops. He could still be a damn good player on tour for another 4 years I'm sure, but he won't be in that rarified circle of the top 4 or slam contenders for much longer.

He has said he wants his children to see him play and that he'll find it more difficult to travel when his children need to go to school. That suggests that if he stays fit he'll play a full year next year, and if he is still enjoying it probably also 2013. Whether he loves tennis enough to play a bit more doubles is possibly an interesting question. It would be good for the DC if a proper tilt at that is truly important to him (and Stan).

lol wow, I was just being somewhat dry in humour...
Shame about Ancic too...

Federer wants to play Brazil 2016 (unless it is clay ).

"I've now carried the flag twice, in Beijing and Athens, and it's always been a dream for me to play for my country and to win an Olympic gold. I already have one but still, the special part of having it at Wimbledon will be amazing."

http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/11/26/us-olympics-tennis-federer-interview-idUSTRE6AP3PI20101126

Edit: Looks like SportsLover is closest.

Federer has made it no secret that London 2012 is where he wants to win individual gold at the Olympics. I think he will continue all the time he is enjoying it. The man has set so many records and is the undisputed greatest of all time.

I think 2012 might see him play care free tennis which will make him even more dangerous.

I don't know.

Tenez wrote:I don't know.

It does not cost any money to speculate, does it Tenez?

Time is money LF...and my gutfeel is that Federer himself doesn't know.

I'd say when he is 34..maybe even 35.

Tenez wrote:Time is money LF...and my gutfeel is that Federer himself doesn't know.

I'd say when he is 34..maybe even 35.

So how much did it cost you to write this post?

You owe me a fiver....well £10 now.

Tenez wrote:You owe me a fiver....well £10 now.

Just mailed you a cheque, but do you really trust your bankers to allow you to cash the cheque?

I hope Fed keeps playing till at least the end of 2014 when he'll be 33.

Tennis will become so boring without him

Tennis is boring already, though next week I'm in Basel Open and will tell Fed over tea and scones that 606v2 want's you to keep it up boy

Fed probably still has a chance at a big one - a nice draw opening up for him could see him claim a 17th slam. Of course a little bit of luck with such a draw is necessary nowadays, but if Rafa falls before a final, who knows? The Djokovic/Fed match is a different animal, and I would be interested to see if 2011 has taken the stuffing out of Djokovic for the next few months.

If Fed meets Andy in a final? Well the 24 year old no 3 should one feels be able to beat the 30 year old no 4 over bo5 now, but it will come down to belief

Olympic gold is the most achievable. IMHO, Fed will be happy to carry on as long as he's top four and can still compete with the best. In the case of Agassi - slightly different as Andre fell off the face of the earth at one point - it was winning slams that kept him going. At one point he reached number one again and actually had to be told about it. Said it wasn't his main priority. At the end, he said he wanted to feel that someone had to play REALLY well to beat him. I reckon he would have gone on even longer if injuries had permitted.
There may be something similar with Fed. He's also quoted as saying he'd like his girls to see him play. They're only two at the moment, so that's another factor. Personally, and I think I speak for many here, something will die from the sport when he finally packs it in. But there are, hopefully, always new heroes to follow.

I still think Fed fans should not be too concerned if he plays on and slides down the rankings and features less and less at latter stages of Slams.

Look at Becker, gave up because he couldn't handle Sampras on his best day. Sampras himself gave up because players like Bastl could beat him on his favoured surface. I think what Roger is doing is admirable and respectful. Carrying on and still finding the motivation and desire is a fantastic feat. Not being too concerned by his legacy like players before him such as Becker, Sampras and even Borg to some extent.

I think Federer is too smart to be hurt by losses from younger generations so I don't believe the pain of losing will influence his retirement much as I expect the love of the game to be bigger. It will however be a combination of physical pain, travel and little chance of winning slams that will prompt his retirement.

http://www.thesportreview.com/tsr/2011/10/roger-federer-journey-to-2012/

You've probably all seen this interview before, explaining some of the things that motivate him still and indicating a desire to look beyond London 2012.

It is inevitable that he will slide down the rankings, and if he is still happy playing then there will still be a lot of joy to be had watching his individual brand of magic when the mood takes him. That is how I try to enjoy his matches nowadays anyway, with the knowledge that we won't have him forever.

I know the game is bigger than any one player, but it is very hard to imagine Tennis without Fed and I agree with sirfred, his artistry and his on court etiquette will be much missed by many.

time please wrote:http://www.thesportreview.com/tsr/2011/10/roger-federer-journey-to-2012/

You've probably all seen this interview before, explaining some of the things that motivate him still and indicating a desire to look beyond London 2012.

It is inevitable that he will slide down the rankings, and if he is still happy playing then there will still be a lot of joy to be had watching his individual brand of magic when the mood takes him. That is how I try to enjoy his matches nowadays anyway, with the knowledge that we won't have him forever.

I know the game is bigger than any one player, but it is very hard to imagine Tennis without Fed and I agree with sirfred, his artistry and his on court etiquette will be much missed by many.

Yes the game will be different without him in it, I've always appreciated his skills and achievements (even though I'm not a fan of the man) which will take a long time to beat. His initial success and then subsequent rivalry with Nadal defined tennis for years, and I think he'll be remembered for that rivalry as well as his own achievements. I think this will apply to Nadal too.

It also feels strange in that we dont really have any major talents bursting forwards from the next generation beyond Nadal/Murray/Djokovic...so you wonder what shape tennis will be in when they start to retire too. Interesting (or not) times ahead.

If Fed doesnt win gold next year and is still slamless since AO10 then cant see him really carrying on much longer...suspect the chance of Olympic Gold next year may be one of his strongest motivators at the moment.

The talents are there already and even more so in the young generation. The problem is the game is so physical that we simply don;t see them in the later stages of tournaments and worse, they can't produce that talent week in week out so they don;t carry that invicibility trait that we like in champions. Only if and when they beef up will their talent be more obvious to some.

However in 40 years of watching the game, Federer was the sole talent which combined with hard work lead to success of that scale, where most other talents failed to deliver or live up to it. But my view is that even Federer is an under-achiever in that respect.

Tenez wrote:The talents are there already and even more so in the young generation.The problem is the game is so physical that we simply don;t see them in the later stages of tournaments and worse, they can't produce that talent week in week out so they don;t carry that invicibility trait that we like in champions. Only if and when they beef up will their talent be more obvious to some.

"Talents are already there..."

"can't produce that talent week in week out..."

Are you sure about what you are saying?

If the 'talent' is already there, why does it require to be 'produced' week-in-week-out?

You are also admitting that 'talent' does require 'beefing up'.

Yes....can't you make sense of it? ...pretty simple to comprehend I'd think.

Tenez wrote:Yes....can't you make sense of it? ...pretty simple to comprehend I'd think.

Yes, and there are only a handful of tennis players who have beefed up and have enough talent to win every tournament, so no youngsters (Dolgopolov - Umag, Raonic - San Jose) are doing well?

From what I have observed of his game recently, it will have to be after the 2012 season at the latest. His mind is certainly still in the game and his shots are still extraordinary at times. However, his body is starting to feel the effects of his long period of dominance and he is also aging. Thus, he has lost just a millisecond of reaction time. However, this millisecond is enough to see him frame his backhands and to mistime his forehands.

Roger's game is actually dependent on a high degree of physical fitness, as he at his peak, he has done quite a bit of running in his matches. However, he was so intelligent in the way that he moved his body that he never looked to be over-exerting himself.

Nowadays, his mind is telling him, I have to get myself ready to hit this forehand down the line. However, his body is just that little bit slower in executing his brain's command and it often results in his timing being just that bit off. As tennis is a game of precision and can be quite unforgiving for even a slight mistake in movement, Roger has found that those brilliant forehand shots are now being dumped into the net or are being hit long.

Roger does have one more slam in him (most likely Wimbledon, grass is still his best surface). However, I can't see him staying compteitive after 2012.

Disagree Kemet. His reaction time and timing is as good as ever and that shoudl see him through till he is 34/35. However I agree his body feels the pain of previous matches certainly much more than 2005/7. But that affects his consistency day in day out, not his peak time.

Even Agassi at 35 in that USO final v Fed had returns and reflexes as good as ever and was pretty close to lead 2 sets to one....despite the long 3 5 -setters in a row he played, including one on the super Sat.

Agassi was however coptered to clinics after every single match for rehydration.

Tenez wrote:I think Federer is too smart to be hurt by losses from younger generations so I don't believe the pain of losing will influence his retirement much as I expect the love of the game to be bigger. It will however be a combination of physical pain, travel and little chance of winning slams that will prompt his retirement.

Uncle Miguel disagrees https://2img.net/h/oi53.tinypic.com/in6g3k.gif

What a capricious man! Wasn't that at Wimbledon v Djokovic JM?

It was during the final set of that final, I believe Nadal was serving 3-4 and went on to shank the ball giving Djokovic break points. Ironic considering his fans say that he never gives you 'cheap' points, what a mental giant.

Josiah Maiestas wrote:

Tenez wrote:I think Federer is too smart to be hurt by losses from younger generations so I don't believe the pain of losing will influence his retirement much as I expect the love of the game to be bigger. It will however be a combination of physical pain, travel and little chance of winning slams that will prompt his retirement.

Uncle Miguel disagrees https://2img.net/h/oi53.tinypic.com/in6g3k.gif

Good one JM

I admit I didn't get JM's humour.

Roger Federer will retyre when he goes flat.

The maestro has spoken:

It will be a while before it's time. So long as I'm well supported, I'll participate." he said.
"It will likely be my body that decides when it's time.

http://www.sport24.co.za/Tennis/Federer-not-ready-to-quit-20111029

The audience will always support him, in fact: he receives more support than he did during his peak years. But how long will the body support him...

Only thing that worries me is he will continue to play when he cleary shouldn't, dont want to see what happened to Muhammad Ali happen to Federer. Of course Ali was fighting for money but I do feel as well there was part of him that could not let go of his greatness. Watching him lose to Nadal and Djokovic over and over is painful enough for me as a huge fan but when he starts losing to people outside the Top 20 I hope he gets out quickly. I do not want him to be remembered for being torn apart by average players but going out as in my opinion the most gifted sportsman there has ever been.

gallery play wrote:The maestro has spoken:

It will be a while before it's time. So long as I'm well supported, I'll participate." he said.
"It will likely be my body that decides when it's time.

http://www.sport24.co.za/Tennis/Federer-not-ready-to-quit-20111029

The audience will always support him, in fact: he receives more support than he did during his peak years. But how long will the body support him...

This is what I was telling you. I did not believe in Basle 2012 being his last one. Well it might be so if his body hurts too much by then but I don;t think it's going to be a planned thing.

If he can play Brazil 2016, that would be very nice.