Federer Thinks Nadal Is The "Overwhelming Favourite". Thank You Roger Says Nadal...

Talking about the FO final on Sunday this is what Federer had to say

"I'm sure it's going to be a good match," Federer said. "I have no idea what the conditions are going to be, if it's going to be rainy or slow or fast. I mean, it's never going to be fast here because this year the balls are very slow. Yeah, my pick is not a surprising one. I obviously pick Rafa. I think he's the overwhelming favorite."

Federer does in the same article admit that Djokovic could win but only if luck is on his side again.

http://www.tennis.com/articles/templates/news.aspx?articleid=18130&zoneid=25

My sentiments exactly. I wonder if Federer watched that first semi?

Thought it was worth updating this article with Nadal's response to Federer's praise.

Q. Yesterday after he lost his match to Djokovic, Roger said you were the big favorite on the tournament. What would you say about this?

RAFAEL NADAL: Well, I want to thank him for his nice comments. That’s all I can say.

I don’t feel I’m the great favorite, as he said, because I’m going to play against No. 1. Eliminate the words “big favorite.” You can keep
the word “favorite” if you want. But even that, once again, I want to thank Roger for his confidence.


http://freedomtennis.wordpress.com/2012/06/09/rafael-nadal-pre-final-press-conference-june-09-2012/


In fact Rafa was so flattered he had to thank Roger twice and is willing to accept the praise. Well apart from pointing out that Roger may have got carried away by adding the word "big".

Nole is such a great front runner that if he won the first set, Nadal will probably fall apart. But that won't happen anyway. Nadal in 3. Flawless V.

Josiah Maiestas wrote:Nole is such a great front runner that if he won the first set, Nadal will probably fall apart. But that won't happen anyway. Nadal in 3. Flawless V.

Are you having a giraffe.... Rafa fall apart after losing the first set.. dont you know that when Rafa is at his most dangerous..when he has his back against the wall is when he comes out fighting....do you know JM you know nothing of the man behind the tennis racquet.

Haddie-nuff wrote:

Josiah Maiestas wrote:Nole is such a great front runner that if he won the first set, Nadal will probably fall apart. But that won't happen anyway. Nadal in 3. Flawless V.

Are you having a giraffe.... Rafa fall apart after losing the first set.. dont you know that when Rafa is at his most dangerous..when he has his back against the wall is when he comes out fighting....do you know JM you know nothing of the man behind the tennis racquet.

How about leaving it at you know nothing about tennis?

And that is twice as much as you JM

CaledonianCraig wrote:

Haddie-nuff wrote:

Josiah Maiestas wrote:Nole is such a great front runner that if he won the first set, Nadal will probably fall apart. But that won't happen anyway. Nadal in 3. Flawless V.

Are you having a giraffe.... Rafa fall apart after losing the first set.. dont you know that when Rafa is at his most dangerous..when he has his back against the wall is when he comes out fighting....do you know JM you know nothing of the man behind the tennis racquet.

How about leaving it at you know nothing about tennis?

This one seems like they are feeling the pressure. There's no need to get exasperated, if by some fluke Djoker won the 1st set, I don't think Nadal could beat him (when has he beat Djoker after losing 1st set?) I'm still expecting the obvious straight set win for Rafail.

Untwist your knickers.

hawkeye wrote:Talking about the FO final on Sunday this is what Federer had to say

"I'm sure it's going to be a good match," Federer said. "I have no idea what the conditions are going to be, if it's going to be rainy or slow or fast. I mean, it's never going to be fast here because this year the balls are very slow. Yeah, my pick is not a surprising one. I obviously pick Rafa. I think he's the overwhelming favorite."

Federer does in the same article admit that Djokovic could win but only if luck is on his side again.
http://www.tennis.com/articles/templates/news.aspx?articleid=18130&zoneid=25

My sentiments exactly. I wonder if Federer watched that first semi?

What do you think Federer meant by that ? I know if a certain other player had said it we would have a completely different article.

Josiah Maiestas wrote:

CaledonianCraig wrote:

Haddie-nuff wrote:

Josiah Maiestas wrote:Nole is such a great front runner that if he won the first set, Nadal will probably fall apart. But that won't happen anyway. Nadal in 3. Flawless V.

Are you having a giraffe.... Rafa fall apart after losing the first set.. dont you know that when Rafa is at his most dangerous..when he has his back against the wall is when he comes out fighting....do you know JM you know nothing of the man behind the tennis racquet.

How about leaving it at you know nothing about tennis?

This one seems like they are feeling the pressure. There's no need to get exasperated, if by some fluke Djoker won the 1st set, I don't think Nadal could beat him (when has he beat Djoker after losing 1st set?) I'm still expecting the obvious straight set win for Rafail.

Untwist your knickers.

Its hardly any wonder that you cant debate any subject that requires you to give a succinct and intelligent answer JM without resorting to insulting and juvenile comments.. just go back to the playground there´s a good boy.

If Djok plays his best, he will beat Nadal. Nadal has no answer to Djokovic and his usual tactics that he uses to beat Federer do not work.

Seifer Almasy wrote:If Djok plays his best, he will beat Nadal. Nadal has no answer to Djokovic and his usual tactics that he uses to beat Federer do not work.

You are over-looking one large fact. This is clay - a surface owned by Rafael Nadal and one in which he is far ahead of any player around at the moment. Any other surface and I may (just may) agree with you. I suggest you go away and look at Nadal's clay court record compared to Djokovic - there really is no comparison.

Roger Federer as quoted in the linked article wrote: "I'm sure it's going to be a good match. I have no idea what the conditions are going to be, if it's going to be rainy or slow or fast. I mean, it's never going to be fast here because this year the balls are very slow. Yeah, my pick is not a surprising one. I obviously pick Rafa. I think he's the overwhelming favorite.

[Nadal has lost to Djokovic in the last three Grand Slam finals. Federer said that the Serbian will feel more of the pressure.]

They're going to play well, I can tell you, pressure or no pressure. They're used to it. Novak has more pressure because he's never won here, I think. I was in the same situation twice for the four in a row. But Rafa has won six times here. Of course it would be great to win for a seventh time. But Novak he's never won the tournament, so who knows? Maybe luck will be on his side AGAIN. Well, Novak therefore will have more pressure, I think, which is quite normal, even though everybody thinks that Rafa is going to win. I think Novak has more pressure on him. To be in this situation you have to win three Grand Slams in a row again, which is more difficult."

I disagree with Federer in saying that Djokovic will have more pressure - judging from Djokovic's past experiences of digging himself out of holes and coming back from match-points. This ability to come back stronger within a match after appearing dead and buried is becoming quite a regular feature in Djokovics play. I am sure Djokovic doesn't have the pressure because I think Djokovic himself believes Nadal is the overwhelming favorite, but he is going to make it as hard as he possibly can for Nadal.

The use of the word AGAIN in the phrase: "maybe luck will be on his side again", is a characteristic feature of Federer and shows that he doesn't readily accept or appreciate the way Djokovic creates the "luck".

Federer's comment "to be in this situation you have to win three Grand Slams in a row again", shows he is thinking about Djokovic in relation to Federer's own achievements - he is effectively saying that if Djokovic were to eclipse Federer in the sense of getting four in a row, then it would only be due to "luck" rather than any intrinsic quality that might differentiate Djokovics talent from his own.

Fed is right though I don't think Novak needs luck to win, he just needs to play his best which is unlikely hence Rafa is the favourite. I think Novak is the better player but even when beating Rafa that many times in a row it still never looked to me like he was as comfortable against him as Rafa is against Fed.

Federer thinks Bears s**t in the Woods.

CaledonianCraig wrote:

Seifer Almasy wrote:If Djok plays his best, he will beat Nadal. Nadal has no answer to Djokovic and his usual tactics that he uses to beat Federer do not work.

You are over-looking one large fact. This is clay - a surface owned by Rafael Nadal and one in which he is far ahead of any player around at the moment. Any other surface and I may (just may) agree with you. I suggest you go away and look at Nadal's clay court record compared to Djokovic - there really is no comparison.

I disagree Craig, Novak beat Nadal on clay twice last year when he was playing much better. I think with both players it is about execution. Novak even on clay can and will beat Nadal if he plays his best or near his best. I still believe that with all the talk of Nadal's resurgence aside. Yes Nadal has the most impressive resume on clay. But we are talking about in the here and now. We shall see tomorrow because I think Novak has looked consistently better and better over the last 3 matches and if he can continue the trend then he will be just fine.

Nore staat, what a great post I agree. Roger with his comment "Maybe luck will be on his side again". Is doing what he always does trying to attack and play subtle mind games with his opponents in the media. He likes Nadal but doesn't like Murray and Novak and you can tell. It is nothing new Roger's abusive attitude towards Novak who just has to take it and take it from Federer.

I think from these comments you can tell that more than ever he wants Rafa to beat Novak badly. He can't stand the idea in his megalomaniac mind that Novak will have surpassed him in one giant record.

Sure this time it's on clay but Novak has that winning mentality when it counts which might just even things up a bit.

Djokovic in 5 if he really is up for it otherwise Nadal in 3 or 4. I'll go for the former and an all time classic match could be on the cards.

socal1976 wrote: Novak beat Nadal on clay twice last year when he was playing much better. I think with both players it is about execution. Novak even on clay can and will beat Nadal if he plays his best or near his best.

socal1976. I presume you mean by this that Novak was playing much better last year? Because Nadal was playing much worse.

socal1976 wrote:Roger with his comment "Maybe luck will be on his side again". Is doing what he always does trying to attack and play subtle mind games with his opponents in the media. He likes Nadal but doesn't like Murray and Novak and you can tell. It is nothing new Roger's abusive attitude towards Novak who just has to take it and take it from Federer.

I think from these comments you can tell that more than ever he wants Rafa to beat Novak badly. He can't stand the idea in his megalomaniac mind that Novak will have surpassed him in one giant record.

Sorry to pick on your comments again but after my last comment saw this.

I agree I do think Federer likes Nadal more than he likes Djokovic (Don't know about Murray). But he's not "abusive" towards him. You can tell that neither Federer or Djokovic are comfortable in each others company but IMO both do their best to be professional. What I also think is that both Federer and Nadal rate each other as players higher than Djokovic. They continue to do this despite what Djokovic has achieved.

This is probably as anoying to Djokovic as it is to his fans. What Djokovic and his fans should remember is that he will ultimately be judged by his records and not what Federer and Nadal think of him. And I say this as someone who agrees with Federer and Nadal... Of course what I think is of no concern whatsoever...

If Federer was really concerned with having his records broken it would be Nadal that he disliked. Also I can sort of relate to the "lucky" comment as I imagine he still has a few sleepless nights about that shot! I'm sure Djokovic would feel the same if he had been the one with the match point that was saved like that.

socal1976 wrote:

CaledonianCraig wrote:

Seifer Almasy wrote:If Djok plays his best, he will beat Nadal. Nadal has no answer to Djokovic and his usual tactics that he uses to beat Federer do not work.

You are over-looking one large fact. This is clay - a surface owned by Rafael Nadal and one in which he is far ahead of any player around at the moment. Any other surface and I may (just may) agree with you. I suggest you go away and look at Nadal's clay court record compared to Djokovic - there really is no comparison.

I disagree Craig, Novak beat Nadal on clay twice last year when he was playing much better. I think with both players it is about execution. Novak even on clay can and will beat Nadal if he plays his best or near his best. I still believe that with all the talk of Nadal's resurgence aside. Yes Nadal has the most impressive resume on clay. But we are talking about in the here and now. We shall see tomorrow because I think Novak has looked consistently better and better over the last 3 matches and if he can continue the trend then he will be just fine.

Yes socal but we are talking about RG here. Check out both players records at RG and you'll see the vast difference in records.

Craig yes records built up over many years. Novak is a different player in the last 18 months. Check the record over the last 18 months. Nadal is the favorite but it is very close in my opinion not as heavy a favorite as people make Nadal.

Hawkeye: I actually don't care if Roger thinks Novak is the best thing since sliced bread or who he likes more. But his abusive and surly conduct towards Novak and his camp is well documented. Yelling at nOvak at the AO that you are bouncing the ball too much when he should direct his comments at the official and not at Novak in a change over. Yelling at Djokovic's parents to shut up BECAUSE THEY WERE CHEERING BETWEEN POINTS. And after the shot at the USO he was a real let me be honest beetch about it. Nore Staat did a good job of producing this "unless he gets lucky again" quote from Roger. It is another in a long pattern of one way traffic of abuse ever since Novak's mother 4 years ago made a boneheaded comment to the media.

Funny when Novak sarcastically said "sorry" to roger at the AO after federer yelled at him in the change over the media and the 606ers were all over him. How dare he not take his tongue lashing from the great and omnipotent Swiss. How dare he respond like a grown man to Roger when Roger is breaking the etiquette and rules of tennis on camera and dressing you down when he needs to by the rules address the umpire who is sitting there.

That is ok, that is why I feel good about this tournament win or lose. At least he sent surly presser boy home.

socal I am neutral here but from a purely viewing spectator even a novice to the game can spot who has been the most comfortable this year. Nadal has not even looked remotely like dropping a set whilst Novak had had two almighty scares against Andreas Seppi and Jo Wilifried Tsonga. I saw weaknesses in Fed's game here when he dropped sets against players I wouldn't have expected him to and that was evidence (to me) he wasn't in the kind of form to mount a real challenge and so that proved to be the case. The same can be said of Djokovic - an almighty fright against Seppi was very unexpected and was on the brink against Tsonga and this tells me he is not in the kind of form to upset Nadal. Could be wrong but I don't think so.

Lets see what happens Craig, I mean nadal is a favorite but Djokovic will be his first test of this tournament. Sometimes it is a positive to have an easy road to the finals and sometimes having it go too easy at first can itself cause problems. I know Novak will get Nadal's serve. The only thing I am concerned about is Novak serving well enough to capitalize on that fact. If Novak serves well he will get his breaks against Nadal.

I'd agree with that and yes we shall see. I just hope it is a cracking match though I won't see it as I am working. For Novak though it is certainly no disaster if he loses as clay is not his best surface and he can take solace in the fact that he has now reached a final at RG. Enjoy the match.

Socal, you're too concerned with perceived 'slights' to Djokovic by Federer when in fact you can hardly expect any player to be immensely complimentary to an opponent when they just lost. The fact is you can't expect Fed of all people to be immensely nice about Djokovic when he doesn't even like the guy! Neither of them like each other big deal. Can you stop obsessing now! I'm sure Djokovic isn't this obsessed!

Olderer is delusional.

Nole won the last 3 slams in a row beating Nadull in the finals.

Nole owns Nadull in slam finals now.

socal1976 wrote:Craig yes records built up over many years. Novak is a different player in the last 18 months. Check the record over the last 18 months. Nadal is the favorite but it is very close in my opinion not as heavy a favorite as people make Nadal.

Hawkeye: I actually don't care if Roger thinks Novak is the best thing since sliced bread or who he likes more. But his abusive and surly conduct towards Novak and his camp is well documented. Yelling at nOvak at the AO that you are bouncing the ball too much when he should direct his comments at the official and not at Novak in a change over. Yelling at Djokovic's parents to shut up BECAUSE THEY WERE CHEERING BETWEEN POINTS. And after the shot at the USO he was a real let me be honest beetch about it. Nore Staat did a good job of producing this "unless he gets lucky again" quote from Roger. It is another in a long pattern of one way traffic of abuse ever since Novak's mother 4 years ago made a boneheaded comment to the media.

Funny when Novak sarcastically said "sorry" to roger at the AO after federer yelled at him in the change over the media and the 606ers were all over him. How dare he not take his tongue lashing from the great and omnipotent Swiss. How dare he respond like a grown man to Roger when Roger is breaking the etiquette and rules of tennis on camera and dressing you down when he needs to by the rules address the umpire who is sitting there.

That is ok, that is why I feel good about this tournament win or lose. At least he sent surly presser boy home.

1. Federer told the parents to 'BE QUIET!' because they were calling out about a line call, and virtually the whole of the Monte Carlo crowd broke out into applause.
2. Djokovic's mother was screeching 'The King is dead, the king is dead' at Federer as he left the court after the AO 2008 semi-final. I think that sort of crass behaviour would rankle a touch. I mean, is it as bad as a wagging finger?

Federer is his name and has won 16 slams so show some respect.

Nadal is his name and he has won 10 slams so again afford him respect by calling him by his proper name.

Thanks.

Roger is definitely going to become a politician. He speaks such polite words to everybody that all the world must love him. When it happens the life in Europe starts to be wonderful. I really think he should do this way.

luciusmann wrote:Socal, you're too concerned with perceived 'slights' to Djokovic by Federer when in fact you can hardly expect any player to be immensely complimentary to an opponent when they just lost. The fact is you can't expect Fed of all people to be immensely nice about Djokovic when he doesn't even like the guy! Neither of them like each other big deal. Can you stop obsessing now! I'm sure Djokovic isn't this obsessed!

Lucius, I am not obssessed with it. This is one of the few times I have mentioned it in thousands of posts on this site. In fact, I am glad this rivalry has a bit of bad blood. Why not, not everyone has to like each other. They are not by the way perceived slights they are out in the open slights. I just would like the record to show it is pretty much one sided with Roger directing his crap downhill knowing that fans and the media will back him. It kind of shows a bullying side of him that is not that pleasant. Whatever I got my satisfaction. That is what makes beating special so fun for me. Beating him in the semi is almost like winning a mini slam partially because of his resume and partially because of the history of these two.

socal1976 wrote: Lucius, I am not obssessed with it. This is one of the few times I have mentioned it in thousands of posts on this site. In fact, I am glad this rivalry has a bit of bad blood. Why not, not everyone has to like each other. They are not by the way perceived slights they are out in the open slights. I just would like the record to show it is pretty much one sided with Roger directing his crap downhill knowing that fans and the media will back him. It kind of shows a bullying side of him that is not that pleasant. Whatever I got my satisfaction. That is what makes beating special so fun for me. Beating him in the semi is almost like winning a mini slam partially because of his resume and partially because of the history of these two.

Bullying side? Come on socal, this is so over the top. You're outrage over such 'bullying' must be lost on Djokovic because I'm certain he hasn't got the same level of venom as some of your post has! You're selectively quoting too. Anyone can pick a few choice words from an entire interview and characterize it as graceless and as 'open slights'. Such a way of viewing things is immensely unhealthy and rather concerning. You have made thousands of posts so I don't really see how you can be so touchy. The media will back Fed because it's patently clear to all that what Fed may say after an immediate loss isn't necessarily fully rational. It's a bit like someone calling their wife all the things under the sun in the heat of an argument for example.

I'd just like to add, I can't say I personally warm to Fed's personality very much but I do like his effortless style of play and it's a big reason I take such a keen interest in tennis. Djokovic is the guy who's personality I actually like and I'd actually quite enjoy sharing a beer with him but that doesn't mean I'm going to support him as a result. Fed has never come across as an ordinary, down to earth sort of guy, at least not to me, Djokovic has though but I don't like Federer less for it and I don't like Djokovic necessarily more for it. It does make it easier for me to support Djokovic tomorrow in the final though.

Lucius I am glad you are supporting Djokovic and you do respect his talents and personality. But it goes much beyond just a snide sideways compliment about getting lucky again. There is a lengthy track record and it is pretty one sided. When Novak's mother, not Novak his mother made those boneheaded comments Novak instantly distanced himself from them and really hasn't said boo about or to federer for the better part of 5 years.

The Australian open thing is a perfect example of the double standard I am talking about. What if during a change over Novak yelled at murray your complaining too much, or yelled over at Nadal in a change over to stop scratching himself. if you have problem Roger direct your comments to the umpire. Now Roger's outburst wasn't what was most galling for me. It was the reaction of the fans and the media. How dare Novak sarcastically respond to his superior Roger who is dressing him down in violation of the rules and etiquette of the game. If Roger smacked Novak in the face they probably would have angerly accused him of smashing his face into Roger's fist. Roger gets a lot of slack and does things that anyone else did they would get called on it.

Thought it was worth updating this article with Nadal's response to Federer's praise.

Q. Yesterday after he lost his match to Djokovic, Roger said you were the big favorite on the tournament. What would you say about this?

RAFAEL NADAL: Well, I want to thank him for his nice comments. That’s all I can say.

I don’t feel I’m the great favorite, as he said, because I’m going to
play against No. 1. Eliminate the words “big favorite.” You can keep the word “favorite” if you want. But even that, once again, I want to thank Roger for his confidence.


http://freedomtennis.wordpress.com/2012/06/09/rafael-nadal-pre-final-press-conference-june-09-2012/


In fact Rafa was so flattered he had to thank Roger twice and is willing to accept the praise. Well apart from pointing out that Roger may have got carried away by adding the word "big".

I actually don't care about the picking Rafa everyone and their mother is picking Rafa. The snide little comment about "unless he gets lucky again". Its so Roger and its so divaish and anyone else would get called on it but the high and mighty Rog. I hope Novak wins it, takes 4 in a row and for once just shuts up the criticis. Hell I ain't even serbian and I am starting to feel INat.

Socal: "surly presser boy"

Haha, that's a new one. Bitter, obviously, but rather imaginative. But no need to try so hard Socal. No amount of attempt at character assassination will help anyone win a futile argument against Roger Federer's moral values. He has the monumental backup of "The Second Most Respected and Honest Person in the World" behind him, no? All you got is a bunch of sour-grapes. You don't have to like the guy. But I think after all of roger's on-court and off-court contributions to the tennis world, plus being the player holding the best (unsurpassed) records so far, he deserves just a little more respect than you're willing to render him.

bogbrush wrote:

socal1976 wrote:Craig yes records built up over many years. Novak is a different player in the last 18 months. Check the record over the last 18 months. Nadal is the favorite but it is very close in my opinion not as heavy a favorite as people make Nadal.

Hawkeye: I actually don't care if Roger thinks Novak is the best thing since sliced bread or who he likes more. But his abusive and surly conduct towards Novak and his camp is well documented. Yelling at nOvak at the AO that you are bouncing the ball too much when he should direct his comments at the official and not at Novak in a change over. Yelling at Djokovic's parents to shut up BECAUSE THEY WERE CHEERING BETWEEN POINTS. And after the shot at the USO he was a real let me be honest beetch about it. Nore Staat did a good job of producing this "unless he gets lucky again" quote from Roger. It is another in a long pattern of one way traffic of abuse ever since Novak's mother 4 years ago made a boneheaded comment to the media.

Funny when Novak sarcastically said "sorry" to roger at the AO after federer yelled at him in the change over the media and the 606ers were all over him. How dare he not take his tongue lashing from the great and omnipotent Swiss. How dare he respond like a grown man to Roger when Roger is breaking the etiquette and rules of tennis on camera and dressing you down when he needs to by the rules address the umpire who is sitting there.

That is ok, that is why I feel good about this tournament win or lose. At least he sent surly presser boy home.

1. Federer told the parents to 'BE QUIET!' because they were calling out about a line call, and virtually the whole of the Monte Carlo crowd broke out into applause.
2. Djokovic's mother was screeching 'The King is dead, the king is dead' at Federer as he left the court after the AO 2008 semi-final. I think that sort of crass behaviour would rankle a touch. I mean, is it as bad as a wagging finger?

BB: Good points.

Socal: Let's hear your defense.

I'm not picking Rafa. Rafa has not been tested. Today he will be, by a man who can make him and his 1 dimensional game look stupid (by playing a better 1 dimensional game).

I think some of you are in for a shock later today, when Djokovic comes out making Nadal look stupid.

bogbrush wrote:

socal1976 wrote:Craig yes records built up over many years. Novak is a different player in the last 18 months. Check the record over the last 18 months. Nadal is the favorite but it is very close in my opinion not as heavy a favorite as people make Nadal.

Hawkeye: I actually don't care if Roger thinks Novak is the best thing since sliced bread or who he likes more. But his abusive and surly conduct towards Novak and his camp is well documented. Yelling at nOvak at the AO that you are bouncing the ball too much when he should direct his comments at the official and not at Novak in a change over. Yelling at Djokovic's parents to shut up BECAUSE THEY WERE CHEERING BETWEEN POINTS. And after the shot at the USO he was a real let me be honest beetch about it. Nore Staat did a good job of producing this "unless he gets lucky again" quote from Roger. It is another in a long pattern of one way traffic of abuse ever since Novak's mother 4 years ago made a boneheaded comment to the media.

Funny when Novak sarcastically said "sorry" to roger at the AO after federer yelled at him in the change over the media and the 606ers were all over him. How dare he not take his tongue lashing from the great and omnipotent Swiss. How dare he respond like a grown man to Roger when Roger is breaking the etiquette and rules of tennis on camera and dressing you down when he needs to by the rules address the umpire who is sitting there.

That is ok, that is why I feel good about this tournament win or lose. At least he sent surly presser boy home.

1. Federer told the parents to 'BE QUIET!' because they were calling out about a line call, and virtually the whole of the Monte Carlo crowd broke out into applause.
2. Djokovic's mother was screeching 'The King is dead, the king is dead' at Federer as he left the court after the AO 2008 semi-final. I think that sort of crass behaviour would rankle a touch. I mean, is it as bad as a wagging finger?

These are very good points. I, for one, will admit that Roger is not perfect (who is, really?) and that there are flaws in his character. I probably would not be the best of friends with the man, because he can come across as too smug for my tastes. However, I separate the art from the man. I do this for every person. This is why I really do not focus on tennis players' personalities or their personal lives. It's their behaviour on court that matters for me.

On this score, Roger has not always been perfect, so any criticism of his on-court behaviour is indeed valid. However, if someone is being interrupted, or feels he or she is being interrupted during a point, as was the case during Novak's and Roger's match in 2008, it is normal (read, human) to feel irritated and snap. This is probably what Roger reacted to.

In a way, it is a compliment to Novak, that Roger felt that he needed perfect concentration to execute his game plan in that match. It would have been the height of arrogance if Roger believed that he could have played through that type of interruption.

I just wanted to point out how socal misrepresents the truth to suit his agenda. The Djokovic's weren't cheering, they were line calling (hard to see how it was a cheer, their son had lost the point).

I don't say socal is a liar, I just think he has a loose grasp of facts and rarely acknowledges error when corrected.

While we debate here Fed-Djoko not liking themselves, I was in Belgrade last year and the amount of hate against Nadal is amazing.

Most people I met agree Fed is the GOAT and Fed is very much liked by Djoko fans and they respect the man, but Nadal for them is their primary target, even when Djoko won the W, and went to Belgrade and many thousands greeted him, all posters and stuff were either pro Nole or against Nadal with quite offensive remarks.

There is a thread somewhere here I posted those pics when Social & nitb were on crusade to make everyone like Djoko.

I think Fed's right Rafa's the big favourite.
Sure Novak beat Rafa twice on clay last year but Novak's not playing aswell as he was last year and I think Rafa's got better.
Novak should have lost to Tsonga but Rafa won't fade away in a fifth set, if it goes that far.

Jahu wrote:

There is a thread somewhere here I posted those pics when Social & nitb were on crusade to make everyone like Djoko.

Jahu,
Liking Nole can not be forced, it is a matter of your mindset tuned on positive mode. It is not a kind player who is and will be generally supported. To be his fan, you need to appreciate his attitude, positive approach and his fighting heart. Not many can get to know this

Nore Staat wrote:
The use of the word AGAIN in the phrase: "maybe luck will be on his side again", is a characteristic feature of Federer and shows that he doesn't readily accept or appreciate the way Djokovic creates the "luck".

Federer's comment "to be in this situation you have to win three Grand Slams in a row again", shows he is thinking about Djokovic in relation to Federer's own achievements - he is effectively saying that if Djokovic were to eclipse Federer in the sense of getting four in a row, then it would only be due to "luck" rather than any intrinsic quality that might differentiate Djokovics talent from his own.

You are just making an over fuss of the situation, Nadal is playing utter scary tennis at the moment that only GOD's interference will help Djoko beat him, Fed is the master and the GOAT of the game and when he says it he means it, its easy for everybody to understand Nadal is the King of clay and at this tournament he is playing like a monster, Fed is quite generous to even give Djoko the chances considering Nadal's form in his favorite court.

It will be funny anyways to see Djoko do a 4 in a row which the legends of the game Fed and Nadal could'nt do it after coming close.

socal1976 wrote:I actually don't care about the picking Rafa everyone and their mother is picking Rafa. The snide little comment about "unless he gets lucky again". Its so Roger and its so divaish and anyone else would get called on it but the high and mighty Rog. I hope Novak wins it, takes 4 in a row and for once just shuts up the criticis. Hell I ain't even serbian and I am starting to feel INat.

A very good point. Now I guarantee if Murray had said such a thing he'd be labelled a sore loser for suggesting luck played a part too often in a players game. Just like his post-match comments when Federer sounded very negative - Murray has been slated already in this tournament for negative taLK.

CommonSense wrote:Socal: "surly presser boy"

Haha, that's a new one. Bitter, obviously, but rather imaginative. But no need to try so hard Socal. No amount of attempt at character assassination will help anyone win a futile argument against Roger Federer's moral values. He has the monumental backup of "The Second Most Respected and Honest Person in the World" behind him, no? All you got is a bunch of sour-grapes. You don't have to like the guy. But I think after all of roger's on-court and off-court contributions to the tennis world, plus being the player holding the best (unsurpassed) records so far, he deserves just a little more respect than you're willing to render him.

Let everyone else love him I don't. Good for him, a lot of people love him. If he stops acts like a whinning petulant diva in his interviews I'll stop pointing out the fact that he gets surly in his pressers. And I know he had done a lot for tennis and for charity outside the game. I can't find myself ever cheering for him, not against anyone, mainly because of A SEGMENT, not all of his online fans and his arrogance towards young stars he doesn't like.

CaledonianCraig wrote:

socal1976 wrote:I actually don't care about the picking Rafa everyone and their mother is picking Rafa. The snide little comment about "unless he gets lucky again". Its so Roger and its so divaish and anyone else would get called on it but the high and mighty Rog. I hope Novak wins it, takes 4 in a row and for once just shuts up the criticis. Hell I ain't even serbian and I am starting to feel INat.

A very good point. Now I guarantee if Murray had said such a thing he'd be labelled a sore loser for suggesting luck played a part too often in a players game. Just like his post-match comments when Federer sounded very negative - Murray has been slated already in this tournament for negative taLK.

Of course Murray or any other player would be crucified if they made these type of comments to the media. They would be crucified if they yelled into an opponents box for being too boisterous. Or openly whined about how his opponent got lucky or shanked a lot of balls that went in. Roger will always get away with it, and his apologists in the media and online posters will cover for him. I mean imagine Federer yelling in public at another players parents and then the media being upset at the other player. If Roger berated my mother on television in front of me, well lets just say Novak is more of a gentleman then I am. If fed had been at resturant or bar or something and he acted that way a punch in the nose is about what he would expect to get. But afterwards it was like how dare Djokovic allow his parents to annoy Roger.

CaledonianCraig wrote:

socal1976 wrote:I actually don't care about the picking Rafa everyone and their mother is picking Rafa. The snide little comment about "unless he gets lucky again". Its so Roger and its so divaish and anyone else would get called on it but the high and mighty Rog. I hope Novak wins it, takes 4 in a row and for once just shuts up the criticis. Hell I ain't even serbian and I am starting to feel INat.

A very good point. Now I guarantee if Murray had said such a thing he'd be labelled a sore loser for suggesting luck played a part too often in a players game. Just like his post-match comments when Federer sounded very negative - Murray has been slated already in this tournament for negative taLK.

Exactly the point I was trying to make in my post at 12:36 yesterday. The OP seems to have double standards when she posts her opinions on what players have said.

What Federer said doesn't bother me. A bit of needle adds interest in my opinion. However lets be consistent when commenting on what players say.

Calder the double standard is so blatant. If Murray, Nadal, or Djoko said half the things Fed has said in the media about his opponents they would be demonized as the biggest villains in the sport. I personally don't get that upset by it either, I cut my teeth in the 80s where this stuff was normal and bad blood was part of it. But you just watch if Novak or Andy say anything about an opponent that is less than gracious or if in some way they happen to offend Roger.

Calder106 wrote:

CaledonianCraig wrote:

socal1976 wrote:I actually don't care about the picking Rafa everyone and their mother is picking Rafa. The snide little comment about "unless he gets lucky again". Its so Roger and its so divaish and anyone else would get called on it but the high and mighty Rog. I hope Novak wins it, takes 4 in a row and for once just shuts up the criticis. Hell I ain't even serbian and I am starting to feel INat.

A very good point. Now I guarantee if Murray had said such a thing he'd be labelled a sore loser for suggesting luck played a part too often in a players game. Just like his post-match comments when Federer sounded very negative - Murray has been slated already in this tournament for negative taLK.

Exactly the point I was trying to make in my post at 12:36 yesterday. The OP seems to have double standards when she posts her opinions on what players have said.

What Federer said doesn't bother me. A bit of needle adds interest in my opinion. However lets be consistent when commenting on what players say.

Fat chance of that with the OP I am afraid.

I realised that about a year ago.