The software upgrade is complete

So we've had the upgrade to Djokovic 2.0 (arguably a hardware upgrade?)...the upgrade of Nadal to 3.0 (2.0 came around 2008)...and now today we have seen the confirmation of Federer 2.0.

The win today is remarkable in that it has shown Federer's ability to change his game in the winter of his career - indeed a change at any time is impressive but at 30 years old is remarkable. To be honest we've seen evidence of the upgrade happening for some months now with increasingly impressive results since last USO...a result I believe spurred him on to work even harder to bring 2.0 about. Today that work appears to be complete.

So what is this upgrade? The programming has been designed by Annacone with Federer...it was a new program that turned Federer into The Uber-Attacker. Annacone had some success in this with Sampras...but it could be on a different level with Federer. In 2010 Federer recognised his game needed to evolve and be refocused to meet the challenge of the 'new breed'. And so discussions with Annacone started because Federer knew what was needed and knew Annacone had done similar with Sampras...i.e. how to turn Federer into an out and out attacking player.

Today after the match, Federer said "I decided in the bigger matches to take it more to my opponent instead of waiting a bit more for the mistakes," he said. "Yeah, this is I guess how you want to win Wimbledon, is by going after your shots, believing you can do it, and that's what I was able to do today". He made 68 net approaches today winning 53 of them...when did Federer do this before?

So from mid-2010 his 1.0 game went into transition. 2010 after AO was unexceptional...2011 was still work in progress, then came the near misses of FO and particularly USO. After USO he committed himself to the upgrade fully and hasnt looked back since. Today is the culmination of that work, of being even more aggressive, of finding the right balance in choosing when to attack...not too early...not too late. His BH is also stronger than ever, and his serve too (alrhough not today).

So I believe we now have Federer 2.0 - and in years to come we'll hear just how he and Annacone set about this risky software upgrade...a risk that appears to have paid off handsomely and might just have unlocked another 1-3 slams for him. In an ocean of defensive players, this 2.0 Uber-Attacker presents them with a challenge they don't normally face and can't understand how to topple. Today Federer is likely a more focused and complete player than he's ever been...his mind now focused on a singular task - attacking. I for one am amazed to see it. No-one on tour wants to face this new model, given 1.0 wasn't exactly a pushover.

Agree with you Lyd on some parts that Fed's game need to evolve as the newer breed have learnt to play him , this happens with every generation, tomorrow new players will play Nole and Nadal far more easy than they do it today coz they keep watching these greats play and adopt a strategy to conunter them.

Fed knew his age is not with him [or for that sake with any player] and hence a strategy have to be devised to counter it as well counter new breed of rivals, he brings in Anacone who has great success working with Legends like Sampras.

People complain of Murray today, but in my view on grass this attacking Fed will be very difficult to topple, I would have wished to see how Nadal would have tackled Fed in Wimby grass under roof, it might have been the only close match, but considering how poor Nadal's form was on grass this year we could safely say Fed on grass this year is invincible, but then again he lost to Haas in Halle and close to losing against JB in 3rd round thats not invincible.

So the conclusion is Murray caught Fed at the wrong time, he would have rather wished to have played Fed during QF match.

Blame it on Youzhny, he woke the beast in Fed which JB would have slayed earlier.

The win against Benny was epic but I think the closest he came to losing was Malisse. He looked immobile.

Back to the OP, I'd agree except I think this is Federer 3.0. 1.0 was a flashy attacker (seeSampras win 2001) who grew up on faster courts, 2.0 the dinker who bludgeoned as they slowed and there was no Nadal or Djokovic to handle it. And now this.

bogbrush wrote:The win against Benny was epic but I think the closest he came to losing was Malisse. He looked immobile.

Back to the OP, I'd agree except I think this is Federer 3.0. 1.0 was a flashy attacker (seeSampras win 2001), 2.0 the dinker who bludgeoned. And now this.

No BB that 1.0 you talking about was the beta version and not the official release and hence this is still the version 2.0.

True, it had a lot of bugs in it.

Good points IC and BB...and agree there was an earlier beta-stage when Federer was playing on faster surfaces pre-2003. The 1.0 was the official release from Wimb 2003 onwards.

Re: JB and XM, We know the problem in future won't be the software but the hardware. It makes the program run cold sometimes...in other words, we have to expect there will be inconsistent performances...but against the very best it focuses his mind. However, against that I'd say today will give him renewed confidence, and a new aura as well. Bill Gates would be proud of an upgrade like this.

bogbrush wrote:True, it had a lot of bugs in it.

Yup, otherwise how on earth he lost to Ancic in the 1st round of Wimbledon the very next year , nothing to take way from Ancic thou, another player went out of ATP Tour thanks to Mono.

Players who attack, now have a better chance against the current version.

laverfan wrote:Players who attack, now have a better chance against the current version.

Well every version do have a security loop hole and requires patches , the previous version was stronger against aggression like Roddick, Phillipoussis etc,. but weaker against Nalby , Nadal , Murray etc, now the vice versa.

I wish someone would just upload a virus to these versions so Andy can win!

legendkillarV2 wrote:I wish someone would just upload a virus to these versions so Andy can win!

hahaha, see you have great sense of humor and I have enjoyed it in the past too, nice one again.

IC

I don't think so much upgrade. I think adaption to the surroundings. Nadal had to shorten points and add power to succeed off Clay. Djokovic did the same in effect, but against Nadal.

Federer has put a lot into S&V and that is a triumph for grass. Once the roof came over, shades of Doha. A tight compact court kills the angles for longer rallies.

Federer just covers the net so well. Murray struggled to pass him and that is an omen for the rest of the field.

I think this article is very much in line with what lydian is saying;

http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis/2012/05/Features/Brain-Game-Federer-Nets-Wimbledon-Title.aspx

Cheers BB - absolutely.

It was so striking how much he attacked yesterday...probably hasnt volleyed as much since he beat Sampras 11 years ago.

We'll see this theme continue outside clay now I believe. We know that Federer started his career in this vein...ultra attacking...he has the ability, and yesterday he brought it to bear in dramatic fashion.

I also hark back to what Sampras said just 2-3 years ago (and Annacone will clearly have this in mind also)...i.e. that he believed very attacking net-based play could still dominate in the modern game, its just that in recent times no-one is...or rather 'was' prior to yesterday...prepared to take the risk. I tend to believe Sampras (and Annacone). I think Federer does now.

Yesterday, Federer took the risk and it paid off. And he will again, having confirmation the software works. And lets face it, Nadal/Djokovic/Murray cant play this way so he has a definite advantage over them if he can use it to its best effect. It takes so much time away from the opponents, mixes up play and makes them run forwards rather than side to side. In short it makes opponents feel awkward.

You can bet Annacone has been advocating and working towards this. he'll probably want Federer to embrace it further too now that the approach has been validated. After all, look what Annacone and this style of play did for Henman....embracing ultra aggressive play in 2004 at the ripe age of 30 (like Federer) he got to the semis of FO and USO! He even troubled Coria at that FO for a long period...the baseliners dont like it. Never have. This style of play can and does work. Its great that Roger is prepared to execute it...and show the tour there is a different approach than just mindlessly slugging away.

With the ultra aggressive approach I always think back to Pat Rafter. in 1994 as a rookie he came to the French Open and S&V'ed clay king Muster off the park. In 1997 he had a very close shave with Bruguera at FO...with 3 very tight sets, 2 TBs...again using the same approach. Stich beat Muster in '96 with the same approach. My point is that if players are prepared to use this method it can work. Rafter knew this...Sampras knew it...Henman knew it...Annacone knew and still knows it...and now Federer himself knows it. Not only does it work, but it will lengthen his career too.

Amazingly, Impartial_Lion of all people used to say that Federer could enhance his reputaion and career if he did this (but of course followed it up with some stuff about pitiful volleys and shanking, of course...... ).

From your list of S&V success, a note should be made of the agonisingly close run John McEnroe made at the French in 1984.

Nice analogy lydian - I hope you're right and we see more exciting play as a consequence.

Cheers reckoner, I hope so too.
Absolutely BB...that match must still haunt Jonny. And has relevance here.
He ripped out to a 2 set lead, S&V destroying Lendl. Then he starts to falter a little bit...his serve starts to get more erratic. In the 4th he takes a 4-2 lead...just needs to hold serve and go 5-2....surely the match then on a plate. What happens, his serve goes off and Lendl breaks...then runs the set 7-5.

This approach is risky, no doubt...and it relies on a great serve. But I figure Roger's serve is better than Mac's...he can do this. It would be great to see what could have been different had he used this approach vs Djokovic at this years French rather than trying to out-ralley him. Many of us have been saying for a while that Federer needed to take the forecourt...that he cant beat Nadal/Djokovic/Murray at ralleying. Federer had become almost stubborn in his belief that he could hit them off the park. Funnily enough, I think it took the FO semi loss to Djokovic to ram the point home he cant do that (anymore). The Olympics in 4 weeks will be very interesting to see if he continues this theme. Surely he will...

One aspect of this aggressive style that seems to get ignored is the footwork. A dramatic difference between Federer and the other Top 3 in this department.

Djokovic has elasticity, while the others are on Energiser batteries, but watching him 'float like a butterfly, sting like a bee' (Sorry Mr. Ali), is an absolutely marvellous sight. Seemingly Rusedski considers the two drop volleys to win the second set sublime.

THe software version 2.0 upgrade may be complete, but a virus a a malware attack can still get in and affect it like what happened to the version 1.0. Maybe that virus/malware attack will come in the shape/form of Rafael Nadal. Mind you though, after what happened to himself at this year's Wimbledon, Nadal himself is probably needing a major software upgrade/maintenance after another big hitting virus attack (in the form of Lukas Rosol) affected his own system.

I think Murray, Djokovic and Nadal have elasticity AND energiser batteries.

But you know what? I think Federer does too.

You could see yesterday how quickly he had to move his feet sometimes to get the SHBH moving...that shot requires really quick placement of feet because you need to hit the ball essentially sideways to the net.

But it was Murray whose energiser battery ran flat yesterday...not Federer. And I agree its a marvellous sight to see the all court game he plays. Those 2 volleys at 30-30 and 30-40 were not only sublime but audacious under the circumstances.

Relive those 2 points here... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6Eh2KLMvU0

Murray's shot at 30-30 before Fed hit the volley looked like it might be going out but Fed had to play it. But the following ralley of that ripped SHBH followed by that "leg-break" volley is something else.

As great as Fed's movement was yesterday he is significantly slower than at his pomp. Sure he's improved other areas of his game to compensate, but it's still the case.

Boycott, you keep going on about Rosol....trust me Nadal will not have spent any time worrying about it, nor will it have any long-term effects - if that was the case he wouldnt have won the 3 matches against Djokovic after a run of 0-7 and a close AO loss. Re: Rosol, its actually the easiest loss to get over...when a guy plays once in a lifetime freak tennis you just have to hold up your hands. He'll be raring to go come OG.

Agree reckoner. But he's a more complete player today than ever before and more aggressive to make up for the "lack" of ability to compete at the back of court anymore. Of course, its still a huge ask to win slams from here on in given the competition is so tough but I think he has a great chance at USO...after all he was within a hairs breadth of beating "2011 Djokovic" last year...if he is a more complete and resolute player now, plus Djokovic has come off Cloud9 then its hard to bet against him. But of course, he has his old nemesis to always worry about who is currently fishing in Manacor.

As mentioned though, the style of the win for me was as important as the win itself in showing youngsters they can play this way and be successful rather than the counterpunching/bodysapping approach Murray takes.

OG will be very interesting indeed...

After breaking the Sampras record for weeks at number one and flushed by recent success at Wimby I hope to see some sizzling tennis from R-Fed.

Nadal, Djoker and Murray will all want a slice of the pie too and will have something to say about a tennis pensioner being ranked above them.

It doesn't mean much in the larger context of the season but I hope for awesome tennis at the Olympics.

Yeah me too...and the Bo3 format suits Fed well given he's usually very fast out of the blocks.

Interesting point about being flushed...if Fed has the #1 week record, and now has extended his slam lead with 7 Wimb wins...he really has nothing left to prove or indeed equal...well I'm sure he'd like a 6th USO to beat Sampras and Lendl...but that aside he really can just go out and swing the racquet...no pressure anymore really, its all a bonus. What a great position to be in...he just needs to keep his motivation going.

lydian wrote:Yeah me too...and the Bo3 format suits Fed well given he's usually very fast out of the blocks.

Interesting point about being flushed...if Fed has the #1 week record, and now has extended his slam lead with 7 Wimb wins...he really has nothing left to prove or indeed equal...well I'm sure he'd like a 6th USO to beat Sampras and Lendl...but that aside he really can just go out and swing the racquet...no pressure anymore really, its all a bonus. What a great position to be in...he just needs to keep his motivation going.

Yeah - well I suppose his motivation is playing in front of his daughters, though they didn't look too fussed yesterday, lol.

Yeah looks like you may be right...it is his daughters that are driving him on.

"People forget sometimes I do have twin girls," said the Swiss, who climbed back to the top of the rankings on Monday. "That has had a massive impact on my life. I think it's helped my game more than anything because I think I'm playing some of the best tennis of my life right now."

Funny about how they dont really remember him playing yesterday...lol.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/07/09/tennis-wimbledon-federer-daddy-idUKL3E8I93QW20120709

lydian wrote:

Relive those 2 points here... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6Eh2KLMvU0

Murray's shot at 30-30 before Fed hit the volley looked like it might be going out but Fed had to play it. But the following ralley of that ripped SHBH followed by that "leg-break" volley is something else.

At 30-40, the dipping FH moves Andy to one corner, the CC SHBH takes him wide out to the other corner, leaving the court open for Federer to do anything he wants. He just softly puts in the the drop volley. Absolute Genius.

Great comment from Simon Barnes today, that Federer was hitting the ball so gently on those drop volleys that he could have put a butterfly cross the net without harming it.

First of all, thanks Lydian for the video of those two volleys and the Reuters article. And I agree on most of the points (not a lot to disagree, lol).

One thing I want to comment about is those two volleys. His second volley, at 30-40, which most of the people are marveling at, was quite common in his heydays. Watch this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xF7Klj8469k (Point starting at 4:08). In fact, from 2:00 min. onwards, many of his points are finished off at the net.

Personally, I liked his first volley at 30-30. He could have dropped the volley cross-court short or deep but he decided to just drop it in silky fashion straight in front of him DTL which was least expected by Murray. And I think that is the reason why he was late on that ball a tad bit and his lob wasn't perfect. A great point.

Fantastic article m8

Federer (and Annacone) have both worked very hard so good to see it pay off, shows you should never count off an experienced champion like Federer.

Yep, the deftest touch there BB...as a comment also said on the video "he carved that volley like a Sunday roast"...lol.

Cheers IMBL and spuranik - thanks for the video link, yep another great volley...great to see him reverting to this style of play again. Good analysis on the 30-30 point, I agree...and Murray did really well to almost make that lob.

Finally on those 2 points, it's really interesting to watch Federer's footwork alone in that 30-40 point...at no point is he still, and the speed of his feet and little hurried steps for fine-tuned positioning is amazing. Just shows its not only technique but movement too, and rapid precise movement at that.

lydian wrote:
...Finally on those 2 points, it's really interesting to watch Federer's footwork alone in that 30-40 point...at no point is he still, and the speed of his feet and little hurried steps for fine-tuned positioning is amazing. Just shows its not only technique but movement too, and rapid precise movement at that.

Fed has always had brilliant footwork, and I think that is one of the reasons people underestimate his speed around the court - he very rarely seems to be out of position without apparently having to flat-out sprint in the way that Nadal does (although I will accept Rafa would be quicker over 15-20m, I don't think there's much in it over the first three steps). One thing I noted on Sunday was how well he was moving back to his left to make room for the forehand against Murray's cross court backhand coming in to his body. It was only a couple of little steps, but it was so quick and he was so well balanced that he could play the forehand whichever way he wanted.

dummy_half wrote:Fed has always had brilliant footwork, and I think that is one of the reasons people underestimate his speed around the court - he very rarely seems to be out of position without apparently having to flat-out sprint in the way that Nadal does (although I will accept Rafa would be quicker over 15-20m, I don't think there's much in it over the first three steps). One thing I noted on Sunday was how well he was moving back to his left to make room for the forehand against Murray's cross court backhand coming in to his body. It was only a couple of little steps, but it was so quick and he was so well balanced that he could play the forehand whichever way he wanted.

Yes - I noticed that too. He made room and gave himself time to keep Murray guessing.

Yes, at times you could see he really had to accelerate his footspeed off the mark to reach the hard balls Murray was sending into the corners. People says he's lost speed...but it cant be by much you know...it really cant, otherwise he just wouldnt be getting to these balls and staying at the level to win slams against guys like Murray who are still improving. Then again Fed is still improving! After all he acknowledges that he's playing some of the best tennis of his life at the moment.

What also differentiates the top 3 from others is their speed up and down...the hardest explosive movement on a court. Murray is quick but not as quick, and his movement is more forced, more unnatural, and with less control at the end of the sprint. The top 3 produce their speed abit differently too - Nadal is power and spped...Djokovic is elasticity and speed...Federer is efficiency with speed, his movements take less out of him...maybe because his balance is always good. But the top 3 are a breed apart in this area. For me movement is always what separates the best players, not technique. If you watched the greats down the years...Edberg, Becker, Mac, Connors, Borg, Sampras and Agassi...they all had incredible footspeed (and foot-eye co-ordination) and that ability to make those rapid little adjustment steps to align themselves to ball position perfectly. Of course some of these players stand above the others...Federer and Sampras. We discussed Federer here, but if you ever examined Sampras' footspeed and movement on grass it was also amazing...in a more lithe kind of way.

You can see this movement ability being important early on when you watch the juniors play matches (as I do most weekends about the NorthWest). Its the ones who move to the ball quicker and better that nearly always win the matches, not the ones with perfectly coached strokes. Of course if you have both then you're laughing as they say...and you'll go far....perhaps even 7 Wimbledons

Fed has probably lost a little speed but he's improved so many of the other aspects of his game that it rarely shows.

Its probably the case now that, away from the clay, rafa is now the worst mover in the top 4. He has very heavy movement and doesnt move like a natural sprinter. Fed moves like a ballet dancer, djoker has incredible balance and murray has the sprinting technique of a natural sprinter.

It's a funny thing, this "movement". They're all really fast but some seem to move fast with great effort (Andy Murray is a good example, plus we always get his big grunt to let us know just how hard work that was!).

Simon Barnes (again) wrote about Federers movement that he watched a Leopard running once and was struck that it seemed bathed in a gallon of oil, so liquid was its movement, and that this was how he saw Federer. Whilst he is prone to hyperbole you get the idea. It is a different kind of movement, seemingly unstrained.

Born slippy...yes Federer has improved in many areas and as this articles purports, its his aggressive forecourt play that has, pardon the pun, come to the fore. But I respectfully disagree about Nadal. I actually think he is more of a natural sprinter than the others...sure it might not have the grace of Federer but then many 100m sprinters dont have the grace of Carl Lewis but are as fast or even faster. I actually think he's the naturally quickest of the top 4 in a raw sense but his balance isnt quite as good as Federer or Djokovic. I dont see the natural sprint ability of Murray...he uses his height and stride length well but I think he has to rely more on guile and anticipation to get to his shots....notwithstanding he's prettty quick of course. But as an 18 yr old he didnt come across as a natural athlete...he's had to develop that through strength over the years.

Agree BB, its a very fluid kind of movement..even when he's playing a shot outwide after sprinting to it he always manages to play the shot with a certain balanced poise. As mentioned Sampras was pretty similar in movement except he wasnt quite as poised on the BH side when stretched although would give him the slight edge moving forwards, for example his movement and execution to/fro overhead smashes was probably the best I've seen. Its natural movement ability that really shows itself on fast surfaces...so there you have Federer, Sampras, Becker, McEnroe and Lendl was pretty good indoors too, as was Borg (check his carpet records). Paradoxically, Nadal is fast and there's no reason he couldnt excel on fast surfaces per se if it was just movement based...but with him the problem indoors is technique/grips, partic. on the BH side where he needs alot of preparation. Additionally, his serve doesnt dominate like the others mentioned above which is an absolute must for indoor success...135mph USO serve - where art thou?

With all these upgrades that the top three have had what is Murray on given he is still slamless? It is the 32K ZX81 or Acorn Electron version?

Sorry couldn't resist.

lol...I think Murray is 2.0 Beta....ie. somewhere between 1.0 and 2.0 Official Release.
Maybe the 2.0 release will never come?

Funny think about Sampras was that even walking he moved like a cat, almost loping.

lydian wrote:lol...I think Murray is 2.0 Beta....ie. somewhere between 1.0 and 2.0 Official Release.
Maybe the 2.0 release will never come?

Hopefully the Murray 2.0 will also come with an upgraded 2nd serve...

There's another round of user acceptance testing coming up in 20 days time.

Still waiting for Dolgopolov 2.0...

dummy_half wrote:

lydian wrote:lol...I think Murray is 2.0 Beta....ie. somewhere between 1.0 and 2.0 Official Release.
Maybe the 2.0 release will never come?

Hopefully the Murray 2.0 will also come with an upgraded 2nd serve...

We are currently on Murray 1.0 special edition with extra features and a stronger second serve. 2.0 is currently underway and due for release shortly (I hope) under Murray/Lendl Productions. Further details will be released later.

I'm not buying it until it's been tested properly.

reckoner wrote:I'm not buying it until it's been tested properly.

Rest assured all products are subject to rigorous testing before being released as a bona fide upgrade. This will take place over an as yet to be determined period. Further details to be released later.

carrieg4 wrote:

reckoner wrote:I'm not buying it until it's been tested properly.

Rest assured all products are subject to rigorous testing before being released as a bona fide upgrade. This will take place over an as yet to be determined period. Further details to be released later.

They keep saying this year after year!

"yet to be determined period. Further details to be released later"

I'm not falling for it again...

Improve your product, LendlSoft!

reckoner wrote:

carrieg4 wrote:

reckoner wrote:I'm not buying it until it's been tested properly.

Rest assured all products are subject to rigorous testing before being released as a bona fide upgrade. This will take place over an as yet to be determined period. Further details to be released later.

They keep saying this year after year!

"yet to be determined period. Further details to be released later"

I'm not falling for it again...

Improve your product, LendlSoft!

It takes longer to perfect some software than others. The company is keen to avoid having to release patches after the main release date in order to fix glitches.

(I really need some more tennis to watch )

Yeah know what you mean - bring on the Olympics!

I'll need to buy a gas mask to put up with overexcited underwashed tourists on the tube though