Federer - Gasquet

Eye candy stuff, these guys can't play ugly

o boy, Somebody has turn on the firehose..only in Italy!

Yes - Good tennis to watch.

Unlike today's trend, it's about gutsy play, not lungs.

Fed got broken then gave away the set.

That Gasquet backhand is a thing of beauty.

Federer lost. WTF?!?!?!

Just read about that on a twitter update. Not been able to see or get any live scores from this match...what the heck happened?!

Richard Gasquet the most delicioud backhand probably ever, he is one of my favorites. Could not be happy enough for him. He showed the guts and intestinal fortitude that so many said was missing. More questions for Roger, he isn't just losing to Nadal and Djokovic anymore.

Feddybear played two bad TBs or Gasquet played two very good TBs. Fed missed 2 BPs at 4-4 15-40.

rugbydreamer wrote:Just read about that on a twitter update. Not been able to see or get any live scores from this match...what the heck happened?!

Basically Federer was cruising after 6-4 up in the first set and a break up in the second then all of a sudden, almost out of nowhere Gasquet broke back and from there on in Federer just couldn't break his serve and lost the final 2 sets in a tie break (7-2, 7-4)

28-7 W/L for 2011 is not too shabby.

Laverfan, I am not saying its a bad record, its just a bad record for him. In a lot of ways he spoiled the fans and the media by setting the bar so high. I hope he sticks around and gets his swan song at a slam.

socal1976 wrote:Laverfan, I am not saying its a bad record, its just a bad record for him. In a lot of ways he spoiled the fans and the media by setting the bar so high. I hope he sticks around and gets his swan song at a slam.

Amen!

graf_the_greatest wrote:I think Federer should retire. As he gets older and loses speed and power these losses will only increase. It's happened to every top player. Better to leave on your own terms than lose to lesser ranked players.

I think that is utter nonsense. I still believe that Federer can win a slam. Gasquet is hardly lesser ranked considering he is back in the top 20 of the world.

graf_the_greatest wrote:Perhaps Federer can win a slam but that doesn't necessarily mean he will. Also, do you want to see him losing to the likes of Gasquet, Melzer (and as time goes on players ranked 20-40 or lower) just on the off chance he might be able to get one more grand slam?

Make no mistakes, Gasquet is a truly brilliant player, just a little low on self belief.

No shame in losing to Gasquet.

I would only want to see a player like Federer retire if he didn't 100% committed and that he felt he had achieved all he could in the game.

I remember Sampras losing to George Bastl who was ranked 145 in world at Wimbledon and then Sampras won the US Open.

I don't see Federer going on forever. He has stated he wants to win gold in 2012 Olympics, so if he achieves that feat I can see him retiring later that year.

graf_the_greatest wrote:Perhaps Federer can win a slam but that doesn't necessarily mean he will. Also, do you want to see him losing to the likes of Gasquet, Melzer (and as time goes on players ranked 20-40 or lower) just on the off chance he might be able to get one more grand slam?

Do you take tennis players to be machines? This is professional tennis where to be honest anyone can beat anyone at any time. There is no shame in losing to a player ranked 20-40. Andy Murray lost to two players not even seeded at the Indian Wells and Miami, mabe he should have retired? Federer will get a little inconsistent as time goes on, it happens to everyone but to say someone should retire because they lost to a gifted and talented player?

graf_the_greatest wrote:Perhaps Federer can win a slam but that doesn't necessarily mean he will. Also, do you want to see him losing to the likes of Gasquet, Melzer (and as time goes on players ranked 20-40 or lower) just on the off chance he might be able to get one more grand slam?

Well, it can happen to anyone can't it? You've given some rather dodgy examples there though; one is one of the best claycourters on the tour, and the other has a backhand crafted from the forge of the gods.

Considering his impeccable slam record, Federer's never been anywhere near as prolific in Masters anyways, so lets give him a break. He's still got that quarter final run going in the slams, don't forget.

I hope Fed keeps playing, maybe he really enjoys playing the game and being on tour. Maybe he likes the money, whatever his reason for staying around the tour he has earned a few bad performances even more. Jimmy Connors was an adrenaline junky who played a decade after won his last slam. But he gave us that magical run to semis of the US open at age 39 playing some of the most intense 5 set matches in the history of the open against krickstein and pat mcenroe. I just hope Fed doesn't stick around to the point where he starts to look like a shadow of himself.

Honestly this is the first time I've ever seen anyone reccomend a sportsperson to retire at 29 barring any injuries or anything. WTF?!

Graf, Fed is in decline, but so what he is still #3 by a significant gap. I mean he isn't ranked 143. But no roger has lost some of his movement some of his power on shots. Certainly, the aura of invicibility is gone.