Is anyone apart from Fed actually playing well?

Its been an odd couple of tournaments as the majority of the top 10 seem to be engaging in a battle to see who can play the worst tennis. Going through the top 10 we have:

Novak - played two of the worst hard court matches he has ever played.
Stan - What in the world happened versus Benneteau?
Berdych - I can't even recall who he has lost to he went out so early. Been awful for months
Ferrer - ok he has made the final in Cinci but his draw couldn't have been better. Has struggled with players he would normally crush.
Raonic - two of the easiest draws ever. Beaten easily by the first decent player he faced both weeks.
Dimitrov - relied on an epic choke to get by Anderson last week. Outplayed by JJ this week.
Murray - least said the better.

Fed could now be exhausted for the Open. Does Nadal just have to turn up to pick up number 15?

TBH I think Djokovic is playing pretty well. He's just got married/having a child so Toronto and Cincinnati where probably at the wrong time for him. 

I can't see Federer beating Djokovic Bo5 in New York.

Feds not played that well I think. From 2-0 up 2nd set against Ferrer at Toronto to final set against Pospisil in Cincy his unforced errors were horrendous.

He's picked it back up against Murray & Raonic but he's not there in my opinion.

Gerry SA wrote:

..............................................

I can't see Federer beating Djokovic Bo5 in New York.

That's a fair assessment.

But .......... what if he doesn't need to .......?? ..... 

Federers problem has been the long matches but he seems well, and bo5 allows him some silliness against the mid-ranked boys.

Where Murray is drawn will be a factor. Right now he could be a top guys first week 2 match.

If they've sped the USO back up a bit he has a shot; if it's full of sand like recently then Nadal must be overwhelming favourite.

To be Frank complete tour has become sucky this year and that includes Fed, yes Fed has played some amazing shots in mid of every match but overall his performance as been as sucky as the tour itself , but he atleast has the excuse that he is 33 years old.

Ferrer has been good otherwise, never great but very solid otherwise, he time and again proves you have to be one among the top 3 to beat him, if not he prevails on most occasions.

bogbrush wrote:Federers problem has been the long matches but he seems well, and bo5 allows him some silliness against the mid-ranked boys.

Where Murray is drawn will be a factor. Right now he could be a top guys first week 2 match.

If they've sped the USO back up a bit he has a shot; if it's full of sand like recently then Nadal must be overwhelming favourite.

Top 4 can't play him until the QF.

Can if hes #9.

It is certainly a window of opportunity for Roger. Of the top players Rafa is nursing an injury and may not be back for the US Open and even if he is he will be a bit rusty, Novak's mind and spirit is elsewhere and to expect him to return to slam-winning ways out of the blue is asking a bit too much and Murray is also a long way off slam-winning form. For Roger the real test is the physical element of getting through so many best of 5 matches now in order to win a slam. Form-wise he is best placed but not physically-wise.

bogbrush wrote:Can if hes #9.

No they cant - he would need to be #13.

I think BB is right actually - I think any of 1-8 can draw 9-16? Anyway, it looks like he will be #9 which probably means a 50/50 or better chance of being seeded in the top 8, i.e. if 1 or more players withdraw.

There are no young'uns coming through. The Oldies are having a good time, it is rather tragic. The ones on the scene are inconsistent. I expected Raonic to do better against Federer.

Henman Bill wrote:I think BB is right actually - I think any of 1-8 can draw 9-16? Anyway, it looks like he will be #9 which probably means a 50/50 or better chance of being seeded in the top 8, i.e. if 1 or more players withdraw.

1-4 can only draw 13-16. 5-8 face 9-12.

So what do people think...what has been the major factor in Feds rejuvenation this year?

1) the back --> fitness
2) the racquet
3) the coach

Lydian - combination of all three is the easy answer. Wins lead to confidence and then you go out on the court EXPECTING to win. Cos he had a below-par (for him) season in 2013 he's been under no points pressure.
It should be remembered that once he'd defended his 720 points at the AO this year, he had defended the most points he had won at ANY tournament in 2013. No doubt being relegated to Swiss number two was an added incentive.

Good point re: Stan, that must have hurt.

Yep, all 3 factors apply but I'm wondering which one has counted more than the others?

It's gotta be the back for me.
Even with the other two i dont think much can be done if he is in pain and can't move well.

He's taking the ball much earlier I think only Djokovic or if he somehow draws Gulbis could beat him. I do think this racquet is better for him than the smaller one he used.

Very interesting US Open for once!

In my view a major factor has been having a proper break at the end of the 2013 season allowing for preparation for the 2014 season. Rather than playing exhibitions in various countries in South America during December as he did at the end of the 2012 season. Don't feel he gave his body the rest it required then leading to his back causing him issues during 2013.

lydian wrote:So what do people think...what has been the major factor in Feds rejuvenation this year?

1) the back --> fitness
2) the racquet
3) the coach

Specifically this. The back was a factor last year but I think the extra work he's done on his conditioning is what's done the trick. Confidence in the body breeds confidence and certainty in the mind, especially in his case.

lydian wrote:Good point re: Stan, that must have hurt.

Yep, all 3 factors apply but I'm wondering which one has counted more than the others?

I would say all 3.

He feels more confident and that should be coz he doesn`t fear the back anymore.

The bigger racquet means he is shanking much lesser but how that would help in the slow conditions yet to be seen.

Stefan Edberg certainly has made Fed`s volley look world class, Fed was always good at net but his positioning and anticipation has gone next level.

However saying all these its still an average Fed and like the result of toronto a hot inspired player can take down much easier, so the true test awaits in USO, Fed may not be best of form but certainly most players on tour out of form or injured.

I think Fed's fitness is the biggest issue. It did seem to effect him in 2013. I still think personally his level this year is lower than 2004-2012.

Well there's no doubt that 2013 was an annus horribilis for Federer, although there were more specific reasons, with the back plaguing him for most of that season as we now know (coupled with the transition period during the racquet change). He says he is now free of such troubles and feeling good. Wimbledon showed he can still produce the goods during two weeks of Bo5's.

But of course he has been going deep at nearly every event this year, and it inevitably has to catch up with him at some point - especially as he had to battle and hang tough for so many of those wins, involving so much more effort than in the glory years. Plus, the USO hard courts are much more draining than that SW19 grass.

I reckon a good run to quarters, or possibly semis, is the most realistic prospect for Fed. He would obviously be disappointed (at the time) if he can't actually get a shot at the Final, but taking the year as a whole and the age factor, it would in retrospect be considered more than respectable.

Regardless of recent respective performances indicating otherwise, I still believe that Djokovic & Murray can come good here, and even perhaps get back to something approaching their best - or at least good enough to stop most others.  Slams prove time after time that they motivate high-achievers in a way that no other event on the calendar does.

My real hope is that we get a 'new name' winner who takes the title after playing thrilling tennis throughout the tourney. Hmm .....best not hold my breath on that .......  

Conditions are hot, forecast to get hotter still.

lydian wrote:So what do people think...what has been the major factor in Feds rejuvenation this year?

1) the back --> fitness
2) the racquet
3) the coach

None of those things because I think Federer is playing at a similar level to last year but his results this year appear better than last year... in fact I believe he has a good shot of regaining the number one position.

Both this year and last year he has suffered losses to players that he would be expected to win when he was a little younger but in 2013 he also was blocked 4 times by his biggest rival. At the time I thought his quarter final loss to Nadal in Indian Wells was particularly damaging. It was a bit of bad luck that he was drew against Nadal at this stage of a tournament due to Nadal's low ranking at the time. It must have felt like old times when he was crushed in the final of Rome by Nadal just a few weeks later... Later 2013 he had two more losses to Nadal in Cincinnati (after taking the first set and again in the quarters making it particularly damaging to ranking) and at the WTF.

This year he has only faced Nadal once and lost. He has played Djokovic four times and is 2-2 against him but Djokovic has never troubled Federer in quite the same way as Djokovic troubles Nadal. IMO Federer was the favorite at Wimbledon this year and if he had won that match the number one position wouldn't just be a possibility with Nadal out and Djokovic now a bit iffy it would have been likely.

lags72 wrote:

My real hope is that we get a 'new name' winner who takes the title after playing thrilling tennis throughout the tourney. Hmm .....best not hold my breath on that .......  

Hmm... Best not. That sort of run rarely comes completely out of the blue and I certainly haven't seen anything even in the distance that looks likely. The Times (minus Neil Harman) suggested Dimitrov or Raonic who are an aging 23 or Kyrgious (because he beat Nadal) as possible thrilling newcomer winners  

The last ten years have seen only five different names on the winner's trophy.

- one name alone accounts for five wins ; but he's also very close to qualifying for the Seniors circuit

- one of them has not won a tournament of any kind for the last 13 months or so

- one of them happens to be the current World No. 1, but has not looked it in the run up to New York

- the other two are not in the draw

So ......yes ..... an 'Open' in the true sense of the word.

Or maybe not !

Let battle commence ...........