lot of talk today is centered around roger Federer. some think he is just in a slump.
while others believe that he is lacking the confidence he has always had.
what is your own take? slump because of the confidence issue or a slump because he is lacking the game needed at the moment to deal with the best of the best?
and what about the field? could the improved field have something to do with this?
Real, dear General.
Don't think Roger can be Top 5 anymore, he'll still beat most of players on tour, but I don't think he can ever reach the level he had before.
I think I know what the problem might be general slasher:
1. he is obviously lacking some confidence against the top players. that is one issue
2. he is also playing the wrong game. his run and gun offense is outdated.
now he has to be willing to grind and dig in. that means better fitness and better grinding capability.
he has all the shots. he is just not patient enough out there.
Don't think Fed can play a grinding game to be honest. He's too successful and old to start re-working his entire strategy. He will be retiring faster than totally revamping his game.
He can still play really really good tennis and win vs good players, just that when he has a bad day, it is more extreme. We saw he played amazing vs Warlocq and Mannarino, but the next day he was making errors all over the place. He is simply too streaky now which has to do with his gamestyle.
I think the game changed right before his eyes.
high risk tennis is not working as well as it used to.
now you have to be more patient.
he could have beaten nadal in cinci with more patience.
he had 44 errors. that is giving away too many points.
part of the decline is real and part of it is mental.
he has to fix his belief system. he has to be more positive and really believe in his abilities.
and then I would work on the following:
1. the return
2. the backhand
3. better tennis specific fitness
finally he has to try various strategies in order to win. one of those strategies is to be willing to grind.
grind and play more high percentage tennis. that means smarter and cleaner tennis.
He can still play really really good tennis and win vs good players, just that when he has a bad day, it is more extreme. We saw he played amazing vs Warlocq and Mannarino, but the next day he was making errors all over the place. He is simply too streaky now which has to do with his gamestyle.
good to see you captain ow.
this is why I think he should try smarter, cleaner, and more high percentage tennis. that will take more work on the court.
nadal, nole, and andy will be much tougher to deal with going forward but at least it gives roger some challenges to relish.
I can think of 32 reasons.
Then I can think of 3 more. Nadal, Nole, Murray.
welcome to the forum general scott.
well I think on a good day he can take down nole. he just has to believe in his abilities.
he is not giving up and neither should his fans. and that is the also the fun of it all.
roger has fought against the odds before.
I think you relish that challenge if you are a warrior of the highest order.
he needs to target the next Wimbledon. and you do that by skipping RG. you spend some extra time on grass and you go in with full fury and all your might might.
as baron britbox has suggested, perhaps the stars will line for him at next Wimbledon and he can make his charge.