I'm a good news first kind of guy so I'll start with that. The two writers on this blog are WCR and myself (Rickyroger). We post on www.rogerfederer.com, Federer's official website, with well, let's say, "relative" regularity (let's pretend that makes sense).
WCR and I are pleased to inform readers that we have a third writer now for the blog, also a poster from Roger's official website, TVRADKE. We've always enjoyed his take on things and he's agreed to write for us whenever he can. He's a massive tennis fan, and a big sports fan in general, and follows cricket and soccer as well. We look forward to his contributions and wish him a warm welcome to our blog.
Also, continuing with our previous train of thought on players being less aggressive, one poster here, VRAZCAR, who we also know from the Federer website, put this up from a recent interview with Roger as part of a comment in the last post (Random Thoughts):
REUTERS: Lots of people have said they wished they could have played like you. Is there any player or a particular shot of a player - past or present - that you are envious of.
FEDERER: "I am very happy with what I have. Sure I cannot hit a double handed backhand, I wish I could. But it's fine. I wish I had a serve like Sampras but I'm happy with mine. I wish I had volleys like (Tim) Henman or (Stefan) Edberg or (Pat) Rafter but I'm happy with what I have. I have tried to become the best player I can be over all these years and I think I did really well. I'm surprised how well I actually did.
"I grew up in the era of Sampras, Henman and (Richard) Krajicek and all those guys who kept coming in, I would have loved to have played an even better serve and volley game. Even though I know I can play it well. I don't know if surfaces have slowed down or if my volleys are just not good as the other guys or if the guys return so much better today. I guess it's a combination. I would like to play much more moving forward but it is very difficult in this day and age."
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/06/18/tennis-wimbledon-federer-idUKL3E7HI08M20110618
http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/18062011/2/reuters-q-amp-federer-reclaim-crown-2.html
WCR and I are pleased to inform readers that we have a third writer now for the blog, also a poster from Roger's official website, TVRADKE. We've always enjoyed his take on things and he's agreed to write for us whenever he can. He's a massive tennis fan, and a big sports fan in general, and follows cricket and soccer as well. We look forward to his contributions and wish him a warm welcome to our blog.
Also, continuing with our previous train of thought on players being less aggressive, one poster here, VRAZCAR, who we also know from the Federer website, put this up from a recent interview with Roger as part of a comment in the last post (Random Thoughts):
REUTERS: Lots of people have said they wished they could have played like you. Is there any player or a particular shot of a player - past or present - that you are envious of.
FEDERER: "I am very happy with what I have. Sure I cannot hit a double handed backhand, I wish I could. But it's fine. I wish I had a serve like Sampras but I'm happy with mine. I wish I had volleys like (Tim) Henman or (Stefan) Edberg or (Pat) Rafter but I'm happy with what I have. I have tried to become the best player I can be over all these years and I think I did really well. I'm surprised how well I actually did.
"I grew up in the era of Sampras, Henman and (Richard) Krajicek and all those guys who kept coming in, I would have loved to have played an even better serve and volley game. Even though I know I can play it well. I don't know if surfaces have slowed down or if my volleys are just not good as the other guys or if the guys return so much better today. I guess it's a combination. I would like to play much more moving forward but it is very difficult in this day and age."
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/06/18/tennis-wimbledon-federer-idUKL3E7HI08M20110618
http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/18062011/2/reuters-q-amp-federer-reclaim-crown-2.html
Hi there, Ricky! Glad to know TVRADKE is joining the BLOGSTERS DUO! :)
ReplyDeleteThis words of Roger's might be from a recent interview he gave, but they sounds very familiar - and for reason: he had already shared the exactly same views, and more than once. The guy is an epitome of consistency for reason! ;)
What we might be learning about Roger now that wasn't clear in the past is how well he manages his enormous talent. It takes a lot of years to create a big picture view of a player. To learn why someone like Roger can have a run at the game for so long with so few physical problems. He knows how to protect himself from harm and maximize his opportunities. Driven of course by the enormous pleasure he takes from winning. As of now, I'm not sure what is his greater asset - his physical abilities, his mind or his heart. To achieve what he has requires all three and I hold this is part of Roger's exceptionalism and, perhaps, explains his consistency.
ReplyDeleteOne doesn't often find in an artist at Roger's level with the mind of a Fortune 500 CEO and the heart of a lion.
Truly very rare.
Thrilled to have TVRADKE contributing here. He's fantastic!
ReplyDeleteGreat to know that tvradke will be writing here.
ReplyDeleteComing to the post above on S&V tennis or the aggressive all court tennis(moving forward), I am reminded of some of paul annacone's observations such as " in today's game players need to hit the volleys differently and they need to hit more volleys to win a point".
Let's forget about court surface or speed for a moment.
In today's game, I subscribe strongly that the players are nothing but aendurance machines. Their sole game is based on staying at the baseline and
keep retrieving the balls so that opponents make mistakes. Somehow the coaches, players think rather than volleying or playing aggressive, let's see who can run longer and stay. (pete's observations are so correct that the return game is one dimensional. Damn it correct is an underrated term here). To say the least instead of understanding the geometry, being creative and making use of the technology the players are stubborn in retrieving the balls even if it is between two continents.
Regarding the surface, speed
I was watching a taped match yesterday between Ivan Dodig and Marcos baggy
I was surprised to see Ivan sliding in grass court moving forward :-( where there is thick grass. So now players can slide on grass court, hard court, clay. So regardless of the surface or speed I think most coaches don't teach or emphasize on the split steps movement. As a tennis fan y'days match hurt me the most. Could this also because of the current generation of players don't probably spend time in understanding the history of tennis, how the legends played the sport? Not sure.
I think the imminent success from the counter punchers like lleyton Hewitt, safin put enormous pressure on Roger to develop an aggressive baseline game instead of finding the right mix is my opinion.
ReplyDeleteExcellent--three of my favorite contibutors from rf.com! Now I don't have to search through the forum for your comments. Thanks to all. I'm looking forward to reading your insights on Roger's game at this stage in his career.
ReplyDeleteDuring every slam, I always have a few pages at the ready: the official tournament website, RF.com, and streaming for when the TV cuts to either Nadal or a random American player. This year, this site has taken up a permanent spot in that "favorites" list... Thank you all for your contributions! :)
ReplyDelete