Wow! Did anyone see the Federer/Hidalgo match? I`ll be surprised if Roger can even make the semis tbh ? lol?

Question

What do you guys think of that performance? He said in an interview he reckons ``he is back to being the best`` Sure doesnt look like it!

Answer 1

Being the best is still within his reach and he proved it with the  ability to go back from 5-1 and win. The way he played that 2nd set and 75% of the 3rd outlined his lack of confidence more than anything else...The guy knows how to be the very best that ever played the sport only when he has the confidence to do it.

I think his tough win says a lot about him and his ability to reverse bad fortune...His next couple of matches against Monfils and Djokovic should say a lot about his mental state, lets see.

Answer 2

Two weeks ago in the Miami Masters, (a) Novak Djokovic lost in the first round to a qualifier and tour rookie ranked No. 122; (b) Monfils was beaten by Federer in the first round 6-3, 6-4; and (c) Nalbandian lost in the first round 1-6, 4-6. In addition, in last weeks' Davis Cup, Nalbandian was taken to five sets (9-7 in the fifth set) by Robin Soderling on clay in Argentina! These are the players whom Federer might or will meet on his side of the draw in Monte Carlo -- all of them first round losers at the last Masters tournament.

Roger Federer won today, and that is what ultimately matters. It was a typical Monte Carlo start for Federer: in 2007 and 2006, he also struggled in his first match in Monte Carlo (against No. 101 Andreas Seppi in 2007 and No. 67 Djokovic in 2006). In both years, he then blitzed--in straight sets--the rest of the field full of good claycourters (such as David Ferrer, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Alberto Martin) to enter the final. E.g., in 2006, Federer recovered from a two-hour, three-setter first match to thrash Alberto Martin 6-0, 6-1 the next day.

This is Roger Federer we are talking about, not some unproven big mouth like Djokovic. In 2006 (Federer's 'peak year'), I attended a Masters tournament where Federer had to play three-setters in each of his last four matches in a row to win the tournament. Regardless of the situation you could see he was calm, tough and determined to win.  No one should make the mistake of assuming that today's match means anything for his match tomorrow or in future.

With a great champion like Federer, it is never over until it is over. When push came to shove, Federer turned on his turbojets and won the match. Federer has done it many times over the last five years -- he sometimes loses concentration but when his back is against a wall, he flips a switch, gets into a zone and lifts his game to win. One of the special attributes about Federer is his incredible mental strength and calmness in these situations. He is addicted to winning in these circumstances, it seems. Remember how Federer thrashed Nadal 6-0 in the final set on Hamburg clay last year after dropping the first set?

Federer's opponent today--Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo--is a clay court specialist. He may be ranked No. 137 but he is no pushover on clay. Hidalgo was ranked as high as No. 50 in 2006, when he had wins on clay over David Ferrer, 2004 French Open champ Gaston Gaudio, 2004 French Open runner up Guillermo Coria (twice), Nicolas Almagro, Marat Safin, Fernando Verdasco and Paul Henri-Mathieu. He even beat James Blake on hardcourt.

The three-setter match today gave Federer a lot of practice on the clay of the Monte Carlo center court against a clay specialist. As well, this year Federer is learning and applying new things from his new coach in the middle of tournaments. Without a new coach, Federer would have probably romped through the field in Portugal and the early rounds of Monte Carlo (like he did in the early rounds of the Australian Open, Indian Wells and Miami). It is an inevitable part of the learning process that--in trying to put into practice Higueras' advice--Federer will be thrown off his rhythm a bit in Monte Carlo and appear to be struggling, as he was in Estoril. So Federer's apparent struggles now are a good thing for the French Open.

Davydenko retired at Estoril because he knew he was unlikely to beat Federer after losing the first set. The Russian has retired 16 times in his career, mostly when he was losing. Davydenko noted he did not see any difference between the Federer of today and the one that has been No. 1 for four years: "He had good control, he kept the same (play) as before. I don't see anything different between the last matches and now."

Remember what Bjorn Borg--the greatest clay king of all--said last July: "Nadal is unbelievably tough to beat on clay but Roger (Federer) has the game to do it. He badly wants to win the French Open and why not next year?" Federer has consistently been the second best clay courter in each of the last three years. This year, he could win two to three clay tournaments, including the French Open. It does not matter whether he wins or loses Monte Carlo, as long as he gets as much clay practice as possible. It is more important that he begins to peak from Rome onwards, just before the French Open.

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Answer 3

Feds the best. We all know it. Well, people that are smart know it.

Answer 4

I saw it and it was increadible hao Federer changed himself in the second and first part of the third set.The strangest thing of all is that when he was looding 5-2 in the third set,he inmediatly changed his tennis and he finally won the match.

Really strange!!!

Answer 5

well, he has mono so he will be back soon

Answer 6

Roger is in a slump right now, so every win is important for him. It does not matter if it is against a seeded player or an unseeded player. He needs to get back on track and matches like these will definitely be a good test for him. It was good to see him turn his game around in the third set and hopefully he will keep it up. I think it is better to say, "he is trying  to get back to being the best". Go Rogi !

Answer 7

Dr D., we're going to hold you to that.  All he has to do is win Monte Carlo for you to change your name! hmm.

Elrond52 -- I LOVE your answers. They're so thorough!! I hope you are keeping them somewhere and then write up a book called, why Federer is Betterer foreverer... ok, that's too corny, but you should keep the info, its very solid.

Well, Roger can say he's healthy all he wants, but look up mono on the net. He shouldn't even have been playing at the AO or anywhere else until he was totally healed.  My nephew had it and he had to leave school for 6 months and couldn't even stand being outside because the light hurt his eyes. He was so out of it.  He lost weight even though he barely exercised and so on.  Roger is NOT over his glandular disorder, but he has to tell people he is so they don't get the psychological upper hand.  

Everyone in the locker room is scratching their heads about Federer's performance lately.  They should let him take steroids. There should be certain illnesses, like Agassi's back, when you're allowed. Taking them when you're healthy is obviously wrong. And it has to be something super serious or forget it.

Answer 8

Although Federer won the match, it really shows how the swiss maestro is playing, and will most likely play throughout the year. However, his draw really doesnt help. And i really dont think anyone is expecting him to reach maybe even the quarters. Lets face it, him winning in 5 at last years wimbledon is a sign for things to come. Federer, being the king of grass should have won that in at most 4 sets if he is the king. He will most likely end up number three or 2 by the end of the year if he doesnt win wimbledon, which I believe will not happen. But none the less, he does have the best technique the game has ever seen, and wont get injured till he is in his late thirties because of this. Overall, it is nearing the end of the master's career, I believe that he will win a couple more grand slams, including wimbledon, but will not retire as number one.

Answer 9

I agree with you, Federer reaching the semis is highly unlikely.  For one, he hasn't really been impressive on the clay so far, struggling not only today but last week in Estoril as well, only winning the title because it was handed to him by Davydenko's retirement.  Secondly, he has to potentially face Nalbandian in the quarters, a player he struggles with on a good day.

Answer 10

Federer has a tough draw, and to make life even harder for himself, he's struggling against qualifiers. I'll say this. If Federer can somehow manage to beat Monfils, Nalbandian, Djokovic and Nadal, and win Monte Carlo, I'll change my name.

Answer 11

Well recovering from mononucleosis is not the easiest thing to do ! He needs time to return at his old performance ! I'll agree every win now it's very important for him besides he has 6/6 wins at clay so it's not that bad you know and at least he's got a title in comparison with Nadal that hasn't . So even if you're Nadal's fan plz don't be so hironic next time , Roger has done things that other tennis players can't even dream of ...