Topic: German newspaper reports Fed more ill than he let on

[kittens25]

I honestly felt that Federer hasnt been playing that well for a while now. I didnt think he did play up to his potential at the US Open, but none of the opponents were able to raise their game to beat him. I thought he did play well at the Masters Series though (after his loss with Gonzalez).

I agree.  I said the same thing after Wimbledon and the U.S Open.   I also said his decreased level was being reflected in more losses, and his fans just keep saying "3 grand slams, 3 grand slams."    Then I would point out I thought he was not the Federer we have seen for years at Wimbledon and the U.S Open and he got quite lucky at both, and if he did not raise his level up his luck would start to run out and I get the same response "3 grand slams, 3 grand slams."    Even as a Federer fan I guess there is a part of me should be pleased with what happened here since my previous stance was validated, he continued to struggle like he did at the last 2 slams, and his luck did run out.   

affirmative. this loss simply validates a slight trend in place for Fed just as Nadal`s total destruction validates the decline in his fitness and his game. Fed`s dominance was much more complete in the past.

seems like every bad loss nadal has on hard courts now is his worst. destruction at the hands of youzhny in chennai was his worst hard court loss ever. this demolition at the hands of tsonga is his worst loss ever at a major. there is a trend in place here. its called stagnation in both fitness and his game.

Agreed.   Sometimes you have to look beyond just the result.   If you looked beyond Federer winning 3 slams last year you would see some disturbing trends in his game developing.   If you look at Nadal's results on the surface you might say he is doing well, best hard court slam result ever, improved his Masters results at the same events late last year.    However if you look beyond just the results his performance on hard courts has gotten worse, even though the final round he reached shows otherwises.   Both have some self-scrutiny to do over the next few months.   

[Fedsuperfan]

Just an affirmation to the first article posted by Barbadosan.

http://www.thewest.com.au/default.aspx?MenuID=57&ContentID=56251

Federer looked fine to me, says new champ
29th January 2008, 6:45 WST

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Novak Djokovic says it is unfair to discredit his breakthrough grand slam triumph in the Australian Open amid debate over Roger Federer’s fitness.

Rumours have surfaced that Federer, who was forced to withdraw from the Kooyong Classic the week before the Open with food poisoning, shed 3kg battling fever in the lead-up to his flat semifinal loss to Djokovic at Melbourne Park.

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Federer “looked real crook, really bad” after his first practice session before the Open, an observer said, and it is also questioned whether the top seed’s illness contributed to his dramatic five-set escape against Serbian No. 2 Janko Tipsarevic in the third round.

But as he basked in the glory of landing his and Serbia’s first grand slam event after beating unseeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 4-6 6-4 6-3 7-6 (7-2) in the final on Sunday, world No. 3 Djokovic refused to believe his success was anything other than more evidence he was closing the gap on Federer and Rafael Nadal.

The 20-year-old felt he simply outplayed Federer after “taking the positives and negatives” from his tight three-set loss to Federer in the US Open final four months earlier.

“He didn’t seem at all like having a fever or something,” Djokovic said.

“I think I was the better player on the court and absolutely deserved to win. I was mentally stronger (than in New York) and I played with more patience in crucial moments and I think that made the difference.”

Federer said Djokovic had been too good on the night but added somewhat mysteriously: “Considering, you know, my illness, I’m sort of happy with the result here.”

Djokovic admitted he must now reassess his aims, having already achieved his season goal of winning his first major.

Overtaking world No. 2 Nadal and Federer to finish as the year-end No. 1 was “possible”.

Djokovic, a semifinalist or better at the past four majors, said if he could maintain consistency, reining in Federer and Nadal wasn’t out of the equation. “As a grand slam winner now, people expect me to get further and to challenge those two guys for the first two places in the world,” he said. “I feel much more better, much more confident.”

Tsonga has rocketed up the rankings from 38 to 18 after his stunning effort at the Open, which included a straight-sets demolition of Nadal.

His other scalps included seeds Richard Gasquet (8), Andy Murray (9) and Mikhail Youzhny (14).

The 22-year-old was the only player to take a set off Djokovic.

Tsonga was contesting his maiden tour final in only his fifth grand slam tournament after fighting back from two years out with back, shoulder and abdominal injuries.

DARREN WALTON
MELBOURNE