Roger Federer and French open tennis

Hi everyone:

I am a big fan of Federer. It has been a while since any sportsman has evoked such strong emotions in me (!!) - I am elated when he wins a point or a match but tortured when he loses a match. I think he is a genius and when he plays his best - he is poetry in motion. Now, that is all fine but is he going to win the French open? - that is the big question everyone wants an answer to.

Thus far, this year has been a washout for Federer. Despite his glandular fever, he has been to two finals but only to lose in them. And especially when he plays against Nadal on a clay court, it is almost like he is nervous (though he shows no signs of it) and does not know how to take his game beyond winning one set.

So what do you think? Is he going to win the French open and make history or is he going to make us all wait another agonising year to win?

Let me know your thoughts.

Sindhu

I am also a big fan of tennis.
My favorite player is Federer.
For me he is number one in the world today.

Originally Posted by melinda

I am also a big fan of tennis.
My favorite player is Federer.
For me he is number one in the world today.

Hi Melinda:

Federer is the number one in men's tennis. But will he win the French open? He has played 9 French open so far and been in the finals in 2006, 2007. Is he going to be the winner atleast the third time around?

Got a scare in his match against Albert Montanes of Spain. Barring the first set which he lost 6-7, he won the next three sets spectacularly - 6-1, 6-0 and 6-4. I hope he plays like that against Nadal, who I feel is going to make it to the final!

Sindhu

Hi Sindhu - it should be an interesting French Open. Did you see how Sharapova got booed? Wow! I wonder if French Open is going to be the elusive one for Federer? He is indeed a great player!

Originally Posted by sindhurao

Hi everyone:

I am a big fan of Federer. It has been a while since any sportsman has evoked such strong emotions in me (!!) - I am elated when he wins a point or a match but tortured when he loses a match. I think he is a genius and when he plays his best - he is poetry in motion. Now, that is all fine but is he going to win the French open? - that is the big question everyone wants an answer to.

Thus far, this year has been a washout for Federer. Despite his glandular fever, he has been to two finals but only to lose in them. And especially when he plays against Nadal on a clay court, it is almost like he is nervous (though he shows no signs of it) and does not know how to take his game beyond winning one set.

So what do you think? Is he going to win the French open and make history or is he going to make us all wait another agonising year to win?

Let me know your thoughts.

Sindhu

Dear Sindhu
you have written so well about Federer.. I dont know the answer to your question!.. I have to disagree with you about his being nervous when he plays Nadal. I dont think so. Clay is a different surface and playing on it is a totally different game. Like how it was with lendl.
Tomorrow going to watch F and G.
Glad we are getting a break from Basketball so we can watch more tennis!

Originally Posted by Shobanag

Hi Sindhu - it should be an interesting French Open. Did you see how Sharapova got booed? Wow! I wonder if French Open is going to be the elusive one for Federer? He is indeed a great player!

Hi Shobana:

So far, it has been an interesting French open, even the women's draw which usually was either Henin (a pity that she retired - I liked the pint sized champion) or Maria Sharapova.

Looks like Dinara Safina has been adopted by the French crowd - they like her just as much as they like Marat Safin.

I hope French open is not the elusive one for Federer but looking at the Nadal - Djokovic match today, my doubts have slightly increased. Fingers crossed!

Sindhu

Originally Posted by anandchitra

Dear Sindhu
you have written so well about Federer.. I dont know the answer to your question!.. I have to disagree with you about his being nervous when he plays Nadal. I dont think so. Clay is a different surface and playing on it is a totally different game. Like how it was with lendl.
Tomorrow going to watch F and G.
Glad we are getting a break from Basketball so we can watch more tennis!

AC:

Thank you!

You are right, Federer is probably not nervous but it is just that he gets to play very few left handers during the course of the tournament and suddenly he is faced with playing a really good champion left handed player. About the clay as a surface, I read somewhere that Federer started playing on clay - so I don't know if it matters. Well, it should if it is not his favourite surface though. It is just that Nadal is too good on clay - the statistics are 115 matches with 113 wins. So that says it all I guess.

The match between Monfils and Federer was fun to watch. Monfils is such a maverick - 'bizarre' they call him in french! If it was anyone else other than Federer, I would have wanted Monfils to win!

Can't wait for the finals - men's and women's as well.

Sindhu

Originally Posted by sindhurao

Hi Shobana:

So far, it has been an interesting French open, even the women's draw which usually was either Henin (a pity that she retired - I liked the pint sized champion) or Maria Sharapova.

Looks like Dinara Safina has been adopted by the French crowd - they like her just as much as they like Marat Safin.

I hope French open is not the elusive one for Federer but looking at the Nadal - Djokovic match today, my doubts have slightly increased. Fingers crossed!

Sindhu

Sindhu
Did you notice they have different last names Safin? I think Dinara will win for sure:) and Nadal too:) my dh feels like you about the leftie point!

Originally Posted by anandchitra

Sindhu
Did you notice they have different last names Safin? I think Dinara will win for sure:) and Nadal too:) my dh feels like you about the leftie point!

AC:

Yes, I read that in Russia, the women have an 'a' attached to their last name, so I'm guessing Sharapova's father is Sharapov:)

Dinara winning will be good for women's tennis but since this is her first grand slam final she might be a little overrawed by the occasion! Also, she is also a lot like Safin in her temperament, if she gets a handle on that she can be unbeatable.

The way Nadal is playing, he seems unbeatable but being a diehard Federer fan - I have hopes for him:)

Sindhu

Hello everyone:

Well, Federer lost again and this time he lost to Nadal miserably - 6-1, 6-3, 6-0. It has been a long time since Federer has lost a set 6-0.

Could this be the beginning of the end? I don't think so, that is not what champions are made of. But the question remains since I'm not convinced with my answer. Nadal is a champion as well and having defeated Federer so convincingly, can take him on any other surface with this huge boost of confidence.

Anyway, let's see what happens in Wimbledon, the US open and the rest of the ATP tour for the rest of the year and then come to a conclusion!

Looking forward to Wimbledon then........

Sindhu