Federer/ Wimbledon Appreciation Thread (maybe other tennis)

[Bix]

With the legend soon approaching another Wimbledon Final it goes without saying he is without a doubt the best ambassador for the sport.

His sublime skills are on show for all to see and this years Wimbledon has been no different:

Round 2 and on his opponents understandably cautious net approach, he produced possibly the shot of the tournament (sorry Querrey):



Then against a massive biased crowd he comfortably dispatched Murray in straight sets. Now onto the real deal and he will have to overcome undoubtedly the latest great tennis 'complete package' in Djokovic. I hope he does but if he slips up he'll still be delivering some quality shots for sure.



Like tennis, like Wimbledon ? or maybe you couldn't care less for the sport. Its all up for discussion.

[Bix]

in other tennis news, Serena Williams achieved an almost expected win in the women's final of Wimbledon. Referred to as part of the 'Serena slam' due to her winning the 4 major women's grand slam's around the world.

[RichardUK]

Wimbledon has been great this year, my highlights so far

[Aren142]

Tennis is rubbish, tbh.

Also, 100% convinced Richard is a troll now.

[RichardUK]

Also, 100% convinced Richard is a troll now.

im not a troll but thats all that comes to my mind when i think of tennis, although i did watch the Serena Williams match and i really enjoyed it, it was really quite exciting, i also have always loved tennis games, virtua tennis etc and its a shame no one makes tennis games any more, im sure there's a market

[ABoxerWhoIsPacifist]

Tbh I just like sports.

Saw Women's final yesterday, what a match despite the anticlimactic ending. The comeback was fantastic

[Bix]

Ye was great to see them both trying to make a real match of it .. I'm sure Serena wasn't supremely confident of the win the entire time either.

Heather Watson managed to rattle her as well, what a match that was.

Good to see Grylls in your random royal snapshot too Rich.

[ABoxerWhoIsPacifist]

He deserved it in fairness.

[RichardUK]

Good to see Grylls in your random royal snapshot too Rich.

i didnt even notice that, that was Bear Grylls !! His Royal Highness The Duke of Cambridge and Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge were all i was interested in, (although i do like Bear Grylls)

[Bix]

Mens Final result: Djokovic wins 7-6 6-7 6-4 6-3.

Anyone that watched would have seen tennis at its very best. Federer played some sublime shots but with his age comes a dip in stamina and occasional lapses in his usual finesse. The first two sets were as close as they could have been Federer taking one and Djokovic the other. But from then on the big accurate serve and the overall speed of Djokovic began to stamp its authority on the game.

Gracious and dignified in defeat .. youngsters thinking about trying tennis couldn't have seen a better runner up, trying his best right up to and including the final point. Come back next year Feds, miss you already.

[Bix]

So there was an ATP World Tour Masters in Montreal and Andy Murray beat Djokovic in the final, 2 sets to 1.

Federer decided to sit this one out. These Masters things sound great but in reality,

First to two sets, unranked, payout to winners low etc .. Its easy to see why Federer stayed on the training courts and rested. He's still Ranked World No.2. He's mentally and more physically prepared for the next Masters by missing out on 1.



I guess my question is:

If you are considered by many experts and fans alike as the best ever at what you do .. when do you bow out? Do you try and carry on in as few unranked tournaments as possible alongside the majors so as to prolong your career? or should Federer hang up his racquets sooner and look to get into commentating & presenting like Boris Becker?


Never lower than Ranked 8th in the World for over 12 years (and that was for only just over a month in 2014). For most of that time he has been Ranked 1st or 2nd.

I would like to see him playing on, hes in the Cincinnati Masters now for example .. but I don't want to see him slowly falling from grace. World no.2 for now though and easily capable of beating Andy Murray when he's fresh. Hopefully he's got at least another year (or two). What do you think?

[Bix]

Should be going to Wimbledon this year, hurray! finally. Need to remember to get a few photo's.

[Aren142]

Tennis is still rubbish.

[Robbo-92]

Should be going to Wimbledon this year, hurray! finally. Need to remember to get a few photo's.

Nice, do you know which courts yet? Any chance of seeing Federer?

[GuitarHero]

I'm quite a big tennis fan, and will watch it if its on the TV. I remember watching the epic Isner vs Mahut match (the 70-68 final set match) and being drawn in by their determination to keep going.

I also feel like Andy will be really missed when he retires, as currently there aren't really any other male players that are capable of getting anywhere at the moment. Although things are really looking up for the women with Konta's emergence, hoping she'll star at Wimbledon this year!

[Bix]

Nice Guitar Hero .. unfortunately my mum became ill and I want to take her so as she won't recover in time we plan to now go next year .. all being well of course.

Still hope we see Federer doing his stuff though.

[Quarg Ranger]

I don't like Federer very much. He's always come across to me as quite arrogant/above everything (the monogrammed headband and things, just, really?). When he was mocking Murray for being emotional about being the first British man in a Wimbledon final for years, I just thought he was a bit of a dick. Can't really fault his tennis, though I do think him a little overrated (his dominance was at a time when there wasn't the range of talent we see today, and it's hard to compare him in his later years to players like Djokovic and Murray when he was playing them). I think he should have probably announced his retirement a few years ago, the year he beat Murray in the final at Wimbledon. I said at the time that I didn't think that he would get many more opportunities to win any of the big four, and it would be good to go out on a high. And that's exactly how it's turned out. He's clung on longer than I expected, but I don't think he'll win another, unless there are a couple of upsets (actually, Djokovic lossing to Querrey seems to have inspired him). If Murray loses the semi-final, then I back Federer to win the thing. Not least as players who beat top seeds tend to underperform in the following round, for obvious reasons.

I have been enjoying Wimbledon this year, nice to finally be able to watch some tennis/sport in general, being at uni had thrown me out of the loop a bit.

Pleased to see the state of the Women's game at the moment as well, it's been really exciting recently. I'm pleased that a bit more finesse has been put into the Men's recently too, the metagame has evolved from the baseline slog-fest that it became a few years ago.

[phalanx]

the state of the womans game? not a good state if you got 35 and 36 year olds reaching semis and finals still.

[Quarg Ranger]

I mean, Serena is hitting serves that are faster than Djokovic. I think it's hard to compare the Williams sisters to regular players.

And no-one is complaining that Federer is 34.

The fact that there are 'older' players doing well doesn't mean that it isn't great to watch.

[GuitarHero]

I don't really see what their age has to do with anything? I'm guessing the argument is that no one younger has come and toppled her off her perch, but Serena is just on another level. I really want to see her go on and win a few more slams, so she becomes the undisputed GOAT.

With regards to Federer, I do think his style of tennis is great to watch. Amazing finesse and a wide range of shots make it all the more exciting. This is definitely the best chance he'll have at winning another major, Djokovic out means it is between Murray and him. Will be a great final if it's those two, never fails to disappoint.

[Robbo-92]

Federer is still just having a blast playing tennis though, if I was in his position I'd be doing the exact same. Sure he's not the best anymore and he probably won't win any more grand slams but he's still a great player to watch and I imagine he still does very well financially just by reaching semi finals. I wouldn't have been surprised if he had won Wimbledon this year (or if he happens to win the American open but that's probably unlikely) if he had announced his retirement and gone out on a high but that wasn't to be.

[Bix]

So the guy that beat Federer this time, didn't manage to win the thing.

Perhaps the retirement time bomb is now ticking.

https://twitter.com/search?q=federer+wi ... r%5Esearch

No nomination for shot of the tournament this time around and instead British up and coming Willis, gets a nomination from his match against Federer.

http://bbc.in/29cHNxG


Serena battles on for even more glory but it was even better to see her sister Venus having a real go again.

Be and Z thought so too





Our last decent corner and free kick taker also likes to watch a bit of Federer's racket skills

[Bix]

How could I not add a quick update.

Roger Federer: A Swiss professional tennis player who is currently ranked world No. 3 in men's singles tennis by the Association of Tennis Professionals.

He has won 19 Grand Slam singles titles, the most in history for a male tennis player.

Born: 8 August 1981 (age 35), Basel, Switzerland

Height: 1.85 m

Grand slams won (singles): 19 (The legend that is RF won Wimbledon)

Spouse: Mirka Federer (married 2009)

Children: Lenny Federer, Myla Rose Federer, Charlene Riva Federer, Leo Federer

Nationality: Swiss, South African

The shows not over yet.