Dude, this is just an exhibition match.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sanjeevi
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Dude, this is just an exhibition match.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sanjeevi
oh unaccountaaQuote:
Originally Posted by ajithfederer
appadintu illa. Perusa eduthutu velayandiruka maatarnu thonudhu. but it is just my impression.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sanjeevi
http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topic...9&parent_id=29
Federer adding more tricks to his repertoire
Roger Federer poses with kids after holding a clinic for them at the Khalifa Complex yesterda. Picture by Jayan Orma
By N.D. Prashant
WHEN it comes to a sound technique in tennis, there is none better than the 13-times Grand Slam winner Roger Federer. However, the master, who lost his No 1 billing to Spaniard Rafael Nadal, is keen to bring some more variation to his play in order to recapture the top ranking.
The Swiss ace will be trying out a few new things this season starting with the Qatar Open after having already experimenting with them at the recently concluded exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi.
“I don’t know how the rest of the guys approached that tournament but I just tried some volleys, chip, charge, ran to the net, played aggressive and even tried defensive. Saw how it goes and played the moment as well; it was the first tournament of the year. I wish I had won but it was a close tournament so it didn’t hurt at all,” said Federer.
He was of the view that the new tricks can only do a world of good to his already deadly repertoire.
“Why I try these things is because practice is one thing but doing it on court is different. In these exhibition matches, I can try certain things which I can’t do for four months as I’m playing Grand Slams. At the big stage, you don’t want to give away any point that easy.
“If it doesn’t work, then I will go back to my original game. But if it does, you have a few more tactics in your pocket which is what I’m looking to add this year.”
And with this being the preparatory tournament ahead of the Australian Open, Federer is keen to give his best.
“This is an important week for me to see where my game is. I would like to get through the first few matches solid and see where it takes me ahead. Then only I can prepare better for the Australian Open.”
Despite Scot Andy Murray steaming up the ranks, Federer still rates Nadal as his prime rival.
“I still consider Rafa as my main rival. It’s logic, after all that we’ve been through in the last four years. So there is no question of putting Rafa away. There are lots of possibilities of a change in the rankings season and that will be interesting.”
Federer warned his opponents that he won’t be lowering his guard by any means this season.
“I will still be trying to dominate tennis the way I’ve been doing it for the last five years. I didn’t win as many titles last year but there was a certain reason for that. But I would say it was a very good year. I expect the same this year. The pressure would be on other players which would be a good thing. Last year, four titles was not so bad.”
Federer justified his decision of playing lesser clay court tournament by saying, “It was the decision that I took to concentrate on the Masters Series except the one in Monaco which I don’t have to play. I didn’t want to say no to any but I don’t have lot of time to get ready for the clay court season. If I play Monaco, I’ve no time to practice for clay.”
Federer is well aware of the fact that any Grand Slams this season will only add to his elite distinction.
“Every Grand Slam that I win this year will be very meaningful one because I would equal Pete Sampras’ record. Everybody also knows it will be Wimbledon as well; there will be no change about it. I’ll try for my first French Open and sixth US Open because they are all special. But my focus first and foremost is now to start the season well here in Doha and hopefully play well at the Australian Open.”
http://www.google.com/hostednews/can...gIpQZIXMKkC3sA
Roger Federer says he's capable of dominating men's tennis again
1 day ago
DOHA, Qatar — Former No. 1 Roger Federer believes he can dominate men's tennis again.
The 27-year-old Swiss star, who is one short of Pete Sampras' record of 14 Grand Slam titles, said Monday he is looking forward to a big year in 2009.
"This could be a very meaningful season for me," Federer said. "I can equal Pete Sampras' record. I can add another Wimbledon title and this is something that is very dear to me. I can also win my first French Open title, so I am looking forward to my season."
Federer was slowed by mononucleosis last year and lost his No. 1 ranking to Rafael Nadal.
"I feel much better this year," Federer said. "Last year, I couldn't practice the way I wanted to because of health reasons. But this year I have trained really well and I feel very confident about myself. I have less pressure now and it is not a bad thing."
Federer plays Potito Starace of Italy in the first round at the season-opening Qatar Open on Tuesday as he builds toward the Australian Open, which starts on Jan. 19.
"Obviously, I can dominate the game," he said. "I have worked hard at my game and when you do that, things become easy for you. If I can play two good matches then I will feel really good going into the Australian Open."
The second-ranked Federer was eclipsed last year by Nadal, who won Wimbledon, the French Open and the Beijing Olympics gold medal.
"Rafa is my main rival," Federer said. "We have been doing it for so many years and have had great matches."
Andy Murray beat Federer and Nadal last week at an exhibition tournament in the United Arab Emirates. Federer could face Murray in the semifinals here after having defeated the Briton in the U.S. Open final for his only Grand Slam title of 2008.
http://tennisworld.typepad.com/thewr...ks-rogers.html
'09 Picks: Roger's Career Year
Posted 01/06/2009 @ 3 :45 PM
Fed_2Prediction No. 2: Roger Federer Will Win Wimbledon and Make Us Learn to Love Davis Cup Again
Thinking about Roger Federer’s status as he heads into 2009, I keep returning to his win at the U.S. Open last September. In retrospect I'd call it a clarifying victory.
All through last summer, after Federer had been whacked upside the head in Paris, had his Wimbledon crown taken, and lost his No. 1 ranking—each time at the hands of the diabolical Rafael Nadal—many of us wondered which former champion Federer would resemble in the future: would he become Bjorn Borg, or would he become Pete Sampras? Going Borg meant flipping out about being No. 2 and never winning anything again; going Sampras meant accepting that even gods slow down and plugging away for four or five or six more Slams.
Federer’s routine win at Flushing Meadows settled it: He’s going the Sampras route. While he may hate being announced as No. 2 in the world, he respects the current No. 1 player, accepts that he will lose to him sometimes, and knows that it is no longer a given that he’s superior to all who stand across the net from him. This is healthy. Knowing Federer’s basically sane mind-set, it seems absurd that anyone ever thought he might not win big again. Burnout just doesn’t seem to be an issue with Federer; he’s always played a lot of tennis and rarely seemed to feel the effects. I probably wouldn’t either if I won everything in sight.
So Federer is going to be with us for a while, and he’s going to break Sampras’ Slam record either this year or next. (I’ll say he’s going to finish his career with 17 or 18 majors.) The three-Slam seasons are likely over, but I doubt that will keep him up at night. The French Open is also getting less likely each year—this may be the season when Federer backtracks and loses before the final—but that doesn’t seem to weigh on him the way not winning the U.S. Open seemed to weigh on Borg.
What Federer loves is to compete on a tennis court, an in-born trait that will serve him better as he ages than any conditioning program anyone could devise. The Swiss is unlike Borg, and even unlike Sampras, in that traveling and playing tennis has never been a chore for him. As always, Federer is focusing on winning Wimbledon in 2009. It’s a rote statement he makes at the beginning of each year, a way of keeping his goals manageable. But he also means it—as with Sampras, that tournament is his Holy Grail. Last year's final aside, when I think of Federer at Wimbledon, I see him holding the winner’s trophy, not that lame runner-up plate. (Is there a bigger letdown in sports than to have to hold that little thing up rather than the big golden cup?)
I think Federer will reclaim Wimbledon this year, that it will tie him with Sampras at 14 majors, and that it might lead him to No. 15 at the Open (my crystal ball is fuzzy on that one). It’s not that Nadal’s Wimbledon win in 2008 was any kind of fluke; he’d been to the final the previous two years. But it took more of a special effort, a major build-up of momentum that had begun two months earlier, to get Nadal that golden trophy—and he still almost fell short. For Federer, winning Wimbledon is part of life, an annual rite, a pilgrimage by which he sets his yearly schedule. Plus, grass is still a more natural fit for his game than it is for Nadal’s.
This would obviously be a highlight of the year for many fans, and a moment we'd see replayed forever, but there's another intriguing possibility involving Federer in 2009 that should be mentioned. As you know, he has added Davis Cup back to his schedule. He and Stanislas Wawrinka will be a formidable team, but they'll begin with a tough tie against the U.S. in Alabama. It should be a barn burner of a weekend, right down to the doubles, where the Bryan brothers will want to avenge their loss to Federer and Wawrinka in Beijing.
If the Swiss get past the Americans, they would play the winner of Chile and Croatia, then perhaps the winner of Argentina and France in the semis. If it's Argentina, Federer would get a chance to enter the clay cauldron of Buenos Aires for the first time on September 18. (As you probably already know, the last tie between the countries took place in 1952 in Lausanne, so this one would be in Argentina.) I won't predict that the Swiss team will win down there—despite last year's debacle, the Argentines haven't lost at home on clay for more than a decade. For now, I'll just will say that the thought of Federer, suddenly a fish out of water, digging into the orange clay and fighting the whistling fans, the wild atmosphere, Nalbandian, del Potro, and Maradona is enough to make this tennis fan relish the 2009 season just a little bit more.