ATP Estoril 2010_ Roger Federer vs Bjorn Phau.flv

[Danielpi]

@MrRalphNadal He did say it. I don't think he meant that Federer's game was "ugly." I am inclined to agree that BG is an idiot, but not because of that statement. I think he meant that Federer embodied the principles of "winning ugly" as he describes in his book. Which is, I take it, that Federer will change his strategy, tactics, shot selection, etc. in order to win. It wasn't an aesthetic judgment, it was a commentary on Federer's flexibility.

[allemagne92]

Phau is more sympatic

[Mirren81]

look, Roger can always win more GS's

but i dont support his attiude to small tournaments, he barely play them so when he does... he should try a bit better than this

its not all about Federer in Federer world, he should show respect to these events and give his all and win them for the fans who pay in advance because his name is in the draw.

[jtag8907]

@Mirren81 Roger's won more atp titles than anyone.

[Danielpi]

@jtag8907 Wrong. Roger has won more majors than anyone. Connors has the most titles.

[themaliced]

@Mirren81 at his age and his point in his career, he can't afford to play in as many tournaments as he used to be able to. He's 29, his main focus is grandslams. He's not as young as he used to be, even roger can't play that much anymore

[thecaveman]

mmm...Bjorn Phau. That's a man beautiful to watch! How come we don't see much of him?

[mainhoondon21]

Great fkin quality man!

[yankyank92]

i want to see phau murray monfils and nadal have a footrace

[ludtke337]

@yankyank92 i wanna see coria, nadal, and monfils have a footrace :)

[subzoroboy]

well he still lost to Montannes though, I don't think he can defend his RG title since Nadal is too strong

[kawaihui]

I think Federer biggest weapon is he's strategy. He plays really smart :)

[TJFederer15]

he's jst getting into the swing of things, he didnt need to produce a masterclass, all that matters is that he won comfortably, once he gets matches under his belt he wont be putting up as much errors.

[marcbloemraad1]

Doesn't look like it was a very interesting match. Good for Fed to pick up some confidence!

[tenisas13]

Great quality ;D

[badsantaro]

People seem to be making some pretty strong observations from 6 minutes of video. i.e. "abandoning his beauty game"-what does that even mean?

[Ignozi]

@badsantaro First off, I watched the whole tournament online, not just a 6 minute clip.

Second off, by saying he needs to abandon his beauty game I'm suggesting that he needs to put substance over style. He may have to scrap in most rallies in order to win the point, rather than relying on flashy winners which usually define him. I think Brad Gilbert called it "winning ugly" and he even has written a book about this topic under that same name.

[Danielpi]

@Ignozi You realize that Gilbert said that Federer was the best example of "winning ugly", right?

[Ignozi]

@Danielpi I have never heard him say that, but it's quite possible.

It's all very subjective, but it seems most people would completely disagree with Gilbert.

It seems to be Roger's fluid and aesthetically pleasing game that is part of his greatness.

He makes shots look effortless.

[BrotherTree1]

is mirka there?

[Jabenator]

Seems like Federer was just trying some stuff out.

I don't believe he has lost interest with the game, it's just he needs to find some form, and going to deep into tournaments will allow him that, so I think we should just give him some time before the Great Roger Federer is back.

[BrotherTree1]

@Jabenator i think he played pretty crisply overall. keeping things quick, nice and simple is a good way to go. a break in each set and riding his serve to the win is not bad. i think he'll get better as we go along, i dont think anyone in the draw can really take it to him. they'll beat themselves before even trying to beat federer i bet....i reckon...if montanes federer meets and federer is playing so badly, i reckon montanes will get match point. then choke and lose.

[Ethanovic]

@BrotherTree1

what kind of bullshit is that lol

hes the best accept it. he wants more, but this the first round of an atp tour, what do you expect him to do, yell at every point he wins?

[Ethanovic]

@BrotherTree1

oops i didn't mean to say that to you;p

[Mirren81]

terrible display, he just never looks interested in playing tennis anymore.. not even close to it

breaking sampras record and having kids was always gonna be the end of the great Federer.

[Ou8y2k2]

@Mirren81 He definitely values the majors more (ex. Aussie Open). He uses the smaller tourneys to prepare for the majors.

[BrotherTree1]

@Mirren81 hes never interested unless he wants to be. particularly when it comes to the grand slams. hell hes not interested in first rounds of grand slams either. its when he goes deep into them then he starts to get interested as things get down to the wire.

[Ignozi]

His forehand didn't look to good. He may be abandoning his beauty game for a more workman like approach.

[flipwarrior]

FedError sucked! I hope he gets much much better!

[sjsinclair1999]

Ditto

[TJFederer15]

Thanks! : )