If you’re wondering what this all means for Federer, he’s still doing what he always does: finds ways to get deep into draws and keep his fans’ hopes alive.
The way this championship resolved itself is a perfect example of the complicated world of Federer. He looks terrible throughout the round-robin and even in the SF where he clearly was not with enough quality to compete with Zverev.
The Thiem win was a desperate Federer and Thiem looked a little deer-caught-in-the-headlights. No shock there though, as I said earlier, this was a time for Thiem, playing an out-of-sorts and old Federer. Should’ve pounced. But that’s what makes him Federer.
Then Roger got an already SF-bound Anderson, so edge there to Fed. He played well there at times, but nothing special at all.
So, having said that Federer was out-classed in London, the guy he did play to essentially two TBs in the SF runs-away from Novak in the final? So does that mean that Federer could’ve won the ATP Finals? Lol.
That’s the madness.
All you need to know about Federer at this point is what happened against Zverev with the Swiss serving at 5-6 in the first set. The match was pretty even at that point, apparently.
Then he was broken to love, literally handing the set (and the match) to the German. Nothing more you can say about that. Really poor stuff from the Maestro.
Overall, the tennis throughout was pretty mediocre in London.
Let’s just say the boys are burnt. Take a vacation and see you all in Australia.
Then again: those of us here at Mcshow Blog will continue to throw hay-makers and kisses.
What about the Federer Controversy? Collusion and corruption!
Stay-tuned.
Mcshow Blog 
Marc Rosset, old Federer’s pal, told today in an interview for BLICK, Federer should start to understand, how it feels, when you are old but still feeling, you can do big things like always. Not really. You start to be nervous before every match. You start to be nervous before your perfect serve. You start to be nervous every time you need to decide, what to hit, while yesterday you would do it by instinct+experience = automatically. This starts to choke first, then it stops to work. The only question is – WHEN?
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This we do know: the field is extending the life of this great player. That’s for sure.
Zverev and Thiem and other youngsters SHOULD be winning by now.
Federer could be viable for a couple of years.
Until he starts getting routined, who can blame him for still playing and believing?
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I don’
t think, Federer is finally done. But he is now on a seesaw. One day he means, he needs day off to be fresh (or skips clay to be fresh for Wimbledon, then loses it). Another day (today ion a BLICK interview), he says, he will maybe not skip clay in 2019. He just realized, he is maybe not training enough and then his muscles let him down. So maybe we see him again at RG?
On the end he loses confidence. Federer without confidence??? Impossible. Maybe we will see his another short comeback to win a slam or Masters? Good enough not to stop.
If I was Federer, I would play until everyone from the upcoming generation beats him at least once 🙂
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Yep.
Will be great to see him on clay again.
Of course, watching Novak go after Rafa will be the real spectacle.
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Impossible. Thiem defeats one of them in semi, the other in final. So how can Novak play Rafa in the final??? 😉 Or Thiem beats Rafa ion one SF and Zverev beats Djoker in the other, hahaha …
Federer can be now more competitive on clay than on hard – hard is going to be too fast for him.
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Thiem has to win in 2019 — significant wins, Masters, a major. No more waiting around for him to realize his potential.
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Unfortunately – as you know – Thiem is a humble guy. Maybe he will feel sorry for Rafa in the final (like he did in Paris 2018)? Maybe he will feel sorry for Federer in Australian Open? Maybe he is the only one from guys with this potential to be happy with small steps ahead, too humble to go for a win like Zverev does. Thiem is not able to cheat. If he feels, he is not playing well enough, he will have doubts and will lose after excellent match (like against Rafa at USO). But they have some special relation – Dominic and Rafa will encourage him to go hard for a win. So they can stay again together on the podium, but this time Dominic lifting the bigger tropy. Thiem is happy, knowing, he could play his best. No matter he loses on the end. His fanbase thinks, he needs some “Lendl” to overcome this weakness. But … he does not see it as a weakness. He is mentally strong and recovers instantly after a painful defeat. Nice, but not good in terms of winning big things. Thiem had to win a lot more in 2018, but he improved his game a lot and achieved a bit more in terms of results. He is happy with that. I can repeat zillions of times – Bresnik was badly trying to make him at least a bit aggressive, but only aggression is to play out his skills. If this is enough to win, he will happily win. If not, he will happily lose. That’s Thiem. He would not find common language with Becker or Lendl.
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BTW – are you prepared for Gutenberg?
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Another taught about Thiem. He seems to participate in another competition. I have many arguments for this thesis. It’s following his passion for the yellow ball. Be it slam final or off-season camp, he is equally happy to hit the ball. He will probably always be the “hard worker” on tour, playing too many tournaments and training too much (???). He will let Sascha and other killers to collect titles. And he will collect hearts and smiles and applause for his brilliant game, fire and courage. In one interview this year he told, he does not even feel like a professional player. Which was not or falsely understood. He meant – I’m still following my passion. If I can win some titles, it’s more happiness but not the main goal. Sorry – I’m writing too much about Thiem in the Federer thread 😉
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Don’t apologize for writing about Thiem. Now apologize for trying to apologize for writing about Thiem.
I think you’re right about his ethos, his values transcend trophies. I still would like him to destroy some two-handed bums.
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This was my typical djoke, you recognized at first sight but was trying to play to not have recognized it. Well I apologize because of deeply apologize for having tried to apologize … 😉 Yea “transcend trophies” – you always find the right words (nono, it’s not a compliment, it’s naked FACT). If you allow, I will use it on my blog. Would be nice for my readers and Thiem’s fanbase to see this as a big title for 2019 and guess, what the hell is it. Hahaha … you gave me stuff for next year to write about 🙂
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Use it, my friend. I will write something today about Zverev, Djoker, etc. One of the things I saw in the Karen match happened in the London final as well — Djoker’s opponent able to continue the rally, keep the point going, etc.
One might think this plays into Novak’s hand, but not so — especially if he’s struggling with his health.
Djoker, like Nadal, are build to, essentially, beat Federer. They thrive on the attacking player, one-hander, etc. Power is always a good antidote, as well, but the ability to be patient, keep the rallies going, can trouble those types, especially if they lack variety.
Zverev looked like he had more variety than Novak. Hahahahahahaha.
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Thought of course but — you still don’t allow for editing 😦
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I think, Djoker was a kind of beaten with own weapons. Bringing every ball back to the court. Now Novak is not so inclined to run and stretch like 5-10 years before. I would say, he turned now an aggressive sport-point player.
After Karen you wrote, Novak was playing his younger (and bigger) self. It was quite the same against Zverev. The same type of tennis. If the point was not finished fast, Novak wa going first out of gas, then out of concept. Ana the ball was still coming back, so it must have ended with his errors. Novaks outstanding strategic and tactical skills would be good against every other type of opponent. Thiem would play his beautiful things and lose. Novak needs more power, but would it be still Djoker? Just like you can think, Thiem would need more regularity and accuracy and more defense skills, but would it be still Thiem?
“Looked like” – good qualification. He had not really so much variety. But after Novak was on the end with gas and concept, it was easy to approach the net.
Lendl. Good job for Zverev. Bad job for tennis. I’m wondering, how want Lendl to make Zverev win a slam next year. And which one.
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Done 🙂 http://prf-mypassions-tennisandmore.com/thiems-ethos-transcend-trophies/
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It’s just gping to be “trending” post on my blog, haha! Thank you, Matt.
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372087 and counting. And 27854 comments. Hahaha …
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Maldives?
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Is someone vacationing there?
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Not you? But the whole ATP/WTA, including Federer and Thiem. Well, Thiem just on the way home. I thought, you are there to collect fresh gossips 😉
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Did you see the title page of ATP website today? Thiem-Nadal in Madrid called no. 4 on 2018. What comes as no., 1-2? For me Thiem-Nadal at USO is no. 1 but I guess, it will be Zverev in London and Khachanov in Paris. No Federer at all? No Isner? 😉
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Come-on, Wlady. You of the conspiracy theory: Federer v Djokovic Shanghai SF is #1.
😉
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Hehehe, a virtual match cannot be the first on this list, Or you meant Federer-Coric semi (won by Coric) or Djokovic-Coric final (won by Djokovic). But I agree – this could be no.1 on virtual list of virtual matches. I vote for Carlsen vs. Caruana, hahaha …
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I meant their Paris-Bercy SF. That will be #1 although Thiem v Nadal USO should be.
Djokovic v Nadal WB SF and Nadal v Del Potro WB QF might have some votes too.
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Agree Matt- Djokovic-Federer is first and maybe Djokovic Nadal second on the ATP list, but on our very private list Thiem Nadal is first. We have for sure better knowledge and feeling for tennis, but ATP has more money, hahaha.
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I think the Nadal v Djoker WB SF has more meaning than probably any (like the 2017 Aus Open final). The narrative of the sport’s history could have gone in drastically different directions on the outcome of those matches.
And if Thiem BEATS Nadal in NYC, then it’s #1. I still probably liked it best because of of Dom’s progressed style, hard courts. He was brilliant. Almost. 😀
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Yes, I forgot WB. Probably didn’t watch the whole match. I would accept it to be No. 1, Thiem-Nadal landing the second. But who has asked me to accept??? Hahaha …
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I have compiled video of the bagel in NYC, only showing serve and backhand. And a slider called 24 minutes of Nadal’s life, haha … Like Le Mans 😉 http://prf-mypassions-tennisandmore.com/thiems-ethos-transcend-trophies/. This set was won with Serve&Backhand. Then Thiem was sorry for Rafa and on the end Rafa was sorry for him. Nice Love Story 🙂 I could compile another video showing how Thiem was showing respect for Rafa. Zero celebration after the bagel. Only one such Mr. Respect on tour, no?
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Name’s mix. But still another TRANSCEND TROPHY for Thiem, the only one under 30 in the club. Many others delivered good or better ranking achievements (Zverev) bot not any top-quality match..
It’s a bit stupid, this one point on the end to exclude USO match from this contention. Maybe they decided, Thiem deserved the place here because of more than one big match, but this should be a match he won. For me USO match was in usual terms better and more meaningful, but <… it was lost and to choose this match because of what the winner delived would be false.
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Haha. That was easy.
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Starting to understand, how ATP works. Better later than (n)ever 😉
Fedfam is annoyed, both best matches were lost by Maestro. I told them “Better lost than nothing”, hahaha 🙂 But ATP was just – both Djoker and Rafa have 1 lost and one won. Only Thiem. Cilic and Delpo have won ALL of their ATP-best matches. This to be just, they needed to add Thiem Federer in London and Cilic Federer at AO. If I’m not overwhelmed by all these permutations, all participants would have the same number of lost and won. Where I’m missing the point, Matt?
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If we are just “BEYOND NUMBERS”, “TRANSCEND TROPHIES” on my blog were read (or at least viewed) 45x over the week and the article produced at least one hit to McShow Blog daily. What does it mean? Well … numbers always work 😉
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Best 157 matches between guys ranked 378-742, only lefties, aged 47+ coming soon 😉
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I didn’t dare to watch (hahaha) but even ATP didn’t have doubts. The best Grand Slöam Match of 2018 was https://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/best-grand-slam-matches-2018-2-to-1
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I’m watching again certain USO match to find Thiems weak points. Not much found. But he missed a smash twice in important moments. And I can recall it from other matches – Thiem has problems with smashing. Sometimes needs 2-3 smashes to finish (or lose) the point. Mr. Bresnik – a small but important job for Tenerife Camp 2018 !!! Or Thiem may lose another matches like this. Why not to win them?
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Only his smash? My kid is like Thiem: too nice. He’s a fine soccer player but doesn’t have the means to intimidate, destroy, etc.
If you don’t have that drive to win, you are a “practice player.” If you are not able to perform, compete and win when the lights are brightest, you are not long for the sport.
Thiem is okay. He will win.
Perhaps this is what many see in Federer: he is perhaps one of the greatest practice players and has the biggest trophy case.
Practice = the skills, the art, the aesthetics.
Competition = the drive to destroy the opponent.
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About being “practice player” an having big case of trophies. I just had some hot discussion on peRFect Tennis. They mostly like Thiem but think, I’m crazy to see in him the closest Federer’s follower among current younger players. I was looking for arguments, knowing they would not accept my analyzes and comparisons (he misses volley and slice, he owns 11 titles at the age Federer owned 40 (but Nadal 46, no answer from them to this) so what has he in common with Federer?
I found the right wording – as always – in your post. “Practice player”. And I did a small research. I watch some Federer’s matches, when he was 25. For example his USO final against Roddick. In this age Federer was excellent baseliner. Maybe less power, more feeling but generally not a big difference compared to Thiem today. But he was glued to the baseline. It was Roddick, who was approaching the net all the time. Federer almost didn’t slice, hitting big topspin forehands and backhands. Less power, but taking the ball early. Most of times Federer approached the net, it was either too short shot from Roddick and easy to finish for Federer or the point was lost, because Roddick was way better at the net.
Well, since I did post the link to this match, 3 days are gone and nobody has commented 😉
I don’t expect Thiem to collect comparable bag of trophies but his bag of big matches will be full and some big trophies will be there too. Again, he is not in a hurry. He knows, he can be ready to defeat Nadal or Djokovic in finals, but he can easily fall in an early round to someone from Top100, having just his day. He knows, he could have failed at RG 2018 before the final. No guarantee this does not happen 2019.
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Are you unhappy with your kid being like this?
While watching again the whole USO match, I was impressed by two things. Thiem was focused on his game, which was really well and he felt it and he could here it from the crowd. He was focused on Nadal too. Without any fear, with big respect (waiting for Nadal’s antics to be sure, he is ready to play, doing this the way, nobody else does – almost everyone shows impatience and unhappiness) and a kind of love (love your foes?). 2 or 3 times some slight grimaces (he does mostly a lot and this is simply his normal facial expression) after some missed shots. He was ready to win. But this does not mean for him – to destroy the opponent or to show or prove him something. It means, If I’m playing my best, I WILL win. The match was lost by a single missed shot. Could have gone either way.
Then I observed his face, when packing and leaving the court (what a rare celebration of Nadal!) and then when walking to locker room. His face was showing something like “I did play an excellent match. He was better by one point. That’s all.” He didn’t look disappointed and he would show happiness, if he would win. Not falling to the ground but rather ding just what Rafa did. Somehow both happy – the winner and the loser.
This was everything he expects from tennis. To play such big matches and win or lose by 1 point. Thiem would not be happy to destroy Rafa in 3.
But I see him very close to be able to win many big matches just by one point. Only some small skill improvements. Before his Tenerife Camp (just started) he told, he wants to get faster and harder. He can.
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Can’t believe, how much of Thiem in ATP in the 2018 review. He was deep under the radar all the way. Now he is omnipresent. Best matches, best rivalries. What else? Where is Zverev, the lucky kid, winning titles on the shoulder of efforts of others?
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I’m on Gutenberg. Looks like this now http://prf-mypassions-tennisandmore.com/. The featured image is a kind of my predicted biggest rivalry for 2019 🙂
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I’m again off Gutenberg. Old classic editor is simply … classic 🙂
Yesterday we could watch Tenerife Camp live. 2 hours of interviews and watching hitting. I was trying to get, on what is Thiem working. As expected, on taking the ball early, close to half-volleying. If he can hit the same as always but with hitting point 1-2 meters ahead, I don’t see guys to stand with him in a baseline battle. I remember the year 2013, when Rafa won so much on hard, including US Open.
In this particular year Nadal moved his hitting point on return and in rallies 2-3 m ahead. And started to serve flatter, resulting in hitting many aces, which he normally never does. Thiem going similar way?
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Just found an useful plugin “Truncate comments”. It makes every comment collapse to the length (in words or lines) defined by you with a link (can have a different color) saying “Read more (or something else, you can define too). This lay long comments (like mine ;)) are short like others, making scrolling easier and only who’s interested can read the whole comment. I have asked the author to add one missing option, namely “Read less”, so after read, I can collapse the comment back (it would work only for me). If I reload the page all commernts are again short.
Best
WJ
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Latest big Bresnik’s interview translated into “Simplified English” (on the end of the article)
http://prf-mypassions-tennisandmore.com/dominic-thiem-2019/
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Did you notice Thiem’s new Youtube Channel?
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeM5OhzzMzWpL39RV1N_Owg 1 video every Wednesday (3 so far published).
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