So I was reading this blog by Pete Bodo from Tennis.com. First I will start off by saying that I have previously tried to email Pete and he has ignored every single one of my emails but I have moved on. Before you read the rest of this blog I need to remind everyone that I am a big Roger Federer and Nadal fan. I saw both win there first Major and have followed them since. So as a fan of both you can understand my frustration on Pete Bodo’s new blog. For the rest of this blog I will analyze Pete’s blog titled “Death, Taxes, and Rafa Nadal.”
His blog starts off with this paragraph:
“Roger Federer has earned the right to feel awfully good about himself. He’s had a great career and, with the exception of a few relatively minor injury issues, a remarkably smooth one.”
This is where the frustration begins. Pete mentions that Roger “had” a great career. What are you talking about Pete, I want to know what you mean by had. He is still playing tennis. He won the Australian open this year. Lost in the quarters of the French, quarters at Wimbledon, and Semi-finals at the USOpen. I’m sorry last I checked that is a great year even for Roger. Last year he won the French and completed the grand slams and played what I consider an epic Wimbledon final against Andy Roddick. I really dislike how people like Pete like to end and bash on what I consider a Legend career.
As I read further down this blog the following paragraph catches my eye:
“Federer has been a Bradley-esque figure in tennis, both on and off the court. He’s almost always had that “sense of where you are” on the court, which is one reason his style is so effortless and his game so fluid. More than any other player, he’s been blissfully free from having to develop a game plan, because he has the talent and ability to play what you might call aggressive-reactive tennis. It travels under the more familiar and now-fashionable concept of the “transition” game—how to turn a defensive position into an offensive one. The strategy let him down on only a few occasions, but more about that later.”
I start off by saying that I agree that Rogers style is so effortless and his game so fluid, but when you say that, “more than any other player, hes been blissfully free for having to develop a game plan, because he has the talent and ability to play what you might call aggressive reactive tennis.” Again I will have to disagree with Pete. Saying that Roger doesn’t have a game plan and uses pure talent to win is in my opinion ridiculous. If Roger did not have a game plan against players I doubt he would have won 16 grand slams. Roger in my opinion is one of the smartest players on court, he has the best court scene knows almost exactly where the opponent will hit there next ball even before they now. That is a skill that he again in my opinion has obtained from watching tennis and having a game plan against certain players. He knows what there favorite shots or on big points and that is how he comes out on top
This next paragraph is when this blog got really sour for me:
“But like the rest of us, there are a few things Federer cannot escape, like death and taxes. Only in TMF’s case you can add, “Rafael Nadal.” And this additional inevitability looms like a storm cloud on his horizon. It’s appropriate to contemplate the gravity of the situation now that Nadal has won his ninth major, completed his career Grand Slam, and conquered the last territory formerly held exclusively by Federer, the United States (as represented by the U.S. Open).
Federer, whose domination of tennis was both grand and generally free of stress and conflict for six years beginning in 2004, is now on the horns of a dilemma. He’s said that he’ll continue to play while it’s still fun and challenging. But is he really prepared to do that if it’s going to have an impact on his legacy vis a vis his rivalry with Nadal? Or put it this way: Will Federer, whose pride is of the mellow sort but pride nonetheless, retain his appetite for tennis if he’s overshadowed, particularly if it’s by a single player?”
Pete you ask if Federer will retain his appetite for tennis even if he is overshadowed by Nadal. That is something none of use can really predict but I feel 100% that he will since he loves the sport of tennis. Know I need to ask where are these stupid questions coming from. Roger has year after year been put down by Nadal at the French and he finally was able to win it. That to me shows that he would not give up even if he would continue to lose to Nadal he new eventually he would win and his persistent allowed him to complete the grand slam. So do you think that his new goal of 20 grand slams will not be reached just because of one player. I still don’t see Nadal winning every grand slam in the next few years and be as consistent, other than at the French, as Roger was in the past.
Oh Pete this is where things get really frustrating for me:
“And that’s just why Federer is in such a tight spot. Personally, I have no doubt that his game is in decline. Without wishing to take anything away from Novak Djokovic, that was the major takeaway for me from their semifinal clash at the U.S. Open. I don’t believe it’s an irreversible decline, or even necessarily a physical one. In fact, TMF’s critical weaknesses in that Djokovic match seemed entirely of the mental kind, and less related to any threat he felt from his rival, or the occasion (as if that could bamboozle Federer), than to the hours he’s logged on his competitive clock.”
So Pete you say that Rogers game is in decline I would like for you to elaborate on that. I already know what kind of year Roger had in the majors this year and any player including Nadal would be more than happy to have done as well as Roger had done at the Major this year. Obviously Nadal surpassed his own expectations and won the last 3 Majors, something Roger was able to do very consistenly by winning the Austrailian, French, and USopen all in one year for a few consecutive years. Can he do that again, I beelive so. His game is not in decline he is going through a similar phase he went through in 2008 when his only major was at the USopen. Then he came back to win the French and Wimbledon.
I cant wait for Roger to come back next year and prove you wrong but all you will blog about will be regarding what a great palyer Roger is and how his is the best of all time and how age doesn’t matter. So you would be totally contradicting what you are saying now, I cant wait for that blog so I can call you out on it!!
No matter what happens in the future Roger will in my opinion enjoy tennis its been his life how can he not. Will it be painful to lose to Nadal, yes but to see him succeed I think not. If Roger could pick any player to catch up to him or do better then him it would be Nadal, not novak or del potro or any other player. Even you said that Roger wanted Nadal to win the USOpen but he would be watching. Roger is in a different stage of his life than Nadal. I feel like Roger buts his family before his work. That is what is important and people like PETE don’t understand that. These two players have so much respect for each other and what I hate the most is how the media and PETE feel like that can start something more in there rivalry. Stop trying to put them against each other and convince fans that Roger would hope that Nadal is not as successful as him and takes the spot light away from him.
So to end this blog I hope Pete reads this and hope you finally pick a side are you a Roger fan or not?!
Ricky
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