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Federer : The Mother Of All Quests : 20 Slams And 100 Titles.

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#1 · (Edited)






this will become the mother of all sports quests in modern sports. it will be known going forward simply as "The Quest".

can he snatch a total of 100 titles before he hangs up his racquets? is that a viable goal for him to have?

and also what about 20 slams now that 17 are in the bag?


i know he wants slams but slams dont come easy after 30. he will be one of the exceptions obviously if it happens. where do you see his best chance at another slam? could it be on the u.s. open surface?

somebody won a french open at 31 for instance? what was his name? that is your question of the day. here is a hint: he was 6 foot 5 and he was a left hander.

muscles (rosewall) was making the finals of slams at some ridiculous old age. so if you have the talent and you can keep up on the fitness front you can certainly show up in the finals of slams.
 
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#3,240 ·
How great that #95 can be won in Basel (Federer's own backyard), after that it's only 5 to go. Basel will set in the final count down from five (if Federer actually wins, I know don't count your chickens). But there's something great for me in the fact that after Basel we can be down to the last 5:woohoo:
 
#3,241 ·
Swiss Indoors Basel Players for 2017 (from the tournament website)

Please note that some of these players are out or uncertain and rankings are not current..


Muller is out due to elbow injury, Nadal might have knee/fatigue issues.
Delpo is playing this week in Stockholm. That would be a lot of tennis for him.

If Federer came out of Shanghai healthy, I cannot see him skipping Basel...

Main Draw is next Saturday afternoon, then we will see what is going on..

Respectfully,
masterclass
 
#3,246 ·
Djokovic's Forehand when trying to print spin on the ball is awful. His RPM is not among the best especially when trying to spin the ball cross court or DTL.

He has not the same depth than when he is hitting his forehand flat which is a very good shot.

so no unfortunately Djokovic is not the most complete player ever.

you can say his lower body is the best ever (legs, foot) but his upper body is inferior to Nadal and Federer.

If you are the most complete player ever you are not 4 slams behind nadal and 7 behind federer. there is something wrong and everybody knows it
 
#3,257 ·
Well the draw is out for Basel. Things look good for Federer to reach the final and than grasp #95. And on we go:armed:
 
#3,260 ·
I'm annoyed that Federer at the start of 2018 is once again playing Hopman Cup & not Brisbane as he is missing out on a golden opportunity for a title.
 
#3,261 ·
So true, easily a title that Fed could win as well. Much more beneficial than the Hopman Cup. The Hopman Cup is a nice bonus to the CV but Fed has already won it, another 250 points from Brisbane can always come in handy.

Take the YE#1 this year for example, 250 points doesn't seem like a lot but it would give Fed more leeway at the WTF.
 
#3,267 ·
So let me calculate ...

95 happens in Basel ...

96 at WTF ...

97 Dubai ...

98 Indian Wells ...

99 Halle ...

So i think its save to say that the universe will explode out of joy at Sunday, 15 of July 2018, when Roger Federer is going to win Wimbledon 2018, reaching 100 titles and 20 slams.
 
#3,268 ·
At the same time Federer would get the trophy someone from MTF (read @Clay Death) should overhand this thread:worship:
 
#3,271 ·
Part of me wants Federer to win title #100 at Wimbledon, but the other part wants him to win it in Basel (after having won the 20th slam, at least, of course - preferably Wimbledon if he had to win just one more), to close on this extraordinary journey from Basel as a junior player to Basel as the absolute GOAT of this sport and one of the greatest athletes that ever ran this world.

Such achievement would not mean it would be over for him, but the poetry would be shiveringly beautiful.
 
#3,272 ·
Why wouldn't we settle on beating JC's record in Basel? His contract is until 2019.


P.S. Again - yes! I AM greedy. Deal with it! :nerner:
 
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#3,274 · (Edited)
#95- Basel

#96- WTF

#97- Australian Open

#98- Indian Wells

#99- Halle

#100- Wimdledon


Honestly it would be magical if Federer wins his 100th title at the home of tennis, his favourite tournament, Wimbledon. I hope it happens.
 
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#3,290 ·
I have a feeling that Federer is going to unleash a new plan of attack in 2018.


translation: I think he will fight his battles a bit differently than in the past.


1. extremely fast, up tempo tennis


2. hyper aggression


3. slightly more high risk tennis


4. shorter points


5. attack at every opportunity and finish as many points at the net as possible
 
#3,292 · (Edited)
I sometimes resent Federer more than his rivals tbh. I'm a hater-fan. I suppose that reflects my conflicted inner nature quite well.

Federer fans need to come to grips with the fact that Federer had his chances. When he gets surpassed it will be deserved. It is simply so.

We can always appreciate the unique talent, personality and soul that he is though. Tennis will never see another one quite like him.
 
#3,299 ·
I daresay this particular topic will recycle round and round for a good couple of years yet. Realistically (although I succumbed to emotion after the USO final) there are too many variables before we can even start analysing the case as to whether Nadal will obtain the GS record. The immediately obvious ones are as follows:

- None of us know if or how many more GS titles Federer could win, he's still a moving target.
- We don't know whether Rafa can maintain his form going to 2018 (which I reckon will be a critical year in the outcome of the "battle")
- As an extension to the aforementioned point, we don't know whether Federer/Nadal can continue their good form on HC, or whether they will retreat to their favourite arenas of RG/Wimby respectively. Moreover, who will remain the more dominant in these domains.
- We have no way of knowing how established stars such as Djokovic, Murray, Wawrinka et al will return, which undoubtedly is a huge question mark over the results in 2018.
- We don't know how long it'll take for Zverev, Kyrgios, Shapovalov etc to finally establish themselves as top performers and how effective they will be long-term.
- We also overlook the lost generation, it's not beyond the realms of impossibility that Dimitrov, Cilic could snatch another slam. I don't suspect them to be multiple-slam winners but they can cause upsets.
- We also forget the specialists, what's to say we won't see a one-off wonder show from Thiem on clay or various big servers/hitters on grass. In a debate this tight, it is fine margins we are discussing.

So for me there's too many unknowns at present to judge and the next 12 months will be telling in the debate, I suggest we revisit it after Wimby next year. Even if Nadal does grab the GS record (which there is a possibility of) then discussions around the significance of No.1 stats/WTF etc etc come in to play to discuss the "GOAT" status.
 
#3,302 ·
I remember when Federer won RG in 2009. It was his 14th GS overall, he had tied Sampras' GS record and he had finally completed the career Grand Slam. Several of his fans said they'd be happy if Federer would retire right away, confident that he had in fact managed to secure GOATdom. When he won Wimbledon the next month, surpassing Sampras' record, half of his fanbase would have been okay if Federer were to retire on the spot.

But next year RAFA won the USO and completed the career GS too. Suddenly that wasn't enough. Then in 2017 he surpassed Sampras' record himself. Suddenly that wasn't enough either.

Like it or not, RAFA has been in Federer's footsteps his entire career. He's five years younger and you can bet your house he won't stop trying to beat Federer's record. Him and his uncle have said that themselves. They're after Federer's 19, and that's part of what makes this rivalry entertaining.

It's astonishing when you think about it. Two players have managed to crush the most important record in tennis in the same era.
 
#3,304 ·
This. Whichever side of the verge (not that there needs to be a verge) you happen to sit you can't help but marvel at what the two have achieved. Usually you get one player in a generation that will break a few records, so to get two that have not only broken all the records but improved upon them by a large amount, its not like they've just scraped past each respective record.

Whichever one ends up "on top", though I don't think it comes solely down to the GS record but a multitude of things, I think we can all rest assured that it'll be a long time before both of them are surpassed.
 
#3,317 · (Edited)
The FedExpress races into the Basel final with a demolition of Belgian David Goffin, 6-1, 6-2, and it wasn't that close. Goffin had nothing with which to hurt Federer, and Roger caused plenty of damage with a powerful forehand today. After the definite improvement seen in the serve and backhand, Roger finally seems to be coming to terms with the forehand and his bigger racquet, and it is getting stronger and stronger. Maybe it still lacks some consistency, but woe to those who test it. In my opinion he is getting closer and closer to his IW-Miami form on the indoor hard courts as he makes the necessary adjustments.

Tomorrow it's all on the line against Juan Martin del Potro for Title #95 to move into second place alone past Ivan Lendl.

If Roger plays like today it is going to be tough for the Argentine, but Delpo has more weapons than Goffin for sure, and he could trouble the Swiss Maestro.
Let's see if the Swiss Assassin will strike hard and move one step closer towards fulfilling the 100 titles quest.
Remember, Delpo will also be highly motivated as he wants those 500 points to help qualify for the World Tour Finals.
But Federer will no doubt be looking to get a win after losing the last two Basel finals in 2012-2013 played against Del Potro both in a difficult 3 sets.
I envision at least one tiebreaker.


Good luck and health to both players.



Respectfully,
masterclass
 
#3,318 ·
Watching Fed's blazing FH's gave me deja vu. I've been missing those. :hearts:

Hopefully #95 tomorrow. And extra motivation for DelPo to make the final in Paris! :devil:
 
#3,322 ·
He is playing differently clay death. His ground game was superior in his prime as were his endurance, explosiveness, movement. Remember nothing troubled fed off the ground game except nadals forehand to fed's backhand and that was only on clay and lets remember fed was using an anitquated racket at the time.

God knows how feds level would have been in his peak physical days with his current modern racket and pure attacking game. Perhaps it would have been too good and the nadal rivalry never would have came about.
 
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