It's common knowledge that Rafa was always Federer's mental daddy. 23-11 and 9-2 tell us about everything. But do you think Djokovic's ability to win all important matches against Federer after Wimbledon-12 has played its role on Federer's psyche? Roger was waiting for Rafa's decline during the whole career, but, when it happened, Federer isn't able to win anything important against the guy who isn't Nadal.
Djokovic obviously. You could say Nadal if he was playing better tennis but truth is Federer has been playing top 2 tennis for the last year and a half (don't care what the rankings technically say at the moment, that could easily change after the Australian Open). Nadal is currently a shadow of himself and rarely makes it to the Federer stages of events -- yet to be seen if he can get out of #5-8 status in 2016.
Federer is completely hopeless against Nadal. He's got a resigned look on his face in all their matches. Fed barely beat Nadal in a match at home where all the conditions massively favored Federer. If they meet again on anything but fast indoor HC Nadal will be a huge favorite.
On the other hand he still believes he can beat Djokovic, so it's not nearly as bad.
I fully disagree. Djokovic is simply a better player at the moment. Federer truly in his mind still beieves that he can beat Djokovic. On the other hand he does not necessarily believe that he can beat Nadal even now. He barely got by in their last match against a declined Nadal who Djokovic currently toys with!
Even the last 2 matches that Djoko played.
When you compare his 63 63 beating of Nadal vs the 63 64 beating of Federer. The Nadal match he looked like he had to exert zero effort. On the other hand he broke a little bit of sweat again Federer. That same Nadal who was spanked by Djokovic would likely beat that Federer no problem!
Federer has no mental block against Djokovic. He still has the belief of beating him.
Federer still is able to beat Djokovic. He loses to Djokovic when it matters because Djokovic is currently the better player and tends to produce his best when it matters. Federer on the other hand, it's true he plays worse against Djokovic in finals, that's because of the pressure, not of facing Djokovic, but of winning the title. The pressure of him getting #18 or a big title gets to him. Just look at his records on MS/Slams in finals in the past 2 years, it's poor. Some I admit he was outplayed but overall he has been poor in finals. He lost to Stan and Tsonga as well, even the titles he won in Shanghai and Cincy last year, he played poorly against Ferrer/Simon, unlike his other opponents, they weren't able to take advantage. Cincy this year is an exception. He's just shitting himself when it comes to important finals lately, it's not just against Djokovic really. Djokovic being the better player and bringing his best when it matters also contributes of course.
For me, the clear answer is Nadal. As much as I enjoyed the Basel win, that choke in the 2nd set was a bit worrying, since this was his home turf where he is comfortable and on Indoor HC. He should have really won in straight sets against Nadal, the mental block is still there, but perhaps this win might give Federer a lot more confidence, since prior to that, his last win against Nadal was in 2012.
Djokovic is just the best player mentally out there so no surprise that he won most finals since 2014 Wimbledon. But if Djokovic will have a slump next year watch out for Federer even in best of 5. Federer USO form and Wimbledon form was scary good and Djokovic cant win all finals forever.
I agree with this. I've been impressed by Federer. I really wrote him off after 2013, didn't think his body and movement could return to competitive shape given the back issue and his age. He really proved me wrong at Wimbledon 2014 and has actually only gotten stronger since then. I thought that could have been his last great run but truth is he was the man to beat after Djokovic at both Wimbledon and US Open.
Had Anderson capitalized on a break point in the 5th set at Wimbledon, that could have been Fed's title easily. Murray SF + Gasquet F lmao.
Fed has no mental block against Djokovic. He has mental blocks against everybody in close situation and mental blocks in big matches. All these finals this year he lost because he couldn't have delivered in a big match, regarding the amount of such matches even by law of numbers he must have delivered in one, just the fact he hasn't telling more than enough about his current mental state. Even like that he should have won that USO final but there things got close and this is one way traffic in Fedovic matches. Every time in last few years when Fed has beaten Djokovic it was straight sets match, Djokovic wins a set, Djokovic wins a match. This proves that Fed loses being mentally outplayed, not outplayed by Djokovic's game
I don't think Djokovic has any sort of mental edge over Federer. Roger is simply aware that his own body won't allow him to fight against one of the fittest players of all time for 5 full sets anymore. He knows that once the match goes to the distance, his chances basically decrease to 0. This is the original source of Fed's lack of belief, not some unexplicable fear of Djokovic himself. Federer matches up realy well with Nole and still gives him a shitload of trouble on a good day. Heck, he won their RR match convincingly just few days ago :haha:
Easy peasy - has to be Nadal. Djoker is a good matchup for Federer, and Fed knows that he can still beat Nole. But against Nadal, he always has to change his game.
Fraud has a bigger mental block with the nadal obviously. When he sees the nadal across the net, he fears he'll have to rally with his BH all day. That's not a good feeling when you have a single HBH unless you're Mugsquet or crybabyrinka.
Agree with those saying Nadal (although they haven't played much recently). Fed has something of a block vs. Nole in finals, but he can keep it close and occasinally win BO3 matches, so it's not that big a deal. Nadal has been something else -- a bad matchup that gives Fed big problems and affects his confidence.
Federer has no mental block against Fakervic. Djokotards shouldn't get all excited that their fake god is in Federer's head. He isn't. Federer just has a mental block in finals against everyone, not just against Djokovic.
Federer has no mental block against Fakervic. Djokotards shouldn't get all excited that their fake god is in Federer's head. He isn't. Federer just has a mental block in finals against everyone, not just against Djokovic.
Nadal doesn't have a bigger mental edge but he has a bigger edge just because he is a bad match-up for Fed. His strength matches up perfectly with Federer's weakness.
Federer was beating Djokovic up until he was 32 years old. You're really going to ignore the fact that he started losing more often at the age of 33/34? Let's see how "mentally strong" Djokovic is when he's 33/34 years old.
federer fears djoker’s stamina in best of five (as does the rest of the tour), but in best of three he knows he has his chances on a good day (eg. dubai, cincy & wtf). nadal, on the other hand, is basically hopeless at this stage as he lacks the variety and game style matchup that can trouble novak.
as far as the thread question, imo there’s no reason to believe fed’s lying or playing mind games..
Federer, though, said he would not prepare for 2016 with a particular focus on beating Djokovic, but with what works best against the majority. It was different, he admits, when he was trying to combat Nadal's superiority.
"For me, Rafa is the unique player in the field. I used to work more precisely towards him," said the world No.3. "With Novak, it's more straightforward. If you don't play very well, you're going to have a hard time. If you're going to play better, I know I have my chances with my game." ATP World Tour Finals: Djokovic beats Federer to end his best season
Has to be Robredo after the demolition at the US Open. He's lucky he hasn't had to face Tommy on hard since...
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