who is going to be the biggest threat to federer during the next years?

discuss :)

The off season begins in September now.

I truly don't know. And personally, I cannot see another player as No. 1.

However, I think, in 2006, the pressure is going to be on Nadal more than Roger. Nadal has to defend all those points and many will be coming after him. Next year will be a real test for Nadal. I think most have accepted Roger's position in the game of tennis :) but, I think 2006 will have Nadal with a bullseye on his butt.......... Good Luck Rafa.........

Coria. He'll win this USO :shrug:

I truly don't know. And personally, I cannot see another player as No. 1.

However, I think, in 2006, the pressure is going to be on Nadal more than Roger. Nadal has to defend all those points and many will be coming after him. Next year will be a real test for Nadal. I think most have accepted Roger's position in the game of tennis :) but, I think 2006 will have Nadal with a bullseye on his butt.......... Good Luck Rafa.........
I think Nadal can handle pressure. Hopefully he'll improve his serve so we can see him playing Federer more often on the fast surfaces.

I think Nadal can handle pressure. Hopefully he'll improve his serve so we can see him playing Federer more often on the fast surfaces.


I'm also thinking he can handle the pressure, but I just think the pressure will be more on him than Roger.

I can only see one guy next year

DONALD YOUNG!!!

Jim Pierce :drool:

Safin.
Once his injury is sorted, he'll get super fit, spend a lotta time with a sports psychologist, practice loads and fulfil his potential. Ive read loadsa interviews with him lately and he's very self aware and knows the time is now for him to achieve a career heis talent deserves.
I think next year he'll win Oz and build on it to maybe grab RG or US.
I hope by the end of his career he's won 9 slams and finished one year as number one.
He's the only player i can see who has the game to beat Fed plus the proven GS winning mentality it would take to be Fed's biggest challenger.

Gasquet, Berdych, Monfils etc.. You never know. A rise to the top can be very quick. Before Wimbledon 2003, people doubted Federer would ever make it. It takes just 2 weeks to go from zero to hero.

it seems nadal is winning this poll widely

i'm still not sure about his ability to compete with rodger on hard courts in the long term(in one game,yes,like we saw in miami but in the long term ,not sure)

Gasquet because his game is more fluid and also offensive, and it is easier on his body more than Rafas.

none of them, but gasquet is most likely when hes in his early 20s. roger will be aging by then so it will be more equal. but to be honest none of those players are capable of being a true rival. roger is just on another level which isnt reachable for others. people say nadal, hes han a great year, any other year he would be no1 but he is still 2500 points behind roger. that is a huge margin.

Nadal on clay. Safin on hard. Roddick on grass when he hires me as his coach and makes the necessary improvements in his game.

Nadal as a whole though, he'll grab the no.1 spot in the not too distant future and then have battles with Federer to regain it.

Nadal on clay. Safin on hard. Roddick on grass when he hires me as his coach and makes the necessary improvements in his game.

Nadal as a whole though, he'll grab the no.1 spot in the not too distant future and then have battles with Federer to regain it.
roddick on grass! :haha:

Hewitt...starting with a beating at this year's USO semis!

Ancic :confused:

The off season begins in September now.


Funny isnt it? Hes not even made it to the semis at this open and they're already looking into 2006 and beyond. :rolleyes: :haha: too funny!

it seems nadal is winning this poll widely

i'm still not sure about his ability to compete with rodger on hard courts in the long term(in one game,yes,like we saw in miami but in the long term ,not sure)

This is realy becoming irritating, so many people seriously mentioning Miami as a real hard-court. Miami is extremely slow, it is almost like clay! Nadal was always strong on that tournament and will be strong in future - but faster hard-courts are a different story.

About Federer challengers - I think Safin is the greatest rival for Federer. As for the youngsters, I'm not sure - maby Gasquet, maby not... To soon to say.

Miami and Montreal are both played on clay. Soon, more hardcourt tournaments will be played on clay.

One by one..
Nadal is a slowcourter.. Federer is all-courter.. Even if Nadal earns 50% more points than Federer on slow courts ( that is RG, AO, 3 clay Masters + Miami ), Fed will still have plenty of room to compensate and will earn 200% more points in fast court part of the season, just like it happened this year..

Roddick.. If he has enough guts and goes back to a good coach like Gilbert, we can talk about it. Not now.

Hewitt.. Federer is better on every surface in every single component of the game. No discussion needed.

Safin.. We do not discuss a possibility of psychotherapeutic miracles here..

Nalbandian.. Silly to even consider..

Ancic, Coria, Davydenko.. :lol:

Gasquet.. No.. As long as he does not become an athlete..

Miami and Montreal are both played on clay. Soon, more hardcourt tournaments will be played on clay.


:haha:

Miami and Montreal are both played on clay. Soon, more hardcourt tournaments will be played on clay.

:eek: The return of the clay joke.
For the newbies on this board I guess :p

Nadal has the spin to beat roger as he proved in paris and miami

You mean in terms of his no 1 ranking, or in actual matches? I can't see Nadal threatening his ranking, but he gives him a hard time whenever they meet, whatever the surface. Add Kiefer and Nalbandian to that, and Henman was a thorn in his side until recently. And oh yeah, Hrbaty for his 2-0 head to head.

Gasquet and Nadal...

...and I'd like to think Safin. But that might be an unrealistic thought.

KIWI!

Gasquet

roddick on grass! :haha:
If, and only if, he hires adee-gee as his coach.

I went with Nadal specifically because of "CLAY", the surface that troubles Rogi the most.

Without doubts:RICHARD GASQUET:worship:

Anyone who seriously thinks Nadal will only dominate on clay surfaces is ridiculously short-sighted. The kid is 19 and already #2 in the world! He's a prodigy of talent with time and attitude to burn. He'll be the next #1 for sure - its not just a fact, its a destiny.

Nadal.

Maybe, hopefully, Djokovic.

nadal is already a threat

What happened to the Safin supporters? Have they disappeared after AO this year?

i think nadal and gasquet. I put down nadal, though. Both of these young players have most part of the game covered.

Gasquet - has to work on his fitnes and some mental parts
Nadal - has to work on his fast court game (esp. playing closer to the basline)
the other youngsters have to work on consistency and mental aspects

Safin - impossible is nothing right ;)

@REx add Safin - the OAF of tennis. to your sig ;)

Looking at the facts which are the ONLY things that matter: Nadal. He has a positive H2H with Roger 1 easy win on HC in a MS, one relatively easy win on clay in a GS semi and a very contested loss in a MS final on HC. He's got the mental, is young and will do everything that it takes to progress and be able to do it.
Second: Safin yet again the (recent) facts speak for themselves since he's been able to do it "recently" in a GS semi and it was close in Halle despite him "hating" grass...If he's on a good day...
Third: Gasquet H2H 1-1 (one very close win in a MS quarterfinal on clay, one striaght set loss in a MS final on clay...) I just hope that his first victory won't be his only one against him...
Fourth: Kiefer (not too bad H2H considering we're speaking of Fedex: 3-6 and he always is one of the very few able to take him a set...) if he learns from all his defeats against him...
Plus some other but there are no signs of it yet (against Roger...) to judge well like Djokovic, Berdych who beat him once, etc...Plus a talented player who we didn't expect who'll get to "own" him one day, who knows?

Impossible to tell... Remember 2 years ago, everyone would have answered Roddick and look what he has done since, he is no threat to Federer...

the correct answer is can federer still be a threat when nadal and gasquet both hit form! coz they're the 2 who are going to dominate

bobby ginepri

bobby ginepri

don't call him bobby :ras:

Nadal.

Maybe, hopefully, Djokovic.
amen.

i won't consider kiefer as a threat since he's lost 6 straight times to fed already.

he'll be more like a nuisance that takes a set from fed regulalry...

I think Nadal and Gaqeut are going to be hiw two biggest threats and maybe Berydech too, but even then Federer is going to dominate the mens tour as long as he plays, he might go down as the best ever and while Nadal and Gasquest are very good, Federer is something super super special!

the correct answer is can federer still be a threat when nadal and gasquet both hit form! coz they're the 2 who are going to dominate
I agree with you but...dude you need to change it for the correct QUESTION not correct ANSWER :angel: ...but i understood the point you were trying to make and i totally agree!

I think Navratilova will be beating Federer easily when he's in his forties, and she's in her sixties.

Yes, Safin took Australian Open from Federer and Nadal French Open. But Hewitt also lost to the same people. I believe Hewitt has the ability in him to do great shot-makings against Federer, especially on Australian Open, which I hope he can win to prove all you people wrong:).

I would have voted, but you left out Ginepri.

Blake, Ginepri, Gasquet, Nadal, Djokovic and Murray:)