Comments on: Roger Federer Enters History Books

By: Learning From Federer – Soderling Rematch | How To Play Better Tennis - Tips From A Professional Tennis Coach

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 20:02:37 +0000

[...] Federer and Robin Soderling met again after the Roland Garros final in the fourth round at Wimbledon 2009. Here are some thoughts on the [...]

By: gil utanes

gil utanes — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 10:05:23 +0000

What a thriller that was! Well done Roger! I was more than excited, beside myself, watching you winning Roland Garros! I expected it though after seeing you got back from love 2 in your match with Tommy Haas. The preeminence of a truly great champion emerged from that brink of certain, thrice certain defeat. What a performance it was. For me, that set the stage for the Roland Garros Grand Slam Trophy. CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Tomaz, if you would, could you please give us a look-back at that match.
Regards, gil

By: TJ

TJ — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 13:43:41 +0000

I’m glad I’ve seen the born of the best male tennis player of all time, a perfect illustration of mind, game, and heart (as Sampras describe). Even though Roger is not at his best form (could be due to a lot of factors: pressure of pregnancy and fatherhood, pressure as he never win this slam before, pressure of matching the history, pressure of not playing well for quite a while, etc.), he still managed to win. This is what people call a true champion. I hope he will be able to keep his focus and continues to regain his Wimbledon crown, number 1 ranking, and dominate the tour.

By: Storm

Storm — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 15:38:45 +0000

Roger won, fair and square. Period. We know he’s not played his best tennis. But he showed his class when it really mattered. In the 3rd set against Haas. In the first against Monfils and in the 5th against Del Potro. Imagine the pressure on this guy and he still found a way to win. He still has the most beautiful game. And I predict that we will see his best get better now that the pressure is off and he has won the FO. I predict him winning at least two more Wimbledon’s and at least one more of each of the other slams before he retires.

By: Dariusz

Dariusz — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 12:51:23 +0000

First of all, triumph in Roland Garros is a great success of Roger Federer.
I have no doubts and congratulate him.

I am not a tennis expert, however as a tennis fan and amateur player I have some thoughts about this event and want to share them with you. It will be my amateur point of view.

I believe of course that Robin Soderling tried to do his best and to win the match.
However from the other hand, somewhere deep in his mind could be a thought that he could not and even did not want to outplay Roger.
Robin with his second place in the tournament achieved really good result. He must be satisfied.
Roger before the match was about to win much more – historical result of his life and one of the best result in tennis history.
It was said in common opinion that he deserved it.
Even Rafael Nadal, his main opponent, after the lost match with Soderling wished Roger to win the tournament.
The major part of the audience supported Federer. However they were not against Soderling.
Robin after the match did not seem to be very worried.
I think he honestly congratulated Roger and showed his admiration.

I know that in sports there is no place for sentiments.
However I think it was possible that Robin somewhere deep in his mind also wished Roger to win.
The result we could see on the court.

By: Pekka Forstadius

Pekka Forstadius — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 03:41:08 +0000

Dear Thomas,

I agree that Robin should have attacked from the beginning. But I don´t agree with you that Robin was “too attached to winning”. I believe that Robin did all he could that day to find his best play. He didn´t get upset although Roger beat him straight in the first set. I sensed that Robin was building up his mind and play. And the second set was much better although one could see that Robin hadn´t recovered physically from the semifinal. So how could a player like Robin find the right mindset for the first Slam final? I believe that this is big challenge to all coaches and there are no short cuts. Coaches must first understand that a player needs a working philosophy from the beginning.

By: Bharat Saxena

Bharat Saxena — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 11:03:03 +0000

Thomas,

I totally agree that Soderling on that day was no match for the swiss master. However, i think in addition to his near perfect game there were few events whic helped him create this history. But in the end many congratulations to Federer for this achievement, and look forward to see him in grass court.

Here is what i think –>

http://outtoday.wordpress.com/2009/06/08/from-sweden-with-love/

By: Benjamin

Benjamin — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 06:20:09 +0000

Like you, I’m glad that Federer–a player whose playing style is more suitable for emulating than Nadal’s–won the French Open today. And, I couldn’t be happier for him. He carried himself gracefully throughout the match, no braggadocio antics when he won the point (either from his winner or his opponent’s error), and when he finally won the match, he even cried. It was just touching to watch him, and I’m just happy to be around to watch the greatest male tennis player ever.

By: Andy

Andy — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 06:03:02 +0000

Thanks Tomas. This has been a dramatic and revealing tournament in many ways. Significantly, men like Soderling and Del Potro discovered more of themselves. I say revealing because the results from the French Open answered a lot of questions and laid bare a few truths: One is that Federer continues to be at a higher plane than the rest in a grand slam format. Murray and Djokovic for all their successes in lesser tournaments, have a long way to go. Nadal’s game has taken him up and has also brought him down with the consequential injury. And possibly many more that I can’t think of right now.

Looking ahead, do you see a change happening in the top 5 rankings by the end of the year? And will Nadal make changes to his style of play to stay in the game longer?

By: Rafael Vital Jr.

Rafael Vital Jr. — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 00:13:19 +0000

Roger’s key to victory was his consistent first serve and powerful second serve. Knowing he could hold at will allowed him to attack Soderling’s serve and make things happen. This also made Soderling more anxious as he had to hold or else! Roger also threaded the needle a bit more on big points due to his experience in big tournaments. And, finally Roger was more aware of court strategy. He hit the drop shots when Soderling was hitting off his back foot and thus unable to reach those balls…..etc.