Federer's dominance is thing of the past. It's over, finished, gone, done! However way you put it it's the end of that era. I take A LOT of pleasure in this latest loss because of how mean the Federer fans were when Nole lost. I can't wait to read Fed's press. I wonder if he will blame Soderling for retiring two matches ago.

Again we have a moment of agreement, HycainthBrady.

Roger Federer won about every single even in 2006 that a male tennis player could want to win.

It was THE MOST PHENOMENAL demonstration of athletic talent and prowess I have ever seen... in an individual sport.

Roger won SO many events that year, and came within a match of a grand slam, and truthfully? With the evolution of tennis happening in a CAMBRIAN EXPLOSION (just like Justine Gimelstob hinted at in his commentary recently) of speed and power? Who could have imagined that the game would change so far and so fast. It's a tribute... NOT... to racquet head technology... or anything like that; it is a confluence of events like few could have ever pictured-- modern professional tennis is leapfrogging past decades in real time,

and speed combined with power are the not so new name of the game.

Whole different deal from what Agassi saw when he first burst on the scene in the 80s.

Different kind of deal from what Ivan Lendl found at the start of his career.

But YES... it really IS a possibility... that Roger has found himself a king in a corner of his tower... in a castle that has blood on many floors; his back is against the wall to prove himself,

and now he heads off to Europe with NO COACH to try and take on Nadal's dominance on clay.

There is no one left to blame for Roger now; the pack has caught up to him, and they want HIM. Surely there is atleast ONE critic out there who will wonder outloud

if Roger has won his LAST major? It ________could______ be a 'seachange' moment in mens tennis; a tried and true champion gets overtaken.... not in a few years.... but in a few months. Call it a development unheralded.   

The thought has occured to me that the one handed backhand-- in terms of professional tennis-- is headed for the dustbin of history; the reason I think it might be is because of the phenomenal power of the game now. Ya gotta have two hands to deal with it on that backhand side. We have seen that serve and volley is dead, or reduced to an anomaly of the game; now will we see players learning to copy a Djocko two hander instead of a Federer onehanded backhand? 

No matter what happens? Roger Federer heads into the clay court season with a pack of wolves hot on his trail.  

 

 

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Carpe Diem, my friend... all the way to the end:
http://www.motionbox.com/videos/d496d2b51c19e1cd5b

Iceman:

I agree with you that serve and volleying is dead. I actually think Roger made a mistake by trying to get to net so much in Miami this week. He should have gotten back to his groove from the baseline, but he always likes trying new things. Although he has fine volleys, he's not too great at serving and volleying. When he's moving forward, he tends to rush his forehand volley at times and the dearth of good singles serve and volley players shows it's a tough art to use now. I wonder how past greats who served and volleyed would be doing in today's times. You'd think someone like Edberg and Becker would be able to use it well as they bad before, but you're never sure. As for the one handed backhand, I'm not sure if it's a done deal yet. I feel like Roger actually brought it back to tennis. Before he was the top player, everyone around him was playing with two hands. Look at 2003, for example, 7 of the 8 players had two handed backhands. The only exception was Federer. Compare that to Shaghai in 2006 where 4 of the top 8 had one handed backhands and 3 did last year. I think that if Djokovic does start to dominate tennis, we will see players copy it more, but the one handed shot isn't headed for the dustbin of history yet, maybe just stored away for a while.

I believe I read that Roger is recovering from Mono.  If you had it as a teenager believe me having it as an adult is much worse.  I want to give Roger praise for playing when he is ill and not using it as an excuse.  He needs to take time off to completly recover and then come back and he will still be great.  H should not be ut on the court as it will prolong the time he needs to recover.

I agree with xiowa. The mono is a big factor. He can have some good days and bad ones. Recovering from any illness, surgery, you can exert yourself on one day and then the next you are weaker. As you say, xiowa, I hope that he does not relapse.

As for the backhand issue, it has been a source of weakness for him recently (and possibly throughout his career). He can do so much with it (like the forehand) which is sort of his problem now that his strength is diminished. I think he is trying to compensate for his weakness, as you say, coming in more than he should, probably rushing his shots, thus making errors.

Part of his strength is his versatility but when he is weak, he almost has to simplify his game which is hard for him because his timing is probably off. I am not sure if coaching would be helpful at this time though any insight could be rewarding. Regardless, he is still #1 by a decent margin as he gained points at both IW and Miami based on his "early exits" (I hate that term) last year.

I think we will see how he does in the next few months. As it has been over the last few years, his performance affects the rest of the players in terms of how they can advance. I do feel that it is tough for him to make a good push for the French, his bete noire, in this condition. I think Rafa is still the best claycourter around and he will be invigorated by his success so far this year. But his losses in the two finals he has been in have been definitive, reflecting probably the enormous effort he put out throughout the tournaments and he just couldn't finish stronger. (Today, I think he followed some advice that was not helpful to him. Regardless, Nikolay was so strong and Rafa's shots were unable to push him off the baseline). We don't know the status of his knees. He is still young but is older and may be weary from his efforts so far this year. His whole game is so heavy and so much harder to play compared to how others serve and hit.

The one handed backhand is not headed for the dustbin. Why?  It is the most versatile shot in tennis.  It allows players to play points well from anywhere around the court.  It has better reach.  The slice off it is the most deadly. It does not lock the legs in place like the two hander does, and therefore the recovery of the feet is faster. If it is wielded by the right person, it allows for more power than the two-hander, like Guga, Henin, Gaudio, Mauresmo, Haas, and Youzhny. 

The Federer backhand is actually a perfect shot for the fast courts, because of his slice on the rare approach, as a rally shot, and as a strategic ploy to bring players in and pass them.  His backhand is also a  fast drive when confident, changing directions from cross-court to down the line. The only weakness with it is that it is not effective at generating pace on clay when Roger is driven three to six feet behind the baseline.

 Roger's game is dependent on his supreme footwork and anticipation, which linked with his supreme mind, allows him to constuct points like a chessmaster who is three to five shots ahead of his opponents. Right now Roger is not in the great athletic shape he needs to be to play the game he wants.  He is stuck playing more defense because he is a step slower, especially seen on his first step after his opponents' service returns.  He has only recently upgraded to working out three hours a week since his mono.  He is planning to upgrade to four soon after getting another clean bill of health.  He should peak in shape by Wimbledon after playing matches on the clay, where he may only perform to mediocre for him standards this year.  At Wimbledon he is the favorite.