“Some things are changing. I think he’s a little bit shaken with that loss and mentally he has been struggling in the last couple of months,” Djokovic said Wednesday. “It’s normal to have ups and downs after four years of absolute dominance on the men’s tour.
“New names are coming, fresh talented players who believe more they can win against him and I am one of them,” Djokovic said. “Suddenly he is worried a little bit.” (full article is here)
The other, slightly different, view is from 14 time grand slam champion Pete Sampras:
“There is a burning desire in Roger to break my record, and when he does it I would like to be there,” Sampras said Thursday. “I said to Roger, ‘Just make sure it’s in New York or London. Australia is a long way to go. (But) if it worked out like that, I would fly there.’
“I would just let him enjoy it as his moment but (I would want to be there) just to respect the record and what he was able to do and to just say, ‘Congratulations.”’
Despite Federer’s loss to No. 2-ranked Rafael Nadal in the French Open final, Sampras is confident the Swiss star will bounce back at the All England Club.
“He’s created this monster of winning so many tournaments and so many majors and doing it with ease,” Sampras said in Sao Paulo, Brazil. “As great as Roger is, he’s going to have his losses and his bad days. It’s just human nature to go through some lulls.”
That doesn’t mean he has lost his edge, Sampras said.
“In the majors, he’s still the guy that’s most likely to win them,” Sampras said. “He’s lost a couple and, if anything, that’ll do him some good. It’ll get him going and fired up. He’ll be just fine.” (full article here)
Wow, you could hardly see a better distinction between no-class and class, eh? For the first time in my life, I'll be rooting for Federer to win Wimbledon and the US Open.
1 comment:
Angus, you're being ridiculous.
The difference between Djokovic and Sampras in this instance is as plain as day: Djokovic is competing against Federer; Sampras is retired.
Djokovic has every right to try to psych himself up and/or get into Roger's head. It would be unseemly and anti-competitive for Djokovic to lay down like an about-to-be euthanized cur.
Federer's dominance has ruined careers. How many Grand Slams would belong to Hewitt, Nalbandian, Roddick, Blake, etc. if not for the absolute domination of one R. Federer? The man is a genius on the court, a gentleman off of it, and one tough mofo to boot.
He can take the slings and arrows of an ascendant punk. He's gonna brush that dirt off his shoulda like he Jigga or President Barrack. All-out competition involves pride, swagger, braggadocio, chest-pounding and chips on the shoulder. Federer is game. (It'll make it sweeter when R-Fed dispatches his ass.)
What, are you trying to turn this into some sort of snoozefest, like professional golf?
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