Roger Federer Makes Some Incredible Revelations in Rome at the Italian Open!

Amazing what a 4 day preparation can do! This according to Roger Federer is the ticket to Rome and possibly Roland Garros (I am amazed to say the least!):

'I only arrived this morning (Sunday),' said the world No2. 'I have been practicing as hard as I could here in Italy, up in the hills, tucked away.

I won t tell you where as I like my privacy! Pierre (Paganini, fitness coach) was there and I was basically getting used to clay court movements, the sliding.

I mixed it up with some tennis, (Stefan) Koubek was there as a hitting partner, and I made sure I did my four hours a day. At the end of the day, movement is a big part.

The best clay-court players are the best movers. The only difference is, here it is still fast even when it rains.

It only gets quick in Monte Carlo or at Roland Garros when it is hot and the dust starts kicking up, and you can see the hard court underneath.

Clay is better for my back though, and I have been pain-free for a long time now which is great.'

My question is does Roger Federer really believe that his sliding is what is getting him ready to play on clay? Are we talking here about some delusion on Roger Federers part? Since when is sliding on a tennis court a theme of discussion for a European player raised on the red stuff?!?

Also, if you are going to emphasize sliding in training, are you not contradicting a fundamental part of modern tennis which is quick recovery? If you are sliding around, you surely are not going to recover as fast as needed!

Could this be a ploy from Federer to destabilize threatening opponents that might get into the sliding mode and mess up their own games? Anything is possible when someone is desperate!

Another startling statement from Federer was his dismissal of an atrocious showing at Monte Carlo this year, where Wawrinka sent him packing in straight sets in the Round of 16.

'I wasnt prepared for Monte Carlo due to the wedding (Federer married his long-time girl friend Mirka Vavrinec the week before) so I went there more to see what I was missing than expecting to do well.

What I was missing was my serves and my forehands, so I have been working hard on that and hopefully it will show this week.'

Unless there is an updated version of the 2009 ATP WORLD TOUR - RULEBOOK that I do not know of, the CODE says:

'VIII. THE CODE

h) Best Efforts
i) A player shall use his best efforts during the match when competing in a tournament.
Violation of this section shall subject a player to a fine up to $10,000 for each violation.

2) Conduct Contrary to the Integrity of the Game

Conduct contrary to the integrity of the game shall include, but not be limited to, comments to the news media that unreasonably attack or disparage a tournament, sponsor, player, official or the ATP.'

The Monte Carlo Masters is one of the biggest prize money tournaments of the ATP calendar 2009 doted with 2,750,000.00 EUR = 3,636,059.42 USD purse.

Does Roger Federer really understand the implications of what he is saying?

Furthermore, pulling out then arriving at a tournament two days before it begins, especially if there is a change of surface involved, is not a professional preparation for a competition of this level and for a player of Roger Federers status.

This begs the question why did Federer pull out of the tournament in the first place? 

It is not funny for the tournament organizers because it would be an absolute blow to lose such a marquee player and second seeded in a Masters series tournament! And out of the blue a hush-hush deal is made last minute and a wild card is given to Federer! Wonder what made Federer change his mind?

Federer made another revelation (I thought we all already knew) that Roland Garros, the one Grand Slam he has not won, is still his main goal.

'Whether I am number two in the world or three, five, eight or ten, it is not number one.

Being the second best player in the world on clay is nice, but it doesnt satisfy me. It is not necessary to be number one, what is important is winning the French Open.'

Roger Federer better hope that Rafael Nadal falls into the 'sliding' suggestion, which I doubt, because with this kind of preparation, I can only see another trashing in the making for Roland Garros perhaps by someone other than Nadall!

Sergio Cruz

Custom Search

Tennis Related Articles and Tennis Instruction: