Whether it is tennis or cricket, indian fans seem to have a lack of maturity. I have been going through a lot of these discussion boards and I can clearly sense that people are impractical, emotional (when it comes celebrating their heroes) and ignorant of the subtle nuances of the game, be it tennis or cricket or any other sport.
Federer might have just lost two back to back matches against Canas, that still does not dint the Swizz champ's efforts. There was a time when he lost successively to Nadal and then he bounced back to beat him comprehensively several times. Federer gets impatient and irritated when he plays people like Nadal and Canas, who are like the "golden retrievers" of tennis. They can chase down every ball. But all said done Federer is one of the all time greats and he will definitely prove it over the next couple of years. Of course every dog has his day and Federer might end up hanging his boots in the future but not before he has eclipsed many records. In Rod Laver's words "It is quite unfair to others that this one man (Federer) possesses too many shots".
RE:Indian sports fans are immature
by ssbmat on Mar 30, 2007 06:13 AM
While your general assessment of Indian sports fan's knowledge is true, there are exceptions as well! The key here is that players like Nadal and more recently, Canas, have shown that they are not afraid to go after Fed. Federer has practically mastered everyone else. But as his record with Nadal shows, it looks like Nadal was getting on his nerves, especially going into FrenchOpen and just before Wimbledon final, at which point Nadal had a 6-1 lead over Fed , head-to-head. Wimbledon win was an absolute MUST for Federer to assert his dominance. Otherwise, it would have been ironic that the World No-1 player had a poor record against the world no-2 player!!! And still does, although he subsequently thrashed Rafa in the Shanghai Masters in straight sets on HC. But somehow I feel that his own expectation of himself will weigh Federer down for most of this year. He may win another Grand Slam, but unlikely to maintain a straight 4 in US or even straight 5 at Wimbledon. My gut feeling tells me He will win the French (of all the things!!) and lose in Wimbledon and US. And Andy Murray may do some damage to him as well. We must remember that his opponents are sniffing out all possible weaknesses in Federer (very few perhaps) and someone like Murray has greater incentive than most-he is young and improving..after 24-25, pro's would typically fall off the learning curve..so a James Blake may not have much motivation to spot chinks in Feds armor..
If people start to think that anybody could defeat Federer, it's obsolutely wrong. Win and loose are part of the game. I am sure Federer is not so stupid to let the things to happen in the future like this. Certainly he will go back to the drawing room with all the video clips to see where he failed to do what he is supposed to do. Wait guys, Fedex will roar back again with much more strength on the field.
After watching the final set, I felt that this was a wake up call for Federer. I dont think he has ever lost the final set after being up a break 3-1 atleast not in the past 2-3 years. So when a player challenged him, he was not up to it! He was edgy, nervous, and even whacked a forehand into the net purposefully in a fit of rage and frustration. He was missing those deep "down-the-line" passes, and thus made far more errors than he normally does. Thats why he brought it upon himself to make this match go to the tie-break. Hats off to Canas though, who was literally on fumes, and yet seemed tougher mentally. I think players have simply not had the nerve to challenge Fed mentally. Up until now he is used to playing "smart" and winning, and when the time came for him to play "hard" he wasnt up to it. Atlast we might see a "normal" year for a World-no 1.
