2018 Mercedes Cup...ATP 250...Stuttgart, Germany

[stroke]

There is a rumor about that Fed is about to leave Nike(an expired 10 million a year contract) for Uniqlo(and a 30 million a year 10 year contract).

[don_budge]

Show me the money! I remember back when Roger was changing racquets I recommended he change all of his sponsors. Get them to up the ante. But the money has had a detrimental effect on sports...I think. It used to be about the love of the game. Now it is about the love of money and Roger doesn't feel loved by Nike any more. You know...I guess the thrill is gone. That happens sometimes. More often than not.

https://www.tennisworldusa.org/tenni...e-says-expert/

https://www.express.co.uk/sport/tenn...ootwear-update

I'll bet klacr has the skinny on this.

[klacr]

Federer was still wearing Nike in Stuttgart. Let's not forget that Federer is as smart off the court as he is stylish and smooth on it. He is using the 10 year/$300 contract offer from Uniqlo as a leveraging tool against Nike. Federer is on par with Jordan and Lebron James to be an Icon/legacy for a brand that wants him. Nike is pretty tight with their money so Fed would be the 4th ever to have a post career contract with Nike. Jordan, Lebron James and Cristiano Ronaldo are the others. I believe the runner Steve Prefontaine may have as well until his fatal accident.
Nike has the ability to simply say yes or no. But it would be a huge loss for Nike. Nike owns the RF logo so a new company will have to rebrand him as well.

Uniqlo does not manufacture shoes so most likely if Federer does split from Nike you can look for Adidas to pick up in the footwear department.

Wilson Racquets has a lifetime contract with Roger. Nike should follow suit.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[hockeyscout]

He doesn’t own RF ... ouch.

[stotty]

Federer was still wearing Nike in Stuttgart. Let's not forget that Federer is as smart off the court as he is stylish and smooth on it. He is using the 10 year/$300 contract offer from Uniqlo as a leveraging tool against Nike. Federer is on par with Jordan and Lebron James to be an Icon/legacy for a brand that wants him. Nike is pretty tight with their money so Fed would be the 4th ever to have a post career contract with Nike. Jordan, Lebron James and Cristiano Ronaldo are the others. I believe the runner Steve Prefontaine may have as well until his fatal accident.
Nike has the ability to simply say yes or no. But it would be a huge loss for Nike. Nike owns the RF logo so a new company will have to rebrand him as well.

Uniqlo does not manufacture shoes so most likely if Federer does split from Nike you can look for Adidas to pick up in the footwear department.

Wilson Racquets has a lifetime contract with Roger. Nike should follow suit.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

It's obscene when you think around billion people don't have enough to eat. The greed is absolutely unfathomable.

[klacr]

It's obscene when you think around billion people don't have enough to eat. The greed is absolutely unfathomable.

Greed for who? Roger has handled his career as a professional and has done numerous acts of kindness with Make-a-wish foundation as well as his own initiative in Africa. If someone offers you $300 million you would not take it?
I understand the amount is ridiculous but Nike and Uniqlo are large businesses and they view it as a part of the bigger picture for them. For the love of the game? Yes. But also for the love of strengthening their global brand.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[stotty]

Ultimately Roger is the greedy one. He has enough money beyond what he could ever need. Yes I would take 300 million and then I would give 299 million away.

[don_budge]

Matthew Ebden...Anybody

Every match Roger Federer plays to the end of his career validates my "Roger Federer versus Anybody" meme. Even so, I have to admit that this is not iron clad and totally exclusionary. I come clean. But by and large, it is so. Whenever this guy plays all eyes are on him. Whoever he plays suddenly becomes somebody and that somebody has the best shot ever of putting Roger's scalp on their belt collection. Except one thing...Roger just ain't going to let it happen. He's fighting and it's great to see.

He fought through Indian Wells without ever really reaching true "Roger" form. He made everyone look like the hero of the day. I remember one afternoon he made Borna "Born Again" Coric look like the second coming and everyone was so sure that Borna had crossed the threshold. He was born again. Remember what's his name...the Australian who is partner in crime with "Curious George" Kyrgios. Thanasi Kokkinakis. What a great player he was the day after he beat Roger Federer...only to lose to Fernando Verdasco the next day and as far as I can tell he seems to have sunk back into obscurity.

"Anybody" this week was Benoit Paire who held match points before Roger pulled the famous Harry Houdini on him. Now you see him, now you don't. Yesterday it was Matthew Ebden. He looked like a million dollars after losing the first set in a tie-breaker he came "roaring" back to stake a double break lead on Federer at 4-1 only to see the rug pulled out from under him. Roger Federer versus Anybody is the match to watch. Roger lives to play another day. Next up is rock solid Denis Kudla. A transplanted Kiev, Ukraine native to American soil. Denis is just so solid this week. He took out my new best little buddy Stefanos Tsitsipas and plowed right through Yuichi Sugitsa who looked rather brilliant taking down Dominic Thiem.

This is a match that Federer can play one of two ways. He can be passive like he has found himself being at times this week against lesser opponents or he can serve lights out and take care of some quick business and move on to the finals and then off to his palace in Switzerland. Catch a bit of rest before Wimbledon. This is perhaps a more important match than it appears to be at first glance. Roger has been a bit spotty in his play and in his preparation for the big one he needs to be brimming with confidence. So to see a Roger Federer at full throttle might be just what the doctor ordered. But then again he is getting the matches under his belt and he has been putting himself in some pressure situations testing his nerve to see if he can produce the magic when the heat is on. Yes he can. Against just about any of these "Anybodies".

Federer has his game face on. He is getting himself worked up into a bit of a lather. He feels the time drawing near and he wants to be fit for fight. He is watching the "other" tournament. He has his eyes on Nick Kyrgios too. Keeping the curious case of Nick on his radar screen. This is the guy who might be the most dangerous opponent for Roger. There's Novak Djokovic, Stan Wawrinka and Andy Murray too. Where's Nadal? Who cares.

[gzhpcu]

Ultimately Roger is the greedy one. He has enough money beyond what he could ever need. Yes I would take 300 million and then I would give 299 million away.

Actually, his wife Mirka is his business manager, do not think Roger is too much involved.

[klacr]

Ultimately Roger is the greedy one. He has enough money beyond what he could ever need. Yes I would take 300 million and then I would give 299 million away.

You are a better man than me Stotty.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[don_budge]

It's obscene when you think around billion people don't have enough to eat. The greed is absolutely unfathomable.

It's obscene without the drama Stotty. No need to commiserate about lost souls that you have no intention of helping or first hand attending to their needs. This is all globalism retardedness. Go and help those pitiful souls if you really CARE. Put your money where your mouth is. But I admire your vast sympathiy. You are an unusual human being. Surely you are contributing to some poor peoples somewhere around the world or are you just trying to keep your family fed? In my case I am just trying to keep my own head above water. There isn't much left over for the rest of the planet.

But in cases like this it is irrelevant in the sense that it doesn't matter. It's pie in the sky until someone actually does give 99.9 percent of the jackpot they have won through their own efforts to the lost masses. No...it is better that those lost souls go about their business as they have always done so. They aren't any more miserable than the rest of us. They find their own happiness. They have a God too.

The real obscenity is that just as CEO's command the lion's share of profits leaving the little man to grouse about these "Living Legends" live like veritable kings with the ransom to go along with it. It is the new "Virtual Morality" that I have written about. I'm old enough to have the seen the transition in real time. It's like everything else these days...these things are relevant to the time.

I remember back in 1968 or so...before "Free Agency" in sports there was a tremendous baseball player by the name of Al Kaline who played for the Detroit Tigers. He played right field and my father used to take me to the ball park and we would get right field tickets and arrive early to watch this guy perform in the pregame warmup. He had a gun for an arm and he could rifle strikes to third base or home plate from right field. He was offered a 100,000 dollar contract which he turned down for a contract of 99,000 dollars. He was concerned that he would be upstaging his manager and his teammates. They would put this man away in a luney bin nowadays but he will forever be a "hero" of mine. My father admired him so much. Dad was an ex-professional baseball player.

Back then the average cop or teacher may have made around 10,000 dollars a year so the superstars were making roughly ten times more than mere mortals. It seemed reasonable back then. The owners made a lot of money and hopefully they were reinvesting it in other money making opportunities creating jobs for average joes. Wishful thinking? Wistful thinking?

Yesterday I had this elderly Swedish woman tell me that we cannot go back to "the old days"...guess what we were talking about? It was a civil conversation and kept between the lines of decency in her words. But I have a lot of respect for the traditional things in life. She was a hater...you know who.

This business about 300 million dollar contracts are a bit beyond me. But I know one thing...how much does a tennis shirt, a pair of tennis shorts or a tennis racquet cost? Guess who pays for them? You can tack on X amount of dollars every time you buy a Nike product and put it into Roger's pocket. I like the guy but I don't like him that much. I don't buy Nike as a rule. I have a few Nike things but they were all gifts...or I stole them.

In the end it doesn't matter what Roger is playing with or what he is wearing. It is all bought and paid for. Roger could wear UniGlo or Adidas tennis shoes for that matter. He doesn't have any real allegiance to these products. Or does he love Nike? Does Nike love him? There is no love in the equation. This is what we have become. It's all about the money. You all think Al Kaline was a retard.

My father and Al Kaline lived in an era in the distant past. There aren't many around left to tell the story. Soon we will be living in a "Brave New World". Oh...wait a minute. We already are. Roger can have his millions...I wouldn't trade my life for his. He is only a figment of my virtual reality. I live on this old farm in Sweden. He is free to have his money and do with it what he will. There is no reason to judge him as a person. Greedy? Who isn't? Innocent or far from it? Who isn't? It makes me laugh. Really. It's amusing.

[tennis_chiro]

It's obscene without the drama Stotty. No need to commiserate about lost souls that you have no intention of helping or first hand attending to their needs. This is all globalism retardedness. Go and help those pitiful souls if you really CARE. Put your money where your mouth is. But I admire your vast sympathiy. You are an unusual human being. Surely you are contributing to some poor peoples somewhere around the world or are you just trying to keep your family fed? In my case I am just trying to keep my own head above water. There isn't much left over for the rest of the planet.

But in cases like this it is irrelevant in the sense that it doesn't matter. It's pie in the sky until someone actually does give 99.9 percent of the jackpot they have won through their own efforts to the lost masses. No...it is better that those lost souls go about their business as they have always done so. They aren't any more miserable than the rest of us. They find their own happiness. They have a God too.

The real obscenity is that just as CEO's command the lion's share of profits leaving the little man to grouse about these "Living Legends" live like veritable kings with the ransom to go along with it. It is the new "Virtual Morality" that I have written about. I'm old enough to have the seen the transition in real time. It's like everything else these days...these things are relevant to the time.

I remember back in 1968 or so...before "Free Agency" in sports there was a tremendous baseball player by the name of Al Kaline who played for the Detroit Tigers. He played right field and my father used to take me to the ball park and we would get right field tickets and arrive early to watch this guy perform in the pregame warmup. He had a gun for an arm and he could rifle strikes to third base or home plate from right field. He was offered a 100,000 dollar contract which he turned down for a contract of 99,000 dollars. He was concerned that he would be upstaging his manager and his teammates. They would put this man away in a luney bin nowadays but he will forever be a "hero" of mine. My father admired him so much. Dad was an ex-professional baseball player.

Back then the average cop or teacher may have made around 10,000 dollars a year so the superstars were making roughly ten times more than mere mortals. It seemed reasonable back then. The owners made a lot of money and hopefully they were reinvesting it in other money making opportunities creating jobs for average joes. Wishful thinking? Wistful thinking?

Yesterday I had this elderly Swedish woman tell me that we cannot go back to "the old days"...guess what we were talking about? It was a civil conversation and kept between the lines of decency in her words. But I have a lot of respect for the traditional things in life. She was a hater...you know who.

This business about 300 million dollar contracts are a bit beyond me. But I know one thing...how much does a tennis shirt, a pair of tennis shorts or a tennis racquet cost? Guess who pays for them? You can tack on X amount of dollars every time you buy a Nike product and put it into Roger's pocket. I like the guy but I don't like him that much. I don't buy Nike as a rule. I have a few Nike things but they were all gifts...or I stole them.

In the end it doesn't matter what Roger is playing with or what he is wearing. It is all bought and paid for. Roger could wear UniGlo or Adidas tennis shoes for that matter. He doesn't have any real allegiance to these products. Or does he love Nike? Does Nike love him? There is no love in the equation. This is what we have become. It's all about the money. You all think Al Kaline was a retard.

My father and Al Kaline lived in an era in the distant past. There aren't many around left to tell the story. Soon we will be living in a "Brave New World". Oh...wait a minute. We already are. Roger can have his millions...I wouldn't trade my life for his. He is only a figment of my virtual reality. I live on this old farm in Sweden. He is free to have his money and do with it what he will. There is no reason to judge him as a person. Greedy? Who isn't? Innocent or far from it? Who isn't? It makes me laugh. Really. It's amusing.

Remember, no one can be successful as a tennis player without being terribly self-centered about their existence on the tennis court. Our society has decided to reward those who are successful in a disproportionate manner; right or wrong, that is the way it is. Nothing forces those who are successful to give back. But Gates and Buffett have pledged the bulk of their fortunes to philanthropy after their deaths. The Roger Federer Foundation has pledged to try to help the education of over 1,000,000 children in Africa. He puts considerable energy into that goal. No one seemed more self-centered than Agassi and yet he has achieved tremendous benefit to the underprivileged youth in Las Vegas with his philanthropical efforts for his school programs. Don't begrudge Federer the chance to enhance his personal fortune while he can; but at least recognize that he has decided to use that fortune and his considerable "bully pulpit"/platform to do some good in the world.

don

[stotty]

I am against extreme wealth. The gap is way too wide between rich and poor, and worse, the super rich flaunt it in front of the face of the less well off. I don't care if it's Roger Federer or fat cat CEOs, they earn too much. There needs to be a limit.

I think Kyrgios is overrated. His backhand isn't all that. Unfortunately his serve means he can live with anyone. It flatters him.

I coached a 10 year-old boy this morning who went to Queens to watch the semi-finals. He asked Kyrgios for his autograph when he came off a practice court. Kyrgios told him to go away with a sweep of his hand. The father and son were shocked. The boy is tiny with the sweetest face. No normal man could possibly deny this kid unless you had a stone heart...but Kyrgios denied him with ease. No only is he a douche (I think that's the expression stroke uses), he's a nasty piece of work as well.

[klacr]

I am against extreme wealth. The gap is way too wide between rich and poor, and worse, the super rich flaunt it in front of the face of the less well off. I don't care if it's Roger Federer or fat cat CEOs, they earn too much. There needs to be a limit.

I think Kyrgios is overrated. His backhand isn't all that. Unfortunately his serve means he can live with anyone. It flatters him.

I coached a 10 year-old boy this morning who went to Queens to watch the semi-finals. He asked Kyrgios for his autograph when he came off a practice court. Kyrgios told him to go away with a sweep of his hand. The father and son were shocked. The boy is tiny with the sweetest face. No normal man could possibly deny this kid unless you had a stone heart...but Kyrgios denied him with ease. No only is he a douche (I think that's the expression stroke uses), he's a nasty piece of work as well.

Hate to hear about that Kyrgios incident with your student. But that sort of behavior does not surprise me from him. It's nice to be important but its more important to be nice.
Back in the 90's I was a ballboy for a world team tennis playoff match. Anna Kournikova was there. I am not one to ask for autographs but a young fellow in the audience did, and Kournikova shot him and look, kept her nose up in the air and said "you're not worth it". Sad.


Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[stotty]

Hate to hear about that Kyrgios incident with your student. But that sort of behavior does not surprise me from him. It's nice to be important but its more important to be nice.
Back in the 90's I was a ballboy for a world team tennis playoff match. Anna Kournikova was there. I am not one to ask for autographs but a young fellow in the audience did, and Kournikova shot him and look, kept her nose up in the air and said "you're not worth it". Sad.


Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

Some players stay grounded others don't. Dealing with stardom isn't straightforward and you can understand how things can go to a player's head. It helps if they have a good IQ.