2021 Roland Garros...ATP 2000...Paris, France

[stotty]

I am making no mistake. This is a huge physical test for Roger vs a very strong physical player that is in the moment and believes.

I don't like the look of this one little bit. Roger is off and Koepfer is on. This could ruin our desired meeting between Berrettini and Roger.

[stotty]

Both Rafa and Novak looked immaculate today. Rafa was brutal and Novak made it look ridiculously easy with that ridiculously smooth timing of his. I wish I could borrow that timing for 30 minutes just to know what it feels like.

Roger a break down...not good...and like I said, Roger looks worried...which worries me.

[stroke]

There are just so many very good players like Koepfer out there. All the more amazing that Nadal has done what he has done here since 2005. Novak did look great today. I still think Nadal has a better chance of going down to Sinner at this point than Novak. I just am not confident that Novak can lockdown vs Nadal on Clay again like he did years ago.

[stotty]

There are just so many very good players like Koepfer out there. All the more amazing that Nadal has done what he has done here since 2005. Novak did look great today. I still think Nadal has a better chance of going down to Sinner at this point than Novak. I just am not confident that Novak can lockdown vs Nadal on Clay again like he did years ago.

For me, it was less about locking down back then and more about out manoeuvring. Hooking forehands and serves out wide and getting Rafa to stab his sliced backhand whereupon Novak seized control of rallies...fascinating. Rafa's backhand is so much better nowadays and he's onto Novak's tactics like a shot. Last year's final was a masterclass in mauling all Novak's previous ploys and tactics. Not sure where Novak can go if they meet again. No doubt Marián Vajda will have something up his sleeve. Best coach on the tour in my book.

[stroke]

Nobody enjoys a mauling as much as Nadal.

[stotty]

6-5 Roger in the third. Getting close to Stotty's bedtime. I'll sleep much easier if Roger takes a 2 sets to 1 lead.

[stotty]

It's a tiebreak. The sheer pace of Koepfer's hitting has been causing real problems for Roger.

[stroke]

It has been a bit for me. I had almost forgotten how bad a tennis commentator Mary Carillo is.

[stotty]

Roger sneaks the third. Still a long way to go. The good news is Roger is starting to read Koepfer like a book.

Bedtime for Stotty. I have a feeling when I wake up Roger will be the winner...albeit with a depleted energy tank.

[seano]

Roger stated in his post-match interview (3rd round) that he's not sure if hes going to play his round of 16 match against Berrettini. Preparing for Wimbledon is his main goal and may need the rest before the grass.

[don_budge]

Roger stated in his post-match interview (3rd round) that his not sure if hes going to play his round of 16 match against Berrettini. Preparing for Wimbledon is his main goal and may need the rest before the grass.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-G4snMgAPE

Roger is always in control. He is what you call a "control freak"...as are all great tennis players. All he can control at the moment is trying to gage how he is feeling and what the next step is. Every step you take...every move you make. He's counting down time. He's got the whole thing down by numbers.

He won. For him it was a big match. Each match gets a little bit bigger as he steps into the unknown. I have the feeling he is still gaging how his knee is feeling. I'm not at all certain he feels it is one hundred percent. Obviously, it is not. If he has to make a big decision as to whether or not to play the fourth round against Matteo Berrettini then something is gnawing at him in the back of his mind. He is on shaky ground and with all of his experience he knows it. In a way he is starting over. Look at all of the veterans who have attempted to come back in the past year or so. A lot of failures. Stan Wawrinka comes to mind...he just withdrew from Wimbledon. Wimbledon is obviously the goal for Federer and once he locks in on a goal he has tunnel vision. His eyes are always on the ball. No funny stuff.

If he is healthy at this point the matches he has played have been perfect. He has managed to keep the points relatively short although I have noticed him pulling a bit of air from the ball at times to accommodate the surface. He played a bit of clay court style. Keeping the ball in play. But not so much...he wants to conclude things. Only on important points will he play the extra shots. This guy controls everything within a certain radius around him. He knows all the tricks and traps. He is cagey. He is uncanny.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ir69b0OI2dc

Here is the interview I was waiting for. He discusses his "discussion" with the umpire and he tip toes around it. But the gist of it was as he said...I am not going to be a waiting post for Cilic and once he goes into his bouncy/bouncy routine. This was a perfect gamesmanship ploy by Roger. He was not happy standing around waiting for Cilic to bounce the ball "ten" times even though he was bouncing into the teens. I am surprised that nobody ruins Nadal's routine on a regular basis. Who can accuse Roger of not playing to the server's tempo? Even when the server's are cheating on every single point by making the receiver wait an outlandish amount to time.

No worries that this point gets zero traction here on the forum. I know the score. As does Roger. His uncertainty about the next match is probably fifty percent gamesmanship...fifty percent as he says. That discussion with the umpire was huge in terms of the tournament. A microcosm in time and space. It is not surprise everybody missed it. It was huge. I almost couldn't believe my eyes. But then again...knowing Roger like I know Roger, there is a reason for everything. I loved that moment. He carried it out in French which made it even more dramatic.

That walk for the towel and the ensuing conversation were all about control. It injected a bit of energy into the match...just the way he wanted it to.

[stroke]

Oddsmakers are not really on board with me about Sinner being a real test for Nadal as he has an implied probability of 92% of winning the match. Berrettini is the favorite vs Fed at 75% implied probability. But as all have mentioned, it certainly appears Roger may just pull the plug here and move on to the grass, his last hurrah for a Major. As far as the bouncing of the ball thing, it appears the Nadal/Novak/Cilic, even McEnroe(he did more of a bending and twisting that bouncing, and Connors, is dying out. The young guys coming up don't seem to have this issue. All these guys somehow developed this yips kind of thing and we all know how that kind of thing goes. I am certain Cilic would much prefer to have all of Roger's tennis attributes, but he does not. I am certain Cilic, who seems like a good guy to me, is kind of tired of almost always losing to Roger. For that matter, Koepfer did not seem to overly enjoy his loss to Roger.

[glacierguy]

No worries that this point gets zero traction here on the forum.

I loved Roger for making this an issue. The Bouncy-Bouncy routine is clearly an abuse of the 25s rule. It's not a right to make your opponent maintain maximum alertness in the ready position for 23s and then, just as he's getting pissed and losing focus, finally serve.

There's a guy at my club I refuse to play unless in a tournament because he holds a pose early in his serve for ages, during which time I lose the will to be standing on the same court as him, and develop an overwhelming urge to drill my return between his eyes. I don't know how the regular pros put up with Nadal, Cilic, Djokovic, etc. The offenders should at least be ridiculed, but preferably not allowed to get away with it.

[don_budge]

I loved Roger for making this an issue. The Bouncy-Bouncy routine is clearly an abuse of the 25s rule. It's not a right to make your opponent maintain maximum alertness in the ready position for 23s and then, just as he's getting pissed and losing focus, finally serve.

There's a guy at my club I refuse to play unless in a tournament because he holds a pose early in his serve for ages, during which time I lose the will to be standing on the same court as him, and develop an overwhelming urge to drill my return between his eyes. I don't know how the regular pros put up with Nadal, Cilic, Djokovic, etc. The offenders should at least be ridiculed, but preferably not allowed to get away with it.

One stand up guy...glacierguy. Go ahead and drill him between the eyes. Jerk! Roger is nobody's waiting post! Neither are you or anybody else for that matter. It was the best drama I have seen in ages from the ATP. Hawkeye removes all of the edginess...and that is what Roger implied about injecting some "energy" into the match.

On a similar line the commentating has been just abysmal. Mark Woodbridge has been embarrassing himself terribly with his walks down memory lane provoked by his stupid moronic partner. Right now there are two WOMEN announcing the Tsitsipas match and it left me no choice than to turn off the volume. The shrill insights were too much to bare. Not a single announcer knows when to just shut up and let the play work on its own. Aways trying to hype something or other. The most guilty have been announcers for Nadal and Serendipities Williams. They just couldn't gush enough over either. The stupid endless remarks about the wonderful fashion sense of Serendipities makes me throw up. The gushing of Nadal adoration is particularly galling. Somebody should drill him between the eyes over his obsessive compulsive routines. He subjects not only his opponent if that isn't bad enough but he ropes in anybody watching. I cannot watch him...unless his opponent shows that he is going to beat his ass. Which doesn't happen very often at the French...once in a blue moon.

[don_budge]

Oddsmakers are not really on board with me about Sinner being a real test for Nadal as he has an implied probability of 92% of winning the match. Berrettini is the favorite vs Fed at 75% implied probability. But as all have mentioned, it certainly appears Roger may just pull the plug here and move on to the grass, his last hurrah for a Major. As far as the bouncing of the ball thing, it appears the Nadal/Novak/Cilic, even McEnroe(he did more of a bending and twisting that bouncing, and Connors, is dying out. The young guys coming up don't seem to have this issue. All these guys somehow developed this yips kind of thing and we all know how that kind of thing goes. I am certain Cilic would much prefer to have all of Roger's tennis attributes, but he does not. I am certain Cilic, who seems like a good guy to me, is kind of tired of almost always losing to Roger. For that matter, Koepfer did not seem to overly enjoy his loss to Roger.

Interesting scenario. I have an hard time imagining Federer using a Grand Slam as his practice playground. Could it be a smoke screen? I remember he won the Australian one year after being absent from the tour for a long time. He played like a dream. I would love to see a Berrettini match. Every time I get to see Roger play is a blessing. Every round he plays should add to his form if it isn't degrading his physical fitness.