Roger Federer wins again!!!

Submitted by mexwolv on

Huge Roger Federer fan here.  A day after becoming the oldest ever world number # 1 player (age 36), he easily defeats Dmiitrov (6-2. 6-2) in the Rotterdam final.  The guys is just at another level, and do not see him slow down at all.  Hope he plays until he is 40.

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Big Boutros

February 18th, 2018 at 1:39 PM ^

Thought he was done in 2016 and with good reason. He has truly discovered the fountain of youth. And probably some horse vitamins. But he deserves the #1. What a smashing career

Joined: 07/08/2008

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Everyone Murders

February 18th, 2018 at 1:44 PM ^

His 2016 injury and time away from the game appears to be a total blessing in disguise.  Allowed him some time off, away from competition, and to rebuild his body and his game.  I love Federer's game, and hope he's able to add a couple more majors before setting down his racket.

For those who've not seen this David Foster Wallace article in the NYTimes, it still holds true nearly 12 years later:   

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/20/sports/playmagazine/20federer.html

Joined: 12/14/2010

MGoPoints: 65552

jbrandimore

February 18th, 2018 at 2:18 PM ^

They can’t test for. This isn’t Federer specific, but notice all the baseball players swept up in it a couple years ago whose performance fell off a cliff after testing became more rigorous. Now, their performance is back at pretesting levels.

Joined: 01/06/2015

MGoPoints: 13706

stephenrjking

February 18th, 2018 at 4:23 PM ^

There's always a new drug or a new technique (microdosing/etc) that gets developed that's ahead of the testers. Testing gets tighter, but there's always a lucrative market for stuff that can beat the tests. The best effective testing can do is limit the percentages available to be gained and level the playing field.

This is not some new thing. Athletes have been looking for ways to get ahead of testing for decades. 

To take one of the best-known examples, cycling, Testing to try to catch EPO doping finally got a bit more serious after the 1998 Tour de France, and athletes like Lance Armstrong were tested comprehensively. Guess how well that worked out? New tests arrived (some of which retroactively confirmed people like Lance were using) and techniques changed. Occasionally big names would get nabbed. What's the chance that they've eliminated it in cycling? Almost zero, and I say that as a fan of the sport.

It's the same everywhere. If there is something to be gained by doping, someone is doing it, and if they're not caught, the field joins in to stay competitive. Football. Basketball. Soccer. Baseball. Hockey. Track. Any endurance sport. And, yes, probably tennis too.

But if a tennis star is doing it, they all are. 

EDIT: Timely news here.

The irony here is rich. Curling is not that difficult of a sport, and the suspect was actually rather mediocre and basically medaled because his wife was so good at it. But, hey, it's the Russian connection again.

Joined: 03/15/2012

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Magnum P.I.

February 18th, 2018 at 4:12 PM ^

He's probably not as good as he during his peak around 2005, but he's not far off. And I think against Nadal's style, he's actually better today: bigger racket, less backhand slice, more pinpoint serve.

Joined: 07/16/2009

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