Roger Federer wins again!!!
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.
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
February 18th, 2018 at 3:29 PM ^
...about horse vitamins, but you still need to have 100% on-point tennis skills and technique to blow out another highly ranked pro at that level of competition.
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
February 18th, 2018 at 3:13 PM ^
February 18th, 2018 at 1:47 PM ^
I love how 30, 35 is "ancient" in certain sports. The guy is 36 and we're acting like his bloated corpse just won a world championship.
February 18th, 2018 at 4:46 PM ^
February 18th, 2018 at 5:37 PM ^
36 years old in tennis is on par with a football player dominating at the same age. It's impressive.
That being said, he has benefited from Murray & Nadal injuries, Joker falling off the map,
February 18th, 2018 at 2:18 PM ^
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.
A medal-winning Russian curler has reportedly been suspected of doping https://t.co/7MtI59WQFf
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) February 18, 2018
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.
February 18th, 2018 at 11:01 PM ^
can't figure out why a curler would need to dope. Are you sure that he isn't suspected of smoking dope? That seems more in line with curling.
February 18th, 2018 at 2:18 PM ^
Did he play for UM??
February 18th, 2018 at 2:36 PM ^
February 18th, 2018 at 3:12 PM ^
February 18th, 2018 at 4:06 PM ^
February 18th, 2018 at 4:12 PM ^
February 18th, 2018 at 4:51 PM ^
He's probably better in every facet of the game except for his movement. 2005 forehand might be better than today's slightly. His style is completely different today than it was 13 years ago though.
February 18th, 2018 at 5:29 PM ^
February 18th, 2018 at 7:40 PM ^
February 18th, 2018 at 10:08 PM ^
You probably need to enjoy this year as much as possible. It's not likely to happen next year. Father time is calling.
February 19th, 2018 at 9:55 AM ^