Was Federer a Sore Loser?

I'll let everyone in on a little known fact about Rog: He has a MASSIVE ego. He rarely ever gives credit to his opponent when he loses a match. He always says, "I didn't hit my shots, I didn't play my best," etc. One of my favorites was after the QF match against Davydenko at the Aussie Open this year. Davydenko was absolutely laying a beat down on Fed. He was up 6-2 and 3-0 in the second before he just imploded. Fed's comments on that match that I'll never forget: "I thought he had an advantage with the sun being on the court. I was prepared to go down 2 sets and wait for the shadows." He basically never acknowledged the fact that he was getting pummeled and there was a serious chance he would lose in straights. Here are some other notable examples of Mr. Federer's ego:

Back when guys like Murray, Djokovic and Del Po were still unknowns but people were talking about them as being the next generation of top players, Fed dismissed them. He handled Del Po and Novak pretty well when they were first coming up, and I guess he thought they weren't anything special. It's no secret that his relationship with Novak is to put it lightly, "strained."

When Jelena Jankovic got to #1 in the women's game, Fed made a comment that you should not be able to achieve the #1 ranking without winning a 'Slam. The big media sites did not report this because Fed is the face of tennis.

When Nadal and Djokovic played that epic four hour match in Madrid last year, Fed was asked his thoughts on the match and how the total time on court would take a toll on Rafa. His reply was that Novak and Rafa take so long to serve, so the match time was skewed.

Fed needs the spotlight on him all day, every day. Rafa taking the spotlight away from him angers him so much deep down, I honestly can't even imagine (one of the reasons he never beats Rafa to me is because he knows he HAS to beat this guy or else people will say he isn't the best in the game, and he just can't focus). The biggest thing of all about Rog: Do not think for one second he doesn't believe that he is the greatest player of all-time.

Aiur, as usual, knows what he's talking about.  Fed is well and truly convinced that his greatness outshines the sun.  No doubt about it.  As a result, he is perhaps the most smug person on the entire planet.  It's what I always disliked about him.

He will never give anyone else the credit they deserve because, in his eyes, by doing so he diminishes his own glory.

Having said that, he got an MRI, so his back injury is serious.  If it's a lower back radiating into the right leg, as I suspect, then it's probably a herniated disc, which is very serious, indeed.  There's a fair chance his movement and balance will never return to what they have been.  Without those, he's far from the best.  I find it hard to believe he could stand that as an ongoing reality, given his arrogance.

Last edited by DonDenman (Jul. 3, 2010 6:52am)

I've said before that IF Roger recovers from his injuries he will win at least 3 more slams and 5 more wouldn't surprise me.  I stand by that.  He is a great player.  So is Rafa.  Fed is smug.  Rafa is humble.  Big difference. 

However, this injury is serious, or they would not have done an MRI.  I suspect a herniated disc in his lower back.  We'll see whether he recovers.

Last edited by DonDenman (Jul. 3, 2010 7:32am)

If he really had a serious injury then it was an amazing feat to get to the QF round of Wimbledon with an injury. Let's hope he can recover before the US Open.

Was he a sore loser? That's a tough question because he did not give the usual nice loser talk to the press ("My opponent deserved the win...", "I was outplayed...", etc), but Federer has always been very blunt and perhaps insensitive. To get to his level you have to want to win everything and you have to believe in yourself beyond any level we can imagine. So I think he had to assume that he would win without the injuries. If I was Berdych I would have been pissed, but I think it just came out the wrong way at the wrong time.