Comments on: REQUIRED READING: HAS ROGER FEDERER BRAINWASHED THE ATP TOUR?

By: Melanie

Melanie — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 04:25:23 +0000

Quote from article: "…confronting your opponent and knocking him out his comfort zone, however many majors he’s won and however benign he may be, is as much a part of the sport as elegant shot-making."

Well gee, isn't that kind of what Delpo did when he beat Fed at the USO? And he didn't have to act like a jerk to do it, either! The author of that article sounds like a prick. I find tennis refreshing to watch, precisely because most of the players don't act like jerks! I guess Tignor doesn't understand that some players might actually like each other and even be friends off court.

Maybe Tignor would be better off watching NFL football – he would get a kick out of players ripping each other's helmets off, fighting, shooting themselves in the leg at a bar, getting arrested for dogfighting, etc.

By: judy

judy — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 14:18:31 +0000

i agree with a lot of the comments here. too bad the long comment i wrote got deleted somehow yesterday when i submitted it!

By: Nina

Nina — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 08:59:15 +0000

That’s true and I think it’s time people started acknowledging that Novak is a great gy in and off the court… as for tennis nowadays being too polite and boring, I’d agree if it wasn’t for Djokovic who makes tennis highly entertaining in my opinion.

By: Gab

Gab — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 04:05:37 +0000

I find the answer to Tignor's comments in the voice of Federer himself (the Davis Cup interview posted in "It's not difficult being Roger Federer" at 7:30 min): Tennis is about respect, about trying everything but within the rules. It's about inspiration, education, being role models, being professional. It's about not forgetting what brought you there and about being thankful to past generations that made it possible.

That's Roger (and Roger that!

By: alista

alista — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 01:12:18 +0000

Really, I just think that Roger Federer is so polite and such a gentleman in the no-screaming-and-cussing-at-umpires, no-nookie-in-broom-closets-at-restaurants etcera, that the journalists need to make up somethin new to write about him. They get tired of writing, "Federer just won yet another title". So they come up with these silly articles. If he did some crazy thing, they'd be the first to pile on and denounce him. When Venus and Serena go to their press conferences and don't compliment their opponents in any way, these same journalists call it lack of sportsmanship (not saying I agree or disagree, just stating a fact). Doesn't seem clear what it is they want. So, whatever.

By: lk28

lk28 — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 00:53:39 +0000

I couldn't agree more. I've also watched tennis for a long time (saw Laver, Rosewall, et al.) and have enjoyed lots of different styles. But, I always felt appalled by players like Connors and McEnroe, who used their nasty behavior to intimidate and distract their opponents. That's not tennis; it's gamesmanship. If Tignor likes it, he can have it. As barry says, Roger brings "style and quality" to the game, on and off the court. My guess is it's a lot more pleasant to be on the tour today than when Connors was king of the hill.

By: lorrie

lorrie — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 00:50:04 +0000

it could be the tennis version of a much needed "public option."

By: Denise

Denise — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 00:38:06 +0000

Typical American writing articles. Americans feel that bad boy behavior and being a clown is a great thing for sports. Roger never gets the respect he deserves, especially from the critics.

By: lorrie

lorrie — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 00:08:59 +0000

well, it's a start. can u make it available to those of us on a non-intel mac? hehehe……

By: Van

Van — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 00:08:18 +0000

I would love to see GTT TV! But I would ask that there only be 12 hours of Federer-related programming! : )

Hey FF, what’s up? I think there’s always been a high level of camaraderie on the men’s tour: If you were to look on the last page of the current issue of TENNIS at the quiz, one of the questions is What did John McEnroe and Ilie Nastase do after nearly causing a riot in the second round at the U.S. Open in 1979? The answer is they had dinner together!

So guys have been able to put aside differences, and there’s nothing wrong with showing some respect to your opponent. Now, I’m a big all-around sports fans and some of the buddy-buddiness in team sports toward opponents kind of bugs me. It does because those guys have guaranteed contracts and are getting paid the same win or lose, so it’s almost like a “hey, I don’t care, I’m still getting mine!” But in tennis, where your income and place in the game is based upon how far you advance, it’s a little more obvious guys want it. And if they happen to give props to one of the greatest players ever on his way to history, I don’t think there’s much wrong with that!

Sorry for such a long comment!

By: dootsiez

dootsiez — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 23:46:57 +0000

LOL I second that.

24 hrs of Federer tennis, with a bit of Safin and Tsonga slotted in somewhere. Rolex and Jura during the commercial breaks. Too awesome for words.

By: @KristinKoffel

@KristinKoffel — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 23:25:46 +0000

come on guys, Roger CLEARLY invented niceness and is now completely ruining the sporting world as we know it. he should be punished brutally. How DARE HE enjoy his sport and respect his fellow man in such a way? It's just embarrassing!! Shameful.

By: freakyfrites

freakyfrites — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 22:08:04 +0000

Lorrie you are so sweet! I can just see myself with some kind of pirated satellite feed and FreakyFritters and me sitting at the kitchen table doing commentary! Ha!

By: lorrie

lorrie — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 22:00:12 +0000

this is the kind of article that made me not read anything peter bodo puts his name on. thats why i love this site. out of the corporate box writing, thinking, w/lots international input. those espn journalists and their similar counterparts are stuck in their old ways. it's a new world out here and i thank the universe we don't have to rely on them anymore for tennis intelligence. more power to gototennis.com and other tennis blogs. i would love to see the gototennis channel. i bet we'd see some great tennis, tennis news and updates and commentators. i bet FF u could give the non-tennis channel a run for their money. seriously, think about it. :)

By: Tabby

Tabby — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 21:01:49 +0000

It is a daft article, a bit like that hideous Peter Bodo one I recall comparing the sophisticated Swiss man to the country bumpkin from Mallorca.

It’s as if he took the Daily Mash seriously: http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/sport/sport-headlines/federer-becomes-most-boring-man-ever-200907061877/

And wrote a proper article on it.