Tennis expert on Federer-Out: “You Swiss are too impatient”
Roger Federer fails in Doha in the quarter-finals to Nikolos Basilashvili. Tennis expert Matthias Stach analyzes the maestro’s comeback and is one hundred percent sure that Federer is satisfied.
12.03.2021
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After 13 months, Roger Federer returned to the tour in Doha. After his victory over Daniel Evans, he retired in his second appearance against Nikolos Basilashvili despite match point. Tennis expert Matthias Stach classifies the performance and reveals what he still trusts Federer.
Matthias Stach is Germany’s best-known tennis reporter, has reported on more than 100 Grand Slam tournaments and has been active in front of and behind the camera for many years, among others, for “Eurosport” and “myTennis”. For “blue Sport”, the tennis guru classifies Federer’s performance at the comeback and says what he still believes the 39-year-old will do in the future.
“To be honest, I was pleasantly surprised,” said Stach. «He played against two really good tennis players. Once two and a half hours and then again over the longest distance (three sets). ” Surprised because after such a long break that is not a matter of course.
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You Swiss are a little impatient. I believe one hundred percent that he was satisfied.»
But was Federer really happy with his comeback, or was he secretly hoping for a little more? «You Swiss are a little impatient. I believe one hundred percent that he was satisfied. ” You keep hearing from tennis players or footballers who trained hard in the Corona period and then weren’t really ready for the serious fight. Andrea Petkovic told him that she had lumbago and sore muscles after her first game after a long break. That is why Stach thinks Federer himself is surprised at how well he survived the games.
But why are serious fights so much more exhausting than training sessions or tennis matches during training? Stach knows: “These are two completely different things, that’s what all professional athletes say over and over again.” You can train hard for five hours, but that’s just not comparable. “You don’t have this tension, this adrenaline. You don’t have this match scenario and that has a completely different effect on the muscles. “
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His focus is clearly on the lawn season, the Olympics and the US Open.»
The more the question arises as to whether it is a wise decision by Federer to skip next week’s tournament in Dubai if he needed match practice. That has to do with Federer’s goals. «His focus is clearly on the grass season, the Olympics and the US Open. And there he is, I think, right on track. ” From his point of view, Federer is doing everything right if he now includes a six-week stamina and fitness block.
He’s still a long way from writing off Federer. A few years ago he was laughed at in Germany when he believed Federer would make a big comeback including title wins. The situation is not entirely comparable, but he sees Federer’s chances intact, especially on grass: “I still trust him a lot at Wimbledon.” However, the knees would be strained on grass, “because it is a completely different kind of tennis”.
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He was always very, very good with his body, that’s why he’s a phenomenon.»
At the other Grand Slam tournaments, he could imagine that it would be difficult with “best-of-five” games. Because age does not pass Federer without a trace. “At some point it plays along because you don’t regenerate that quickly. That means you just need a lot longer. He was always very, very good with his body, that’s why he’s a phenomenon. I mean, if he plays the big things in the second half of the year, then the gentleman is 40 years old. ” Being part of the absolute top elite is not without it. He trusts Federer to do that, “but only in various, dedicated tournaments”. Over the whole year he will probably not always be able to play at the highest level. And that’s why Federer is no longer interested in the world rankings at all.
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