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[pieterSAN]

Wall/PieterSAN/Fineleg,

I agree with you guys. Sampras/Federer on grass would be a sight to behold. They went head to head
at Wimbledon 2001, but it was a waning Sampras and Fed wasn't quite Fed yet. But you could see all
the signs of a fantastic contest. If possible, check it out on youtube. As Pieter mentioned, some of
the returns Roger comes up with are beyond magical.

On any other surface (clay/hardcourt/sand/ice...) Federer would completely dominate.

Here's an article by David Foster Wallace for anyone interested: "Federer as religious experience"

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/20/sports/playmagazine/20federer.html?ei=5090&en=716968175e36505e&ex=1313726400&pagewanted=all

 ....LN's going to laugh when he sees this. Pipsqueak posted this first about six months ago and I posted it again more recently. All the same.....you have a good eye for well-written articles.

[feverpitch]

Fever,

It may be worthwhile taking a look at what Agassi, who has actually played Edberg, Becker, Sampras
has to say about Federer -

/begin quote

'Pete was great, no question,' said Agassi, who lost 14 of 34 matches against the Californian. 'But there was a place to get to with Pete, you knew what you had to do. If you do it, it could be on your terms. There's no such place like that with Roger.'

In Federer's case, Agassi said, opponents reach a point of no return. 'With other guys you play " and I've played a lot of them over so many years " there's a safety zone, there's a place to get to, there's something to focus on, there's a way. Anything you try to do [Roger] potentially has an answer for, and it's just a function of when he starts pulling the triggers necessary to get you to change to that decision. He plays the game in a very special way. I haven't seen it before.

'He's the only guy I've ever played against where you hold serve to go 1-0 and you're thinking, 'All right, good'. And I'm not just making fun of it, I'm literally telling you the way it is. He can hurt you at any point. You're serving 30-love. He wins the point. It's 30-15. The pressure you feel at 30-15 is different than [playing] anybody else. So there's a sense of urgency on every point, on every shot.

/end quote

Thanks for digging this up. I was myself going to cite stuff some of these older players themselves had to say about Federer. I remember thinking of Sampras, in his heyday, as a pain for others when his serve was on. You just could not dislodge him with that big serve of his. The shocking thing about Fed is that there is no great serve like Pete's but you can't even come close to making his look beatable. If I'm not wrong, i think even Sampras said something like he's just out there... Sampras though had that serve, so might have played Fed well, can't say.

FP, you look like you followed serious amounts of football in the hippie era. lucky you, if you got to see some of the greats of that time.

Amit,

I'm not disputing RF's abilities. I'm just trying to imagine what it might have been if there was a No. 2 player of the standards of Emerson/ Agassi/ Becker to challenge Federer's No. 1 act like Laver/ Sampras/ Lendl had. And so far, I don't see any. In the long run, Nadal will most probably end up being ranked with the Roscoe Tanner's/Miroslav Mecir's of the tennis world.

Wall,

What hippie era? Has it ended? 

Anyway, I'm younger than what my post suggests. Just watched the greats on dvd's. There is a serious amount of old stuff being re-released these days. Its fascinating, to say watch a Madrid team of the 50's, with Raymond Kopa, Ferenc Puskas and the like, central schemers in their national sides, being reduced to playing out-and out strikers in the presence of Alfredo Di Stefano.

Or the Magical Magyars against the English at Wembly, with the big burly English stopper chasing Nandor Hidegkuti all over the field in order to mark him after he scored the opener and then withdrew to the role of a schemer, leaving wide open spaces for Sandor Kocsis or The Galloping Major to make merry!

Anyway, one final word on strategy and formations while I'm at it. They are as good as the players around whom they are built. While Brazil's 4-3-3 failed in 2006 because Parriera refused to build the team around Ronaldinho [as Barca do]; Argentina succeeded with their 3-5-2 because they built their team around Maradona.

[keep-it-cool]

The one debate that I have gotten into very often is who is the best goalkeeper in the World. This is a very difficult question to answer. I can list some of my favorties and currently I think Petr Cech is the best.

Was reminded of this during yesterday's FA Cup semi-final between Chelsea and Blackburn. One save, in particular, towards the fag end of the game stands out - John Terry in trying to head out a long throw just in front of his goal inadvertently back-flipped it. The ball seemed destined to hit the back of the net before Cech somehow managed to leap and fend it off above his right shoulder with his left hand.

While Mourinho does talk up his players, few would argue with what he had to say about Cech "Petr Cech is more than special. "He is the best goalkeeper in the world, everybody knows that. But to be the best in the world three months after that incredible surgery is amazing. When we saw him at Reading, and then in the hospital, without hair and with a big scar, and then when he was trying all his different helmets on, there were a lot of question marks. We didn't know whether he could come back and still be the same. To come back and be so good, so quickly, is fantastic. He is a big example, not just to people in football but anyone who has had a major accident or brain surgery. Some people are scared about whether they will have a normal life again. What he has done is incredible."

The quadruple dream is still on!!

[pieterSAN]

The one debate that I have gotten into very often is who is the best goalkeeper in the World. This is a very difficult question to answer. I can list some of my favorties and currently I think Petr Cech is the best.

Was reminded of this during yesterday's FA Cup semi-final between Chelsea and Blackburn. One save, in particular, towards the fag end of the game stands out - John Terry in trying to head out a long throw just in front of his goal inadvertently back-flipped it. The ball seemed destined to hit the back of the net before Cech somehow managed to leap and fend it off above his right shoulder with his left hand.

While Mourinho does talk up his players, few would argue with what he had to say about Cech "Petr Cech is more than special. "He is the best goalkeeper in the world, everybody knows that. But to be the best in the world three months after that incredible surgery is amazing. When we saw him at Reading, and then in the hospital, without hair and with a big scar, and then when he was trying all his different helmets on, there were a lot of question marks. We didn't know whether he could come back and still be the same. To come back and be so good, so quickly, is fantastic. He is a big example, not just to people in football but anyone who has had a major accident or brain surgery. Some people are scared about whether they will have a normal life again. What he has done is incredible."

The quadruple dream is still on!!

I was watching...his return has been impressive. Looking ahead to Champion's League, I reckon Chelsea v Liverpool will be another drab affair. However, Machester v Milan should be a good game. Pirlo and Kaka can test the Man U defence and Ronaldo, Giggs and Rooney are quality for Man U.

[keep-it-cool]

The one debate that I have gotten into very often is who is the best goalkeeper in the World. This is a very difficult question to answer. I can list some of my favorties and currently I think Petr Cech is the best.

Was reminded of this during yesterday's FA Cup semi-final between Chelsea and Blackburn. One save, in particular, towards the fag end of the game stands out - John Terry in trying to head out a long throw just in front of his goal inadvertently back-flipped it. The ball seemed destined to hit the back of the net before Cech somehow managed to leap and fend it off above his right shoulder with his left hand.

While Mourinho does talk up his players, few would argue with what he had to say about Cech "Petr Cech is more than special. "He is the best goalkeeper in the world, everybody knows that. But to be the best in the world three months after that incredible surgery is amazing. When we saw him at Reading, and then in the hospital, without hair and with a big scar, and then when he was trying all his different helmets on, there were a lot of question marks. We didn't know whether he could come back and still be the same. To come back and be so good, so quickly, is fantastic. He is a big example, not just to people in football but anyone who has had a major accident or brain surgery. Some people are scared about whether they will have a normal life again. What he has done is incredible."

The quadruple dream is still on!!

I was watching...his return has been impressive. Looking ahead to Champion's League, I reckon Chelsea v Liverpool will be another drab affair. However, Machester v Milan should be a good game. Pirlo and Kaka can test the Man U defence and Ronaldo, Giggs and Rooney are quality for Man U.

Liverpool apparently is playing now solely for Champions League. They cannot finish higher than 3rd in EPL ... but are in no danger of finishing out of the top 4 ... so, can afford to conserve their energies for the big matches. Mourinho has already fired a barb, by terming the Liverpool - Man City match as a "testimonial match" and saying that the ideal final should be ManU v/s Chelsea.

I think this is the problem that Chelsea and ManU will face .. every match is equivalent to a final. Immense load / pressure on the players.