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Federer simply in a league of his own


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Left wondering
July 3: Andy Roddick compliments Roger Federer to the BBC after losing in the Wimbledon men's final.

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Solid preparation not enough
I believe Roddick when he says he did all the work needed coming into this Wimbledon.

Unfortunately, his efforts didn’t mean much in the end. But that doesn’t mean the other players and Roddick can give up on trying to beat Federer.

This is the way they earn their living and they need to keep on fighting.

Roddick tried the right strategy in attempting to beat Federer. He attacked his opponent's game. But Roddick doesn’t have all the tools you need to do that.

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For instance he just doesn’t have good chip shots, and he can’t chip off the forehand to get into the net. And that’s something that Federer has, a good forehand chip, which makes life very difficult for his opponents.

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The only way to get to Federer is to be aggressive and attack, but that’s not easy because that’s just not the way players are thinking these days.

An opponent of Federer's has to try and crowd him and make him try and pass.  Of course, with the passing shots he hit against Roddick in the Wimbledon final, you can’t say that Federer would have problems winning even if an opponent took to the net.

There's even room for improvement
I guess there’s always the hope that Federer has an off day, but that’s a tough strategy to bank for the other men trying to win majors.

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And the bad news for the other players is that Federer can still improve.

He’s at the age when players are just finding out about their true talents.

I talked to Federer after the match and he analyzed the situation perfectly, saying that it's the opponent who makes the match.

If he keeps his interest in tennis up until he's at least 30, it looks like the Roger Federer Era will be one for the ages

© 2009 MSNBC Interactive


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