"Clearly, the great man means business today." Great commentary.

Blake’s shot selection is actually pretty good as well - he consistently hits the deep corners which shows how incredible Prime Federer was

@MrPiotrV

10 ай бұрын

yeah, that's the most impressive thing: blake was actually playing really really well but federer just made him look like an amateur

@seruresto1386

10 ай бұрын

​@@MrPiotrVThing is even playing well, Blake was a one dimensional, one trick pony who was incredibly predictable. And who never changed his game or tried to adapt. Like when the commentator mentions Blake being exasperated. Blake already frustrated because he's tried his one idea of standing close to the baseline and hitting it hard crosscourt isn't working, and now he's all out of ideas. 😂

@MrPiotrV

10 ай бұрын

@@seruresto1386 right, but that describes a LOT of players ;)

@richellis5166

10 ай бұрын

yes an no, Blake's direction was decent but he was hitting the ball way too hard and right into Fed's strike zone. Fed just had to get a racket on a lot of those shots and it came back at Blake faster than he could react to it . Awesome match to watch though none the less.

@slam5

9 ай бұрын

you can see it on Blake's face. "How on this planet he returned that?"

Roger in full flight. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a match where his backhand was a lot more dominant than his forehand. Total dominance and brilliance on display. Looks like he didn’t even break a sweat.

@rusticbloom4245

11 ай бұрын

Watch the Indian Wells 2017 demolition of Nadal, that's a little step up from this. That's the highest level tennis ever played.

@wahn10

11 ай бұрын

@@rusticbloom4245 Agree. Roger gave us epic levels of tennis during that match. His Sunshine Double in '17 is the stuff of legends.

@1987rathan

10 ай бұрын

Roger was Don of faster synthetic courts. He was so accurate in back hand corners and his forehand shots were always thunderous. Once the courts were changed, physical players like Nadal, Djokovic had beaten him convincingly with their base line play which was not possible in earlier faster synthetic courts. Still Federer managed to adapt his game to an extent where he was able to win few more grandslams. Had faster courts were prevalent in previous decade, Federer would have won another 15 grand slams... Federer is too tactical to adapt for anyone playing against him...

@tamersaid81

10 ай бұрын

2017 Aus final the backhand was good.

@metalgearsolidsnake6978

9 ай бұрын

Spiderman into spiderverse

His backhand is incredible in this match.

@springfield03sniper

5 жыл бұрын

Paul Thomas it had been incredible the whole tournament.

@supercritic100

5 жыл бұрын

@jeff afe Yes and real tennis can only be watched through black and white televisions and must be played on grass with wooden racquets. What else?

@michaelscoots

5 жыл бұрын

There’s one really good shot of him running out of frame as the backhand finishes its course and the ball goes down the line for a winner. Always loved that clip and try with all my might to emulate a fraction of it. Also love the half volley backhands. He was so dialed in - this has always been my favorite RF match.

@jamesb2871

5 жыл бұрын

True.....soooo true

@mariosavva999

5 жыл бұрын

It's been incredible since he 1st picked up a racquet.

Nadal and Djokovic now have more Grand Slam titles than him, but no one was as dominant at his peak as Roger.

@julienbeaudelot5269

Жыл бұрын

Haha i want to agree with this, and I love Federer more than everyone else, but Nadal at his peak was just insane. Check out Nadal 2008 Roland Garros : all matches are one sided, he beat Federer in the final too. It's just inhuman :D

@ej11481

Жыл бұрын

@@julienbeaudelot5269 Nadal was quite dominant on clay for a while, no doubt. But I think Federer's dominance on both hard and grass courts (combined with being pretty good on clay) puts him a notch above everyone else.

@julienbeaudelot5269

Жыл бұрын

@@ej11481 yeah I understand, very versatile. The thing is, it's just so good to see him play, his tennis is really "visually" beautiful

@pawshands9706

11 ай бұрын

Roger truly mastered every aspect of this sport. His dominance has no equal. The man could hit any shot imaginable and then he'd invent some of his own.

@MM-dm4xj

11 ай бұрын

Weak era

When he's old and can't move, he can watch all these youtube videos and laugh to himself XD. How awsome is blake's attitude though!? He literally didn't stop trying, absolute warrior

@noelleeve4087

4 жыл бұрын

And lost gracefully too. Showed class at the net after the game. 👍 🏆

@deimos2126

4 жыл бұрын

Yes people don't give Blake enough credit for raising his own level of play and intensity throughout the match. What a match this has been thanks to that! Godmode

@GrandaddyCrunk

4 жыл бұрын

Blake is an absolute warrior and top personality, one of the most underrated players ever IMO. You have to be extremely extremely good to even get Fed's level to this point.

@user-mf5ue6rc5n

4 жыл бұрын

blake is a piece of shit like roddick and hewwit

@remnant24

4 жыл бұрын

Maybe the fact that Blake didn't stop trying is the problem. He kept playing with the same mindset from beginning to end, when clearly it wasn't working out. After that first set most players would rethink their strategy and perhaps take more chances like they had nothing to lose (which really, they didn't), but he just stuck to his guns.

That night Federer played with 2 forehands.

@erickouhai9818

4 жыл бұрын

I'll be your first reply.

Roger Federer in my opinion was the most aesthetic pleasing Tennis player ever. He floated on the court and his movement was so graceful and beautiful. He is the greatest of all time despite what Novak and Rafa has achieved 🎾

@josuerestrepo1476

11 ай бұрын

He never make loud sounds or moans😂, pure elegance.

@user-js2hh4cf4i

10 ай бұрын

I agree to that. He is my favorite forever. Just love him as a tennis player. I tried to watch all his matches.

@geemy9675

10 ай бұрын

For me Pete Sampras comes close second. He was just as relaxed and effortless, whether he was hitting aces or huge winners, or at the net. He just didn't have the same consistency and patience to hit long baseline rallies on slow clay against big top spin players. but TBF clay was much slower at the time, and grass much quicker, so I don't think Novak and Rafa could have had the same success on all surfaces. they were hugely talented but also arrived at the right moment with courts and rackets evolution. Federer would most probably have been just as successful during any decade, even with smaller and less spinny rackets heads. I agree some of the matches on grass or indoor could become a bit repetitive with avalanches of aces and winnner serves though, but it's part of the game

@SanphireJaide7

10 ай бұрын

100% agree.

@H0VA

10 ай бұрын

Beautiful looking player on the court but Sampras would beat him more often than not in his prime.

Never in the Life remaining, will see more class and style than Roger…. Never! Simply stunning

This performance is probably the closest thing to perfection I’ve ever seen on a tennis court

We will never ever see anything like this again in tennis history.

@ShadeXH

3 ай бұрын

Federer in full flight like this is the most unplayable player in history. Took the racket out of the opponent's hand and didn't even let them play.

I agree. When people talk about how the today's player are better than the big 3 they are usually only taking things from a modern or current perspective, but if you want to make that comparison then you need to see the big 3 in their prime and this is one such performance from one of them. An absolute monster. Seems a lot of people have very short memories so it's good to remind them!

When Roger's backhand was in top form he was nigh unstoppable. While people who place the utmost importance on numbers and statistics would disagree, Roger is my GOAT because like Tiger and MJ he did more to elevate the profile of his sport more than any other before or since. On the court he was a flamboyant artist that would regularly hit the risky and unexpected shot, unlike many of his metronome peers that just wanted to get the ball back one more time than their opponent. Off the court you could not ask for a more popular and respected ambassador. It's not only that he won, it was the beautiful and spectacular way he won that made many of us excited to watch. Even John McEnroe described his game as "beautiful". When you see a highlight video of Roger it's full of outrageous, seemingly impossible shots that you just have to stare and admire. Videos of most other players highlight how long the rally went.

@darrenyoung8776

11 ай бұрын

And don’t forget they started slowing down the courts around 2010 even slowed Wimbledon down

@NamTran-xc2ip

11 ай бұрын

@@darrenyoung8776they already started slowing down them in 2001, Federer benefited from slower courts compsred to the 90s

@geemy9675

10 ай бұрын

@@NamTran-xc2ip and clay got quicker. now all surfaces are much closer, clay and grass used to be won by specialists

@lgoler

10 ай бұрын

Yes, and I’ve never seen a Djokovic fan take the time to spell out so eloquently why they are in awe of his talent. With Federer, it’s devotional, like a religion:)

@slam5

9 ай бұрын

And he did it sof 22 years!!! If it was more than 1/2 of a typical person's working life. He did it at the highest level possible.

It's matches like this that probably persuaded the sponsors and tennis authorities to slow down the court surfaces - even in his late 30s, Federer was still magnificent on slightly quicker courts.

There is no doubt statistically speaking that Djokovic is number 1 along with his resilience, perseverance, grit and moral fortitude but as a spectator the person I would pay to see is Roger because on his day his stroke play, elegance and finesse in terms of his shot selection and execution is simply unrivalled.

@user-dh3ss5qm4y

11 ай бұрын

You said that nicely and correctly. I totally agree with you. Stay safe

@user-dh3ss5qm4y

11 ай бұрын

I also Loved Federer's footwork. The way he moved around the court, into his shots was simply beautiful. Yes, I'd Love to pay to see Fed play again. The best dressed tennis player also. He looked good while playing good. No one glided around the court like The Fed/Goat.

@wahn10

11 ай бұрын

I have to agree. My wife and I have different favourites but we respect the other player too. Hers is Roger but she happily refers to Novak as 'goat'. And she describes Roger's style of play in similar fashion. He is very inspiring.

@mariosannino5441

11 ай бұрын

Agree. Djoko is better mentally and athletically, but nobody will ever come close to Roger touch, footwork and coordination. He was blessed by mother nature.

This is why Roger is the GOAT. There is no one else in the history of tennis who could beat Roger in this form.

@BradRobinson-xp5sp

9 ай бұрын

So Novak and Rafa are golf players😂😂

@samster978

9 ай бұрын

his dominance before peak nadal and Djokovic came along

No player in tennis history stands a chance against Roger on his day.

@thsu8

5 жыл бұрын

2011-2016 Djokovic would have a chance.

@Robzzx

5 жыл бұрын

Peak djokovic and nadal can

@ronaldh6466

5 жыл бұрын

Nadal has many times, although I'm a big Federer fan, go watch those epic Wimbledon Finals matches.

@vikranttyagiRN

5 жыл бұрын

You gotta be kidding me. This line can only be said about Rafa on clay and nobody else.

@user-oz2ws8dh9s

4 жыл бұрын

2011 Djokovic

This maybe a question of what being great really is about...but when I see this I personally have no question that I am watching the greatest of all time...

in conclusion, roger federer 2004-2007 was, is and will be the best tennist in the entire history of humanity, we will never see something like this again... that man in those years is the closest thing to perfection that we've got.

The GOAT showing us why he is the GOAT.

His one handed backhand is second to none. This video is making me fall in love with it all over again

In his prime, the GOAT. Pure grace and athleticism. He literally seemed to float around the court.

So good to see two tennis players employing the one handed backhand - so elegant.

People forget how long had Roger played. The game had changed so much in all that time. Think of it, it the beginning was Sampas and Agassi. And when he retired (I wrote this in late summer of 2023), you have Carlos (who was not even born he Roger was winning slam). All the top players in the last 20+ years had played him and he beat them. Remember there is no rest time in the game. You pickup the racket and don't put it down for a few hours with almost no break. I've no idea how he lasted that long.

Roger's blessed with being very relaxed in his body- (more so, than any player I've seen). This helps explain why he's so graceful. He wastes zero energy, and has the most fluid strokes as well- poetry in motion.

@geemy9675

10 ай бұрын

I would put Sampras serve, forehand and volley at the same level in terms of effortless, relaxed power, and movement, and footwork. his backhand wasn't as powerful though

The performance of his BH here was really his best in his career imo. Its not like blake was doing nothing and hitting soft. Fed was just out of this world. When he is feeling like this, you could put anyone from any era and it wouldnt matter

@perakojot6524

5 жыл бұрын

You must be joking? Blake's BH is on recreational level. 100% of them cross-court and 90% of them lending in the service box. Overall Blake was a mediocre player that is known just because he is American. In today's tennis with his style and level of play he'd probably wouldn't even be in top 100.

@avista4312

5 жыл бұрын

I agree with you. The RF of today should watch this old tape and try to recapture the technique of this backhand. His backhands today have nowhere near the pace or bite and are just plain too inconsistent. It is painful to watch him today and see how many of his backhands go out, are mishits or are just sitting ducks.

@Liamnerfdude1

5 жыл бұрын

@@perakojot6524 bullshit idiot trying to say the weak era exists.

@fabienh3943

5 жыл бұрын

@@avista4312 painful to watch him play? :-) as painful as to read such arrogant, misplaced & unaware nonsense??

@Glenn-gr4ds

5 жыл бұрын

@@fabienh3943 If you can't see the difference between the old Fed and the new then you don't know much about tennis. And yes, he is painful to watch when you want him to play well/win and he hits backhands like 5.0 club players. But it still says a lot for his unbelievable natural talent to still be relevant and going deep into tournaments with people in their 20s while hitting club level backhands

Federer is by far my favorite tennis player. He plays with true wit, skills and passion. To me, he's the Messi of tennis.

Simply put Blake’s game matches up perfectly for Federer. Blake hits very hard and very flat. Fed loves a fast flat ball. Virtually every shot is right in Fed’s wheel house.

@th8257

4 жыл бұрын

Exactly

@chanjiewan6823

10 ай бұрын

Urmmm ...Mostly all his losses besides Nadal and Nole were against people who play like Blake. big hitters. He was playing well here. Let's not take anything away from that fact

Right after the match his coach Tony Roche was asked what his toughts were on the beagle, he said: two unforced errors.

I remember James saying at the trophy hand out speech thanking Roger for the tennis lesson! That was funny! 😄

@springfield03sniper

11 ай бұрын

James was a good player too, beat Nadal a couple times too. This was just a shelling by Fed.

@Kidgloves1984

11 ай бұрын

Fed was at his most dominant in 2006..only Rafa gave him a really hard time on clay especially, but also on grass and hard sometimes ..

The purest striker of the ball ever. The king

No matter who has more GS, Federer was the most complete player ever. Baseline, Service, Net, Forehand, Backhand, movement on court and especially the broad array of special shots that no one else could play. This was pure talent, in addition to practice. In this match, Blake tried everything - and he wasn't a bad player at all - but had not a piece of a chance. The way how Federer played the game in his prime is second to none.

@BradRobinson-xp5sp

9 ай бұрын

Well it mattered when Roger had the most grand slams y'all were saying that he is the goat because he has more grand slams,and now when Novak and Rafa lead the grand slams race now it's suddenly is not about who has the most slams,hypocrite.Federer will always be the third greatest ever

Imagine this version of Federer playing in Wimbledon finals 2019

@UrosKovacevic91

4 жыл бұрын

He was playing really great in the finals, pretty close to this great performance. His backhand was great, but Djokovic sends balls deeper than Blake on average so it might seem it was worse. In fact he was playing better than Djokovic 90% of the match. Just played worse in the tiebreakers. I mean Fed had 15 unforced errors in tiebreakers while Djokovic had 0. That's simply unreal.

@ventsislavstefanov9590

4 жыл бұрын

He would've destroyed Djokovic in 3

@arvindvanati106

4 жыл бұрын

Lol He had this level except for the tie breaker

@arvindvanati106

4 жыл бұрын

Ventsislav Stefanov why don’t u guys understand that it always matters that who is there on the other side of the net I always matters in tennis 🎾 When u look at the backhand exchange of Blake and Federer and than compare it to DJokovic’s exchange u will find the difference U will also find the difference in mental strength as well

@ventsislavstefanov9590

4 жыл бұрын

@@arvindvanati106 Yes it does, however you simply cannot compare this version of Federer with the one from 2019, he's much faster, forehand is way superior, backhand is more reliable... The exchanges would go much differently in my opinion, but we can only speculate. It is what it is.

This has always been my favorite RF match. Some of the commentary is left out here - incredible quotes - which make it even more amazing. That backhand was so completely dialed in! Also, Blake was number 4 in the world and had just beat Nadal in this same tournament.

The level of his play during this time was so unprecedented that no one was even close.

Yep, that was a scary performance.

@acaludi8512

5 жыл бұрын

Scary performance against talented but not powerful Blake, why he did never show his talent against Nadal?

@sgonz6232

5 жыл бұрын

Aca Ludi blake was rank 8,

@acaludi8512

5 жыл бұрын

@@sgonz6232 Respect for Blake, I've always thought he had great style. But his is not in the class of these 3 beasts that we are talking about.

@gurneyh6524

5 жыл бұрын

​@@acaludi8512 kzread.info/dash/bejne/eo2Xm5tspai0qbw.html

@gabrielvergarasanmartin5233

5 жыл бұрын

@@acaludi8512 WTF 2011, Indian Wells 2017.

Federer won the game, but Blake appreciated his talent and won the hearts of the people.

Blake was a good sport during this match. No racquet smashing or other displays of bad sportsmanship. Hats off to him. He got owned, and he was humble about it. We need more like him.

I feel for Blake. Really good performance and he just keeps on fighting. No throwing in the towel. Great match and flawless performance from Roger.

@iqless7313

10 ай бұрын

Blake's amazing performance is what makes this match so outstanding. The scoreline indicates a dominant game by Federer, and that's true, but it's amazing that he was dominating such a great playing player.

@saxmanphd

10 ай бұрын

Blake did beat fed at 08 Olympics. Bet roger would have wanted that one back

@milesnicholas5973

7 ай бұрын

@@saxmanphd 2008 - the year Federer had glandular fever (he was never as good afterwards).

Ain’t no way he just did 6-0 in a final like this, it’s just insane.

watching this is a reminder just how damn quick RF was. I mean, his footwork here and his movement in the corners is just sublime. I think he lost quite a bit of that for the last 7-8 years, though other aspects of his game were so refined they mostly compensated for it.

Wow, jaw-dropping...brutal aggression. Honestly, Novak now would more than likely lose to Federer in his prime. I've been watching some prime Federer videos, because I'm young and have only seen Federer play in his 30s. Jesus this version of Roger is like a tennis alien or something...never seen anything like that

@sasook

5 жыл бұрын

Honestly, from 2004-2007 it really felt like in most matches, he could hit any shot he wanted at any time

@BosaFTW

5 жыл бұрын

sasook on clay against Nadal these years you saw a Federer shitting his pants and crying because he would never win Roland Garros. Robin Soderling was the reason Federer could win it once!

@12OclockLow

4 жыл бұрын

​@@BosaFTWRafa is legendary, but Federer's talent and skill is on another level. Rafa invented ways to beat him, which is commendable indeed, but he still envies Federer's natural ability, which is truly second to none.

@milesnicholas5973

7 ай бұрын

@@BosaFTW Perhaps it's slipped your mind, but Nadal played in the 2009 French Open and got knocked out - by Soderling! Oh, and of the last 7 matches played between Nadal and Federer, Nadal won just once. Federer finally worked out how to beat him - no mean feat considering Nadal was 5 years his junior.

@hariharansankaran9012

3 ай бұрын

Watch Frderer Safin 2002 Hamburg open. Arrival of Federer.

Roger will always be the best in my eyes. Beauty and power rolled into one

@annewalden3795

6 ай бұрын

Roger is a tennis God and both Novak and Rafael are very good humans .

Roger is the GOAT

And the thing is . Not many people remember what a player Blake was. He would chop todays youngsters Up.

He ended Sampras, Agassi, Hewit, Roddick and opened his own era

6-0 in the First Set in a Final Match.........that is Roger Federer

@GeneralArmorus

5 жыл бұрын

2004 roland garros

@-theislander-5888

5 жыл бұрын

nadal two weeks ago

@vikranttyagiRN

5 жыл бұрын

6-1,6-3,6-0 enough said

@jamesb2871

5 жыл бұрын

your RIGHT ....his BEST backhand day EVER......which is reeeaaally saying something, because fed has had SO MANY "legendary backhand days".......in his career, this WAS the best.....YET. It makes it even more IMPOSSIBLE that Federer actually went on to have BETTER BACKHAND PERFORMANCES....and not only that ? He had BETTER backhand days.......MORE THAN TEN YEARS LATER!! IN A SLAM! IN A SLAM FINAL!!! AND AGAINST NADAL!!! What I just typed was considered IMPOSSIBLE but yet it happened, and it didn't happen until Fed was ANCIENT......because Roger was ALREADY CONSIDERED OOOOLD on this day, way back in Shanghai.....soooo MANY years ago. But he did the IMPOSSIBLE.....against an even MORE IMPOSSIBLE OPPONENT....11 Years later....in Aussie open Final!! (which by the way ? was only Feds 5TH Aussie Open....he won a SIXTH! the very next year)........impossible.

@mohamedmtb2751

5 жыл бұрын

Grand Slam final 6-1 6-3 6-0 Nadal win over Federer 😎 and that was Prime Federer 08

The style with which he played with so entertaining. He is somehow just different, an artist in many ways

Scary, clinical performance from the Maestro...

It's not people's fault.. Federer made this era as it looks weak...its just pure dominance that even great players look weak against him..

@jeffreykaufmann4625

5 жыл бұрын

Hewitt and Safin and Baghdatis were not great players

@gabrielvergarasanmartin5233

5 жыл бұрын

@@jeffreykaufmann4625 Hewitt and Safin? lol.

@willEMG0905

4 жыл бұрын

@@jeffreykaufmann4625 jajajahajaahhaha so stupid man, i mean, of course they weren't at Nadal, Djokovic ir Federer level, but Hewitt and Safin were N°1 of the world. How they are not great players??? Don't be a fan boy dude.

This is probably the best performance I have ever seen from any Tennis player... sublime!

When Fed's serve and backhand are on point, you might as well beg for mercy. 🤷‍♀️💅

@jamesb2871

5 жыл бұрын

FEDERER came into Wimbledon & Us Open ATTACKING....watch his infamous 01 Wimbledon beating defending champion Sampras who played WELL but lost to Roger while they BOTH SERVE-VOLLEYED on BOTH 1st and 2nd serves. Thats the way IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE......and if it stayed that way Roger would have 12 Wimbledons and 9 Us Opens. They sloooooooowed things down so disgustingly that Roger had to play his SECOND BACK UP GAME.....of unwatchable retrieving Tennis.........he won 20 slams playing his WEAKER BACK UP-PLAN B GAME. They finally made Aussie Open a TINY BIT faster .....Roger won 2 in a row and Wimbledon in between. Case Closed (Oh ......he did that at 37.....)Novak & Rafa will NOT BE WINNING ANYTHING AT 37........they win with STAMINA ONLY........unwatchable.......2 grown men waiting out a mistake .....Id rather knit

@yurhomi4478

4 жыл бұрын

James B ‘id rather knit’ haha

James Blake actually held his own pretty well but Roger pretty much hit everything so tactically on point which was insane, every angle was nearly on point and couldnt be matched.

@edfg4

8 ай бұрын

Blake played damn well but...Roger was magnificent! Anyone else might have quit against such an onslaught so kudos to Blake!

When the master was in best of 5 not like the joke that we have today. The level of the match is insane. I miss this tennis as now we only have boring matches on grounds that are so similar.

@annewalden3795

6 ай бұрын

I agree modern tennis is rather boring and Roger is really missed.

People easily forget the level that he was playing at from 04-07,he was so much quicker and his forehand was lethal

2019 update: Nobody ever played like the level Federer (not even himself in the first quarter of 2017 (very impressive moment because no one could beat him)) played from mid 2003 until 2007. He is the most genious player to ever hold a racket.

@jeffreykaufmann2867

4 жыл бұрын

Federer didnt decline after 2007. The competition got much stronger.

Just unreal even for an old fan since 2004 😮

His topspin backhand was deep and precise. He took apart a #8 player as if it was a practice match

For those who think prime-Djoko would have anything on Fed ... have them watch this video. Prime Djokovic could maybe get a set out of this Roger ...tops!

@springfield03sniper

5 жыл бұрын

George Mavrides I agree, but it is the court speed as well. This court was playing very fast, so that would play into their matchup as well.

@shivadhanush8805

5 жыл бұрын

Watch Australian open 2016.

@siewekim1945

5 жыл бұрын

Springfield03sniper and that is why i think the goat debate has no sense at all because we know that fast court fit more Federer and slow court Djokovic and Nadal.

@iamtman1

5 жыл бұрын

Fed was a shell of his prime by 2016.

@georgemavrides3434

5 жыл бұрын

@@siewekim1945 Yes but still. Fed is still one of best clay court players. Had the tour contained grass masters.. Fed would have at least 10-15 more. It's relative... yes.. but saying that Fed had a weak era when he played against prime Safin, Hewitt, Nalbandian, Davydenko, Gonzales, Rafa, Nole, Murray, Wawrinka etc...is really a silly statement.

The most brutal performances by Roger are, for me, this one and Indian Wells 2017 against Nadal. Funny (?) that the key point in those matches was his backhand performance. Funny because it's not easy to improve his forehand, probably the best ever, and it did.

Just imagine how many more slams Roger would have won if they hadn't slowed the game down

Blake has just got his REVENGE. As the Miami Open tournament director, he has slowed the courts down to a crawl just to vex Roger, who hates slow courts.

@yusufluhar5881

5 жыл бұрын

And yet Roger had just reached the final and looks imperious. He should beat Isner with his current form.

@dr.samperio806

5 жыл бұрын

And he’s still the champ

@klcheong

5 жыл бұрын

@@yusufluhar5881 he did. :-)

@rishimanda2191

4 жыл бұрын

He's going to be the champion for 2 years now lol

One of the best backhand performances of all time

@jamesb2871

5 жыл бұрын

Was.....and I emphasize WAS.......because Roger was OLD in this match ...by tennis terms.......and then 11 YEARS LATER?......not ONLY is he still on tour.......and not ONLY is it IMPOSSIBLE to hit 1-handed-righty backhands OVER YOUR SHOULDER vs Rafa........but Federer beat him BECAUSE OF HIS BACKHAND!......not "despite" it. On that fateful day at 17-Aussie.........he won by USING backhand........NOT by hiding it, or running around it......I saw him actually RUN AROUND A FOREHAND ONCE IN THAT MATCH.....because he chose an INSIDE-OUT BACKHAND WINNER........over taking a forehand.....wow! Rafas face was all confusion and disbelief.....he truly looked like a man who did'nt understand what he was looking at

Great performance by the GOAT. Even better than his win over Novak at the French Open in 2011.

@andresp7136

5 жыл бұрын

Wasnt it Soderling?

@BlitvaraBot

5 жыл бұрын

@@andresp7136 No, Soderling defeated Nadal in 2009.

Best or not; that backhand is just poetry in motion!

And they said it was a weak era. What a joke. I believe this Federer would wipe the floor with prime Djokovic.

@iamtman1

5 жыл бұрын

Yes he would.

@schwozluv8364

5 жыл бұрын

unowen7591 keep telling yourself that owen

@schwozluv8364

5 жыл бұрын

Transistor Jump you’re delusional

@unowen7591

5 жыл бұрын

@@schwozluv8364 Hey! Is that moron that became our bitch when I "destroyed" you over and over again! What happened to respecting Federer? "I was like that one time and it doesn't help? Didn't you say that? Tell me if I'm wrong, bitch.

@CK-iv1lq

5 жыл бұрын

There's no way Prime Federer would wipe the floor with prime Djokovic. Or the other way around. Their respective levels are super, SUPER close, so one of them is dropping a set either way

I don't care how many slams Nadal and Novak have .... Deep down they know prime Federer is unstoppable..... Greatest player to ever lift racket!!!! Period

@zelmoziggy

9 ай бұрын

🙄😂🤣

@pawshands9706

9 ай бұрын

Hands down the GOAT!

@zelmoziggy

9 ай бұрын

@@pawshands9706 Prove it.

@pawshands9706

9 ай бұрын

@@zelmoziggy Yes thanks

@zelmoziggy

9 ай бұрын

@@pawshands9706 You can’t.

This was the best tennis ever been played by a mortal

@dochi7758

5 жыл бұрын

Ertugrul Körpinar The only mortal I can see lost the match

@schwozluv8364

5 жыл бұрын

Ertugrul Körpinar look up djokovic Doha 2016.

@etiennegauthier5378

5 жыл бұрын

Do chi Hahahah what a response😂

@jimnosnow4484

5 жыл бұрын

This Roger would beat any Djokovic.

@schwozluv8364

5 жыл бұрын

Jimnosnow 4 no

Blake’s heart was out of the match after first set but he’s no quitter. Unfortunately, Blake only had one speed, and nobody is going to beat Fed on that court surface with just brute force.

@tungt88

5 жыл бұрын

+teflonmagnet Even Robin Soderling, who (on average) was the hardest hitter on tour in the late 2000s (off both wings, no less), and had a much bigger serve than Blake, had no dice against Roger indoors: kzread.info/dash/bejne/oaqE2ciFoLHgpso.html

2005-2009, Roger was simply invincible. Made every grand slam final for 3 straight years between 05-07. His statistics are mind boggling tbh.

This was the match that inspired me to play tennis. I was 13 when I saw this match and I fell in love with Federer’s confidence

Brutal backhand....

This was peak peak federer & not the 2017 version

@chili015

5 жыл бұрын

I would argue that this 2006 version of Federer was a little more athletic and powerful, but I think the 2017-current version is more savvy and keen, not willing to take as many risks and just play precision tennis. If you combine the two versions, you'd have the ultimate tennis player.

@jamesb2871

5 жыл бұрын

your RIGHT ....his BEST backhand day EVER......which is reeeaaally saying something, because fed has had SO MANY "legendary backhand days".......in his career, this WAS the best.....YET. It makes it even more IMPOSSIBLE that Federer actually went on to have BETTER BACKHAND PERFORMANCES....and not only that ? He had BETTER backhand days.......MORE THAN TEN YEARS LATER!! IN A SLAM! IN A SLAM FINAL!!! AND AGAINST NADAL!!! What I just typed was considered IMPOSSIBLE but yet it happened, and it didn't happen until Fed was ANCIENT......because Roger was ALREADY CONSIDERED OOOOLD on this day, way back in Shanghai.....soooo MANY years ago. But he did the IMPOSSIBLE.....against an even MORE IMPOSSIBLE OPPONENT....11 Years later....in Aussie open Final!! (which by the way ? was only Feds 5TH Aussie Open....he won a SIXTH! the very next year)........impossible.

Sure felt like Roger was playing in a different league. Federer's back is the most precise and brutal backhand I've ever seen.

@johannesmergarten

4 жыл бұрын

except for nabaldian i would say

till today, we've never witnessed this level of tennis.

By February 2006 Federer was No 1 on ATP Rank with 8370 points, Nadal in second place with 4470 points, Blake in the 4th place, here on Indian Wells Federer just made him look like a toddler. Amazing Federer!

You know those dreams where you’re fighting someone, but no matter how hard you punch it’s like you’re moving through molasses? I imagine that’s what it was like for Blake. He had absolutely blistering groundstrokes but he just couldn’t get Roger off-balance because Fed was operating in Matrix mode.

People forget that the years federer was at his peak, he played the minimum amount of tournements per year, which was 18, because he knew that's all he needed to stay as n1, he was so sure he was going to win 90% of them. Neither nadal nor djokovic were ever this dominant. And there is also the advent of slowing the courts to make points last longer, this has really hurt federer playstyle and benfit nadal's and djokovic's. If they left the courts as they were when federer was at his peak, he would still be unstoppable

@AsithaSamarawickrama

10 ай бұрын

Agreed 100%

@fishing-flo98

9 ай бұрын

Good point

Never realized how good Federer was that day! Excellent video!

I remembered this match. It's beatdown on James Blake. Poor guy. Blake wasn't playing bad, Federer just puts on a clinic that day.

I have that match in VHS. Beautiful performance

reminds me of top spin 3 and when we used to hit perfect timing shots with R2 and L2 every shot winner

@jimnosnow4484

4 жыл бұрын

😂😂😂 YESSSSS it acc does

Blessed to be born and to witness him play.. Matches lik these will hurt the opponents mentally.. 🔥

That performance is good enough to beat anyone the way he moved on court and the BH with that consistency is simply superb

For many of us - and in any worldwide survey (as has been demonstrated recently) - Fed would still be voted the GOAT. It depends on your criteria of course - 'number of Slams won' is significant but not the sole criterion for those who appreciate equally important qualities (over quantities).

An absolute clinic by THE greatest player in tennis history. 👏👏👏

Courts were so fast back in the day. The ball almost looks like it's sped up compared to the glacial pace of today's game.

2024 Living in New Zealand 🇳🇿 2006 The Masters Cup tennis in Shanghai. Roger Federer your wife Mirka family and all. As a viewer mum and myself would watch your games as often as we could. James Blake gave the game away. With a grin. My first viewing ever of a Masters Cup tennis game. You are The Best.😊😊❤❤❤

Blake played outstanding,above his usual performance.But still it was enough for nothing more than humiliation.

From the look of this, if Federer is 5 years younger than Nadal and Djokovic, I don't think they have any chance against a Federer of this age.

@mahfara3174

5 жыл бұрын

On clay rafa would beat him withoit a lot of difficulty , and I think prime novak on hard can win too (not sure but I think)

@Matthew9818

5 жыл бұрын

Tom Hoang . Prime Federer would still lose too Rafa on clay . I don't think you know much about tennis if you think playing like this would work on clay . I don't know if you know but Novak was playing with allergies till he was 23 when they finally found out what was wrong and he stopped eating stuff he was allergic too so Novak was playing handicapped physically and he still won a slam at 20 . Please don't be so ignorant . Maybe your right maybe your wrong but we will never know . How many slams did Blake win ?

@johnharris8872

5 жыл бұрын

@@Matthew9818 Facts. I think it's very hard to stand a chance against prime Federer. But Rafa on clay would and did beat a prime Federer on clay, every French final

@mkbaharris

5 жыл бұрын

@@mahfara3174 was never easy for rafa on clay, Fed won a few sets really easy on the red stuff, nadal never won an easy set on grass. Performance is different from consistency tho granted

@SJ-di5zu

5 жыл бұрын

Rafa was matching this Federer perfectly fine on all surfaces as a teenager. Beating him on clay and matching him on hard courts while narrowly losing on grass courts. I think prime Rafa and Nole would be just fine

2006 was Roger's best season IMO. 16 finals out of 17 tournaments played, 92-5 record, won 6 out of the 7 biggest tournaments in tennis (AO, IW, Miami, Wimby, USO, TMC) and pushed Nadal to a 4th set TB at RG) and won all his round robin matches at the TMC. Oh, and 4 bagels in those finals. Fuckin' monstrous.

Kevin Anderson became another victim in Miami 2019. 37 Federer is still handing out bagel.

Absolutely beautiful tennis. This is why he is the GOAT. PeRFection at its best

@aranyaism

5 жыл бұрын

not even top 4. Djokovic > Nadal > laver > Borg > Federer

@jimnosnow4484

5 жыл бұрын

Maximus3075, 😂😂😂 Good one

@olivermccall3898

5 жыл бұрын

3rd behind Djokovic and Nadal

@aranyaism

5 жыл бұрын

@@jimnosnow4484 Weak era bully. Noone calls fraudrer the GOAT. Cant beat nadal or djokovic ever.

@jonasvinck3077

5 жыл бұрын

@@ertugrulkorpinar51 We don't swear I bet you're just 10 years old, barely understand something from tennis and tryna be cool with swearwords but that's not how it works

They all called Roger’s early opponents the « weak era ». I think it was more Prime Roger who made them look all weak

That backhand down the line. Sweet Jesus.

2006 was his greatest year

What a way to finish his best year as a tennis player.

@wimgroart1870

5 жыл бұрын

@GTS Better than Nadal and Djokovic in their best seasons!

2019 Watching💫 RF Amazing❤️

blake had that "have mercy on me" look written all over his face

The depth and the precision in his shots back then was crazy.