Roger Federer's Most Underrated Performance? | Federer vs Fish: Halle Final 2004 Highlights

[@tennistv]

“Roger went up 6-0, 3-0, in, like, 25 minutes...I think he probably felt bad for all of the people that had paid money to come watch, and I’m still, to this day, convinced, that he prolonged the match a little bit longer so it was 6-0, 6-3. He made it, like an hour” - Mardy Fish on this match 😅

[@J.-M.]

Well, considering it was 6-0 1-1 (and then 6-0 2-2), Mardy's recollection may not have been entirely accurate.

[@MistahhMingus]

@@J.-M.🤓

[@bilders6701]

He probably has the point at 1-0, 30-30 to thank for that! 1:12

[@feri7mble]

@@J.-M. I forget the exact score of my matches in about 2-3 days, so not surprised he would forget years after the fact

[@canski5646]

roger had lot sof success wit B players he won 50% of his titles on the B circuit 250/500

[@PC-tp4cn]

Fish's handshake with the umpire at the end 😂😂

[@Limebradley]

More of a tackle

[@ok1989fish]

What scares me is that Fish actually played a great match! Young Roger on grass was quite amazing. Tough matchup for Fish which is an underrated player with Olympics Silver.

[@tennisfan599]

Maybe on the old fast grass, fish would have won, but after the great slowdown defensive walls like roger were hard to beat.

[@robinkalousek7247]

Here ypu can see how ridiculously good peak Fed 2004-07 was. Best player on the planet in that 4 year span and it was not even close. He was literally untouchable on grass and hc

[@brendoncassidy1316]

Peak Fed is the greatest to ever play Not close really

[@gregorsamsa555]

Some say (maybe they lie) that the 2004-2007 was WEAK ERA 😲

[@brendoncassidy1316]

@@gregorsamsa555 compared to what? Compared to what Novak faces today, 2004-07 was far better and deeper Today Novak only has Alcarez as an elite threat. 04-07 Federer Nadal Prime Roddick late Agassi Young Novak/Murray All more dangerous than anyone we see today

[@gregorsamsa555]

@@brendoncassidy1316 Nalbandian, Davydenko,

[@vijayla21]

​@@brendoncassidy1316Please don't tell me you actually believe Roddick is anywhere close to Sincaraz.

[@yxzyzzyx434]

The camera angle for the first point is awesome, wish we had more of that

[@jermaine1545]

Vintage Federer (before 2010) was the shit

[@jermaine1545]

Thank u tennis tv for sharing this!

[@danguee1]

For me the biggest difference of this tennis 2 decades ago is not the shot-making, it's the movement. Fish's movement would not survive in the modern game - too sluggish/poor.... [Edit: actually, looking at how Roger is moving and the occasional slips by both of them - maybe it was actually quite a slippery surface and Fish was 'skating' on it....]

[@thehandseesall]

It was quite a slippery surface and Fish was 'skating' on it....

[@tennisfan599]

Actually the grass of today and 2003 is roughly the same The first year of slower grass occurred in 2002, when everyone was suprised to see a final between 2 baseliners, nalbandian and hewitt. Federer who has always been a baseliner actually had very poor results on the faster slicker grass, and really benefitted with the slowdown.

[@TheSupinesmokey]

@@tennisfan599 He won Junior Wimbledon on the 100% percent rye grass courts in 1998 . it wasn't the surface that was the issue. that was an early fed that once lost 12 1st round matches in a row.

[@tijgertjekonijnwordopgegeten]

​@@tennisfan599 Federer has not always been a baseliner, he used to be a serve volleyer before adapting his game to be more baseline oriented.

[@tijgertjekonijnwordopgegeten]

Halle was also really slippery this year and Sinner's movement is not comparable to Fish.

[@gregorsamsa555]

Always pleasure to see people's champion old matches 😌

[@Stephcurry69420]

this is a classic

[@philippgaegauf8167]

Mardy Fish was a cool guy

[@BlueberrySwede]

Federer is the player with the highest technical level ever - but it must be acknowledged that Djokovic and Nadal won more big titles. So who is the GOAT is a matter of preference as it is not really defined by anyone :-). Fish btw, had almost forgotten about him. I think he had to leave tennis as he developed heart issues, but I think he is ok now.

[@Ingaldre]

It's pretty hard to contest Djokovic's goat status at this point though. He has been the most consistently dominant player in tennis for so long now. It isn't much use being the most technically gifted if you cant apply your skills half the time. Moreover, tennis is more than just a technical game, it demands considerable mental and physical toughness too.

[@ArthurVerhulst]

I saw the docu about Fish the other day. He stopped playing tennis since he couldn't handle the pressure of being the nr 1 player of the USA when he'd passed Roddick. It was a nightmare for him.

[@lukeskirenko]

Djokovic, for sure, but Nadal has zero ATP finals and his slams are mostly clay.

[@alexanderspencer7385]

@@Ingaldre Are you saying that Federer failed to apply his skills half the time? Give us a break.

[@Ingaldre]

​@@alexanderspencer7385 what else would explain his noticeable lack of dominance amongst the big 3 era then?

[@ehnrngm-xb2mm]

I know this would be a logistical nightmare, and that’s why it likely hasn’t been done, but if there were an option to watch a whole tennis match from court level perspective, that would probably solve all of my life’s problems.

[@FLIP238]

Complete match would be great, can you post it?

[@abradfordajb]

Excellent post ! Really enjoyed watching these highlights. Forgot how good Fish was, but wow, this vid reminds us of the great Federer. To be able to dominate Fish, particularly on grass like this .... no wonder The Fed took the tennis world by storm.

[@fretstain]

the court level camera work is incredible. I wonder why that went away?

[@misacastillo282]

Que bonito era el tenis de los 2000s tenia tacticas, variaciones, era un ajedrez, y algunos aun se atreven a decir que era la era weak..😂, hoy en dia todos los nuevos jugadores salen igual y solo es mas fisico, por algo los viejitos como Novak, rafa, gael, Wawrinka, etc les siguen ganando a los jóvenes....

[@abrarqadir503]

never seen this angle from this era before

[@iamkumarmihir]

Vintage Federer 💪

[@akidome6480]

good sound of hit.

[@FLIP238]

I was there first row

[@aaronaragon7838]

Give me Mac vs Borg, Pete vs Agassi, Fed vs Nadal, Laver vs Rosewall. Tennis history of the greatest rivals.

[@tennisfan599]

Rogers game wasnt pretty to watch, but i certainly respected it as a huge Zebellos fan

[@tijgertjekonijnwordopgegeten]

???

[@briandtnguyen]

Back when Fed and Fish both had a ponytail.

[@Gilgarth]

The thumbnail kinda reminded me of Wawrinka

[@enkiconfrerie4929]

Le goat du tennis devant Djokovic

[@pyrofeaks]

nothing about roger is underrated!

[@Oxamyt3109]

1:25

[@YeTism]

Djokovic is the GOAT but Federer has the greatest prime of all time imo.

[@initialize21]

Yep. Anyone who's watched tennis for 20+ years knows Fed has the highest peak easily

[@FLIP238]

Djokovic is not goat he is most succesfull but roger is goat, because nobody has that talent and his groundstrokes.

[@marcelocardozo5508]

Against Fish, Blake, Hewitt! lol

[@mariuszneugebauer8801]

​@@FLIP238But you know that in tennis the numbers are count, not the talent and skills? Nole is the most successful, so he is the GOAT. That's it.

[@TheKDX7]

​@@marcelocardozo5508 against Ruud, Kyrgios, Berrettini... more lol

[@devapavan-u9y]

Many people think that federers backhand was shit buts it's quite the opposite only thing is he never had to use it that much Edit I think I meant that in his prime he had a backhand that was as good as his bh in 2017 but didn't hit winners that frequently just cuz with that forehand of his he never needed to with it . And I think it was from post 2012 that his bh started going to shit

[@jmanly707]

it is a weakness of his, it's undeniable. His amazing serve placement and fantastic forehand are what dominated.

[@TDTheTruth]

It's good on grass because of the lower bounces. It was a weakness on clay

[@J.-M.]

@@TDTheTruth When I watch those Monte Carlo or Rome clay finals against Rafa, Roger definitely had one of the best backhands in the world at his peak, even on clay. He would win clay Masters with it today. There were very few players who could withstand Nadal's forehand as well as Roger could. Yeah, those Roland Garros finals were poor, but a couple of duds in Paris misled generations into completely mistaken conclusions about Roger's backhand.

[@J.-M.]

@@jmanly707 Nobody dominates with their backhand. Every top player dominates with their forehand and (ideally) a serve. Every single one. That's the definition of modern tennis. Even players with the best backhands like Djokovic primarily dominate with their forehand (you could very clearly see it in Paris several days ago). The backhand is not a shot for dominating. Roger's backhand was extremely brilliant, it had totally unique defensive skills that people still dedicate video tributes to. No wonder players used to say they had nowehere to go against him in those peak years (2003-2007), because he was bulletproof. They couldn't attack his forehand or backhand, nothing worked, because both his forehand and backhand were top-class. He definitely had one of the best, most skillful and versatile backhands in the world.

[@ArthurVerhulst]

@@J.-M. No, Paire and Gasquet do dominate with their BH. It's their preferred shot.

[@initialize21]

I really struggle to understand how anyone that has followed the sport of tennis for 30 plus years could consider Djokovic to be the greatest to have played. I can't even make it though one of his matches without succumbing to boredom. I get that his numbers are great but he just lacks that X factor and magic that makes so many love sportsman like Federer or Jordan. I can remember in the mid 2000's I would jump at the chance to watch Federer play anyone regardless of ranking just to witness his latest magic trick (same with Jordan in the late 80's /early 90's). I can't imagine David Foster Wallace ever wanting to write about Djokovic.

[@keisukeshingen]

it's precisely because of numbers that people consider djokovic to be the goat. his style is bloody boring and his stamina and endurance throughout his career is disgustingly and atrociously good, but the fact that he could go toe to toe with fed on grass and rafa on clay and get the most number of slams and whatnot proves that he is a phenomenal player. Fed is still the most exciting and magical player to have ever graced the sport, but to a lot of people, djokovic's consistency is what seals the deal. Imo? To each their own, even i consider fed to be the greatest to have ever played tennis

[@jacokyle0160]

@@keisukeshingenI think it’s just a bot

[@keisukeshingen]

@jacokyle0160 doesn't seem like it - it's a 16 year channel

[@mattfoley4128]

Djoker is a robot. But that robot is the goat

[@aaronaragon7838]

Nole is a grinder like Borg. Boring, but defensive geniuses. For me, watching Roger, Connors, Laver, Rosewall, and Mac, are my favorites. Stan the Man too...

[@Alexx22570]

Hi tennis tv thank you for uploading feds old Halle runs Could you please also upload his 05 Halle final vs safin?

[@sawgames8623]

Beating Mardy Fish is noteworthy? 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@canski5646]

Djoki has better winning percentage at all GS than Fedsqaush and at all master 1000 events except one!! Only one feddy has is madrid but fed does have more running shoes sales and shooting for more racquet sales now too..Go Feddy!!

[@canski5646]

Fedsqaush had lots of success with B players and B tournamnets 250/500 but when it came to GS/MAsters 1000 agaisnt novak/nadal fed failed horribly with his sqaush game

[@leventonaran]

Bu nasıl saçma ve akıldan yoksun bir başlık?! Sonuçda bir final maçı... Her iki oyuncu da saygıyı hakediyor. Sizi kınıyorum.

[@theepistemiccafe]

title assumes fans rate every players matches. The title is so ignorant, it deserves thumbs down from anyone with any intellect. It's just click bate.

[@canski5646]

When djoki speaks has something to say and is very articulated fed was just a bumbling fool with very little substance in post match speeches..Djoki always stood his ground and beliefs no matter the cost a true Ammbassador not a sell out like fed to sell running shoes and watches

[@JameSongMaker]

You sound like you’re struggling, maybe get a drink of water, take a deep breath, something? Yikes

[@canski5646]

@@JameSongMaker how did u get so cute?

[@gregorsamsa555]

Whatever 🙄

[@canski5646]

roger had lots of success with B players but when it came novak/nadal he failed horribly only winning 33% of their GS matches and 4 of 14 in GS finals over his career. Fed couldn't even beat Nadal once at french and lossed to Djoki 3 times in a row at wimbledon finals on his supposed best surface and even had the crwods on his side shows fed was very weak mentally along with his weak backhand,, 50% of feds titles were on B circuit 250/500

[@jack-gq9ik]

Federer is the best grass court player of all time and overall the second best player of all time. Nadal is a clay specialist. Djokovic overall is the goat but there isn't a great difference. 27 - 23 with 6 years of difference and 3 matches with match points in favour.

[@canski5646]

@@jack-gq9ik If fed was so great on grass he wouldn't have lossed to Djoki 3 times in a row wimbledon finals

[@Speedrtr]

@@canski5646 Fed is still greatest on grass. Djok has a single grass title at Eastbourne International outside of Wimbledon. Federer has 10 titles coming from Halle. Halle has been known to play more like traditional grass as opposed to Wimbledon's grass that provides more consistency in bounce. Federer still has more titles and has played in more Wimbledon Finals than Djok. In 2014 and 2015 both matches were very competitive, 2014 more so than 2015 2019 Fed frankly outplayed Djok and it could have easily been him hold the trophy, but cred to Djok he hung around for his chance. You can be a Djok fan without peddling Goatkovic bile and talking points.

[@canski5646]

@@Speedrtr facts are Djoki has better winning percentage record on grass than Fedsqaush and Fed lossed 3 times in a row to djoki at wimbledon finals to "greatest on grass "Halle is a B tournament which makes up part 50% of fed's titles..As u said could have /should have beat Djoki but fed is weak mentally, his tennis smarts are lacking and on top djoki had to compete agaisnt the koolaid drinking, armchair tennis fans

[@Speedrtr]

@@canski5646 Alcaraz has 100% record against Djok on grass… guess he’s actually the greatest of the surface.. Halle being a 500 doesn’t disqualify fed’s achievements on grass.

[@Stephcurry69420]

first

[@JAM-fm8lt]

Fed was lucky he came in when he had no one to beat. Once Nadal, who was 100 times better than him showed up, it was over for him and when Joker showed up it was over for Nadal.

[@turdferguson2]

Ok

[@thehoffmancode]

Looooooooooool

[@MI-ct9eh]

Didn’t he have a winning record against Djokovic until he was 35 or something lol

[@turdferguson2]

@@MI-ct9eh yes and even now, their H2H is very close for how many matches they've played over the years. 27-23 Djokovic.

[@gregorsamsa555]

It is miracle that Roger won any Grand Slam since Rafa and Novak show up, there were SO BETTER than Roger 🥱