UNDERRATED THRILLER ON THE DIRT! | Federer - Almagro | Rome 2006 QF |

[@jeresosa9744]

If you think about it, Roger played this match on Friday (2h 33m), the semifinal against Nalbandian next day, a very tough match (3rd set tie break-2h 40m); and the very next day, Sunday, that famous 5 hours final, match points included, against a 19 yrs old Rafa with full stamina. My point, Federer´s fitness was out of this world, aswell as his tennis.

[@Saskobest]

very overrated "tennis" quality. Single digit forehand winners, late on passing shots and horrible dropshots. More i see matches from "prime" Federer more i think he was overrated

[@jeresosa9744]

@@Saskobest Comparing to what time? Back in the day that was the best tennis seen. But, if you are discovering and watching "prime" Federer today and you didn´t those years, I understand.

[@Saskobest]

@@jeresosa9744 true i havent watched "prime Fed" since i started following tennis from RG 2008. I am comparing him in later years to his "prime", only thing i see he was better back then was quickness and maybe more consistent forehand, his backhand was much worse, sliced 50% of his shots or more, second serve wasnt as consistent kicker, had lower first serve% etc. I think Roger from 2009-2012 and even Fed from 2015-2017 beats 2005/2006 Fed in 9/10 matches

[@jeresosa9744]

@@Saskobest Agree, I always tought he learned to hide the weakness in his backhand with the slice shot, but eventually he developed a more consistent top spin backhand. The serve and forehand were brutal until 2007, almost unplayeable. And the footwork, well, the younger he was, the quicker he moved. Overall, the "prime" Federer was the idea and the aura of invincibility. Mentally, he was steps ahead, bar Rafa and clay. Then Novak came, Rafa learned the grass and hardcourt tips, and the prime was gone.

[@bobomber]

@@Saskobest The thing to remember is that his slice used to give people all kinds of problems. That's because the ball used to stay low. The game has since changed and only topspin is effective now but it wasn't always the case. He was also very dominant on serve despite not having the biggest serve and could return big servers better than anyone. This also has changed since big servers don't really exist anymore in the modern era where most playing conditions are incredibly slow.

[@cbmtrx]

I'm glad you posted this. Almagro's backhand is so underrated. This is vs prime Federer. He's one of those players who would regularly show up at tournaments giving his opponents hell.

[@TvRFReloaded]

You're welcome 🙏

[@andreim.5324]

Roger played amazingly well this tournament and was a few seconds from taking it all, in that amazing final with Rafa. I remember how he dealt with Chela, Starace, Stepanek, Almagro, Nalbandian to get to that final. Rome 2006 and the RG 2011 are the best clay tournaments Roger ever played. The level he manifested in both was just stratospheric. Very nice upload, my friend!

[@santirf1619]

He deserved both. Such a shame

[@TvRFReloaded]

Thank you sir🙏

[@spideyocd]

Almagro on clay in his prime was difficult even for Nadal but Ferrer was a better mover..

[@spideyocd]

Roger deserved to win rome 2006 and that 2019 wimby final. So many close heartbreaks for the guy ..well with his long career and style of play he's more prone to losing close matches and winning them too.. djodal on the other hand play percentage tennis which is physically draining

[@The_Great_One]

I wish we got to see more of Fed vs Almagro. I think their last match was in 07 amazingly.

[@waynedaves5089]

Now that he's not a threat to my favorite players, I can admit I think Almagro was wonderful. What a match he played! And not just this one.

[@Rodjeurs]

Almagro and his bionic arm… it's a thing of beauty. Too bad he never had the tennis IQ required to play better cause, man, what firepower, what strokes! I didn't know this match, thanks a lot for the upload!

[@miroslavjanecek9993]

14:22 is absolutely stunning shot by Federer and I have never seen it! How is it not in just about every compilation?!

[@TvRFReloaded]

I thought the same

[@spideyocd]

He doesn't smash the ball like wawrinka just flicks it on the half volley from behind the baseline using the opponents power.

[@spideyocd]

Unfortunately the grip that gives him this versatile backhand also inhibits his ability to blast backhands like wawrinka and thiem at higher bounces. He should've done something about that ages ago..it hurt h immensely when everyone started attacking his backhand

[@santirf1619]

Many great shots from Federer are “hidden” in missing footages. That’s why this kind of videos are great and very important. People has to stop asking for highlights of the same and almost cliché matches over and over again and start asking for rare ones like this. There’s no footage of a lot of 1R, 2R, 3R and QFs of Roger’s prime and in many cases is like watching it for the first time.

[@TvRFReloaded]

@santirf1619 you're quite right my friend. I'll admit I do edit a lot of the "cliche ones" but that's because of the much better quality I can provide. There's a lot of rarities still coming.

[@lgrfmasters]

Never saw this match on yt before. Congrats on an amazing work!

[@GOJOSATOROUOJT]

In my book, this was his prime and peak altogether 0:46

[@gregorymathews5866]

one wonders how the Federer-Nadal rivalry plays out if Federer had lost here or to Nalbandian or was tired and lost in straght sets in the final to Nadal rather than losing an absolute heartbreaker to Nadal 7-6 in the 5th set in the final.

[@fahadhamid9017]

Roger Federer on match points should definitely be studied at this rate.

[@anseinueseima408]

dirt court is my favourite court

[@markuszgraggen4831]

Fed played with not very much confidence, quite low IQ. Backhand was not was very strong (fire power missing, lot of slight misshits), but also FH was not at his best.

[@miroslavjanecek9993]

This is Federer during his peak.

[@hiteshmenghwani1086]

Agreed, dunno why though. He nwas not as aggressive and dominating as he usually is. Still managed to win!

[@Saskobest]

@@miroslavjanecek9993 dont just repeat "statements" or judge by number of titles won and ranking, judge with your eyes and stats. His forehand barely had any penetration the whole match, miss-hit many backhands and his dropshots were terrible

[@miroslavjanecek9993]

@@Saskobest maybe this one match. He wasn't always 100% with his focus, especially against lower oponents. He was never like Nadal who played 100% every point in every match. If you see the final of this very tournament, you see how well he was capable of playing.

[@MI-ct9eh]

@@miroslavjanecek9993exactly this

[@TheseHoesAreLoyal]

Novak is undoubtedly the greatest of all time in my book, but if someone else thinks that Federer is the greatest of all time, I would certainly respect that opinion without hesitation. Federer in 2004-2007 may have had weaker opposition compared to Djoko in 2011 for example (including Nadal and Federer themselves near their best), but what Federer achieved in such a short period of time can never be repeated (2004-2008). 237 consecutive weeks at world no.1, 3 seasons with at least 3 majors, 4 consecutive seasons with at least 2 majors, 5 consecutive Wimbledon titles and 5 consecutive US open titles, 4 consecutive seasons winning Wimbledon and the US open back-to-back, these records are otherworldly. Federer did it with class and made it look ridiculously easy but it's only possible from Roger and no one else. Even if the competition may have been weak in 2004-2007, it's nearly impossible for a single player to keep winning and winning on a weekly basis without losing motivation. When I used to watch Federer in 2004-2007, I took it for granted. Looking back, it's beyond words what he was capable of.

[@TvRFReloaded]

At times I create 2 different goats, although I don't think an overall goat in a sport like tennis can ever truly exist. Highest peak: Roger, because of reasons you stated above. Combine that with the incredible longevity (which i feel is vastly underrated because he didn't win slams 4.5 years) and his 2017-2019 achievements = clear case for goatness Longevity and consistency + ability to peak: Djokovic. For obvious reason.s

[@TheseHoesAreLoyal]

@@TvRFReloaded I think Djoko's peak is the highest peak in tennis history, sorry. But I cannot deny that Federer's success in 2003-2007 or even 2003-2009 is the single most dominant display of tennis by a single player in the shortest period of time, weak era or not, and it can never be replicated. It might be the most impressive streak in tennis history. As for the surface type compatibility, Federer is better at fast surfaces while Djoko on slower surfaces, but I truly think that absolute peak Djokovic (2011 or 2015) would come out on top if he played against absolute peak Federer (2004-2006), which is only a theoretical encounter. People also might argue that the post-2019 era for Djokovic has been filled with lesser oppositions because of the absence of Federer and due to Rafa's clear decline, but each of the big 3 members all had both intensely competitive and weak eras during their careers. Conclusion: Federer's records in 2004-2007 are the most dominant and successful display of tennis in men's history. However, overall, Djoko has the numbers on all surfaces against all competitions.

[@Liamnerfdude1]

Why is djokovic the goat lol

[@Liamnerfdude1]

thesehoseareloyal no one ever said federer had a weak era

[@TheseHoesAreLoyal]

@@Liamnerfdude1 tell me you don't watch tennis without actually telling me