[MT]

The reason this type of "article" doesn't make newspapers is due to it's rancid bias. To put forward that he is arrogant and self-regarding without proper research and analysis made it very difficult to read. It is very easy to lambast a man without giving him his dues and admitting to his obvious positive qualities.

I simply do not have the time to put together a structured response to this but I implore you to apply some balance. He has given some rather unsavoury post-match interviews, the Djokovic and Murray cases you quote being the worst ones in my opinion, but it can be quite difficult to be modest when interviewed minutes after losing match points in a Grand Slam Semi-Final. I only ask that you cut the man a bit of slack, rather than cherry-picking interviews over a 14 year career.

It is the work that he puts in with his charity and his willingness to communicate with the media that has made him so respected and admired(off the court). He carries himself with dignity and has, unquestionably, been a great ambassador for tennis over the last ten years.

To finish, I am not a Roger Federer fan, I am a tennis fan. Federer's ability on the court and his ability to promote the game off it is something that tennis must thank him for, along with the other top 3, in particular. Rather than being flogged( or revered) he should be respected and admired for his contribution to tennis, and it is lazy journalism to say that he has only received positive press.

P.s to blame him for his apparel at Wimbledon really is very petty, it is obviously outside of his hands for the most part, and Federer is hardly someone who comes across as very flashy and is a respected family man.

A respected family man???? Didn't it take him about twenty years to propose and he only did when when she was about to produce a babyfed.  I hate guys like that.

[Alis]

I would agree, Michelle, and - given that he thoroughly trounced Berdych - it reinforces just how far ahead of the chasing pack the top 4 are.

[Aileen]

I did watch the match Aileen and thought that Delpo looked very vulnerable.  I think since he won the US Open the top guys have moved on and Delpo's movement will certainly hold him back against them.  Whether he can improve that or not is questionable. 

I thought Fed stepped up his game today and definitely played better than he has all week but he wasn't brilliant and if Delpo had managed to take the second set Fed may well have fallen apart in third - he was certainly relieved it didn't go the distance.

I wouldn't like to guess how far Delpo can improve his movement, he's so tall and gangly.  He also has the sort of body frame which is going to make him susceptible to injury (or so a physio friend tells me).

Quite honestly I felt that the man on the other side of the net from Delpo should have been Davydenko - and it might well have been if he hadn't picked up an injury.

Delpo is playing in Marseille this week, with none of the top four around, so it'll be interesting to see how well he does there.

Actually, nag, I think Federer has been, and probably still is, an amazing tennis player - one of the best ever and for that reason I don't grudge him his success.  What I do object to is his arrogance, lack of grace and disrespect for his opponents. 

My sentiments too.  And his attitude regarding the Foundation he set up in Africa in 2003 leaves a lot to be desired.  Yes, he pours a lot of his own money into it, which is very admirable, but it took him seven years to get off his backside and actually go and visit one of the areas in which his Foundation is working.  That to me is pathetic.

[Grabcopy]

I wouldn't like to guess how far Delpo can improve his movement, he's so tall and gangly.  He also has the sort of body frame which is going to make him susceptible to injury (or so a physio friend tells me).

Quite honestly I felt that the man on the other side of the net from Delpo should have been Davydenko - and it might well have been if he hadn't picked up an injury.

Delpo is playing in Marseille this week, with none of the top four around, so it'll be interesting to see how well he does there.
My sentiments too.  And his attitude regarding the Foundation he set up in Africa in 2003 leaves a lot to be desired.  Yes, he pours a lot of his own money into it, which is very admirable, but it took him seven years to get off his backside and actually go and visit one of the areas in which his Foundation is working.  That to me is pathetic.

All players are encouraged to have a foundation or to do some kind of charity work by their management group. It's kind of standard PR practice.

About the only ones who don't pay lip service to what they've set up are Agassi, who's become a full-on philanthropist, and Tommy Robredo, who's become an ambassador for wheelchair tennis.

Robredo had a disabled friend who wanted to set up a wheelchair tournament but who died before he could make it a reality. After his death, Tommy vowed to see his plans through and he now runs the biggest disabled tennis event in Spain.

[Aileen]

All players are encouraged to have a foundation or to do some kind of charity work by their management group. It's kind of standard PR practice.

About the only ones who don't pay lip service to what they've set up are Agassi, who's become a full-on philanthropist, and Tommy Robredo, who's become an ambassador for wheelchair tennis.

Robredo had a disabled friend who wanted to set up a wheelchair tournament but who died before he could make it a reality. After his death, Tommy vowed to see his plans through and he now runs the biggest disabled tennis event in Spain.

Interesting.  Well Andy doesn't have his own foundation, but he is involved with three charities, Help for Heroes, Malaria No More and the Make a Wish Foundation.

[ak400]

This  article really is simply an attempted character assassination  on Roger that has gone horribly wrong and I am going to show you why.

The jacket may not have been to everyone’s taste but you win 15 majors (16 now) I think you are entitled to be a little proud of what you have achieved, sure if he had brought out the jacket saying 15 before the match then yes of course that would be demeaning to the opponent and classless but the fact he had just won the match albeit after an epic struggle gives him all right to wear a jacket celebrating the fact he had 15 majors to his name! Whether you celebrate having 15 majors 2 minutes or 2 weeks after it  has become a reality it does not chat the fact that this has occurred, so the moment Roddick put that forehand long Roger had all right to get out that jacket and soak up what was a truly historic moment.

Roger and Stan are pretty close friends, heat of the moment things are said at the highest level but also a lot of what was said was misquoted in the media, as a journalist I would have thought you would know that it is always wise to check your  sources before engaging in Chinese whispers.  Roger went to airport and met Stan and there is no issue between the two they are like brothers and there is nothing wrong with a little brotherly jostling, after all not too long ago a certain doubles player named Jamie Murray chastised  his young brother for not playing in the Davis Cup for his country.

Yes, Roger did make a comment about competing even when he injured and that is what he did at Wimbledon he soldiered on despite an injury and lost to a solid player in Berdych. Murray at the WTF did not carry on competing despite the injury so there is absolutely no hypocrisy here at all, but don’t let the truth get in the way of a creative story.

Roger is a more attacking player than Nada,l despite the head to head if you have watched their matches on this fastest surfaces Roger when on form can hit Nadal off the court, Nadal’s game involves far less risk taking therefore it does come down to whether Roger coughs up enough errors on the slower surfaces, Nadal himself has repeatedly called Roger the greatest player in history and says that he usually makes Roger the favourite.

Djokovic himself said that that forehand was lucky here was what the world number 1 said

“"If it comes in, it comes in,"
"It's a risk. Last year, I was in a very similar situation.
"He was two match points up. I was hitting a forehand as hard as I can.
"You're gambling. If it's out, you lose. If it's in, maybe you have a chance.
"I got lucky today.”

Again your attempts to denigrate the greatest player of all time have failed because Djokovic himself has conceded he was lucky with that shot and indeed to get through that match.

As for your quotes about Murray let us look a bit closer “I can mix up my game too well for him to get under my skin”, well 2 Grand Slam meetings, both finals and two straight sets wins emphatically endorses this point.

What Roger said before their Australian Open final proved absolutely right, Murray’s only previous experience of  Grand Slam final was against Roger and that was when he was on the receiving end of a drubbing, going into the final knowing with those memories knowing that you had to face the same guy who at that stage had won 15 majors was always going to be an improbable task for Murray and so it proved.

As for the withdrawing before Basel, he made it clear it did not personally concern him as he didn’t see Murray as a potential opponent anyway but the fact that he put the organizers to the trouble of arranging a wildcard only to pull out with a buttock injury, was going to cause a headache for the directors, again try as you might to paint this as some type of harsh comment from Roger the reality is he is just stating the obvious.  

Also there is no real difference between being ranked 3 or 4, because they get they will play either 1 or 2 in the semis,  it is like how 5 and 6 or not much difference but being 5 is a slight disadvantage to 4 because you are seeded to make the quarters not the semis.

Overall this article is a factually inaccurate rant masqueraded as being some kind of critique on the greatest player of all time.

I am pretty sure as a journalist you are capable of more than this, must try harder!

[Tessie]

Nobody is denigrating Federer's talent as a tennis player, what this article highlighted was that the man is arrogant and finds it hard to be nice when he is in the losing position.  Some may say he has the right to be arrogant having achieved what he has, it just sticks in the throat sometimes.  What he said about Andy's Asian swing victories was horrible....."he did well but I was not there and neither was Djokovic and Rafa was injured". So Federer did well in Rotterdam but then Andy, Rafa and Djoko were not there and the only other player in the top 10 he managed to avoid, difference is you will not hear Andy, Rafa and Nole denigrating his victory.

Absolutely!!