Federer is the greatest shot maker I've seen & his 04-07 peak is the best tennis I've ever seen. Incredible dominance & consistency that's never been matched. What a player.
Look at the pace, guys. Unreal tennis. Blake threw everything he had, and could have possibly beat any other opponent with that level, but Roger was just something else in 2006.
Stiff, immobile, primitive game-plan Blake was not beating opponents of superior intellect at that point. It was like "college plus" for him for a few short years, then Bam...exhibitions and seniors before 40. *still sleeveless tho! Lol
@@boriskostic6964 Blake didn't need to mix it up when was hitting those shots. Almost nobody would win with Blake on that night. RF unique wrist separates him from others. btw. Novak returns will be out after those shots.
I bet 2015 Djokovic could. He literally reached all Slam finals + all masters 1000 final (except Madrid) + YEC So 2006 Federer vs 2015 Djokovic wouldve been a thriller for sure
u djokovic fans only go based off of slams like give a better argument. djokovic has a very defensive playstyle and would not last with this federer@@ricclee8559
@@ricclee8559yes it would have been amazing match. Too bad they never played on fast hard court. These days hard courts or Wimbledon are medium-fast at most
I’ve been watching tennis since Borg was starting out and I have never seen a match with such power behind every shot. Despite the occasional insane Roger drop shot (including one on a service return) they both were hitting incredibly hard and deep. What separated Federer from Blake was his ability to place the shots exactly where he wanted them, regardless of how powerfully hit, and his total and complete mastery of the geometry of a tennis court. Roger is GOAT imho, no question.
Hi Stewart, I have been watching tennis since Sampras era, Sampras, Federer, Nadal & Djokovic all had / have their dominance years however the brand of tennis Roger has played has never been seen before. During his years of dominance he would simply toy & embarrass the opponent irrespective how good he is playing. His style of all court, attacking yet beautiful to eyes game is the reason he would always be fan favorite irrespective of the stats.
I think that was part of the problem for Blake. The harder and flatter you hit, the better Federer likes it. He can deflect back all the pace and use it against you. The players Federer struggles against tend to be people who can really grind him down and make him work. Great retrievers who can get the ball up high on federer's backhand, push him back with topspin and blunt his game.
@@th8257 Actually, Blake hits with heavy topspin, just like Federer, particularly on his forehand, which is a very hard, heavy ball. In fact, I think they're very similar in their games. I just think Federer does everything a little bit better, so he tends to dominate in their matches. But I think Blake beat him once.
Sadly, Blake had the kind of game that Federer loved. Hard and flat, allowing Federer to deflect all Blake's pace back at him. If Blake had been able to get a lot more topspin in his shots, then he may have do better against Federer. Federer tends to do worst against players who hit with topspin, can push him back and make him struggle to generate his own pace.they also have to be great movers. It's all about blunting federer's game rather than trying to overpower him, as Blake (and Roddick) tried to.
@@th8257 Federer is one of the best players ever when it comes to injecting pace. What he struggles with is not when his opponents don't give him pace, what he struggles with is: A) Having his forehand side attacked with sharp angles (since 2012,2013) B) High bouncing top spin balls to his backhand. Not because they don't have pace, but because he has to hit them above his waist, which is very awkward for him. C) Opponents who can neutralize his slice Nadal did A, B and C. Djokovic did A and C.
Just to let you know, this is an incredibly stupid comment. If you actually want to compare QF to QF, Thiem played a more dominant and demonstrative quarter than Federer match. He was outrageously good, throughout the entire Open, and very much comparable to this level of Federer. Show some respect, don't be so ignorant.
@@TheRafaelBond Just to let you know, you're an idiot. Thiem Zerev match sucked. I was embarrassed for them both while watching it. So many unforced errors at crucial moments for both. They both choked and tightened up so many times. I know what I saw. That match was a disgrace to professional tennis.
@@Sussy-hotdog Sure, a disgrace to professional tennis... What an utter bellend and clown you are. The nerves composed itself due to the dynamics of the match and Zverev's red-hot start. That doesn't change that Thiem was an absolutely formidable opponent throughout the Open and could have well beaten this Federer. Show some respect, you cretin.
5:56 Fed thought for a sec rushing to the net would be a good idea , then steped back coz he knew Blake would shoot wide, God damn these Athletes are incredible from their vision point and physical point too.
This is what happens when a player literally hits the best possible shot every single time. Perfection. It would be a dream come true if I could play even 25% as well as this.
Sadly, Blake had the kind of game that Federer loved. Hard and flat, allowing Federer to deflect all Blake's pace back at him. If Blake had been able to get a lot more topspin on his shots, then he may have do better against Federer. Federer tends to do worst against players who hit with topspin, can push him back and make him struggle to generate his own pace. They also have to be great movers. It's all about blunting Federer's game rather than trying to overpower him, as Blake (and Roddick) tried to
Blake seemed like he was hitting his shots when he needed to, but hit all out without a target, Federer miles ahead of him from an all-court comprehensive perspective
Sadly, Blake had the kind of game that Federer loved. Hard and flat, allowing Federer to deflect all Blake's pace back at him. If Blake had been able to get a lot more topspin in his shots, then he may have do better against Federer. Federer tends to do worst against players who hit with topspin, can push him back and make him struggle to generate his own pace.they also have to be great movers. It's all about blunting federer's game rather than trying to overpower him, as Blake (and Roddick) tried to
Yeah, he was blessed with pretty much everything in 2006... blessed Forehand, backhand, slice, dropshot, smash, impossible shots, crazy angles, footwork... everything was blessed 😂
That's ruthless Federer. Such confidence on that backhand. I so wish he played with that confidence now and win a few more slams thrashing the djoker on all occasions.
You can beat a good player, now and again. Every so often a player gets lucky with a few good breaks. What you will never do is beat the sheer raw talent and finess of the greatest player that has ever lived.
@@cdat7177 hahahaha hahahaha only supervisor from Switzerland can help this days to federer Barilla fans..... but believe me also this ejected from grand slam story is not option anymore... scavengers must find some another sistem how to stop biggest tennis player ever play..... NOVAK DJOKOVIC is like NEO in MATRIX the chosen one ...
Blake could rip through opponents. He was unplayable when he was in the zone. Unplayable until “ The God” steps in. Waiting for “the God “ to return in 2021
One of the key shots in this game were the deep returns from Roger, almost to James' feet. Impossible to do anything from that position, even if the return was not super fast, Roger could take control of the point easily. Impressive!
When you're playing to survive all you can think about is getting the ball over. Federer always had the upper hand, physically, mentally and strategically. A pure maestro.
Sadly, I think Blake's game really played into Federer's hands. Federer loves hard, flat hitting. He can deflect all the power back at his opponents. The people who really tend to bother him are those who don't try and overpower him, as Blake did here, but who "blunt" his game. That means getting the ball up high with topspin, pushing Federer back and making him struggle to generate his own pace, being able to scramble and run everything down, and basically grind Federer down. It's a shame for both Blake and Roddick that they didn't have those dimensions to their games. It was brute force from them and it tended to play right into Federer's hands.
Quality ballstriking, footwork, court coverage in this match, Federer was just a beast at this time, this was definitely the most competitive Federer vs Blake match in their rivalry. Blake was pretty unlucky in 2005 and 2006 US Opens to play against Agassi and Federer respectively in the QF both times, could have made a deeper run if he had some better luck with his draw.
Has Federer dominated and won as much as Djokovic in his career? No. Has Djokovic ever played tennis as beautiful and mesmerizing as this 2006 Federer? No. Not even close.
Federer dominated like no man in history of sport did in his prime 2004-2008 check out what he did if your interested in numbers... insane is an understatement
@@anonymousLeroy 0:24 Watch how Blake's right foot slides sort of clumsily in slo-mo. Federer never does that. Think about what I wrote, then respond appropriately. I never said Blake was slow.
Lol and the Ovic’s of the world call this a weak era. They probably didn’t start watching tennis til 2011 because these ‘06 matches were past their bedtimes.
James Blake, Andy Roddick, John Isner, and even Jack Sock. They all can play amazing when they are pumped up and motivated. The problem is that they only do that only once in a while...American top players are very inconsistent in their performance. Of coures I am talking about Andy Roddick past his prime.
It's quite challenging to stay consistent with the highest level for every pr players. The big 3 are different because of being more focused on motivating themselves to be big daddies, and super talented as well. Big 3 control the pace of every match and make their opponents lost to their playing styles. The prime Andy could be the only guy being able to compete with them in important games.
Blake had great shots but he didn't have High tennis IQ. He always seemed out of position and shots that federer would take 2 steps to get, blake would take like 5. Bad footwork. Roddick suffers from the same thing
This is real tennis... Novak and his fans need to watch this match where the players play to their strengths and not waiting for others to make mistakes.. Novak is really good in winning matches ugly though it doesn't matter for their fans..
@@vijayendranvijay4538 even if I agree on some of the points you make. When you say "why will we care about that overrated player man", sounds like a huge contradiction to me. You were the one who mentioned Djokovic in a Roger's video.
Federer back then almost played machine like, like Djokovic is known for right now. Incredible court coverage, dynamic balance, consistency and depth in his shots. But with a bit more variation and offensive intentions than Novak and a bit less defensive abilities.
The thing is just pure power doesn't win matches. Federer could hit just as hard, and he was also insanely accurate! His control of the middle of the court is what made him so deadly in his heyday.
The difference here seemed to be backhands- Blake hit a heavy topspin ball but despite that didn't get the offensive short angles or ability to flatten it out for winners as Federer did. Taking so many shots inside out meant he had to cover a lot of ground and that's a risky proposition against Federer with superb control from both sides.
@@philnleblanc6664 Ok, but I dont think RF was in a God mode, Blake on the other hand, he gave everything he had, I can feel it through his "frustrated gruts"
What do you mean one dimensional🤦, maybe you're blind, he's a great shot maker. did you see the amazing shots he hits in this match, unbelievable, and his grunts are no worse than Nadal's.
@@rishimanda2191 That's not what you do when you're in the heat of a battle. Blake thought Federer would think, "He just won the set, but he's more concerned about me. What a great guy" And then get all soft. If you look at Federer, you can see he was a little annoyed by that, being that he was walking, obviously not in pain. I could see if he got up, was wincing in pain, and had a limp. But Federer was doing none of that. Blake tried the fake, overly concerned move, but Fed wasn't buying it.
You need real talent and skill to win on fast courts. On slow ones like today's courts, it's more a case of testing one's patience rather than skill and these tend to favour muscle game sloggers like nadal and djoker. I bet none of them can even match 20% of the level of tennis that Fed produced on those fast courts back in the day.
Lol no. Both require skill. Federer couldn't adapt to the slowing down of courts. Nadal and djokovic could . Which is why he'll always be a inferior player
One of the reasons for Federer's slight decline after 2007 is the progressive loss of effectiveness of his forehand, which has become much more loaded with topspin, slower and less offensive. Furthermore, he began to use the inside-out forehand less and less, a shot with which he won many rallies in his best years.
Like watching a caveman play chess with a Superior Being. Blake's flexibility, movement, and overestimation of his athleticism always seemed an impediment to me. It seemed like I looked away for a second, turned back around and he was already doing Seniors stuff... with the same sleeveless tops.
Role reversal and an easy win to Nole but the level and quality reminds me of nole vs roger 2016 AO semi-finals. Quality between nole vs roger match was incredibly higher though !!!
@@Fraudkovic Nah man, the decline was evident. If your point was the case he wouldn't be able to beat prime Novak at RG 2011 or Wimbledon 2012 for example when Fed himself was closer to prime level in terms of power and speed.
Great tennis by Fed but not exactly God mode when he lost his serve serving for the match, missed his match point opportunity in the tie break and then went on to lose the third set and lost his serve again serving for the match in the fourth set!
@@vijayendranvijay4538 why r u so butthurt with plain facts man....!!! 😄🤣 Why cant u just mind your shit or defend with valid points if you think i am stating anything wrong !?
@@guruk that happens to every player in tennis... That's how every sport plays.. Is Rod laver still playing at his peak?? Everyone knows that there is someone who will push u.. Its going to happen for novak as well.. Not sure what you are trying to prove here..man you are such an absolute joke..
@@vijayendranvijay4538 oh yeah... what age was roger when nadal and nole began to take him over!!?? They beat him in his prime too... 2007 onwards rafa and in 2008 briefly and then from 2010 on regularly nole. What age are rafa and nole now !!?? Did u see the drop in gs counts now !!? In fact they are on rampage now !! There will be a dip in peak in 30s i agree.. it came up a lil bit too early in rogers case.. any idea why !!??
@@vijayendranvijay4538 1 free advice.... dont try to back something in which there isnt credibility. Roger is the gr8st ambassador of the sport, effectively marketed due to his mannerism and i was drawn into the sport due to the incredible genius of this man but in terms of pure CHAMPIONS mentality, he lacks substance. He is top 5 all time no doubt... overrated as GOAT to quench the thirst of fans like u but facts are facts.. i am helping u get over ur dishonesty.. Thank me !!! 😇
Sadly, Blake had the kind of game that Federer loved. Hard and flat, allowing Federer to deflect all Blake's pace back at him. If Blake had been able to get a lot more topspin on his shots, then he may have do better against Federer. Federer tends to do worst against players who hit with topspin, can push him back and make him struggle to generate his own pace. They also have to be great movers. It's all about blunting federer's game rather than trying to overpower him, as Blake (and Roddick) tried to
