The Puppet Master

Federer may no longer be  the no. 1 tennis player in the world but it doesn't stop him from being the ventriloquist of the tennis world

It's seems that the Miami courts are a bit faster and with lower bounces compare to last year. I read that many commentators and players reported it so it's an advantage to the big hitters, Federer included...Now how did that happen you ask? Well, I'll tell how... it's very simple really,  Federer got his way again after all the comments he made about how slow all the surfaces are lately, here's is a Q&A from one of his press conferences during IW (bear in mind he made such comments for a long time now, it wasn't the first but it might be one of his last cause he seems to be getting his way...):

Q.  There is a cliché that says clay is the slow surface on the circuit, but surfaces have become slower and slower through the years.  Is this cliché still available?  Are there surfaces that actually play at least as slow as clay?

ROGER FEDERER:  "I'm sure, yeah, absolutely.  This ain't a whole lot faster than clay, if not slower, you know.  Because on a nice day on clay the ball bounces a lot.  You have the bad bounces, and, yeah, you can serve big really on clay. And then with the sliding, if you play it the right way, you can really make someone really uncomfortable.  Which here it's always great footwork, great grip on the court, and all that stuff. From what I heard, the rallies are longer now on an average at Wimbledon and at the French Open, believe it or not.  There you go.  I think the balls and all this stuff have slowed down way too much, but it's where we're stuck with at the moment."

Now I ask you, how is it OK that one man, however great and popular a player and ambassador he may be, call all the shots? Federer is like a puppet master and everyone in the tennis world are just puppets dancing on his strings. This is also not the first time we've witness just how much weight his opinions carry with the men (and women) in charge; A week or so ago Rafa got a time violation only days after Federer made this comment:  

"I do believe the officials could be a bit more tough on timing," he told reporters at Indian Wells. "I'm not complaining a lot, but I don’t know how you can go through a four-hour match with Rafa [Nadal] and he never gets a time violation. It’s natural that even I would go over time, but they never remind us. There are times when they could be a bit more firm. Because at the end of the day, I don’t know if fans are getting frustrated to watch five points that are going to take us five minutes."

Notice also how he's just worrying for the fans like any good ambassador would, it has nothing to do with the things Rafa said about him before AO - Rafael Nadal, Federer Rift Emerges at Australian Open , no, Federer doesn't play the pay-back game, he's bigger than that (wink).


And here's another example, much more infuriating, that shows without a shadow of a doubt Federer is really the boss who controls everyhting and what he says always goes (I heard it from my friend Yolita and these are her words):

It was the talk of the town at the end of last year. On the ATP page, in November and December, there were pieces of news saying that Rafa, Nole, Andy and most of the other players were behind Krajicek's candidacy, and that Roger was behind Brad Drewett. I don't have the links. You can probably find them in the archives. But that's when the coldness between Rafa and Roger started.

Rafa said that Krajicek was a better option because he was a very good administrator (he runs the Rotterdam tournament, very well), but he could also see the players' point of view. Drewett is not a tennis player, but he became friendly with Roger because he ran the PR firm that represented Roger for many years, he was a corporate guy.


When Krajicek pulled out of the race, he made a point of saying he didn't have enough support from the ATP Board Members, some of whom had been convinced by Roger (pointedly not talking about the players, everybody knew the players were with him, except Roger).


http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/spor ... 110147.cms

When Drewett was announced as the CEO, the player who congratulated him was, of course, Roger. Here's a link from the Ticker (Tennis.com) with the piece of news. Check the comment, somebody talking about how the voice of the players had been ignored in favour of big business. The decision was a slap in the face for Nole, Rafa and the 2 Andys, the leaders of the players. That's when Rafa made comments, for the first time, against Roger's lack of empathy for the other players. Those comments were talked about everywhere, on Twitter, etc. That's when the drift between them started. Rafa was disappointed in Roger because he thought Roger would listen to the majority.


http://www.tennis.com/articles/template ... 3&zoneid=6

             http://www.tennis-x.com/xblog/2011-12-22/8448.php

As usual, big money wins... And Roger is firmly on the side of big money, not on the side of the players. Nothing new there.

You're right Yolita and here's further prove of this (the continuation of the story); this was written on Thursday, 23 February 2012:

"On the same lines, Roger Federer was the lone star in the field in Rotterdam last week. In recent years, tournament director Richard Krajicek has seen his fields ruined by injuries, coming, as it does, so soon after the Australian Open and Davis Cup. Why Federer would make the extra effort to go there is about as clear as it could be, if reports are to be believed that he was paid an appearance fee of $1 million, tax free, to make the trip. Now all the top players will tell you how well they are looked after by Krajicek but that’s really pushing the boat out.

After all, wasn’t it Federer who stepped in to insist that Krajicek might not be the right man to become the ATP’s new chief executive? Krajicek is clearly the forgiving kind and it has to be said that Federer put in a solid week’s work by winning the title. So everyone’s happy. But Federer’s probably happier than most."

             http://www.thetennisspace.com/opinion/champion-rafa-and-rogers-appearance-fees/

How infuriating, is this?! Does the guy have no shame whatsoever, is he even capable of feeling shame?! I for one highly doubt it.

 

P.S. Breaking news! Night matches will be played at the Wimbledon Olympics...How much money are you willing to bet that Federer had nothing to do with this decision? I wouldn't bet a penny cause I hate to lose (wink).