From the diary of a Roger Federer fan

I am not a Fed fan; I am a Murray fan. However, I have to confess that Federer is a master of the game. His game is so gracious; his technique sublime (especially his one handed back hand) and he has full control of the court. he seems to get on with his game in a seemingly effortless manner, as against some top tennis players who huff and puff and scream thru their matches (Nadal, Ferrer, Monfils). I feel Federer isnt done with winning titles; he'll still get back the no.1 spot before he hangs his racquet. Although Djokovic is in a class by himself at the moment, I dont think he can sustain the tempo...he may not even another grandslam this year because the field is very competitive now.

I am yet to see anyone come close to RF on grass - I am talking about the grace, footwork, poise, timing and court sense - it is simply magical! That is mesmerizing tennis! Tennis is not just running from left to right and hitting the ball hard mechanically. You need that class and "genius" to handle the big stage.That is the talent RF! I will stop watching tennis the day RF hangs his boots!

LOL! is this how you guys support your favorite tennis players? Bring on the arguments I say! Just last week at Indian wells, Nole called Nadal GOAT, and Nadal returned the compliment saying he's 'one of the greatest'. Now if you combine the GS tallies of these two blokes, you get the number of slams Roger had achieved back in 2006. The most inane comments from a pair of tennis players ever IMO.

I am known as the smiler and the happy camper. My blood pressure is below normal. So no worries Whiteline. My life is good. Hope the same for you.

Hey Rave, relax and smile, you'll live longer.

Yes, whiteline, we get it, you are a rabid Nadal fan. And you have respect for no one else. Such a pity, because you demean the sport of tennis and the players. This article was about Federer, no where in the article did it put down other players. Does it make you feel that much better than you have to crush Federer to make Nadal look good. Again, such a pity. We have reaaly great players in tennis right now, a lot of fun, talented youngsters. Lets just enjoy the game and the players we cheer for, does not have to be the same player.

Yes Clipper - I'm aware. Great to get a balanced reply though. As you'll notice earlier, I said I don't think anyone denies what a great Federer is but Nadal has been his equal the last 3 or 4 years. Different players yes, one is more graceful and 'better to watch' if you like but on results, Nadal is pretty handy too.

whiteline - don't forget 3 of those finals were the FO - Nadals best surface, Federers worst, the other two losses were five setters, so I don't think he's done too badly. As a contrast Sampras never got to a FO final - it's pretty hard to be master of all surfaces!

dominated everyone except....Nadal!! haha

You're right, they don't tell any story at all. All it means is that while Federer did the best he could do to reach the finals every single time on Nadal's strongest surfaces, Nadal comfortably lost in semifinals or before and was never there to challenge Federer in AO/USO during his best years. You stick to h2h like it matters in tennis - it doesn't, and I'm tired of critics giving the same rotten excuse every single time. Why else does Murray who has never won a GS have a lead over Fed? And why have davydenko/delpo dominated Nadal in every hard court match the last 2 years? I can assure you no one in our lifetimes can touch the records that Federer has set, Nadal won't be able to overtake Sampras either because he just doesn't have the weapons or talent to win easily. Federer dominated everyone to such an extent that players in his era like roddick, safin or hewitt were just not allowed to prove their greatness.

Rave Nadal and Federer have met in 7 GS finals and Nadal has won 5 - he is 5 years younger than Federer - maybe that could be a reason why Federer has played in and won more more Slams!!! I suppose those 5 victories don't really tell a story though do they???

These stats do not tell all. How many more times has Roger been in the finals and semis and where was Nadal. So, when you quote those stats, they really mean absolutely nothing. These stats have been used ad nauseum. Very poor choice of proving a point which actually proves nothing.

@Pera and other Fed-haters out there, Aren't you folks ashamed to say that the only reason you disapprove of a great player is how he conducts himself OUTSIDE of a tennis court? A tennis fan has no right to comment on things that happen after the players step out of court. Has Federer broken a single rule in the midst of a match in his entire professional career? None. And he possesses such a beautiful and skillful game, it is impossible to find fault in it. Look at the other top players - Nadal is culprit No 1. He slows down the game according to his whims and gets a time warning between points in every major match. He takes unreasonable medical time outs to disrupt an opponents rhythm, and worse of all has admitted to taking on-court coaching in some matches. Has Federer ever let his injuries show during a match? Now that is model behavior. I don't even want to talk about Nole's disgusting habit of bouncing the ball a hundred times before serving... Do you think these characters can match Federer's off-court class once (or if) they ever reach his level? very unlikely. Just stop hating and enjoy the great man's game, whatever is left of it, till its no more.

I don't think anyone denies Fed is a great so it's not about liking Nadal more or anything - these are the statistics...make what you will of them. Nadal leads their overall head-to-head series 14–8

Roger still owns the tennis court. He had Djoker on the run and was dominating him after the first set at Indian Wells. His game has just become a bit error-prone and that gifted Djokovic the match. Once he gets over that phase, he's going to be well on his way to 20 slams. Remember the 2010 tour finals. He owned Nadal and Djokovic like it is nobody's business. Go Roger!!

I have watched tennis for years and have observed great and mediocre performances. In terms of Roger Federer, he has some issues but he has considerable class, which is more than I can say for Mr. Djokovic,. The latter tends to strut like a streetl gang member, and acts frequently in ways which seriously diminish the sport. He may win games but he is seriously lacking in the classy traits shown by Laver, Borg, and Ashe.

Whiteline, Kaiser, you can keep your delusions if that makes you happy.