Fed's forehand from '04 - '07 is the greatest shot in the history of the sport imo. His all round game improved so much as he got older, but the way he hit forehands back then was otherworldly. It's a shame he shortened the back swing as it was never the same shot afterwards; still a great shot, but less consistent. Even against Coria on a clay court, you feel like any time he has time to set it up properly the point is over. Such controlled aggression, you just never felt like he was going to miss.
Fed's neo backhand is pretty high up there, surely? He was never able to consistently take down Nadal until later in Feds career. Look at the swing in the head to head and when it happened (2015 onwards). In the last 8 years they played 8 times but 1 WO to Fed, with Rafa only winning once (on clay at RG of course). Prior to that, the h2h was rafa 23 to 10.
@@bigrobsydney Yeah, he was undoubtedly a much more complete player at the end of his career. But back then his forehand was so ridiculous that it almost didn't matter. The only player who could really exploit it was Rafa. Can you imagine if had made the improvements on his backhand when he had this less compact forehand...
His all round game improved after 2015 so most of the things you said is total crap bcz Nadal used to bully Roger backhand nothing else so his game never really improved in that certain way but after 2015 everything changed. So this statement is bogus that his all round game improved as he got older he was still a bum
Worth noting that Coria came into this final on a 31 match winning streak. The best winning streak on clay this century by a player other than Nadal. He had won: Stuttgart Kitzbuehl (both Atp 500s back then) Sopot Buenos Aires Monte Carlo dropping only 4 sets along the way.
Incredible footage. I have never seen this match until now. Coria was an absolute beast on clay. Roger very nearly got outplayed here, but shifted into 6th gear and persevered. Absolutely brilliant. Thanks for posting this!
Man in the 2000’s players just played with more all court games. There was a high level of shotmaking, and they played with a certain tenacity that is missing in todays game. Anytime the newer gen players hit a shot that’s not a normal baseline shot, it’s an error. Shotmaking is a very underrated attribute of a champion. Good news is that alcaraz and rune seem like they have that x factor.
That's not true. For example Tsitsipas can play offensive creative tennis and Fritz can play flat hitting aggressive tennis. You can question their level but that's not the point. It is very misleading to say that today's players are grinders, as a matter of fact the grinding playstyle hasn't really been dominant since 2017 or so. Long rallies are reminiscent of the big 4 prime : 2008-2016.
@@魚-c3d ok tsitsipas has the ability to come to net but does he against the best players in the world in important matches? Everytime he plays djokovic he turns into a grinder 95% of the time. His shotmaking skills are overrated too in my opinion. Also, he lacks the killer mentality of the players in the 00’s. His body language sometimes looks defeated in big matches, which causes him to lose his aggression. Tsitsipas has barely improved his game since late 2018/2019.
@@KingSach24 so you're really using the best player of all time to dismiss tsitsipas. Plus I said level was another question. The Greek has not left the top 10 since 2019, that's more than Coria has ever done. Fritz not a shotmaker? I don't know what you call a shotmaker but he is certainly more agressive than Coria. *And don't even try to contradict me because I'm able to calculate their average rally length and winners rate on important matches, so don't start me on this cuz you'll regret* . You're throwing vague terms while conveniently ignoring the reality that is just in front of you.
Amazing to watch Roger figure out a way to win through the course of this Clay-court battle! Back then he was untamed! He was angry, wild and HUNGRY! And RF ATE for 20+ years! Yes, Novak and Rafa have more major titles at this point, BUT there was no tennis player who made tennis look like THAT!!! #RFGOAT!
Federer should have won RG that year based on this match. I get that he became better on clay by like 2005 ish and all the way to 2011, but I feel that RG was such an open opportunity that year. Kuerten did roll back the years and played an amazing match against him. Fun fact: Fed also defeated gaudio in the first round of this tournament
Roger was always a topnotch clay player, but when he'd put on his stubborn face, he was unstoppable! Only Nadal had a mental edge on him. But that also changed as Roger became even more dangerous. This win over Coria was exceptional when so many never gave Roger a chance.
Nadal said that RF is one of the best clay court players in history without a doubt,. obviously sharing the same time with him overshadowed the greatness that Federer had on this surface. Federer won two masters on clay beating Nadal which is a monster feat.
Hey Raz, Finally able to start watching all these viddies you've been posting since Fed left us. Been on a super trip in the Med in my Campervan for 3 months but had to wait to get to home WIFI to watch these gems. Thank u so much for bringing these old matches out of retirement. Keep 'em coming, please do. Starting AO23, Im going to be relying on yours & your fellow Fed YTubers to watch as much of Fed's career in sync with the current Tour as I can starting with 1998😊. Of course for AO it'll commence from 2000, unless you have anything from the Boys AO 1998? It'll keep me busy for a good few years yet😁. HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO YOU🥰
Coria could've been much succeed on clay before Nadal joining in and has been gathering many trophies since then. Federer at that time, was at the new height of his level more than enough to bring down Coria even on his preferred surface. As always, a great footage shared to us.
The freaking GOAT and I say this as a Serbian! (To give you all a heads-up, there’s a troll on RUclips who copied my username and avatar and is saying “Djokovic is the GOAT, and I say this as a Serbian!”… please know this is NOT me, it’s simply some guy who is deeply offended that a Serbian like myself sees Roger as the GOAT and not Djokovic 😂)
I guess that is unforgivable to some people. I understand patriotic support very well, but no compatriot of mine could take the place of Federer. It is an area that is beyond nationality or ethnicity.
I agree that Roger is a top clay court player. Looking at this match, the two players appeared to make the court smaller, given the speed with which they covered it.
Federer should have won French Open 2004, I don't know why he lost to Guga, if he hadn't then he would have had a very great chance of winning the final. Hindsight is 20/20 though, couldn't have predicted Nadal's dominance.
Anti tennis? Dude was a clay court specialist, dont expect him to serve volley. Plus the guy had a really good touch and his drop shots were on point. 1998-2004 weakest era ever? I dunno, sure it was a transition era but it still involved many talented players with a variety of play styles. Kuerten, Hewitt, Coria, Kafelnikov, Sampras, Agassi, Rafter, Safin, Moya, Corretja, Ferrero, Federer...
@@魚-c3d Exactly, those players were real opponents. The "weak era" is a fable spread by some who would like to diminish Fed's accomplishments. What Fed did and how he played actually increased the level of the game and other players worked for years to emulate him .
@@evakovacs5340 yes, though you have to take into account that many of the players I quoted above either weren't here anymore or had significantly declined when fed started winning big titles. It's hard to tell if fed really elevated the level compared to the Sampras era, however he sure "re-elevated" it from the end of this transition era.
![Seungmin "그렇게, 천천히, 우리(As we are)" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/kAzmhLHePqU/mqdefault.jpg)
Fed's forehand from '04 - '07 is the greatest shot in the history of the sport imo. His all round game improved so much as he got older, but the way he hit forehands back then was otherworldly. It's a shame he shortened the back swing as it was never the same shot afterwards; still a great shot, but less consistent. Even against Coria on a clay court, you feel like any time he has time to set it up properly the point is over. Such controlled aggression, you just never felt like he was going to miss.
Fed's neo backhand is pretty high up there, surely? He was never able to consistently take down Nadal until later in Feds career. Look at the swing in the head to head and when it happened (2015 onwards). In the last 8 years they played 8 times but 1 WO to Fed, with Rafa only winning once (on clay at RG of course). Prior to that, the h2h was rafa 23 to 10.
@@bigrobsydney Yeah, he was undoubtedly a much more complete player at the end of his career. But back then his forehand was so ridiculous that it almost didn't matter. The only player who could really exploit it was Rafa. Can you imagine if had made the improvements on his backhand when he had this less compact forehand...
@@stansbackhand1472
We all weep about this IF.
His all round game improved after 2015 so most of the things you said is total crap bcz Nadal used to bully Roger backhand nothing else so his game never really improved in that certain way but after 2015 everything changed. So this statement is bogus that his all round game improved as he got older he was still a bum
Federer’s peak forehand was slightly better than Nadal’s peak forehand, but Nadal maintained his forehand for longer.
Worth noting that Coria came into this final on a 31 match winning streak.
The best winning streak on clay this century by a player other than Nadal.
He had won:
Stuttgart
Kitzbuehl (both Atp 500s back then)
Sopot
Buenos Aires
Monte Carlo
dropping only 4 sets along the way.
Incredible footage. I have never seen this match until now. Coria was an absolute beast on clay. Roger very nearly got outplayed here, but shifted into 6th gear and persevered. Absolutely brilliant. Thanks for posting this!
My pleasure!
Man in the 2000’s players just played with more all court games. There was a high level of shotmaking, and they played with a certain tenacity that is missing in todays game. Anytime the newer gen players hit a shot that’s not a normal baseline shot, it’s an error. Shotmaking is a very underrated attribute of a champion. Good news is that alcaraz and rune seem like they have that x factor.
That's not true. For example Tsitsipas can play offensive creative tennis and Fritz can play flat hitting aggressive tennis. You can question their level but that's not the point. It is very misleading to say that today's players are grinders, as a matter of fact the grinding playstyle hasn't really been dominant since 2017 or so. Long rallies are reminiscent of the big 4 prime : 2008-2016.
@@魚-c3d ok tsitsipas has the ability to come to net but does he against the best players in the world in important matches? Everytime he plays djokovic he turns into a grinder 95% of the time. His shotmaking skills are overrated too in my opinion. Also, he lacks the killer mentality of the players in the 00’s. His body language sometimes looks defeated in big matches, which causes him to lose his aggression. Tsitsipas has barely improved his game since late 2018/2019.
@@魚-c3d fritz is not a shotmaker. Fritz doesnt have the ability to hit a shot from anywhere on the court. He also can’t cover the court as well.
@@KingSach24please enlighten me which player from 00's had killer game.Hewitt? Gonzales? Roddick? R u kidding😂
@@KingSach24 so you're really using the best player of all time to dismiss tsitsipas. Plus I said level was another question. The Greek has not left the top 10 since 2019, that's more than Coria has ever done.
Fritz not a shotmaker? I don't know what you call a shotmaker but he is certainly more agressive than Coria. *And don't even try to contradict me because I'm able to calculate their average rally length and winners rate on important matches, so don't start me on this cuz you'll regret* . You're throwing vague terms while conveniently ignoring the reality that is just in front of you.
Amazing to watch Roger figure out a way to win through the course of this Clay-court battle! Back then he was untamed! He was angry, wild and HUNGRY! And RF ATE for 20+ years! Yes, Novak and Rafa have more major titles at this point, BUT there was no tennis player who made tennis look like THAT!!! #RFGOAT!
Federer should have won RG that year based on this match. I get that he became better on clay by like 2005 ish and all the way to 2011, but I feel that RG was such an open opportunity that year. Kuerten did roll back the years and played an amazing match against him. Fun fact: Fed also defeated gaudio in the first round of this tournament
Sir Roger federer golden legend in universal love you so much miss you so much teniss history best player ❤❤❤
Roger was always a topnotch clay player, but when he'd put on his stubborn face, he was unstoppable! Only Nadal had a mental edge on him. But that also changed as Roger became even more dangerous. This win over Coria was exceptional when so many never gave Roger a chance.
Nadal said that RF is one of the best clay court players in history without a doubt,. obviously sharing the same time with him overshadowed the greatness that Federer had on this surface. Federer won two masters on clay beating Nadal which is a monster feat.
In an alternate universe, Coria wins the 2004 French Open and challenges Nadal on clay.
Also, in that alternate universe Roger wins the 2006 Rome Tournament and RG that year, completing a calendar slam
Ah Guillermo Coria, he was sooooo good. I wonder what he could have achieved had he not terribly choked in 04
sweet
I've been looking for years for a high quality highlight of this match
there was one a long time ago, but it was deleted
Hey Raz,
Finally able to start watching all these viddies you've been posting since Fed left us. Been on a super trip in the Med in my Campervan for 3 months but had to wait to get to home WIFI to watch these gems.
Thank u so much for bringing these old matches out of retirement.
Keep 'em coming, please do.
Starting AO23, Im going to be relying on yours & your fellow Fed YTubers to watch as much of Fed's career in sync with the current Tour as I can starting with 1998😊. Of course for AO it'll commence from 2000, unless you have anything from the Boys AO 1998?
It'll keep me busy for a good few years yet😁.
HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO YOU🥰
Merry Christmas Laura! Good to hear from you 😊 I’ll keep posting videos, don’t worry! Unfortunately I haven’t got Any from AO 98 boys
Coria could've been much succeed on clay before Nadal joining in and has been gathering many trophies since then. Federer at that time, was at the new height of his level more than enough to bring down Coria even on his preferred surface. As always, a great footage shared to us.
Fed was so underrated on clay
My favourite player. Will never be forgotten. (Fed is a genius)
The freaking GOAT and I say this as a Serbian! (To give you all a heads-up, there’s a troll on RUclips who copied my username and avatar and is saying “Djokovic is the GOAT, and I say this as a Serbian!”… please know this is NOT me, it’s simply some guy who is deeply offended that a Serbian like myself sees Roger as the GOAT and not Djokovic 😂)
Great comment
w
@@mr.40-15 you're amazing, but hell your life must be boring.
I guess that is unforgivable to some people. I understand patriotic support very well, but no compatriot of mine could take the place of Federer. It is an area that is beyond nationality or ethnicity.
We will miss you Roger.
Roger is the most underrated clay court player, top 6 easy.
I agree that Roger is a top clay court player. Looking at this match, the two players appeared to make the court smaller, given the speed with which they covered it.
Federer should have won French Open 2004, I don't know why he lost to Guga, if he hadn't then he would have had a very great chance of winning the final. Hindsight is 20/20 though, couldn't have predicted Nadal's dominance.
I still don't know why they changed the Masters finals to best-of-3. At least the audience used to get their money's worth with a guaranteed 3 sets.
Coria played absolute anti-tennis. Best example that from 1998-2004 were the weakest tennis period ever. With Hewitt as No. 1. 😂🙈
Anti tennis? Dude was a clay court specialist, dont expect him to serve volley. Plus the guy had a really good touch and his drop shots were on point. 1998-2004 weakest era ever? I dunno, sure it was a transition era but it still involved many talented players with a variety of play styles. Kuerten, Hewitt, Coria, Kafelnikov, Sampras, Agassi, Rafter, Safin, Moya, Corretja, Ferrero, Federer...
@@魚-c3d Exactly, those players were real opponents. The "weak era" is a fable spread by some who would like to diminish Fed's accomplishments. What Fed did and how he played actually increased the level of the game and other players worked for years to emulate him .
@@evakovacs5340 yes, though you have to take into account that many of the players I quoted above either weren't here anymore or had significantly declined when fed started winning big titles. It's hard to tell if fed really elevated the level compared to the Sampras era, however he sure "re-elevated" it from the end of this transition era.