Just had a look at Fed's schedule for 2008. It is pretty much exactly the same as in 2006, except that he is playing Estoril on clay before Monte Carlo, and is leaving out Tokyo for it.

And of course there are the Olympic games, bang in the middle between the American hard court TMS and the US Open.

So Fed will be playing an exhibition in preparation for the AO, one grass tournament (Halle) before Wimbledon, and the two hardcourt Masters before the Games and the USO --- but four clay tournaments ahead of the French.

Can anyone guess what his priority is for next year? :P


So, in addition to the compulsory tournaments, Fed is again down to play just four other ranking events: Dubai, Estoril, Halle and Basel.

Thanks MJT for that. it's funny to talk about the off season now as Fed's break between January to March is as long as, if not longer than the current "off season" one.

He also gets a full month in Juy.

Well deserved and if that can keep him fit for years....so be it!

He wont' play halle either if he makes RG finals/WIN!

If he wins both the AO and RG, he'll be the undisputed GOAT. That will no doubt significantly affect his schedule for the rest of the year. Though Wimby will be high on his list still, he wont mind giving Halle a miss, or giving someone an easy win there!! :D

agreed, Big Al.
What is completely different this year is that Fed can win more slams than any male player in the modern era. In previous years we've all been speculating he might be the goat, but next year he can actually do it for real. Of course there will always be doubters, but if he gets to 14 with the French then he's top dog for me, but it would take 15 without the French i think-both not unrealistic propositions.
I still have serious doubts about the French, i wish i didn't but i do-but he has a shot.

After next year 16 with the french B)

Then he is defo Goat

Plus Olympics 5 times Ye no.1 16 slams.

Calendar Golden Slam

Career Grandslam

250 consecutive weeks at no.1

LEGEEEND

Yep, I tell you what, i wouldn't bet a lot against that-he just might.

I wouldn't challenge that either he's good enough to do just anything :P

It would be great if he could achieve all those things ... but it is a lot to ask.

I don't know about GOAT, but if he wins 14 slams, even without the French, in my book he has surpassed Sampras in achievements - he has reached the FO final, been in so many consecutive GS finals, had such dominance on the tour for so long.

Whether he will have surpassed Laver is harder to say --- it has been such a long time, any comparison seems almost pointless, since the sport has changed so much since then.

Anyway, I'm hoping for the Golden Slam and all that - but I shall not be too disappointed even if Roger "only" ends up winning two slams this year.

PS. Whether he will play Halle or not is open to debate. I can imagine he will skip it again, but I can also see him playing - in 2006, he played Halle after reaching the FO final, and what followed was probably his best Wimbledon performance ever. :shrug:

Of course, the king has to protect himself-he is only human after all :) :rolleyes: (I am not trying to put Fed on a pedestal, I'm simply acknowledging how good he is)
Also mightyjed-don't know who that character in your avatar is but I'm pretty sure he's the ATP's worst nightmare!!! :lmaao:

I wouldnt worry too much about putting him on a pedestal, have you seen the Fed Worship thread? :P

I actually can't believe were talking about this stuff so soon after Sampras.I remember watching the wimbledon final against Rafter when Pete broke Emerson's record.
I thought I would be at least 40 before I saw anything like it again.Here we are just 5 years after Sampras retiring and Roger has a shot.

The pressure is huge and I believe he will be at least level by the end of 2008.I reckon and I hope because of our coverage in England on the BBC that either Roger is going for the record or to equal it,as I think it will be a special occasion whatever at Wimbledon this year.

That’s true Brakkus, it wasn’t likely this could happen. Still, I reckon this time it’s for real; It would be absurd if someone comes along next decade who plays a better more complete game than Federer and also breaks his records.
I mean Federer broke already so many records that stood for decades, so personally I believe Federer is a once in a lifetime tennis player.

The pressure is indeed huge but it’s questionable things will become easier once he captures his 15th GS. Is it possible he will have to deal with even more pressure that he had to this years Wimbledon final? He will get a second change if he fails to make it to 15 after all, which wasn’t the case with the 5 consecutive Wimbledon titels.
I actually think the opposite will happen; As soon as he breaks the GS record and the pressure’s off, the domination ends quickly. But we can’t blame him for that, can we?