When McEnroe started to push Borg from the #1 position, Bjorn abruptly quit. Will Federer do the same thing?

Question

Now that Nadal is starting to look like the better player do you think Federer will retire at a young age?

I guess, if you compare the personalities of Nadal and McEnroe, I personally would be more at ease losing to Nadal, than I would be losing to a punk like Mac. Yes, he was a big time punk as a player.

Answer 1

Nadal isn't there yet as "the" challenger to Federer's #1 ranking and Borg - I am indirectly quoting him - said he wasn't retiring from tennis, he was retiring from running 12 miles a day -- that the work to to stay at that superior level had worn him out.

How many male players remain at a high level at age 30 any more....Federer - if he remains healthy and motivated - probably has four great years left to rewrite the record books and solidify his "greatest ever" standing.

Answer 2

Remember this same time last year people were wondering about Nadal being the current best player. Now, same talk coming from the win off Roland Garros and the wimbledon final - it so happened that these 2 tournaments are so close to each other, there is still a good 4 monthls left wherein there are 4 more master series cups, masters cup, and a grand slam, let's see how things fair out. But in my opinion, there is no ****** way he's pushing Federer off at this point or anytime soon. Not to mention that Nadal will havve to contend with Djokovich who in my opinion and most tennis enthusiasts outhere, will succeed Federer when the Fed is done.

Answer 3

I don't really think that was exactly why Bjorg suddenly retired. It was the consensus at the time that it was all a bit of a mystery because Bjorg was nowhere near peaking or being threatened seriously by McEnroe. I think, like a good morose Swede, he had all kinds of internal problems in his head about who he was,why was he a supermillionaire and so famous for hitting a tiny ball over the net,what was it all about,...you know,the BIG questions in LIFE. Sort of like what Greta Garbo did,maybe (?) He also had personal problems and an erratic love life.His was a complex personality.

I definitely agree with you that being overtaken by Nadal is a far better proposition than being taken over by a spoiled brat like McEnroe( although he seems to have finally matured and is a nicer guy these days!). But I really don't think Bjorg cared one way or the other....not then.

Answer 4

On the basis of what do you say that Nadal looks like a better player? Federer has not looked great this year beyond the Aussie Open, but he still won a title on clay, got to finals at French and fluked off Wimby.

I think federer will not hang around for too long. Maybe he retires at 28, no later than 30.

Answer 5

Borg was a star player when he was very young, so he had played more tennis than Federer. It wasn't just McEnroe that caused him to quit. He was just sick of tennis and had gotten sucked into the partying/drugs lifestyle. When you have women all over the world throwing themselves at you, who needs tennis?

Federer doesn't have this problem. Times have changed.

Answer 6

Nadal is much nicer than McEnroe and Federer is more easygoing than Borg. Borg have no emotion, he kept to much in himself. You need to express youself to relieve some of the pressure.