Tennis Today: ‘Major’ challenge facing Roger Federer in 2020, and Rafael Nadal’s lowest moment revealed

Tennis365
November 19, 2019

In Tennis Today, one legend has revealed the major challenge facing Roger Federer in 2020, and Rafael Nadal’s lowest moment has been laid bare by his coach Carlos Moya.

What’s on the site
First things first, the new-look Davis Cup got underway yesterday, and you can catch up with everything that went of yesterday – on court and off it – right here.

Elsewhere, the ATP Finals are still being digested by some, and that means there is a lot being said about Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Obviously, the only real place to start with that is with our own Kevin Palmer, who has hailed the Greek as a ‘game-changer,’ and also speculated on what his emergence means for the current ‘big three’.

Tsitsipas himself has unquestionably been helped by his decision to come off social media, and that’s something he has been discussing quite candidly, particularly regarding the ‘stress’ it caused him.

What’s in the news
Roger Federer is facing a ‘major’ problem in 2020, according to Boris Becker.

The Express carry quotes from Becker regarding Federer’s future in which he questions whether the 38-year-old is still able to recover quickly enough to succeed in tournaments.

“The problem with getting older is the recovery,” Becker is quoted as saying.

“You can put on a great match and he’s certainly played many good matches this year but it takes you longer physically and mentally to recover, to find the motivation.

“He’s been here 16 times before, it’s not new for him.

“To find the sparkle, to find the energy to go one more step – it’s not easy.”

Elsewhere, Carlos Moya has been talking about Rafael Nadal in the Spanish press, and he has revealed his player’s lowest moment.

“The first tournament together at the Australian Open where he lost to Roger Federer.

“He was down mentally at the time after going through difficult times, I convinced him that he would be able to win Majors and be No.1 again.”

Good call, Carlos.

What’s on social media

Karolina Pliskova goes rogue on her endorsement deals…

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Watermelon all day long🍉🥰

A post shared by Karolina Pliskova (@karolinapliskova) on Nov 18, 2019 at 9:36am PST

Genie Bouchard looks like someone has reminded her she plays tennis occasionally…

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⚠️⚠️

A post shared by Genie Bouchard (@geniebouchard) on Nov 18, 2019 at 3:52pm PST

A very cool graph that tracks the rises, and stutters, of the big three…

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For those of you who think improvement is a FAST LINEAR PROCESS, take a look at this!⁠ .⁠ This graph is Federer, Nadal and Djokovic’s career path from the day they turned pro to present day. ⁠ .⁠ Not only did it take years for them to reach top 10 in the world, but the path after they did is anything by linear! This is an amazing illustration of what really happens in our tennis improvement. ⁠ .⁠ In the beginning everything is new and the improvement happens fast! Then we all get to a point where the improvement takes a slower path and we have the peaks and valleys in our improvement process. It’s through those times that you can either give up OR push through! ⁠ .⁠ That is what separates the top level players from the average players (even at YOUR club level). ⁠ .⁠ Every time you hit the courts:⁠ Always strive for improvement⁠ Feed the hunger to learn ⁠ Accept there will be challenges⁠ Fight like hell for growth ⁠ .⁠ “Even if I’ve already peaked, I have to believe I can improve. I wake up every morning, and go to practice, with the illusion I’m going to get better that day.”⁠ Rafael Nadal⁠ .⁠ #tennis #tennisgraph #essentialtennis #tennisimprovement #tennissuccess #nadal #federer #djokovic #atp #tennisplayer #instatennis #et #tennisvideo #tennispicture #tennislesson #onlinetennis #tenniscurve

A post shared by Tennis Coaching & Performance (@essentialtennis) on Nov 18, 2019 at 2:27pm PST

‘Tea romance’ apparently. Anyone?

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Cashmere jumper and tonnes of tea romance 🥰 ❄️ ⛄️

A post shared by Elina Svitolina 🍿 (@elisvitolina) on Nov 18, 2019 at 4:52am PST