What according to you is Federer's greatest weapon?

[BeHappy]

Obviously his forehand, if he didn't have that forehand he'd be Tommy Haas or Grigor Dmitrov. Believe it or not, quite a few players move and serve just as well as Federer, and have better backhands.

[Lawn Tennis]

His forehand. But his footwork is what makes his forehand formidable, so I voted footwork. If you can get your feet in position, you can hit just about anything you want.

[BeHappy]

Originally Posted by Lawn Tennis

His forehand. But his footwork is what makes his forehand formidable, so I voted footwork. If you can get your feet in position, you can hit just about anything you want.

Agassi didn't have any problems there, despite being possibly the slowest number 1 in history. (Still fast relative to most players)

[Cheetah]

Footwork. I was at the fed/rafa IW match. to see him move from up close was just amazing. so efficient and smooth and fast. way more impressive seeing it live.

[TMF]

Originally Posted by BeHappy

Obviously his forehand, if he didn't have that forehand he'd be Tommy Haas or Grigor Dmitrov. Believe it or not, quite a few players move and serve just as well as Federer, and have better backhands.

We don't believe it, especially the movement.

[Bacterio]

I'd go with point construction.

Pound for pound, every shot in his arsenal can either be matched or bettered by another player, but the reason Fed seems the most impressive in my opinion is his ability to construct a point so that he maximizes the shots he does have.

His ability to construct a point so that he can capitalize on the strengths of his game is unmatched in my opinion. For example, the short backhand slice to bring a player in then pass him.

[spiderman123]

Originally Posted by Bacterio

I'd go with point construction.

Pound for pound, every shot in his arsenal can either be matched or bettered by another player, but the reason Fed seems the most impressive in my opinion is his ability to construct a point so that he maximizes the shots he does have.

His ability to construct a point so that he can capitalize on the strengths of his game is unmatched in my opinion. For example, the short backhand slice to bring a player in then pass him.

The responses to this thread have been varied and very interesting. I probably should have included point construction in there. Of all the players his next shot is the toughest to guess (from my view as an armchair expert). That is what makes watching his game always an interesting experience.

[BobFL]

His ability to read your game, dismantle your gameplan and make you look like a fool out there

[Nathaniel_Near]

Forehand... footwork, serve.

[DeShaun]

At this point I believe his greatest weapon is some combination of his shot variety and his match management skills. He cannot hurt you so much anymore with dazzling shotmaking seemingly out of nowhere because he is no longer getting to the ball as early as he was during his athletic prime, but he still reads the game incredibly well and not just in in-point situations but also in the big picture when looking at/playing the score.
Just my 2cents

P.S. I first noticed him playing "smarter" if you will when he began finally handling Berdych consistently again about a year and a half ago. Up til then, the big Czech had hung a couple of humiliating losses on Roger, but Roger adapted his play, opting not to try outhitting Berdych from the back court in favor of constructing points against him much more intelligently. This trend has only been amplified since then, to where Roger seems to be relying more now than ever on the use of game plans that target opponents differently/more appropriately, instead of trying to remain some Baryshnikov-baseline-basher which he truly once was on fresher legs.