Do you ever feel like

Federer is the only player who really understands tennis.

The way he varies his game according to the opponent he faces, how he trains every part of his game equally, and never attempts anything during matches he hasn't perfected in training.
 

PROTENNIS63

Hall of Fame
I don't feel like that. Trust me, Nadal knows very well how to play the game. And he knows much better than all of us that Federer is a "smart" player and creates different patterns while he himself is out there to drag the opponent tired and run him around.

But I do think Fed knows the game better than other players that are in the top 20. He analyzed Murray's game so well and gave him good pointers how to improve.
 

christos_liaskos

Professional
I would say only him and Murray have the ability to make big adaptations to depend on who their opponent is.

Murray sometimes goes too defensive but his good runs in IW and Miami last year and other periods where he has had good runs, he shows variety in his matches. Some matches he attacks the net alot, others he plays aggresive from the baseline and others he plays more defensive. The matches he loses are normally when he gets the tactics wrong and his opponent hits him off court ie. Tsonga at AO.

I made this point of Murray adapting his game about a year ago and another member on here said its like a chameleon - adapting to its surroundings, or in Murrays case, his opponent.

Federer is also capable of adapting and playing lots of different tactics. This is what makes him so successful and could also bring Murray success. With other players you know what they are going to bring to the table and therefore players can make a gameplan or come up with an idea to beat certain opponents. With Murray and Federer, they can play against all types of players and can read game situations well, therefore they can adapt their tactics during the match (this is where Murray has fallen short in his matches).
 

christos_liaskos

Professional
My point of Murray's adaptability was shown in his match against Karlovic last night. He serve and volleyed most of the time on his first serve and he looked as good as any serve and volleyer. This from a guy who most people say he can only play from 2 meters behind the baseline
 
Top