You cannot win 9 grand slams only on talent and brilliance alone. You need to have the ability to move, to react, and be able to hang tight with strong hitters without breaking a sweat or barely at all.
Here are a few quotes for you to decide about his athleticism
=========================================================
"This is the first time I have seen Federer up close, courtside. Sure I have seen him playing from afar, but to tell you honestly I have seen tennis players in my time but have never seen anyone as fast and agile as this Federer in my life"
-jimmy connors Wimbledon 2005
"he seems to be everywhere, with no effort at all. It is like he steals time from his opponents: he has all the time in the world to hit a ball whereas his opponents looked stretched in so many ways to get to the balls"
-mary carillo US Open 2005
"I don't see anyone with a big enough weapon to hurt him. They're just staying back and Roger is able to dictate well enough. You just have to serve well and attack him."
- pete sampras
"Oh, I would be honoured to even be compared to Roger. He is such an unbelievable talent, and is capable of anything. Roger could be the greatest tennis player of all time."
- Rod laver
"He's the best I've ever played against. There's nowhere to go. There's nothing to do except hit fairways, hit greens and make putts. Every shot has that sort of urgency on it. I've played a lot of them (other players), so many years, there's a safety zone, there's a place to get to, there's something to focus on, there's a way. Anything you try to do, he potentially has an answer for and it's just a function of when he starts pulling the triggers necessary to get you to change to that decision."
- Andre Agassi
"He hits that short chip, moves you forward, moves you back. He uses your pace against you. If you take pace off, so that he can't use your pace, he can step around and hurt you with the forehand. Just the amount of options he has to get around any particular stage of the match where maybe something's out of sync is -- seems to be endless. His success out there is just a mere reflection of all the things that he can do."
- Andre Agassi
"There's probably not a department in his game that couldn't be considered the best in that department. You watch him play Hewitt and everybody marvels at Hewitt's speed, as well as myself. And you start to realize, `Is it possible Federer even moves better?' Then you watch him play Andy [Roddick], and you go, `Andy has a big forehand. Is it possible Federer's forehand is the best in the game?' You watch him at the net, you watch him serve-volley somebody that doesn't return so well and you put him up there with the best in every department. You see him play from the ground against those that play from the ground for a living, and argue he does it better than anybody. "
- Andre Agassi
"He's the most gifted player that I've ever seen in my life. I've seen a lot of people play. I've seen the (Rod) Lavers, I played against some of the great players - the Samprases, Beckers, Connors', Borgs, you name it. This guy could be the greatest of all time. That, to me, says it all. "
- John McEnroe
"Roger Federer is the only guy I watch for his strokes. He is just beautiful. He can hit every single shot you could ever think of. John [McEnroe] and Ilie [Nastase] were very talented but you always knew there were some shots they couldn't hit. Not with Federer. I would go and watch him practice, he's so good."
- Ivan Lendl
"Roger is at the top, and he's the only person at the top, regardless of how much people want to make rivalry comparisons and this, that and the other. He's the best player in the game. There's no question in my mind."
- Andy Roddick
"He is an all around player, which is a little unusual in this day of tennis. He reminds me of Rod Laver. He is such a great athlete, the only way you could pass him is if you pass him on the line"
- Tony Roach
