Federer is the smartest player in tennis, and it isn't even close

[Federer20042006]

Watching tonight really cemented it for me - nobody does more with less. Federer's ground strokes are downright mediocre compared to the rest of the ATP tour...there are numerous journeymen with better ground strokes than Federer. Bolelli, Smyczek...they're everywhere. Ungur.

But it's the shot selection Federer uses that kills opponents. He makes opponents uncomfortable, he crafts points.

Of course, sometimes he appears to be a stupid player by playing ill-advised shots, but I now think that's because his general mindset is he has to always play his brand of strange tennis in order to have any chance to beat most players.

Even his serve is lacking power by ATP standards, but the way he mixes it up is unparalleled in the men's game. Opponents have no idea what he's going to do. That's why it's so effective.

 

[Charlemagne]

That's an interesting point you make. What kind of shot selection on the groundstrokes are we talking here? I'd like some specifics- just curious, because I can never figure it out. Is it top spin? Side spin, coming to the net?

 

[Enga]

Well thats not 100% true. His serve is amazingly accurate with zip compared to people who just go for speed.

And his groundstrokes have more power than you give him credit for.

But take those things away, he still has amazing court sense and variety.

I feel thats his true talent. His savvy for variety and tactics. He always seems to adapt to situations, allowing him to win even if his groundstrokes are off.

 

[MrFlip]

Watching tonight really cemented it for me - nobody does more with less. Federer's ground strokes are downright mediocre compared to the rest of the ATP tour...there are numerous journeymen with better ground strokes than Federer. Bolelli, Smyczek...they're everywhere. Ungur.

But it's the shot selection Federer uses that kills opponents. He makes opponents uncomfortable, he crafts points.

Of course, sometimes he appears to be a stupid player by playing ill-advised shots, but I now think that's because his general mindset is he has to always play his brand of strange tennis in order to have any chance to beat most players.

Even his serve is lacking power by ATP standards, but the way he mixes it up is unparalleled in the men's game. Opponents have no idea what he's going to do. That's why it's so effective.

Only someone who has never seen him play live would say that

 

[Russeljones]

Watching tonight really cemented it for me - nobody does more with less. Federer's ground strokes are downright mediocre compared to the rest of the ATP tour...there are numerous journeymen with better ground strokes than Federer. Bolelli, Smyczek...they're everywhere. Ungur.

But it's the shot selection Federer uses that kills opponents. He makes opponents uncomfortable, he crafts points.

Of course, sometimes he appears to be a stupid player by playing ill-advised shots, but I now think that's because his general mindset is he has to always play his brand of strange tennis in order to have any chance to beat most players.

Even his serve is lacking power by ATP standards, but the way he mixes it up is unparalleled in the men's game. Opponents have no idea what he's going to do. That's why it's so effective.

You really are something.

 

[Bender]

Only someone who has never seen him play live would say that

I agree with your sentiment.

Watched him play live; was about 5-10 m away from me.

Guy hits a big ball.

Reading some of the posts about Federer not being a physical player, you'd think they were referring to Santoro.

 

[MrFlip]

Watching tonight really cemented it for me - nobody does more with less. Federer's ground strokes are downright mediocre compared to the rest of the ATP tour...there are numerous journeymen with better ground strokes than Federer. Bolelli, Smyczek...they're everywhere. Ungur.

But it's the shot selection Federer uses that kills opponents. He makes opponents uncomfortable, he crafts points.

Of course, sometimes he appears to be a stupid player by playing ill-advised shots, but I now think that's because his general mindset is he has to always play his brand of strange tennis in order to have any chance to beat most players.

Even his serve is lacking power by ATP standards, but the way he mixes it up is unparalleled in the men's game. Opponents have no idea what he's going to do. That's why it's so effective.

Further more, you appear to think him not hitting big is the same as pacing yourself. It's why Fed is still #2 at age 33.

 

[Dave1982]

Watching tonight really cemented it for me - nobody does more with less. Federer's ground strokes are downright mediocre compared to the rest of the ATP tour...there are numerous journeymen with better ground strokes than Federer. Bolelli, Smyczek...they're everywhere. Ungur.

But it's the shot selection Federer uses that kills opponents. He makes opponents uncomfortable, he crafts points.

Of course, sometimes he appears to be a stupid player by playing ill-advised shots, but I now think that's because his general mindset is he has to always play his brand of strange tennis in order to have any chance to beat most players.

Even his serve is lacking power by ATP standards, but the way he mixes it up is unparalleled in the men's game. Opponents have no idea what he's going to do. That's why it's so effective.

Federer is unquestionably a smart player, the way he manages pretty much everything is quite incredible & to have the longevity & success he's had both on court & off can in part be attributed to his smarts...& the smarts of his team naturally.

What I disagree with his you saying is his ground strokes are mediocre...his ground strokes are a combination of skill & smarts. You then go onto praise his shot selection....he has the luxury of being able to pick & choose the best shot to play at any given point because the quality of his ground strokes (amongst many other shots) are of such a quality he has confidence to call upon them when best required.

Don't get me wrong there have been times where his ground strokes have deserted him & it's been painful to watch...2013 Brisbane final comes to mind...especially the first set!

 

[okdude1992]

HA! Federer had the best ground strokes in the game by a large margin during his prime. They have fallen off now, but are still very decent, and the forehand is still a big weapon when on. He does manage his game well, but the overall sentiment of the OP is ridiculous

 

[TJfederer16]

"there are numerous journeymen with better ground strokes than Federer".

Im going to take this as trolling. If not this is the most ludicrous statement i have ever heard on these boards to date.

 

[Dedans Penthouse]

You are the dumbest poster here, and it isn't even close

duh

__________________

 

[Russeljones]

__________________

He is also the author of this gem:

Once again, Federer at the mercy of his opponent. And somehow, people think he's the most talented player in tennis. Every match against a power player is out of his hands.

 

[Steve0904]

You really are something.

We just haven't quite figured out what that something is yet.

 

[SpinToWin]

We just haven't quite figured out what that something is yet.

bitter… 60's dung perhaps?

 

[Anaconda]

__________________

90's clay/gamesampras? Pretty sure he racks up this award. The_Truth also gets a shout out.

 

[Steve0904]

He is also the author of this gem:

This one is even better IMO.

The fact that so many players appear to be "God mode" against Federer tells you something about Federer. He's simply not a very talented player for a top guy. He's an overachiever who scraps.

 

[RF-18]

"there are numerous journeymen with better ground strokes than Federer".

Im going to take this as trolling. If not this is the most ludicrous statement i have ever heard on these boards to date.

Hahahahahahaha

 

[Fiji]

Pretty much.

 

[SLD76]

I can't believe this hack had the nerve to even start this thread. His tennis IQ ,by his own words , has proven to be worthless

 

[Feather]

Watching tonight really cemented it for me - nobody does more with less. Federer's ground strokes are downright mediocre compared to the rest of the ATP tour...there are numerous journeymen with better ground strokes than Federer. Bolelli, Smyczek...they're everywhere. Ungur.

But it's the shot selection Federer uses that kills opponents. He makes opponents uncomfortable, he crafts points.

Of course, sometimes he appears to be a stupid player by playing ill-advised shots, but I now think that's because his general mindset is he has to always play his brand of strange tennis in order to have any chance to beat most players.

Even his serve is lacking power by ATP standards, but the way he mixes it up is unparalleled in the men's game. Opponents have no idea what he's going to do. That's why it's so effective.

:lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[jg153040]

Watching tonight really cemented it for me - nobody does more with less. Federer's ground strokes are downright mediocre compared to the rest of the ATP tour...there are numerous journeymen with better ground strokes than Federer. Bolelli, Smyczek...they're everywhere. Ungur.

But it's the shot selection Federer uses that kills opponents. He makes opponents uncomfortable, he crafts points.

Of course, sometimes he appears to be a stupid player by playing ill-advised shots, but I now think that's because his general mindset is he has to always play his brand of strange tennis in order to have any chance to beat most players.

Even his serve is lacking power by ATP standards, but the way he mixes it up is unparalleled in the men's game. Opponents have no idea what he's going to do. That's why it's so effective.

Yeah, I agree, but only partly. He doesn't have the best fitness or mental toughness out there. But he compensates for that with smart play by ending points quickly and genius scheduling.

It's combination of many things. Sure, his serve is not the best, but it's very consistent and smart. So, ok, I give you this.

His top spin backhand is like that too. Not the best out there, but he is smart and works so well under pressure. His patterns are so random there, that nobody knows when he will hit down the line. When he hits down the line with the backhand, it's usually so random, that he gains the edge.

But, here is the part, I don't agree with you. His godly forehand and footwork and backhand slice are light years ahead of the rest. Even his net game.

So, yeah, he has forehand, slice, net game and footwork, but with his genius he compensates for poor top spin backhand and serve and lack of fitness and mentality.

 

[ultradr]

But it's the shot selection Federer uses that kills opponents. He makes opponents uncomfortable, he crafts points.

I couldn't agree with this more. In terms of battle strategies, I have never seen
anyone more multi-dimensional player in my life.(probably mainly within the domain of baseline
game although his net play is now effective strategy).

However, one thing I do not understand is his war strategy which seems to be
extremely simplistic to the level of idiocyncratically stubborn). His strategy is
1. break early take the lead
2. bring on all the shots and finish match quick.
3. If not, play conservatively, until taking the lead.
#3 is often exhibited on break chances( of course against Nadal). He almost always plays conservatively on break chances, especially when match is even or he is behind. Against Nadal, he has been sticking to this strategy 10 freaking years....

 

[jg153040]

I couldn't agree with this more. In terms of battle strategies, I have never seen
anyone more multi-dimensional player in my life.(probably mainly within the domain of baseline
game although his net play is now effective strategy).

However, one thing I do not understand is his war strategy which seems to be
extremely simplistic to the level of idiocyncratically stubborn). His strategy is
1. break early take the lead
2. bring on all the shots and finish match quick.
3. If not, play conservatively, until taking the lead.
#3 is often exhibited on break chances( of course against Nadal). He almost always plays conservatively on break chances, especially when match is even or he is behind.

Hey, nr.1 and nr.2 is how pretty everyone wants to play. But, they don't have the skills to do it, but that is the strategy of any player.
Who doesn't want to break early and take the lead and finish the match quickly?

But, yeah, I agree with nr.3. He does play conservatively on break points. Especially with return. And I don't know why. He still misses 2nd serve returns anyway, so it's not paying off. OMG, it's so hard to watch for a Fed fan him wasting so many 2nd serve returns. It's crazy. This cost Federer a lot.

He still misses like many 2nd serve returns even with being conservative. Not only that, but the ones he makes, are passive, so opponents dictate anyway.

He would have better success, if he closed his eyes and hit the hell out of the ball.

But ironically he does great vs big servers. I guess with his block, he uses their pace against them. In this case, his return is deadly, comes back fast.

 

[thomasferrett]

OP, you are correct. Federer lies awake at night wishing he had the serve of Berankis, the forehand of Smyczek, and the backhand of Dan Evans.

 

[jg153040]

OP, you are correct. Federer lies awake at night wishing he had the serve of Berankis, the forehand of Smyczek, and the backhand of Dan Evans.

Haha, pretty funny.

Although the OP needs to define what a journeyman is to him.

Remember, for some posters here Hewitt and Roddick are journeymen.

Although that player you created out of three journeyman. Give him Rafa's mentality and it would be pretty awesome player.

 

[TommyA8X]

Yeah, I agree, but only partly. He doesn't have the best fitness or mental toughness out there. But he compensates for that with smart play by ending points quickly and genius scheduling.

It's combination of many things. Sure, his serve is not the best, but it's very consistent and smart. So, ok, I give you this.

His top spin backhand is like that too. Not the best out there, but he is smart and works so well under pressure. His patterns are so random there, that nobody knows when he will hit down the line. When he hits down the line with the backhand, it's usually so random, that he gains the edge.

But, here is the part, I don't agree with you. His godly forehand and footwork and backhand slice are light years ahead of the rest. Even his net game.

So, yeah, he has forehand, slice, net game and footwork, but with his genius he compensates for poor top spin backhand and serve and lack of fitness and mentality.

Poor serve, lack of fitness and lack of mentality? :shock:

Wow, just wow :lol:

 

[Federer20042006]

People are so brainwashed to believe the "Federer is talented" mantra that they can't even see that Federer is an overachieving junkballer. When a pitcher's fastball doesn't top 85, we don't talk about how great his stuff is, we talk about how good he is at working the strike zone and using junk pitches to compensate.

What Smyczek did against Nadal last night, Federer could never do. Federer would've lost in straights...4 at most. Because when Federer's junk is rendered ineffective by the opponent, there's not much he can do.

 

[PeteD]

Watching tonight really cemented it for me - nobody does more with less. Federer's ground strokes are downright mediocre compared to the rest of the ATP tour...there are numerous journeymen with better ground strokes than Federer. Bolelli, Smyczek...they're everywhere. Ungur.

But it's the shot selection Federer uses that kills opponents. He makes opponents uncomfortable, he crafts points.

Of course, sometimes he appears to be a stupid player by playing ill-advised shots, but I now think that's because his general mindset is he has to always play his brand of strange tennis in order to have any chance to beat most players.

Even his serve is lacking power by ATP standards, but the way he mixes it up is unparalleled in the men's game. Opponents have no idea what he's going to do. That's why it's so effective.

Guy may have a point . . .

 

[Talker]

He has changed recently but many times in the past he'll give up the easy open court and hit right at the opponent and get burned.

Other times he mixes up his play and if it doesn't prove effective he'll continue to try to make it work.

There is probably a reason he does it but I have the feeling he's being stubborn and wants to show he can make it work.

When he lost the US Open to Del Potro, it seemed he wanted to show he could beat him at his game.

He learned from this but that might be the motivation he needed at the time, the challenge to play how he wants whether it's working or not.

 

[cigrmaster]

People are so brainwashed to believe the "Federer is talented" mantra that they can't even see that Federer is an overachieving junkballer. When a pitcher's fastball doesn't top 85, we don't talk about how great his stuff is, we talk about how good he is at working the strike zone and using junk pitches to compensate.

What Smyczek did against Nadal last night, Federer could never do. Federer would've lost in straights...4 at most. Because when Federer's junk is rendered ineffective by the opponent, there's not much he can do.

In the history of tennis only maybe( and this is a big maybe) Rod Laver played the all court game better than Federer. Federers natural instincs are second to none. His ability to hit the shot needed at the precise time is legendary. Yes there are times when he can be stubborn, but thankfully there are way more times when his instincs take over and he just hits the right shot at the right time.

His aresnal of shots at times can be a detriment only because he has so many choices, sometimes he just does not pick the perfect shot.

It is obvious the OP is a 13 year old troll because anyone who knows the game of tennis will tell you Rogers forehand may go down as top 2 in history. His serve which averages 120-129 may be the most accurate outside of Pete Sampras in the hostory of the game( people should also remember his second serve is top 5 in the game. His back hand while certainly not the biggest weapon has an icredible slice and a top spin that is far above average.

As Fed gets older, he has tailored his game to his age by making the points shorter and going to net a lot more. At 33 to have his rank, is pretty dam special.

 

[smoledman]

Did Shanghai not happen? I thought he showed a lot of zip on the groundies there.

 

[smoledman]

People are so brainwashed to believe the "Federer is talented" mantra that they can't even see that Federer is an overachieving junkballer. When a pitcher's fastball doesn't top 85, we don't talk about how great his stuff is, we talk about how good he is at working the strike zone and using junk pitches to compensate.

What Smyczek did against Nadal last night, Federer could never do. Federer would've lost in straights...4 at most. Because when Federer's junk is rendered ineffective by the opponent, there's not much he can do.

Yet Federer has 10 wins against Nadal and Smyzczek 0.

 

[Tennis_Hands]

Watching tonight really cemented it for me - nobody does more with less. Federer's ground strokes are downright mediocre compared to the rest of the ATP tour...there are numerous journeymen with better ground strokes than Federer. Bolelli, Smyczek...they're everywhere. Ungur.

But it's the shot selection Federer uses that kills opponents. He makes opponents uncomfortable, he crafts points.

Of course, sometimes he appears to be a stupid player by playing ill-advised shots, but I now think that's because his general mindset is he has to always play his brand of strange tennis in order to have any chance to beat most players.

Even his serve is lacking power by ATP standards, but the way he mixes it up is unparalleled in the men's game. Opponents have no idea what he's going to do. That's why it's so effective.

This post is so dumb that I will put you immediately on my ignore list.

 

[jg153040]

Poor serve, lack of fitness and lack of mentality? :shock:

Wow, just wow :lol:

Relative to other greats. Let's be honest here. He doesn't have some goat serve. He isn't a fitness freak like Rafa and Borg or even Djokovic.

And is mentality was always a bit fragile, since his early days. He came a long way since then, but he still has some minor issues.

If we compare his fitness, mentality and serve to his godly footwork and forehand, they aren't there.

 

[jga111]

"Federer is the smartest player in tennis, and it isn't even close"

This is like saying the sky is blue.

He is 34 years old and still mixing it up with the best. On form he is probably the #1 player in the world right now...at 34 years old! You can only do that if you're smart - not just about your tennis, but what you do when you're not playing tennis. He looks after himself well, sleeps well, recovers well. Smart on and off the court.

Regarding his groundstrokes; some people only perceive them to be 'average' purely because he is not overly cavalier like Gasquet (with the BH) and doesn't hit as many winners (a younger RF would have a higher winner count) - but remember how close he plays to he baseline. His timing is world class and the effectiveness of his shots are there for people to see.

 

[Tennis_Bum]

Watching tonight really cemented it for me - nobody does more with less. Federer's ground strokes are downright mediocre compared to the rest of the ATP tour...there are numerous journeymen with better ground strokes than Federer. Bolelli, Smyczek...they're everywhere. Ungur.

But it's the shot selection Federer uses that kills opponents. He makes opponents uncomfortable, he crafts points.

Of course, sometimes he appears to be a stupid player by playing ill-advised shots, but I now think that's because his general mindset is he has to always play his brand of strange tennis in order to have any chance to beat most players.

Even his serve is lacking power by ATP standards, but the way he mixes it up is unparalleled in the men's game. Opponents have no idea what he's going to do. That's why it's so effective.

He should you as his coach and fire that lazy-azz, tennis-coach impostor Edberg who doesn't know anything about tennis. Perhaps, then he will win those 20+ slams.

 

[racquetreligion]

lol edberg coach imposter lol

 

[junior74]

People are so brainwashed to believe the "Federer is talented" mantra that they can't even see that Federer is an overachieving junkballer.

This is one for the books

 

[Deleted member 688153]

@OP - You're a funny guy.
I assume you are a Federer fan.

It's quite obvious Federer is the smartest on tour, you're right about that.
You simply cannot teach what Federer does.

His groundstrokes aren't mediocre though, come off it.
You can't call yourself a Federer fan if you unfairly put him down like that.

Federer an "overachieving junkballer".
So wrong it's actually amusing, I genuinely thank you for posting that - as I said, you're a funny guy!

Federer is quite underrated, both on here and in general.

His backhand is underrated especially, as is his serve (best on tour for his height by far).
He has underachieved at 17 GS too, for his calibre 20-25 is more on the mark, probably like 22 or something, but maybe more with the right draws.

Under better conditions (no kryptonite and also 2nd best all-time rival), he gains practically automatically:

- AO 2009 (and probably one of AO 2012 and 2014)
- RG 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2011
- WIM 2008

Also he was very unlucky not to get AO 2005 and USO 2009.

So that's 28 assuming he recieves no mental benefits.

 

[Federer20042006]

Yet Federer has 10 wins against Nadal and Smyzczek 0.

Smyczek: 0-1 (5 set loss)
Federer: 10-23

 

[jg153040]

People are so brainwashed to believe the "Federer is talented" mantra that they can't even see that Federer is an overachieving junkballer. When a pitcher's fastball doesn't top 85, we don't talk about how great his stuff is, we talk about how good he is at working the strike zone and using junk pitches to compensate.

What Smyczek did against Nadal last night, Federer could never do. Federer would've lost in straights...4 at most. Because when Federer's junk is rendered ineffective by the opponent, there's not much he can do.

You have a point, but your point is still a lot exaggerated. The truth is somewhere in between.

Federer doesn't have the tools to blow you off the court, but that doesn't mean he is just a junkballer. Why do you have to take it from one extreme to another?

True, Federer does use pace of their opponents a lot. That's why he has trouble with heavy spin players, can't use it as much. But that doesn't mean he can't blow you off the court. Just not in a way peak Soderling can.

Federer is jack of all trades, master of very few. But, he is still very high level at all of those.

If you are 9 out of 10 in every aspect of the game, this still is very dangerous.

Also, Federer last years became more passive. Surfaces dictated this. But, have you seen him between 2003-2009? He was blowing people off the court then.

But, I agree his fans exaggerate a lot and want Federer to be goat in every freaking category.

 

[racquetreligion]

I remember seen Fed in 2002 and thinking this guy could be awesome if he got his head out of his shorts but not only he turned out to be good but he won so many slams on slowed down courts and bigger balls so the rest of the world could catch up to Fed and Rafa.

If courts where like in the 80s and 90s Fed would have at least 22 slams

Rafa & Nole would not win a single Wimby and the only place he would fail and fail again would be to Rafa on clay cause even from then I saw his Feds BH to be the only weakness that he should improve on.

By no means is Feds BH a weak shot but its not the weapon of Stan, Gasquet, Almagro, Kuerten, Youzhney, Sela and many other great SBHanders Ive left out.

Bolelli attacked that BH and it fell apart in that first set where someone like the above would be able to keep bombs back into play or hit counter winners. Im sure Edberg knows this well and has made efforts to improve the weaker side of Fed.

Nadal is not as effective to players with good back hands, I remember Nalbandian smashing him when he tried to play David like Roger. Nalbandians cross court BH into Feds BH was the main reason Fed lost to David in China.

 

[90's Clay]

Nonsense.. He still as one of the greatest FH's of all time and can place it right and one of the best serves on tour as far as accuracy mixed with speed go.

Shot selection, strategy etc? There is hardly ANY of that in the game now. This isn't exactly the 1960's-1990's anymore. Now its just let loose with your bazooka racket from the baseline

 

[jelle v]

Watching tonight really cemented it for me - nobody does more with less. Federer's ground strokes are downright mediocre compared to the rest of the ATP tour...there are numerous journeymen with better ground strokes than Federer. Bolelli, Smyczek...they're everywhere. Ungur.

OMGROFLMFAO... seriuously, good trolling attempt though..

 

[jga111]

Shot selection, strategy etc? There is hardly ANY of that in the game now. This isn't exactly the 1960's-1990's anymore. Now its just let loose with your bazooka racket from the baseline

There is definitely strategy involved. Yes more often than not the 'bazooka' strategy is enforced but from Fed's perspective, I've noticed his return of serve, when he returns from deep, his use of the slice. The only reason why Fed is doing so while at the ripe age of 34 is because he is mixing it up constantly and keeping his opponents guessing. His strategy changes organically during the match when his plays are not rewarding him with any points...definitely the smartest player around.

 

[dh003i]

@OP - You're a funny guy.
I assume you are a Federer fan.

It's quite obvious Federer is the smartest on tour, you're right about that.
You simply cannot teach what Federer does.

His groundstrokes aren't mediocre though, come off it.
You can't call yourself a Federer fan if you unfairly put him down like that.

Federer an "overachieving junkballer".
So wrong it's actually amusing, I genuinely thank you for posting that - as I said, you're a funny guy!

Federer is quite underrated, both on here and in general.

His backhand is underrated especially, as is his serve (best on tour for his height by far).
He has underachieved at 17 GS too, for his calibre 20-25 is more on the mark, probably like 22 or something, but maybe more with the right draws.

Under better conditions (no kryptonite and also 2nd best all-time rival), he gains practically automatically:

- AO 2009 (and probably one of AO 2012 and 2014)
- RG 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2011
- WIM 2008

Also he was very unlucky not to get AO 2005 and USO 2009.

So that's 28 assuming he recieves no mental benefits.

I think that on the basis of his talent, Federer probably should have won at least 1 FO against Nadal. Yes, Nadal is the greatest player of his time on clay, but Federer was #2 there and talented enough that he should have been able to get one. Maybe 2007 where he had all those breakpoints, or 2011 where he played strong on his backhand side and Nadal wasn't at his best.

Regarding AO 2009, W 2008, AO 2005, W 2012, yes these were all very close matches that he could have possibly pulled out. But we could also say he'd have less Majors if not for some close ones he did pull out (W 2007, W 2009).

 

[Federer20042006]

I remember seen Fed in 2002 and thinking this guy could be awesome if he got his head out of his shorts but not only he turned out to be good but he won so many slams on slowed down courts and bigger balls so the rest of the world could catch up to Fed and Rafa.

If courts where like in the 80s and 90s Fed would have at least 22 slams

Rafa & Nole would not win a single Wimby and the only place he would fail and fail again would be to Rafa on clay cause even from then I saw his Feds BH to be the only weakness that he should improve on.

By no means is Feds BH a weak shot but its not the weapon of Stan, Gasquet, Almagro, Kuerten, Youzhney, Sela and many other great SBHanders Ive left out.

Bolelli attacked that BH and it fell apart in that first set where someone like the above would be able to keep bombs back into play or hit counter winners. Im sure Edberg knows this well and has made efforts to improve the weaker side of Fed.

Nadal is not as effective to players with good back hands, I remember Nalbandian smashing him when he tried to play David like Roger. Nalbandians cross court BH into Feds BH was the main reason Fed lost to David in China.

LOL @ "improving Federer's backhand." Federer has been in pro tennis for 15 years now. How many freak'n years are people going to talk about him "improving his backhand" when it only gets worse and worse?

Moreover, his forehand is the most overrated shot in the history of tennis. Errors galore, little power. It's not even in the same universe as Nadal's, and I hate Nadal. Nadal can put his anywhere on the dime.

It's not only Bolelli, it's guys like Ungur. It's guys like Giraldo. The dreaded blind-red-lining Chardy takes the match out of Federer's hand, too. Smyczek was hitting jumping 2-handers, Rios-style, while Federer would be completely helpless against Nadal, just trying to keep the ball in play.

 

[jg153040]

LOL @ "improving Federer's backhand." Federer has been in pro tennis for 15 years now. How many freak'n years are people going to talk about him "improving his backhand" when it only gets worse and worse?

Moreover, his forehand is the most overrated shot in the history of tennis. Errors galore, little power. It's not even in the same universe as Nadal's, and I hate Nadal. Nadal can put his anywhere on the dime.

It's not only Bolelli, it's guys like Ungur. It's guys like Giraldo. The dreaded blind-red-lining Chardy takes the match out of Federer's hand, too. Smyczek was hitting jumping 2-handers, Rios-style, while Federer would be completely helpless against Nadal, just trying to keep the ball in play.

Federer was nr.2 in 2008, he is nr.2 in 2015. His backhand couldn't have gotten that worse if he can still be nr.2 after 7 years.

 

[Federer20042006]

In the history of tennis only maybe( and this is a big maybe) Rod Laver played the all court game better than Federer. Federers natural instincs are second to none. His ability to hit the shot needed at the precise time is legendary. Yes there are times when he can be stubborn, but thankfully there are way more times when his instincs take over and he just hits the right shot at the right time.

His aresnal of shots at times can be a detriment only because he has so many choices, sometimes he just does not pick the perfect shot.

It is obvious the OP is a 13 year old troll because anyone who knows the game of tennis will tell you Rogers forehand may go down as top 2 in history. His serve which averages 120-129 may be the most accurate outside of Pete Sampras in the hostory of the game( people should also remember his second serve is top 5 in the game. His back hand while certainly not the biggest weapon has an icredible slice and a top spin that is far above average.

As Fed gets older, he has tailored his game to his age by making the points shorter and going to net a lot more. At 33 to have his rank, is pretty dam special.

Federer's serve averages 110, not 120-129. A "big bomb" from Federer is 125 down the T.

His slice sits up waiting to be hit. Some players struggle with it, others kill it. It's mostly just a shot he uses to stay in the point because he's getting pummeled from the stronger opponent.

 

[jg153040]

Federer's serve averages 110, not 120-129. A "big bomb" from Federer is 125 down the T.

His slice sits up waiting to be hit. Some players struggle with it, others kill it. It's mostly just a shot he uses to stay in the point because he's getting pummeled from the stronger opponent.

Sure, but Fed is almost 34. He needs his experience and genius to compensate for his huge decline.

But in his prime, his strokes weren't on the journeymen level .