Federer vs. Sampras Shot per Shot

Nadalgaenger

Nadalgaenger

G.O.A.T.
How do Fed and Sampras compare shot per shot? I rate each on a scale of 1-10

Here is my humble analysis:

Forehand: Federer 10 Sampras 9 (Federer has more variety and better precision)

Serve: Sampras 10 Federer 10 (Sampras is better here but Federer earns a 10 anyway, as he has one of the greatest serves of all time in his own right)

Topspin Backhand: Sampras 7 Federer 8 (clearly the weakness of both players. I am not sure if Pete's BH would hold up in current era).

Slice Backhand: Federer 10 Sampras 9 I see a clear edge for Fed here although Sampras used the chip and charge so much and so effectively it is hard to criticize him.

Dropshot: Federer 10 Sampras 7 (Did Pete use the dropshot a lot? Fed's is devastating).

Volley Sampras 10 Federer 8 (Clear edge to Pete here, maybe the second or third best volley ever after JMac and Edberg?)

Return of Serve: Sampras 7 Federer 6 (huge liability for both players IMO. Fed could easily improve his H2H against Nadal if he had a better return, particularly on the BH return).
 
Nadalgaenger said:
How do Fed and Sampras compare shot per shot? I rate each on a scale of 1-10

Here is my humble analysis:

Forehand: Federer 10 Sampras 9 (Federer has more variety and better precision)

Serve: Sampras 10 Federer 10 (Sampras is better here but Federer earns a 10 anyway, as he has one of the greatest serves of all time in his own right)

Topspin Backhand: Sampras 7 Federer 8 (clearly the weakness of both players. I am not sure if Pete's BH would hold up in current era).

Slice Backhand: Federer 10 Sampras 9 I see a clear edge for Fed here although Sampras used the chip and charge so much and so effectively it is hard to criticize him.

Dropshot: Federer 10 Sampras 7 (Did Pete use the dropshot a lot? Fed's is devastating).

Volley Sampras 10 Federer 8 (Clear edge to Pete here, maybe the second or third best volley ever after JMac and Edberg?)

Return of Serve: Sampras 7 Federer 6 (huge liability for both players IMO. Fed could easily improve his H2H against Nadal if he had a better return, particularly on the BH return).
Click to expand...

I am now dumber for having read this, especially the highlighted part.
 
Nadalgaenger said:
How do Fed and Sampras compare shot per shot? I rate each on a scale of 1-10

Here is my humble analysis:

Forehand: Federer 10 Sampras 9 (Federer has more variety and better precision)

Serve: Sampras 10 Federer 10 (Sampras is better here but Federer earns a 10 anyway, as he has one of the greatest serves of all time in his own right)

Topspin Backhand: Sampras 7 Federer 8 (clearly the weakness of both players. I am not sure if Pete's BH would hold up in current era).

Slice Backhand: Federer 10 Sampras 9 I see a clear edge for Fed here although Sampras used the chip and charge so much and so effectively it is hard to criticize him.

Dropshot: Federer 10 Sampras 7 (Did Pete use the dropshot a lot? Fed's is devastating).

Volley Sampras 10 Federer 8 (Clear edge to Pete here, maybe the second or third best volley ever after JMac and Edberg?)

Return of Serve: Sampras 7 Federer 6 (huge liability for both players IMO. Fed could easily improve his H2H against Nadal if he had a better return, particularly on the BH return).
Click to expand...

Federer's return is better than Sampras's. Fed's is probably an 8 or so with Sampras's being 7, but if Sampras is a 10 on serve, Federer is a 9. I have to give Sampras the edge on serve.
 
Disagree with:

-backhand. Federer has a way better backhand than Sampras. 8-6 for Fed.
-serve. As good as Federer's serve is Sampras just tops him. 10-9 Sampras.
-slice backhand. Federer 10-8
-return of serve - are you kidding me? Since when does Sampras have a better return than Federer? 9-7 for Federer.
 
Sampras was nowhere near Federer in returning. Returning is about more than being aggressive. Federer defused big servers as well as anyone who has played in a long time.

Federer's top spin backhand is also eons better than Sampras's. If Sampras had a backhand and return like Federer, he would have been invincible for about 5-7 years.

Likewise, if Federer had Sampras's serve and volleys (and quicker courts to execute them on), he'd never lose.
 
Say Chi Sin Lo said:
This just invalidated your list. If you give Sampras a 10 on serves, then everyone else is at best a 7 on their good day.
Click to expand...

It doesn't mean everybody else is at best a 7, but Federer is clearly below Sampras on serve. Guys like Sampras, Isner, Karlovic, and Ivanisevic are 10's, so Federer has to be 8 or 9, and I think he's a 9.

Insert dirty joke here.
 
Forehand: Federer 9, Sampras 8

Serve: Federer's serve looks a lot better and so I pick his over Goran or Pete with the exception of Joachim Johansson--the best serve!:wink:

Topspin Backhand: Federer 9, Sampras 8

Slice Backhand: Federer 9 Sampras 7 for chippng and charging and why? Because he can't afford to be caught in a battle of the baselines!

Dropshot: Federer 9 Sampras 8

Volley Sampras 9 Federer 8 (if only Fed did more seve & volleys)

Return of Serve: Federer 9, Sampras 8 (try returning A-Rod's serve)
 
Forehand: Federer 10 Sampras 8.5

Backhand topspin: Federer 8 Sampras 6.5

Backhand slice: Federer 9 Sampras 8

Serve: Sampras 9 Federer 8

Volley: Sampras 9 Federer 8

Drop shot: Federer 9 Sampras ? don't know this one

Return: Federer 8 Sampras 7
 
Peak for peak...

Serve: Sampras 10, Federer - 9
Forehand: Federer 10, Sampras 9
Top spin Backhand: Federer 9, Sampras 7
Slice backhand: Federer 9.5, Sampras 8
Volleys: Sampras - 9, Federer - 7.5
Return: Federer - 9, Sampras - 7
 
Forehand: Federer 10 Sampras 9

Backhand Topspin: Federer 8 Sampras 7

Backhand Slice: Federer 10 Sampras 8

Serve: Sampras 10 Federer 9.5

Volley: Sampras 9.5 Federer 8

Drop Shot: Federer 9.5 Sampras (n/a).

Return: Federer 8.5 Sampras 7
 
Return - Fed
Serve - Sampras

(what I'd do differently to the OP effort)
 
Sampras-Federer:

Serve: 10-7 (Compare Agassi returning them, Fed is perfect on his first FH rather than the serve)
Return: 5-7 (Fed block returns too much, Sampras non-existent)
FH: 9-10
BH TS: 6-9 (Fed is underrated, how could he reach so many RG finals without good BH TS?)
BH slice: 7-10 (Fed short slice/FH combo got him where he is!)
Volleys: 10-7 (Fed is overrated, he got only easy volleys in prime)
 
torpantennis said:
Sampras-Federer:

Serve: 10-7 (Compare Agassi returning them, Fed is perfect on his first FH rather than the serve)
Return: 5-7 (Fed block returns too much, Sampras non-existent)
FH: 9-10
BH TS: 6-9 (Fed is underrated, how could he reach so many RG finals without good BH TS?)
BH slice: 7-10 (Fed short slice/FH combo got him where he is!)
Volleys: 10-7 (Fed is overrated, he got only easy volleys in prime)
Click to expand...

Could agree more with your scores.
And the bold part is a great point. Nadal is the only player who's ever had response to the Federer combo formula.
 
Nadalgaenger said:
Here is my humble analysis:

Forehand: Federer 10 Sampras 9 (Federer has more variety and better precision)

Serve: Sampras 10 Federer 10 (Sampras is better here but Federer earns a 10 anyway, as he has one of the greatest serves of all time in his own right)

Topspin Backhand: Sampras 7 Federer 8 (clearly the weakness of both players. I am not sure if Pete's BH would hold up in current era). ..
Click to expand...
If they're only being viewed relative to each other then is Sampras' serve is a 10 Federer's must be lower - that much is clear.

But, the flip side is Federer's forehand is further ahead in the scale than Sampras's serve is in the serve scale.

So if serves are Sampras 10 - Federer 9 then forehand should be more Federer 10 - Sampras *lower than 9*

Despite Sampras's forehand being awesome it was really awesome insomuch as he could play how he wanted. When he couldn't - as clay demonstrated - the gap between what they could do with their forehands is quite stark.

Ditto for the topspin backhand. The gap between their backhands should be even greater than for their forehands.
 
Forehand - Fed: 9.5 Sampras:8
Backhand - Fed: 8, Sampras: 6
Slice Backhand - Fed: 8, Sampras: 8
Serve - Fed: 7.5, Sampras: 9
Volleys - Fed: 7, Sampras: 9
Returns - Fed: 6, Sampras: 5
 
fed has a big edge in return (I say 8 to 6) and topspin BH (8 to 5).

sampras topspin BH was a very mediocre shot. he occasionally would rip a winner but overall not a great shot.

sampras only has a slight edge in his serve and maybe volleys.
 
Forehand: Fed 10, Sampras 10 (Fed with the inside/out FH, Pete with the running FH. Both GOAT shots

Backhand- Fed 7, Pete 6. A weakness in both their games

Slice BK- Fed 8, Pete 6

Overhead- Sampras 10, Fed 9


Serve- Pete 10, Fed 8


Volleys- Pete 9.5, Fed 7

Returns- Fed 8, Pete 7

Mental Toughness : Sampras 10, Fed 8


Athleticism: Pete 9.5, Fed 8


Advantage GOATmpras
 
I don't how people come out with raw numbers but here's what I think -

Forehand - Fed
BH(both slice and topspin) - Fed
Serve - Pete
Volley - Pete
Return - Fed
 
90's Clay said:
Forehand: Fed 10, Sampras 10 (Fed with the inside/out FH, Pete with the running FH. Both GOAT shots

Backhand- Fed 7, Pete 6. A weakness in both their games

Slice BK- Fed 8, Pete 6

Overhead- Sampras 10, Fed 9


Serve- Pete 10, Fed 8


Volleys- Pete 9.5, Fed 7

Returns- Fed 8, Pete 7

Mental Toughness : Sampras 10, Fed 8


Athleticism: Pete 9.5, Fed 8


Advantage GOATmpras
Click to expand...

Well Sampras could only dream of Fed's off-balance BH overheads, the toughest shot in the book. And I doubt Pete could pull off overheads from the edge of the service box with as much control as Fed does.
 
90's Clay said:
Forehand: Fed 10, Sampras 10 (Fed with the inside/out FH, Pete with the running FH. Both GOAT shots

Backhand- Fed 7, Pete 6. A weakness in both their games

Slice BK- Fed 8, Pete 6

Overhead- Sampras 10, Fed 9


Serve- Pete 10, Fed 8


Volleys- Pete 9.5, Fed 7

Returns- Fed 8, Pete 7

Mental Toughness : Sampras 10, Fed 8


Athleticism: Pete 9.5, Fed 8


Advantage GOATmpras
Click to expand...

… huh? What? :?
 
90's Clay said:
Neither can someone with a 10-23 h2h and 2-8 or 2-9 slam h2h vs. his/her main rival either then
Click to expand...

his main rival is significantly younger. Also his main rival failed to reach a single large final against him (other than on clay) during his prime, because he lost to the supposedly "weak" competition, but no matter.

Look, even Pete says that Roger is the GOAT. I greatly respect Pete for his achievements, but there's no reason to get so bitter. The two are friends and respect each other and I'm sure we can do the same (also referring to you Graf=GOAT).
 
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90's Clay said:
Forehand: Fed 10, Sampras 10 (Fed with the inside/out FH, Pete with the running FH. Both GOAT shots

Backhand- Fed 7, Pete 6. A weakness in both their games

Slice BK- Fed 8, Pete 6

Overhead- Sampras 10, Fed 9


Serve- Pete 10, Fed 8


Volleys- Pete 9.5, Fed 7

Returns- Fed 8, Pete 7

Mental Toughness : Sampras 10, Fed 8


Athleticism: Pete 9.5, Fed 8


Advantage GOATmpras
Click to expand...

Overhead Sampras 10 Federer 9? Based on Sampras' dunks? What a joke. Federer never misses an overhead and I've seen him hit smashes that Sampras wouldn't even dream of pulling off. Federer 10 Sampras 9

A 2,5 point difference on the volleys but only 1 for the backhand? What a freaking joke. Federer's backhand owns Sampras' backhnad and you can't say the same thing about the volleys in reverse, not even close.

9,5 on athleticism for Sampras and 8 for Federer? Get out of here.
 
BeGreat said:
Seriously. What's the point of saying "person A is better than person B at X but they both are also equal"
Click to expand...

Agreed. I would say Sampras 12 and Fed 9 in his mid-20s and 7.5-8 since age 29-30. It is not that I necessarily think that Fed's serve has gotten weaker in terms of power and placement. But as he has gotten older I think his ability to hit big serves at big moments has declined in a big way. In contrast, Sampras' serve in all its undiminished glory was there until the very end of his career.

The rest of the OPs comparisons look reasonable.
 
Forehand - Clear winner: Fed - more rpms, more accurate. More variety. Federer inside out forehand is more lethal than Sampras running forehand simply because it is used more.

Backhand - Tied - Fed has more variety, but Sampras was a little more stable.

Serve - Clear winner: Sampras - Not much to explain here, Sampras had the best serve of all time imo.

Volleys - Clear winner Sampras - Better touch, more penetrating, but Federer has a great stretch volley.

Overheads - Clear winner Sampras - Slam dunk, need I say more?

Returns - Clear winner Fed - Return game was not Pete's strong suit. He was a high risk, high reward kind of player, and had no patience to grind out service breaks. Fed just has more variety on the return and can handle big servers really well.

Movement - Clear winner Fed - Sampras was no slouch, but Fed is one of the best movers of all time.

Overall winner: Fed by a hair.
 
Nadalgaenger said:
How do Fed and Sampras compare shot per shot? I rate each on a scale of 1-10

Here is my humble analysis:

Forehand: Federer 10 Sampras 9 (Federer has more variety and better precision)

Serve: Sampras 10 Federer 10 (Sampras is better here but Federer earns a 10 anyway, as he has one of the greatest serves of all time in his own right)

Topspin Backhand: Sampras 7 Federer 8 (clearly the weakness of both players. I am not sure if Pete's BH would hold up in current era).

Slice Backhand: Federer 10 Sampras 9 I see a clear edge for Fed here although Sampras used the chip and charge so much and so effectively it is hard to criticize him.

Dropshot: Federer 10 Sampras 7 (Did Pete use the dropshot a lot? Fed's is devastating).

Volley Sampras 10 Federer 8 (Clear edge to Pete here, maybe the second or third best volley ever after JMac and Edberg?)

Return of Serve: Sampras 7 Federer 6 (huge liability for both players IMO. Fed could easily improve his H2H against Nadal if he had a better return, particularly on the BH return).
Click to expand...

So Federer's FH, serve, slice backhand, and dropshot are all equally as good as each other?
 
Forehand: Federer 10, Sampras 7
Serve: Federer 8 Sampras 10
Topspin Backhand: Federer 8, Sampras 5
Slice Backhand: Federer 9 Sampras 6
Volley Sampras 8 Federer 7
Return of Serve: Federer 8, Sampras 6
Movement: Federer 9, Sampras 8
Defense: Federer 8, Sampras 6

On this scale, a "10" is a GOAT caliber stroke with a "5" being an average pro level stroke. The only thing close to average with either player was Pete's backhand.

It's an interesting comparison, but about the only thing Pete really has the advantage would be the serve, and Federer's serve is also really good. It's a mismatch off the ground though, with Federer likely to have a huge advantage on balls in play more then 3-4 shots.

When you have the GOAT serve (or at worst #2 after Karlovic), you will always be competitive as it's such a critical part of the game. On hard courts and grass, I think it would be a really close head to head if they were to play 15-20 matches. On a good serving day, Pete is a really tough out and has most matches on his racquet. On just an average day, he would lose frequently against Federer.
 
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Serve- Sampras 10, Federer 9
Forehand- Federer 10, Sampras 9
Topspin Backhand- Federer 8, Sampras 6.5
Slice Backhand- Federer- 9, Sampras 8
Volleys- Sampras 9.5, Federer 8
Return of Serve- Federer 7.5, Sampras 6.5
 
Forehand: Fed 10, Sampras 8

(Sampras' running forehand was a 10. Otherwise, the shot was inconsistent. his forehand was exposed on clay, where it was not a dominating shot like Fed and Nadal's forehands are.)

Backhand drive - Fed 8, Pete 6 (If Fed played in the 90s everyone would be saying he had the best one-hander of all time. If Pete played now his backhand would get picked on to the point of tragedy.)

Slice BK- Fed 10, Pete 8

Overhead- Sampras 10, Fed 9

Serve- Pete 10, Fed 8.5 (Fed's serve is excellent, but Pete's serves were both GOAT contenders.)

Volleys- Pete 9, Fed 8

Returns- Fed 8, Pete 6.5 (Why? Look at their Wimby match. They basically served to a draw because Fed's return was about as much better than Pete's return as Pete's serve was better than Fed's.)

Mental Toughness : Sampras 9, Fed 8

Athleticism: Pete 9.5, Fed 9
 
Even though I agree Sampras has the edge in the serve and the volley, however I think it's an unfair comparison since it's harder to volley today than in the 90s. Player's today generate more topspin and action on the ball which is harder to handle, and with ball bounce higher, it's also harder to put it away. The slower court and heavier also hinder the servers. I think Federer serve would be a notch better in the 90s, especially on grass when it's faster, more slicker.
 
Graf=GOAT said:
Someone who never made a single French Open final, can't be GOAT, sorry to say.
Click to expand...

I think he can, if he has tons of other stuff to make up for it.

For example if Sampras had 20 majors with his clay record and more weeks nr.1, that would make up for his FO failures.

I also don't think a person needs to win all majors. Just that Sampras has only one semi. If he had a few RG finals losing only to clay greats, lack of FO title wouldn't be that big.

I don't think it's lack of RG title why Sampras can't be goat. It's that he doesn't have other stuff to make up for it: like multiple RG finals and 18 majors or more weeks nr.1.

Sampras has amazing records. But when you are going against a guy who has 3 more majors and 5 RG finals+win, this stuff becomes a big hole relative to Federer.
 
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SpinToWin said:
his main rival is significantly younger. Also his main rival failed to reach a single large final against him (other than on clay) during his prime, because he lost to the supposedly "weak" competition, but no matter.

Look, even Pete says that Roger is the GOAT. I greatly respect Pete for his achievements, but there's no reason to get so bitter. The two are friends and respect each other and I'm sure we can do the same (also referring to you Graf=GOAT).
Click to expand...

when was federer's prime?
 
jg153040 said:
I think he can, if he has tons of other stuff to make up for it.

For example if Sampras had 20 majors with his clay record and more weeks nr.1, that would make up for his FO failures.

I also don't think a person needs to win all majors. Just that Sampras has only one semi. If he had a few RG finals losing only to clay greats, lack of FO title wouldn't be that big.

I don't think it's lack of RG title why Sampras can't be goat. It's that he doesn't have other stuff to make up for it: like multiple RG finals and 18 majors or more weeks nr.1.

Sampras has amazing records. But when you are going against a guy who has 3 more majors and 5 RG finals+win, this stuff becomes a big hole relative to Federer.
Click to expand...

That's an important point. There is nothing which Sampras really has over Federer anymore.

If we compare the Slams, Federer clearly outclassed Sampras at the first two of the year. In Wimbledon they are quite even with maybe a slight edge to Federer with the additional final. At the US Open we have the opposite with a slight edge for Sampras so far.

The year-end-championship is slightly in Federer's favor, and the Masters Series tournaments by a big margin. I don't count the Olympics because Sampras never really competed there.

In overall titles Federer is clearly ahead, and his peak dominance over the field was way more impressive than Pete's. There was only one year (1994) where Sampras was really dominant, and this only half a season before an injury. Federer had no bad losses from early 2005 to early 2007. Sampras lost to no-names through his hole career, and even at slams during his prime.

The only thing biased Sampras fans can put into play are the 6 consecutive years as number one. But points-wise Federer was the better player in every year if we compare 1993-1998 to 2003-2008. Or would anyone argue that Sampras in 1998 was better than Federer in 2008? It's just that Nadal in 2008 was a bit better than him.

I was a Sampras fan myself in his days, but it's laughable what "arguments" some of his biased fans come up with today. The worst of them all is the myth about the unbelievable strong opponents he had to deal with. But if we really compare the opponents Sampras and Federer played against in the final staged of majors, it wouldn't look good for Pete. And yes, maybe there were indeed more slam champions in the field in Pete's days, but this is an argument PRO Federer! He wouldn't let players like Moya or Krajicek win slams in his prime! Who laughs about Baghdatis, Hewitt, Roddick etc. should also name Pioline, Voltchkov and so on, and should also not forget that Sampras had a negative head-to-head with the most important players of the "weak" Federer generation, despite retiring quite early.

To go on-topic, my comparison would look like this:

Forehand: Fed 10, Pete 9
Backhand: Fed 8, Pete 6
Slice Backhand: Fed 9, Pete 7
Serve: Fed 9, Pete 10
Volley: Fed 8, Pete 9
Overhead: Fed 10, Pete 10
Return: Fed 8, Pete 6
Mental Toughness: Fed 8, Pete 9
Athleticism: Fed 9, Pete 7
 
ChrisRF said:
That's an important point. There is nothing which Sampras really has over Federer anymore.

If we compare the Slams, Federer clearly outclassed Sampras at the first two of the year. In Wimbledon they are quite even with maybe a slight edge to Federer with the additional final. At the US Open we have the opposite with a slight edge for Sampras so far.

The year-end-championship is slightly in Federer's favor, and the Masters Series tournaments by a big margin. I don't count the Olympics because Sampras never really competed there.

In overall titles Federer is clearly ahead, and his peak dominance over the field was way more impressive than Pete's. There was only one year (1994) where Sampras was really dominant, and this only half a season before an injury. Federer had no bad losses from early 2005 to early 2007. Sampras lost to no-names through his hole career, and even at slams during his prime.

The only thing biased Sampras fans can put into play are the 6 consecutive years as number one. But points-wise Federer was the better player in every year if we compare 1993-1998 to 2003-2008. Or would anyone argue that Sampras in 1998 was better than Federer in 2008? It's just that Nadal in 2008 was a bit better than him.

I was a Sampras fan myself in his days, but it's laughable what "arguments" some of his biased fans come up with today. The worst of them all is the myth about the unbelievable strong opponents he had to deal with. But if we really compare the opponents Sampras and Federer played against in the final staged of majors, it wouldn't look good for Pete. And yes, maybe there were indeed more slam champions in the field in Pete's days, but this is an argument PRO Federer! He wouldn't let players like Moya or Krajicek win slams in his prime! Who laughs about Baghdatis, Hewitt, Roddick etc. should also name Pioline, Voltchkov and so on, and should also not forget that Sampras had a negative head-to-head with the most important players of the "weak" Federer generation, despite retiring quite early.

To go on-topic, my comparison would look like this:

Forehand: Fed 10, Pete 9
Backhand: Fed 8, Pete 6
Slice Backhand: Fed 9, Pete 7
Serve: Fed 9, Pete 10
Volley: Fed 8, Pete 9
Overhead: Fed 10, Pete 10
Return: Fed 8, Pete 6
Mental Toughness: Fed 8, Pete 9
Athleticism: Fed 9, Pete 7
Click to expand...

Yeah, it's not lack of RG title that hurts Pete, but tons of other stuff also.

Ok, back on topic, here is how I see it.
Forehand:Fed 10, Pete 9
Backhand: Fed 8.5, Pete 6
Slice backhand: Fed 10, Pete 7.5
First serve:Fed 9, Pete 10
Second serve: Fed 8.5, Pete 10
Volley: Fed 8, Pete 9
Overhead:Fed 9.5, Pete 10
Return: Fed 9, Pete 7
Mental tougness: Fed 9.5, Pete 9.5
Athleticism: Fed 9, Pete 8
Fitness: Fed 9, Pete 6
 
NatF said:
Don't be ridiculous...mid 03-early 2010 was his prime, with an honorable mention to his level of play in 2012.
Click to expand...

After 2006 his level dropped significantly. Up until that point he used the short slice/FH combo very efficiently, hit on the rise a lot, and as a result approached the net. Then after 2006 he WASTED all his energy in trying to battle against Nadal on clay, WITH NADAL'S GAMEPLAN, i.e backing up and loopy strokes. That's not his style, perfect serving saved his butt in 2007, but after that the 2004-2006 level of playing never came back, even though he had some good results.
 
torpantennis said:
After 2006 his level dropped significantly. Up until that point he used the short slice/FH combo very efficiently, hit on the rise a lot, and as a result approached the net. Then after 2006 he WASTED all his energy in trying to battle against Nadal on clay, WITH NADAL'S GAMEPLAN, i.e backing up and loopy strokes. That's not his style, perfect serving saved his butt in 2007, but after that the 2004-2006 level of playing never came back, even though he had some good results.
Click to expand...

Federer was still in his prime, he just wasn't at his very best anymore. You don't win 3 slams as he did in 2007 if you're past it...
 
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