How come Federer was a better returner against big servers compared to Djokovic?

[NatF]

Sure but a bigger factor is IMO the sharp decline of Fed's ROS, than him coasting after getting that one break.

Sure, but I think his mindset hurt him a fair bit. The chip and put the ball in play worked fine when he had his peak athleticism and groundgame but it worked less well once all aspects of his game declined.

 

[Angrybirdstar]

kinda funny no one brought it up but notable that Federer (and Murray) were generally much harder to ace than Djokovic, so that says something about how they do against big servers

 

[Raiden]

Because Federer has always been better at tennis. Federer won by skill. Djokovic by endurance and flexibilit

Short yet comprehensive summary

 

[messiahrobins]

In Federer's peak years 2004-2006 when he was at the very height of his powers he had a better return than Djokovic. His FH return was noticeably better and on his BH he had the ability to chip the return as well as drive it, but as he got older he lost that ability to drive the return on BH and his reflexes were a bit slower to his FH side as well. Djokovic was a more consistent returner in that he doesnt try to do much with the return other than make sure he gets it back in play which as the game became more baseline based with less net rushers was a good tactic. When Djokovic gets his racket on a return it goes in and nobody has been as consistent in that regard as Nole.

 

[socallefty]

A Look at Novak Djokovic’s Mastery of the Tennis Return (Published 2018)

Service returns in tennis have evolved in recent decades, and Novak Djokovic typifies the change as much as any player on the pro tour.

www.nytimes.com