This month in the Forum:

Why Roger Federer is the Best Tennis Player Ever

Jimmy Roland

June 09, 2009

The discussion may continue for a while but here is why I think that Roger Federer is the greatest player to ever grace a tennis court.  He is currently ranked number two on the ATP ranking. Roger held the No.1 spot for a record 237 consecutive weeks. A record which will be hard to break in the future.

While Roger re-writes the tennis record books week by week, one fact can't be in doubt. Roger Federer is the GREATEST TENNIS PLAYER EVER.

What is the level of his greatness? The answer is simple. Roger Federer has it all.  Everything you could possibly want in a tennis player is exemplified by the Swiss born superstar.  Let's take a closer look at all the things Roger Federer is known for doing so well.

Consistancy-  Roger Federer is about as consistent as they come.  He is capable of producing high quality tennis on a very regular basis.  Unlike some flashy players, Roger stays within his means and works for every point, setting up shot after shot, and waiting for the right time to unload, and hit a winner.  Roger plays high percentage tennis, which in turn gives him a high win percentage (In 2006 his W-L record is an impressive 70-5, only losing to 2 different players.)  High percentage tennis means you only hit shots you know you make on a regular basis.  This is often characterized by hitting cross court and up the middle shots because the net is lower towards the center line.  This also means Roger Federer often hits sharper angles crosscourt to set up an easy winner. 

Defense- Roger is known as one of the fastest movers on tour.  Although it doesn't happen very often, if a player can control a rally against Roger, he will probably chase it down and return it, and eventually win the point too.  Another important thing Roger can do so well is turn defense into offense, which is created by his quick movement. While some players wouldn't even return a particular shot, Roger would not only get to the ball, but hit a solid to get himself back into a point.  His quick foot speed also helps him win easy points by forcing his opponents to his one more shot.  Sometimes, just lobbing a ball back and making the other player move can win you the point.

Serve- As any avid tennis player knows, the key to a good game starts with a good serve.  If you are able to hold serve, you can then put pressure on your opponent's service game.  This is exactly what Roger does so well. Many people underestimate Roger's serve as being average, when in fact he has one of the best serves in the game.  Despite the fact that Roger's serves are not the fastest, his edge comes from his toss.  Federer has a consistent ball toss, and yet a variety of serve angles, speeds and bounces.  The ability to hit a variety of serves from the same toss makes your serve unpredictable.

Backhand- Roger is known for having flawless groundstrokes, but it is especially evident on his backhand side.  Roger has one of the most beautiful one handed backhands in tennis.  He takes his groundstrokes so early, even more so with his backhand, which takes time away from opponents, and often forces errors.  His backhand is smooth yet swift, and very hard to read, because with a flick of the wrist Roger can change direction at the last second.  This shot is also especially reliable, and effective.  The one handed backhand is usually the shot that Roger hits to set up winning shots, and usues this shot to hit many winners.

Variety-  On top of all his other desirable qualities, Roger can also mix it up.  Roger has a proficient slice and is very capable of coming to net. Roger has clearly shown he can play anytime, anywhere, and any
way.

Intimidation Factor- Roger has been dominating everything on the other side of the net for about two and a half years now, and yes, everyone knows it.  This has both helped and hurt the number one player.  First of all, some players feel they have nothing to lose, and go for a winner of every shot.  When this works, Roger has a very tough day, but it is quite unusual.  The most common occurence is that players feel they need to play above and beyond their own level of play.  When they do this, they go for too much too soon and end up hitting too many unforced errors.  But that is the beauty of Roger Federer, he makes you play outside of your comfort level. This is just one more reason why he is so unstoppable.

Outside Life- Unlike many of today tennis players, Roger truly has a passion for the history and the game of tennis.  It is evident that he loves the sport he plays so much in the way he chooses to spend his spare time.

Overall Roger Federer is indisputably the very best tennis player of all time. In my mind, he is the greatest to ever play the game, and in the near future we will see if Roger can solidify his spot as the Greatest.

 

Your comments:

Just me with your complete name and contact details.

(If you don't want to post your contact details or complete name, please advise.)