I don't care what record books say, but no one is as talented with a racquet as Roger Federer. And it's all intentional. He doesn't just stick his racquet out and hope for the best. You can tell by the angle of the racquet head, the racquet head speed, and his stances at contact that he is purely intentional with those shots. And he can repeat the same shots time and again. I really cannot think of another player in the entire history of the game (and I've been an avid fan for over 5 decades) who can produce the same type of magic with their racquet. I'll just add that Federer's inside-out forehand might be the most lethal single weapon ever in men's or women's tennis. Maybe Pete Sampras' or Martina Navratilova's serves come close, but seeing Federer so gracefully step to his backhand side and crush an inside-out forehand for a winner will forever be a thing of beauty.
Federer is without doubt the most naturally gifted tennis player ever, he just played the game on a different level to everyone else. How often did we hear a commentator say things such as “special” or “genius” to describe what he was doing on the court.
Federer will always be the GOAT in my heart. I don't care that Nole has a few more titles. Nole is a hyper-persistent athlete with great strategies and possibly a complex that drives him to want to prove himself. Federer played naturally and for the love of the sport and invented new shots
All those victories Federer had in his career, these highlights are the ones that will stay in the mind of his fans. Someone who plays like this just is not present in the current players, and also in the past
And yet, there hasn't been more than one single-handed backhand player in the top 10 after Federer retired lol Yeah such is Federer's legacy, a bunch of useless tricks that few want to learn nor imitate. Instead, guess how many are trying to slide on hard court like Djokovic?
RF is so gracious, so unique, and different than any other player. He is a creator of opportunities, aggressive, and never passive (like most of the time Joker and always like Rafa). It is simply a joy watching him. The same does not happen with Rafa or Joker. No sense to watch a game of those two twice. With RF one can watch his games again and again, endlessly. Joker seems so stressed with his movements and so often looks like a wiggle-waggle stretcher without esthetics. And Rafa is just pure power, nothing else. Like a bull running after the ball all the time, endlessly. Yes, Joker can accumulate another one thousand slams but still, I won't get up watching him live at 4 am, the same for Rafa, especially in nowadays. With RF I switched on at 3 am already making sure my TV ran perfectly when it was 4 am. And I would do it if he is 90y+ and plays at Senior, Senior somewhere tournament. That's the difference.
I'm a longtime fan of Federer, and have written about him many times on forums like these. However, I have to disagree with you about Djokovic and Nadal - they are both supremely talented as well, and can play very subtle and interesting games, and are champions through and through. Expressing one's support for the style and play of player A does not require that we denigrate the abilities of players B and C. There is enough variety in the game to appreciate them all, albeit in different ways. Take care.
Roger reminds me of Tiger Woods in this sense: Tiger and Roger both have/had the imagination to envision a shot no one else could, then they had whatever it takes to try it, and then they’d hit it successfully, leaving nearly everyone in awe.
Someone new has to emerge to bring back the magic. Tennis needs more guys like Roger who can bring out emotions of cheers and sighs out of the hearts of crowds else we will only be watching A graders getting great grades. I am not demeaning the achievements of other players, their perseverance, mental strength and styles of play which is unique to every individual, I just mean that if we take creativity out of the sport, there wouldn't be any marvels happening in the arena. P.S.Nadal's banana shot was also a beautiful thing to witness,I am all in for other players too. There are few who can do it but they are not executing the same on the field because today's physical game is not nurturing those capabilities.
As a tennis player, there are shots you dream of making once in your tennis career. Then there are the Roger shots that don’t even exist in your imagination.
You forgot that time he was playing Dodig when the ball hit the top of the net and Federer turn around and used his backhand to volley. I would call that creative.
It seems the consensus among the majority of tennis fans is that Joke is the "stat" vulture/ weak era GOAT (thanks to too many Berritini/ Ruud/ Tsitsipas/ Norrie Opens) while Federer is seen as the true GOAT. I'm happy most people know the truth!
I mean... even if that weren't the case. Who cares if Joke had 2-3 more titles when they both have so SOO many? Joke is crazy persistent, but it seems to me that he has a complex that drives him to want to prove himself to the world. Federer played for the joy of the sport and ended up exploring outside of the shot-book I can never consider a person who can't stand losing as a GOAT. But maybe my opinion is unpopular
@@keithwatson7434when entire world appreciates those shots including all the tennis greats, and you call them clown like, just shows that you are indeed the clown.
No, Novak is far more creative and hits much better shots than Federer. Federer looked good for a while thanks to weak competition, but Nadal and to a much much larger extent Novak came along and exposed him. Novak is by far the greatest to have ever played, in all respects of the game, including shot making.
Please share a video of creative shots of Nole. Not winners, but creative There's so many people who get utterly bored watching him play. There is nothing wrong with his style, but claiming that he's creative is like claiming that the earth is flat Novak deserved to win many times over Federer to be sure. But creativity had nothing to do with it
50-60% of all of these shots can be hit by other players like Rafa, Djoko, Murray, Tsonga, etc. And I saw these shots time and time again before, even some of them live.