How he returned to the top
AS he swept to the Wimbledon final without dropping a set, 35-year-old Roger Federer has seemed better than ever.
He has come back, winning the Australian Open and playing a more attacking style. But his renaissance is not so sudden. Speaking before the tournament, Serena Williams’ coach Patrick Mouratoglou, explained how the Swiss has changed over the last three years.
‘Roger’s worked to develop a different type of game,’ he said. ‘With much more aggression, with a more efficient, faster, flatter backhand. He hits the return more aggressively and comes to the net more.’ Why did he have to change?
In 2013, Federer failed to reach a Grand Slam final for the first time in a decade. He was in the middle of a five-match losing streak to Rafael Nadal. He was, to an extent, the victim of his own success. During his most destructive years in, when he racked up 11 Slams, Federer was so much better than everyone else in the world. But the new breed of baseliners emerged, and the Swiss was struggling to keep up. As Mouratoglou puts it, early in his career, Federer ‘was beating all the guys without thinking about tactics.
‘Just playing his game because he was so much better. Then Rafa came and it took him a lot of time to understand what he needed to do to have a chance and he developed. Now everything is together.’ What has he changed?
In December 2014 Federer called on his idol Stefan Edberg. The Swede set about ramping up Federer’s levels of aggression.
In 2006, when he won his fourth Wimbledon title, Federer servevolleyed only 5.3 per cent of the time. By 2011 it was 3.5 per cent. In 2014, at his first Championships with Edberg, Federer hit 21.6 per cent of his serves. This fortnight he has serve-volleyed 16.1 per cent of the time.
The backhand has been revamped, too, with Federer avoiding topspin in favour of a punchier shot.
It is said that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, but the Swiss planted the seeds of change, and is now reaping the rewards.