'Roger Federer always has a better forehand than the backhand', says French ace

The legendary caps with the RF logo (fourth move) will be rematerialized on 8 December, the one that Roger Federer had lost in the transition from Nike to Uniqlo and who did everything to be able to get it back. It was part of him, a symbol of such "mystical" strength that I know tennis players who had it tattooed on them. So while everyone (including him) will have their heads in Australia and get ready for the restart, the first fans to warm up will be his own, with the new cap well worn to dream of another rebirth. Because there is nothing to be done: the others are great and maybe they will even beat his records but certain impossible spells can only be done by one. His racket is all black as the devil, his sneakers are white as if only in heaven and he has marked tennis forever, indelibly with a simple monogram: RF. According to Gilles Simon, the reason why Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic have been so successful is that their style of play today is the same as it was at the beginning of their careers. 

Simon on the French system

"When I see Jo-Wilfried Tsonga or Richard Gasquet, they don't play like at 18 or 20," Gilles Simon said. "This is our system and it is our mistake. We look at what is wrong. In Jo's case, his backhand was his weak point, so we thought, we're going to get him to work on it. And he's going to win a Grand Slam. Reasoning that makes sense, but is completely false." Simon believes that the top players such as Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic rely on their biggest weapons at critical junctures in a match, rather than use their spruced-up weaker areas. "Take Rafael Nadal," Simon went on. "Has his service improved a lot since he was little? Are we sure that Novak Djokovic improved his volley considerably? I am not sure. And Roger Federer always has a better forehand than the backhand. The key, in my opinion, is that in important moments, the best will always play the stroke with which they feel the strongest," the Frenchman added. "For Jo, it's swinging a huge forehand. Certainly not to play a 15 stroke backhand rally. And I'm telling you: Jo can work as much as he wants, he won't beat me in a backhand rally. That's not what scares me about his game."

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2Ik52rk