Roger Federer: 'Just listening to the body’s signs and...'

For some years now, alongside the rankings of the best players in response and service in the Top 100, the ATP has also drawn up a third ranking to evaluate who is able to give the best "under pressure", under pressure. There are four indicators: percentage of converted breakpoints, percentage of breakpoints saved, tiebreaks won, deciding sets won. Since the 2020 season was crippled by Covid-19, the current data on the ATP website refer not only to this year but also to the period from March to December 2019, as is the case for the ranking. Although in the last two years we have witnessed the arrival at the top of the world rankings of several new faces such as Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tstitsipas, the podium of the "ice men" of the circuit is always occupied by the usual three: in order Novak Djokovic, Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer. They are the ones who lead the super index that adds up the four already mentioned. Wooden medal for the champion of the last US Open Dominic Thiem. Fifth was the unconscious Nick Kyrgios. In the Top 10 there are also two South Americans who have grown a lot between 2019 and 2020, Diego Schwartzman and Christian Garin, sixth and ninth respectively. The only one under 23 in the top 10 is Felix Auger-Aliassime, seventh. Roger Federer recently spoke about how he remains motivated to compete despite having spent more than 2 decades on tour. The Swiss legend is slated to return to the tour in January 2021 after an 11-month injury lay-off.

Federer says it takes a lot of work to get his family on road

When asked how tough it was to balance family and professional commitments at this stage of his career, the 39-year-old Roger Federer said, “Organizing the entire family to get on the road takes major organization, planning skills, patience and all that stuff…because it’s such a lot of work.” However, the Swiss Ace said as long as his wife and children enjoy tagging along with him on Tour, the trouble it takes to get them on the road with him is worth it. “As long as it is all worth it and the kids are happy on the road and we are having a good time, it’s all good,” Federer said. “As a player, I think it’s just about how you keep the fire burning. I’ve been to certain tournaments, say the Cincinnati (Masters) for twenty straight years, I’ve been to Wimbledon 20 times. You want to keep it as successful as you can. You want to really have that fire burning to win every single point, every single game, every single match and beyond,” Federer said. Federer said having his team around with him was the key to staying motivated and not letting his focus flag. “To be able to keep that going, I really need a strong team. That helps me to squeeze that extra 1%, 10% out of me and remind me to bring the energy to the next match,” he said. Federer said at this stage of his career, it is also important to be aware how his body is holding up and plan his Tour accordingly. “In terms of physicality, just listening to the body’s signs and managing a good schedule,” he said.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/39JCgf1