'It was great to be around Roger Federer', says former No. 1

Winning is a matter of moments, of small details. The dominance of the current Fab 3, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, the giants who are rewriting tennis records, also rests on subtle foundations. Just look at the research of Craig O'Shannessy, coach and pioneer of match analysis, who worked with world number 1 Novak Djokovic and is a consultant for the Italian Tennis Federation. On the ATP website, he analyzed the points won by players on the major circuit since 1991, the first year this type of data was recorded. Even considering only the 2020 season, we can see, the small differences generate big effects. The first 50 of the ATP rankings, every hundred points have won an average of 51 and have lost 49. Within a similar scenario, the superiority of Nadal and Djokovic clearly emerges. The top two players in the world are also the top-50 with the highest percentage of points won in the ATP main draws: the Spaniard reaches 56%, the Serbian 55%. Six, at the other extreme, the top-50 who lose more than one point out of two: Fabio Fognini (number 17, 49%), Benoit Paire (28, 49%), Nikoloz Basilashvili (40, 49%) ), Kei Nishikori (# 41, 48%), Tennys Sandgren (# 49, 49%) and Alexander Bublik (# 50, 48%). Even in the context of a particular season, in which the year-end ranking is not determined only by the results over the twelve months, it is noted how the share of points obtained on the total of those played is a reliable indicator for the position in the ranking. Speaking on Eurosport's 'Tennis Legends' vodcast that was hosted by Mats Wilander, arch-rivals Stefan Edberg and Boris Becker came together to share their coaching experiences. And Edberg happily recalled his days coaching Roger Federer during a particularly difficult time for the Swiss.

Edberg on Roger Federer

“It took me some time to decide. We actually spent a week in Dubai just to get to know each other before going on the tour, but to summarise things: it was great to be around Roger Federer, he’s such an ambassador for tennis – and obviously, yes, we talked about tennis, about strategy," Stefan Edberg recalled. Although the 2013-15 tryst with Edberg did not lead to a Slam win for Roger Federer, Edberg believes that he was able to help modify the Swiss great's game. “He wanted to change his game and that was maybe part of the reason why he took me in to get a few ideas. I think the great thing, looking back, was he switched racket to more of a modern racket – that was really key. He changed his game a little bit. His movement got a little bit more aggressive, which I think he needed to do," Stefan Edberg added. The 38-year-old has always been torn between Becker and Edberg, whose intense rivalry was one for the ages. “Becker was first my idol until some of my friends said, ‘Why Becker? Edberg is cooler’,” Federer recalled in an interview with ATP. “Is he? Okay, I'll be Edberg," Federer had decided back then.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/38VpTf4