'It's the touch and the finesse that Roger Federer shows more...', says former player

Roger Federer's big goals for 2021 will be "his" Wimbledon and the Olympics, followed closely by the US Open. Two months of full immersion that could also give him the measure of how much sense it makes to go on, at the age of 40 that will be completed at that point. Common sense and physiological time limits call him outside the defense of purely statistical strongholds: reached by Nadal at 20 Slam won, he already knows that the Spaniard and Djokovic (who is chasing at 17) will have more time to raise the bar than they it was his record. The ranking issue deserves a separate chapter, for what is now number five in the world and - in ordinary conditions - would have had to resort to the protected ranking after a full year of inactivity. But, due to the mechanism currently in force, skipping the Australian Open will not cost Federer the loss of points in the standings as he will be able to count on the extended validity of those won in the previous edition. The same mechanism for which Rafael Nadal, as reigning champion, gave up more lightly at the last US Open. At the end of the Australian Open 2021, Federer could theoretically be overtaken in the standings only by Zverev (6) and Tsitsipas (7), under certain conditions. From Rublev (8) onwards, they are all too far away to attempt an assault on Australia. According to Sam Groth, the intensity that Roger Federer plays with shouldn't be underestimated - even if it is different from the intensity that Rafael Nadal brings to the court.

Groth on Roger Federer's intensity

During a recent interaction on Wide World of Sports with Peter Psaltis and Todd Woodbridge, Sam Groth spoke about 'his two special memories' taking on Roger Federer. "It's the touch and the finesse that he shows more than the other two names (Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic) I mentioned," Groth said. "That's why people love to watch him so much. He has that little bit of delicacy about what he does." According to the Australian, Roger Federer has played so often on the main courts at the Majors that it gives the Swiss extra confidence as soon as he steps on to them. "It's his confidence level too," the 33-year-old said. "He's played at Centre Court 50 times, 60 times on this court. There's no nerves that he shows. Am sure there is still that nerves and desire to do well. But he's so comfortable in those surroundings. I wouldn't mind taking him out to Court 9 at Melbourne Park giving him a run on a quick court because he's not used to that as much. But on those big courts he is as comfortable as anybody. At the US Open, the first time I ever played, seeing him in the player lounge, he has an aura about what he does," Groth said. "His level of confidence and his level of calmness I think it really shows. He's just got a different air about him the way he goes about things."

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2X0FfIq