Roger Federer: 'It's never easy to beat me on fast court when I can SeV'

Roger Federer completed his 2019 Hopman Cup campaign with a perfect 4-0 score in singles matches following a convincing 6-4, 6-2 triumph over world no. 4 Alexander Zverev in an hour and nine minutes. The Swiss dominating since the closing stages of the opening set to march towards the finish line and deliver the opening point for Switzerland in their quest to defend the title in what was the last edition of this beautiful tournament at the RAC Arena in Perth. Everything worked perfectly for the 20-time Major champion, who lost ten points behind the initial shot and used his excellent block return to tame his rival's initial and make him suffer on both the first and second serve.

Also, those returns were usually very deep, and Alexander couldn't do much with them, starting the rally from behind and not being able to impose his shots and dictate the exchanges from the baseline. Roger covered the court beautifully, mixing up his strokes and outplaying the rival in every department to notch a quick win before the women's singles match between Belinda Bencic and Angelique Kerber. The Swiss never faced a break point, and he converted three out of five chances he got on the return, enough to control the scoreboard and cross the finish line in no time.

Roger Federer defeated Alexander Zverev at the 2019 Hopman Cup in straight sets.

"It seems to be really working out well for me. I'm feeling good, and I'm playing very well; I'm really enjoying myself. I think the people here in Perth and in Australia know how much this place means to me, so it's a great thrill; I can't thank you enough, guys. Sascha had a wonderful end of the season, beating me and Novak Djokovic back-to-back in the semis and the final in London. It was a great effort by him at the event when only the best are remaining; it will set him up really nice for this season, and I'm sure he enjoyed his off-season; it is always a great feeling going on vacation with that title. Today it was a good match for me, no doubt about it. I think I served really well. Conditions are quick, so I think when you string together a nice serve and volley game like I did today, it's always going to be tough for any opponent. Alexander struggled, but I make the most of it; it puts us in a good position with Belinda playing now, which is wonderful.

It is not fair to play so many tall guys, but it is what it is (laugh). Ask Rod Laver about the size of those guys back then. We are eating a lot of vegetables, I guess, you know, we all growing, but what is striking me quite a lot is the moment is that you just had a guy at 6'2"; back in the day that was a serve and volley player. Nowadays, the big guys are moving incredibly quick; we saw Tsitsipas this week, and now again with Alexander; they can slide on the court, which wasn't possible when I came on the Tour. The game has evolved and changed, and I had to adapt my game accordingly. In the first ten years, I played in a certain way, and in the second decade, I had to play differently because of those big guys, like Novak too; he is almost 6'3" or so, and he moves unbelievably well," Roger Federer said.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/3wJMF2v