Transforming Federer

I am an ardent fan of Roger Federer.

Not because he has won so many tournaments, including 17 Grand Slams, but also because the brand of tennis that he plays is the one that I am used to and is the one described in the tennis playbook that I bought years ago.

The new style of using the excessive western grip, exaggerated top spin, two-handed backhands and staying solely within the baselines  took out much of the excitement in watching a tennis match.

I once watched a Grand Slam Championship match between Guillermo Vilas and Mats Wilander which lasted for more than five hours and found it so boring that I dozed off most of the time.

That was probably the only way to watch that kind of game where the ball goes back and forth for at least twenty strokes, before a point is earned.

Put a mattress in front of the TV and wake up every time you hear a roar from the crowd, meaning something exciting just happened in the match. This is the reason why the tie-break was introduced, although in Grand Slam tennis, no tie-breaks are allowed on the deciding set.

Of course, the earlier version of the top-spin game was much, much slower than how it is played today, since the entry of Rafael Nadal.

When Roger Federer entered the tennis horizon, so many people like me collectively heaved a sigh of relief because he brought back the excitement to the tennis that I know.

Of late, however, with probably age catching up with him, and most of the time overpowered by Nadal and Djokovic from the baseline, I thought that the Federer era was over, and soon I would be going the same route when I bade goodbye to Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe, Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras in succession.

I, and maybe a lot of other tennis fans, was expecting  Federer to announce his retirement and for a farewell tennis season for one of the greatest who ever played the game.

Federer instead hired the services of Stefan Edberg, easily among the best five serve-and-volley players of all time. The non-discerning may not have suspected anything in the move.

I have to admit that I also did not quite put a finger on  the reasoning behind  the entry of the great Swede. The reason and the result came out during the Cincinnati Tennis Championship where Federer unveiled his new game.

He went to the net, maybe more than 100%  in the past. On his serve, Federer followed almost all his first serves and well-placed second serves to the net, Edberg style.

Federer forayed into the net in the past, but not as often. He chose to slug it out with the baseliners from his own baseline. As shown by his results, Federer was always outlasted by the power of Nadal, Djokovic, etc. He was particularly vulnerable when dishing out a high-bouncing ball on his backhand.

Either he is that intelligent, which appears to be so, or he got the correct advice to hire Stefan Edberg as his coach to improve his net game.

The result is that Federer has shortened the duration of his matches by ending the points earlier at the net. He has improved his approach shots, and rarely missed opportunities to approach the net, and his opponents, including Djokovic , Murray and, maybe Nadal, are not given the complete liberty of returning the ball.

With Federer at the net, and with his improved volleying skills, they know that they have to consistently dish out incredible passing shots to get by Federer.

With Federer’s savvy at the baseline coupled with a great serve, and Edberg’s coaching vastly improving his net game, Roger Federer will be present  for a few more grand slam championships.

I am eagerly awaiting King Roger’s matches in the US Open to find out if my thesis is correct. Win or loss, the hiring of Stefan Edberg to transform the game of a great champion is worth its weight in gold.