Federer on different styles of returns: 'Me, Rafa, Novak return completely different. It's so interesting'

Tuesday, 27 August 2019 at 16:30

Roger Federer spoke ahead of beginning his US Open campaign about the importance of the return in claiming victories.

Federer said that for him if you don't return, you don't win and that it's nearly as important in a game than a serve.

The Swiss ace added that for him it has improved massively since when he started playing and he said that while there was shocking players before, it is a more even keel now.

“No return, no wins, I'll tell you that. It's that simple. It's maybe not as important as the serve. I think still bigger serving is a bit more important,” Federer said.

“But it is amazing how returning has improved in the past 20 years since I started in the game. There were some shocking return players back in my day when I started. Now you rarely have them. Everyone can make returns at all times.”

Different styles between the top three

Federer also spoke about the different styles of returns and said between the top trio of players they return completely different and that it is interesting.

He lauded praise on Nadal though saying that he's by far the best at returning but that to have a good return, consistency is key.

“I don't know if there's really a safe place to go to. When you kick serve to the backhand now, everybody waits for it, can make it, can even be aggressive on it. It's nice to see the improvements,” Federer said. “You have different styles of returns. I use the slice. Me, Rafa, Novak return completely different. It's so interesting.”

“Rafa is by far the best from returning way back in the court. It's amazing the power he gets from there. Just Novak, how long he is, he's still able to stay aggressive. I use the slice a lot,” Federer said. “The good thing is you can do it in different ways. I think consistency is the key when it comes to returning.”

Samuel GillEditor-in-Chief

Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of TennisUpToDate.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces across the TennisUpToDate network, playing a central role in the daily operation and development of the site.

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