I really love Roger but one thing that I might never forgive him for was not switching to a bigger racket head size earlier in his career. It started to become clear already towards 2007/2008 that the game was taking a clear direction towards hitting the ball with more and more heavy spins and rotations ( the process started way before but at that time it became evident ). That's one of the reasons why playing Rafa was a nightmare, not only because he's a lefty but because a 90 square inch racket against Rafa's heavy top spin pounding on his one handed backhand required hitting the ball always perfectly, especially on clay. When Roger switched to a bigger racket head size he dominated Rafa, from 2015 to 2019. I guess tennis players are creatures of habit but it was so evident that a change was needed. Many mishits and shanks costed a few matches that could have gone his way but didn't. That's my humble opinion. With that being said, Federer playing with those rackets was a testament to his talent and his fitness. Mastering those sticks is not easy at all. Most of the times he managed to play the game on his own terms. But I still believe that being the type of player that he was he could have made life a little bit easier for himself when he noticed that his unforced errors were increasing and the game was changing so much, especially against his two main rivals. The only reasons he cope up with prime Djokovic in 2014 and 2015 was following Edberg's suggestion of trying to be super aggressive. All of that was possible because he had switched to a bigger racket. Pulling of a SABR with the previous rackets could have gone wrong many many times. Also, his footwork was always the best in the business but again, chaging the size of the racket and having a larger sweet spot could have spared him some energy especially when you're playing prime Djokovic from 2010 to 2013 roughly. Correct me if I'm wrong but that's how I see it.
He was a better player overall with the 90inch racket. The smaller 90inch racket was what helped him beat Djokovic because his forehand was better. Yes his backhand improved with the bigger racket but his forehand was never the same.
@@crocr my opinion though is that the change in the forehand was more due to a decision of shortening the swing path and using more wrist lag to generate more spin and have more time to anticipate the ball. I don't think it has anything to do with the racket size.
@@matteovitali9315 absolutely right, i would say also that he lost a little bit of power in his legs during the years. In his prime he played a lot of inside out forehands for example because his explosiveness was out of this world... so i would say it wasn't only a tactical change but also something that had to do with the age.
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The grace of Roger’s backhand is unmatched till now
I really love Roger but one thing that I might never forgive him for was not switching to a bigger racket head size earlier in his career. It started to become clear already towards 2007/2008 that the game was taking a clear direction towards hitting the ball with more and more heavy spins and rotations ( the process started way before but at that time it became evident ). That's one of the reasons why playing Rafa was a nightmare, not only because he's a lefty but because a 90 square inch racket against Rafa's heavy top spin pounding on his one handed backhand required hitting the ball always perfectly, especially on clay. When Roger switched to a bigger racket head size he dominated Rafa, from 2015 to 2019. I guess tennis players are creatures of habit but it was so evident that a change was needed. Many mishits and shanks costed a few matches that could have gone his way but didn't. That's my humble opinion. With that being said, Federer playing with those rackets was a testament to his talent and his fitness. Mastering those sticks is not easy at all. Most of the times he managed to play the game on his own terms. But I still believe that being the type of player that he was he could have made life a little bit easier for himself when he noticed that his unforced errors were increasing and the game was changing so much, especially against his two main rivals. The only reasons he cope up with prime Djokovic in 2014 and 2015 was following Edberg's suggestion of trying to be super aggressive. All of that was possible because he had switched to a bigger racket. Pulling of a SABR with the previous rackets could have gone wrong many many times. Also, his footwork was always the best in the business but again, chaging the size of the racket and having a larger sweet spot could have spared him some energy especially when you're playing prime Djokovic from 2010 to 2013 roughly. Correct me if I'm wrong but that's how I see it.
He was a better player overall with the 90inch racket. The smaller 90inch racket was what helped him beat Djokovic because his forehand was better. Yes his backhand improved with the bigger racket but his forehand was never the same.
@@crocrwith inverted ages federer would have done to nole what djokovic did to roger from 2014 ... even with the bigger racquet, no doubt about that
@@crocr my opinion though is that the change in the forehand was more due to a decision of shortening the swing path and using more wrist lag to generate more spin and have more time to anticipate the ball. I don't think it has anything to do with the racket size.
@@matteovitali9315 absolutely right, i would say also that he lost a little bit of power in his legs during the years.
In his prime he played a lot of inside out forehands for example because his explosiveness was out of this world... so i would say it wasn't only a tactical change but also something that had to do with the age.
When would you have suggested the change?
Guess it's hard to change something so significant when you reach every single major final...
A difficult begin for Roger due to high sun, after short toilet break, from 1-3 in the second set he changed everything 👍