Why Roger Federer is the Best Tennis Player Ever

Roger Federer is quite possibly the greatest player to ever grace a tennis court. He is currently ranked number one on the ATP leaderb oard and has held that title for 137 consecutive weeks as of September 11, 2006. The 137 week stay has earned Roger the 3rd longest streak at the number one ranking in ATP history.

You may be wondering how one comes to such levels of greatness. The answer is simple, Roger Federer has it all. Everything you could possibly want in a tennis player is exemplified by the Swiss born superstar. Let's take a closer look at all the things Roger Federer is known for doing so well.

Consistancy- Roger Federer is about as consistent as they come. He is capable of producing high quality tennis on a very regular basis. Unlike the more flashy players, Roger stays within his means and works for every point, setting up shot after shot, and waiting for the right time to unload, and hit a winner. Simply put, Roger plays high percentage tennis, which in turn gives him a high win percentage (In 2006 his W-L record is an impressive 70-5, only losing to 2 different players.) High percentage tennis means you only hit shots you know you make on a regular basis. This is often characterized by hitting cross court and up the middle shots because the net is lower towards the center line. This also means Roger Federer often hits sharper angles crosscourt to set up an easy winner.

Serve- As any avid tennis player knows, the key to a good game starts with a good serve. If you are able to hold serve, you can then put pressure on your opponent's service game. This is exactly what Roger Federer does so well. Many people underestimate Federer's serve as being average, when in fact he has one of the best serves in the game. Despite the fact that Roger's serves are not the fastest, his edge comes from his toss. Federer has a consistent ball toss, and yet a variety of serve angles, speeds and bounces. The ability to hit a variety of serves from the same toss makes your serve unpredictable and much more effective, much like the legendary serve of Pete Sampras.

Defense- Roger Federer is known as one of the fastest movers on tour. Although it doesn't happen very often, if a player can control a rally against Roger, he will probably chase it down and return it, and eventually win the point too. Another important thing Roger Federer can do so well is turn defense into offense, which is created by his quick movement. While some players wouldn't even return a particular shot, Roger Federer would not only get to the ball, but hit a solid to get himself back into a point. His quick foot speed also helps him win easy points by forcing his opponents to his one more shot. Sometimes, just lobbing a ball back and making the other player move can win you the point.

Backhand- Roger Federer is known for having flawless groundstrokes, but it is especially evident on his backhand side. Roger has one of the most beautiful one handed backhands in tennis. He takes his groundstrokes so early, even more so with his backhand, which takes time away from opponents, and often forces errors. His backhand is smooth yet swift, and very hard to read, because with a flick of the wrist Roger can change direction at the last second. This shot is also especially reliable, and effective. The one handed backhand is usually the shot that Federer hits to set up winning shots, and usues this shot to hit many winners.

Variety- On top of all his other desirable qualities, Roger Federer can also mix it up. Federer has a proficient slice and is very capable of coming to net. These are two of the biggest factors that have helped him win 4 straight Wimbledon Championships, where coming to net is the traditional tactic. Roger Federer has also made the finals of the French Open, a grand slam event which is played on clay, which is completely different from grass. On clay, long baseline rallies, and specialty shots like offensive lobs are more common. Roger has clearly shown he can play anytime, anywhere, and any
way.

Intimidation Factor- Roger Federer has been dominating everything on the other side of the net for about two and a half years now, and yes, everyone knows it. This has both helped and hurt the number one player. First of all, some players feel they have nothing to lose, and go for a winner of every shot. When this works, Roger has a very tough day, but it is quite unusual. The most common occurence is that players feel they need to play above and beyond their own level of play. When they do this, they go for too much too soon and end up hitting too many unforced errors. But that is the beauty of Roger Federer, he makes you play outside of your comfort level. This is just one more reason why he is so unstoppable.

Coaching- Even the best of the best sometime need a little help. In 2005 Roger Federer picked up famed tennis coach and former top tennis player Tony Roche. Roche has coached former greats such as Patrick Rafter and Ivan Lendl to the top, and for Roger Federer, all he has to do is keep him there. It seems that Federer could stay head and shoulders above the rest even without outside help. But this is just another way for Roger to stay focused, and keep his number one ranking.

Outside Life- Unlike some of today tennis players, Roger Federer truly has a passion for the history and the game of tennis. It is evident that he loves the sport he plays so much in the way he chooses to spend his free time. When not on the courts, some of Federer's favorite hobbies include table tennis and squash. This just shows that Roger Federer can't get enough of tennis, and that he will stick around the game for a long time. Not only does he enjoy tennis like games, his current girlfriend is a former professional tennis player. Roger's girlfriend, manager and country mate Miroslava Vavrinec was ranked as high as 76 on the women's professional tennis tour.

Just the beginning- At 25 years old, Roger has dominated the men's tennis world for well over two years, but many are saying this could just be the beginning. Who knows how much better Roger Federer can get. He has publicly said there are many areas in tennis he still needs to improve on. Although it seems there is little room for improvement, maybe Roger Federer actually is still getting better, which is a scary thought for all other pro tennis players.

Overall Roger Federer is indisputably one of, if not the very best tennis player of all time. Currently Roger is the holder of many records including:

Most consecutive match wins (55)

Longest win streak on hardcourts (56)

Most consecutive wins in Finals (24)

Most consecutive match wins against top ten ranked players (26)

Most consecutive match wins at Wimbledon (48)

In my mind, he is the greatest to ever play the game, and in the near future we will see if Roger Federer can solidify his spot as not just great, but the greatest.