"It's hard in those conditions. I didn't want to lose my rhythm from the baseline, so I decided to go to the net," Federer said. "I haven't done it in years, so it was kind of a tough thing right away ... but it gave me the idea that I have that option as well."
From my view point, I always thought Roger was one of "the" smartest players on the ATP tour and that he completely knows and controls his business, but, after reading that quote, was I wrong!
Can you imagine that after seeing Roger Federer totally demolishing and dismissing his peers almost with disdain even lackadaisically at times, now one comes to realize, that Roger, at those moments, did not even consider his serve and volley option!
Besides being contrary to my first assumption, his statement is almost derogatory and offensive to all of his opponents and peers, because it leaves room for them to think; "Roger is inferring that he was able to drub us all in the last 4 years without even using his most powerful weapon; the serve and volley!"
...and they will continue to ponder; "Boy, now imagine if he did use the serve and volley!" Total consternation and panic will be possessing the rank and file; "What if he starts using the serve and volley at the Australian Open and for the rest of the season? We will be reduced to simple ants versus a giant anteater!"
Finally the war cry among the other players would be; "Everyone on the ATP tour run, run....run and hide in the nest under the ground, Roger the giant anteater is on his way!!!" :))
Fun apart, it is truly amazingly humbling for peers to realize that a player as Roger can have such an immense bag of resources and options that leaves everyone flat-footed, dumbfounded and impotent.
Other's might call what appears to be naïveté in Roger's quote, the eternal desire to explore, improve and learn new things.
Martina Navratilova once said regarding her age and her desire to improve..."its something I always believe in, that if you have the desire you can improve at any age. So many players out here have this attitude " I am too old to learn"..rubbish..read what Martina said:
"Why," I asked, "are you still doing this at 46?"
"Life. We're lucky to be here. It's about learning and our time is limited. I'm still learning, to do better, still studying strategy. I'm technically better now than I was in my heyday. You know I hit a shot against [Jana] Novotna at Wimbledon last year when I played. After the game she said: 'What was that, I've never seen it before?' I said I only learned to play it a few days ago. The key was the grip but you never stop learning the game. You have to have talent, but if you haven't the heart to explore the talent it's all a waste of time."
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