How Federer’s Mental Game and Technique Evolved

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In today’s video, I discuss how Roger Federer’s game evolved from the time he won junior Wimbledon in 1998 to his prime on the ATP tour. There are differences in his mental game and tennis technique that we all can learn from.
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[@IntuitiveTennis]

Federer’s Junior Wimbledon Final Full Match 🫴 kzbin.info/www/bejne/amqvqaesnJh2idU

[@peterlappland]

I want to thank Roger for everything! Been such a pleasure following him, for me the GOAT athlete of all time.

[@melfox215]

Do you mean in any sport? Come on. Ever heard about Michael Jordan? Seen Usain Bolt? Heard about Muhammad Ali? Or seen Lionel Messi? Federer is an alltime great in Tennis, but not even the best in his sport of alltime. That's probably Djokovic (disregarding I don't like to admit that) or Nadal (which I'd like better). Due to that, Federer doesn't belong to that list of the best in any sport let alone in all of sports. In my opinion it's clearly Michael Jordan who is the best athlete of all times.

[@peterlappland]

@@melfox215 I mean any sport and many others feel the same! You mention Messi , he surely has not won the most matches or scored the most goals but is judged on level of play and artistry! Fed is the smoothest athlete of all time, smoother then Jordan for sure, not as mentally solid… Wayne Gretzky called Fed top 3 athlete of all time already in 2017

[@berd1968]

@@melfox215 what your saying is pure disrespect and not true at all. Michael Jordan huh. Maybe best American athlete but not even close to best Athlete of all sports Federer is ahead of him in that. Not just how hard he’s worked, his mental as well.

[@melfox215]

I truely embrace your findings from Federer's transformation. Looking at my own recreational tennis 'career', the only part missing in your comments is, that being truely obsessed with improvement makes it really hard to keep patience and composure. I am the most motivated player in my tennis club and some like to watch my improvements and some really don't like my exaggerated passion for the game, especially when I am losing my self-control, getting angry, ranting and maybe even throwing my racquet. Tbh, I destroyed 5 racquets within 3 years. 🤦‍♂ So yeah. It's really difficult to keep a balance between being highly motivated to improve and being patient with yourself.

[@stephanesurprenant60]

You can find clips of Federer in the early 2000s, some of them high quality court level. If you look at them, you would notice that he had a bigger loop all the way to around 2005 or 2006 than he does now where he almost basically just drops the racket back down. If you recall his prime years, he was an absolute savage at the baseline: he was just blowing absolutely everyone off the court. Yes, he had finesse; yes, he could hit absurd angles to open up play; but he was basically brutalizing everyone. Somewhere around 2008-09, he seemed to start having more trouble and he started to play closer to the baseline. He was always a player that moved in quickly, but he started doing it way more and way earlier somewhere around the time he lost to Del Potro in the USO final. The SABR, increased S&V and C&C frequencies are all products of his 30s. In his 20s, while he probably could have done more of it, he didn't need to. Hell, in those days he was slicing almost every backhand return because he's going to kill you two strokes down the road anyway. So, I suspect the change you mention with his forehand came gradually and the biggest changes came later: as he aged and started trying to keep points shorter, he probably got used to a smaller preparation just by constantly playing further forward. People forget, but the guy was hitting absolutely monstrous forehands in the mid 2000s. Just go look at the USO match he played against Agassi when the courts were still green -- we have it on YT, and much of the match is court level no less. Federer was hitting so hard Agassi couldn't even stay in the rally. Hell, no one except a young Nadal could stay in the rally... for like 5 years straight.

[@bd3531]

Dude, I could have written all that! Sometimes I think I'm not normal for thinking about tennis in such depth but it seems I'm not alone :D

[@hermanodejesus7264]

Great analysis Nick. I enjoyed every second of it. Thank you!!!

[@dl0903]

"You can always improve no matter how good you are! " What a fantastic conclusion!

[@soap6939]

13:30 I think this is an important message. Anger can't do anything but make you play worse. Better to accept you will make mistakes and also not let others get in your head.

[@martinoa1467]

I think that him complaining about shanking while up 1-0 and 5-3 in the second set, about to win the final, shows that (despite the bad attitude) he was still focusing more on the performance he was producing rather than on the result. In a way he was mentally “competing against himself” to get better and beat his own level and was frustrated at not being able to that right then. That mentality probably helps these athletes to keep improving regardless of results. Just as written at Wimbledon centre court entrance

[@cdan3609]

I saw that match bc of the same reason like you. Thanks for the analysis! Greetings from Sweden!

[@ramyg5037]

Great explanation...and AMAZING WALL MURAL in the background

[@IntuitiveTennis]

💯

[@ssenssel]

The #1 tennis player in people's hearts will be forever missed. 👑🐐🎾❤

[@j-andrews]

Appreciate you changing up the camera shot/framing/composition! Have you thought about using a two cam setup? So you can have both wide and up close shots

[@IntuitiveTennis]

Didn’t in this one but use multiple cams in other vids 💯💯

[@hansolsson3409]

New court? Great video as usual Nick!

[@pzivic]

Nice video, excellent topic, wonderful background.

[@farid1406]

Great analysis Nic! I think the point about improvement is relevant because Djokodal forced Fed to get even better after he sort of rested on his laurels for a couple years dominating.

[@igaroot]

watch his junior matches, he’s always been great

[@K4R3N]

Ready for today's show? Laver Cup

[@IntuitiveTennis]

Excited 💯

[@pencilcheck]

new court!! nice background!!

[@EndoftheTownProductions]

Overall, Fed did change his body language and attitude on the court, but he did have his moments over the years, i.e. the US Open Final against Del Potro when he was arguing with the umpire, etc.

[@stephanesurprenant60]

I watched that match and when I saw him argue with the umpire, sit back down and keep arguing, I thought the match was over right there. He had an edge early in that match, but he allowed himself to loose focus and Del Potro was playing the best tennis of his life, so reversing the tide was a really tall order. Had it happen in 2005, though, Del Potro wouldn't have won that match -- but a few years later and Federer can't just bluntly overwhelm everyone from the baseline. It's one of the reasons I keep telling people bad line calls happen. Yes, your opponent might cheat you out of a point or just make a mistake, but it's just going to be like 1-2 close calls on each side per set. It won't change the match, but you holding on to what you believe is a bad line call 3 games later will change the match. The old stoic idea that you should accept things that are beyond your control is something every tennis player needs to learn. And it is the same thing with your own mistakes. So, I categorize mistakes as good or bad. A good mistake is when you commit to a decision, try it out and don't succeed. A bad mistake is when you blow it because you hesitate. Commit to the rally -- don't bail out -- and commit to your shots -- go through the whole movement. After that, you'll be able to live with making mistakes because they're the good kind of mistakes.

[@EndoftheTownProductions]

@@stephanesurprenant60 Remember, when Roger wants to talk, he talks.

[@MAELOB]

Wow great background on the video

[@IntuitiveTennis]

💯💯

[@TheRomeogigli]

wow, congrats with ur subs

[@TheTobynorth]

I do find it interesting that you will often (rightly) defend less unconventional stroke motions of top players on the basis that they are the best in the world and the shots get results therefore form must be good, but will then make comments along the same lines when it comes to Federers service motion

[@bramvalkenburg5655]

@13:00 He lost to Ancic in 2002, first round. It was Henman who beat Federer in 2001.

[@IntuitiveTennis]

I stand corrected 💯

[@anonymous4711_]

Federer combined his movement and ball toss with the unique glance over to the opponent and possibly change the serve direction. Timing all of that maybe forced him to go faster with his backswing?

[@lucasgermain5022]

Hi Nick, Federer lost to Henman not Ancic after beating Sampras. Have a great weekend!

[@commondirtbagz7130]

Hey Nik, do these changes happen naturally or are they purposeful changes? If it’s the latter I’d assume that’s probably really hard to do.

[@IntuitiveTennis]

Can be both

[@reuelray]

This type of analysis can only come from a 'Pro Teacher'. I saw a video of that match years ago and I watched the recent one that was posted a few days ago. Was wondering why he was committing so many errors? I remember reading years ago Federer's father checked that bad behavior. I was wondering what he was saying. Your German background covered that too. I have only one bone to pick with this video. How could you be a Rafa fan when your silhouette including your one hander resembles Federer. You mentioned in a video not too long ago the resemblances. Oh well nobody's perfect. 😂😂

[@ouneebabid2822]

Please do an evolution video on Djokovic too.

[@dgib1694]

"Ramen, ramen, ramen" means "noodle, noodle, noodle", we all know that

[@shipwreck8847]

Nikola - Did you watch the federer farwell videos of his last match at lavar cup??? OMG. 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😪

[@novak9971]

@@IntuitiveTennis that was the most emotional tennis night in my life..

[@pleaseenteraname1103]

I had a super busy day and I didn’t get to watch most of the match, I actually only got to watch the last, 40 minutes of it, his farewell made me way more emotional and I actually started crying.

[@shipwreck8847]

@@pleaseenteraname1103 Watch this, you start to really cry. kzbin.info/www/bejne/emKmoqJtj8uSjLM

[@dariusd2003]

It's funny cause I frequent tennis forms like talk tennis and that nickname "Shankerer" was common. Fed fans would cringe when he'd get himself in breakpoint position and miss.

[@pzivic]

In contrast to you, Roger is an interesting player for me. Nadal's tennis is too raw for my taste. Previše sirov, nisam siguran kako to na engleskom zvuči.

[@SHVideografie]

I think Federer's forehand technique didn't evolve at all. It was a near perfect shot in his prime but became more and more prone for error in the last ten years.

[@ifeanyiikpegbu6465]

I would rather disagree with you that a continuous fluid motion is better than the Federer method of a sudden fast middle phase. Tennis strokes are best hit with a stretch-shortening cycle. I tried that on my forehand and backhand and my game went up a different level. It’s harder to time but when mastered it is the most efficient way of producing power. Sampras’s serve requires a lot more flexibility and extreme hip tilt, it’s a recipe for injuries and therefore harder to sustain. Because of that Federer’s serve I’ll rate as technically superior to Sampras

[@pleaseenteraname1103]

13:06 Federer Lost to Tim Henman in the quarterfinals and it went to five sets.

[@michaela.5363]

Why do you have a scar on your leg?

[@cipradu2812]

Not too shabby though....

[@brian106699]

So sorry that you told us that you’re a Nadal fan. You lost about 75 cool points.

[@filthypleb9224]

Hi Nick, thanks for making these video. There is one thing as I don't understand is how does Federer serve all 3 type of serve from the same toss, I currently find myself having three separate toss for the three type of serve and it would be great help if you can explain this.

[@IntuitiveTennis]

All great servers do this kzbin.info/www/bejne/i5qVXqp6orN6fLs