NEO Federer was Absolutely SCARY! (Even Nadal had NO Answer)

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The Neo version of Roger Federer was absolutely legendary. After beating Rafael Nadal in the Australian Open, Roger gained insane amount of confidence, and gave us some of the most brutal and incredible tennis we have ever seen!
Enjoy 15 minutes of pure maestro entertainment.

[@wahn10]

Federer 2017 was an absolute meteor. The most brilliant, beautiful tennis I think we will ever see. Thank you for a wonderful video.

[@h-dawg1876]

This was Federer in 06 but in 06 he was faster on the court. Yeah he beat Novak and Nadal like nothing in 2017

[@Graceclaw]

Why did he fall off again so quickly afterward?

[@h-dawg1876]

@@Graceclaw Federer tore his meniscus in 2016 had surgery. Been a recurring injury even went thru multiple surgeries on his knee along with his back. But his knee was the reason why Federer had major set back and forced him into retirement.

[@huzcer]

@@h-dawg1876 Federer didn't even play Djokovic in 2017 and Djokovic wasn't even playing on the tour for nearly 6 months of that year having taken it off due to a long-term issue 😂 When Djokovic was back from his elbow layoff and surgery he tore the tour a new one. Somehow the "neo" was forever gone then - what a "coincidence"!

[@h-dawg1876]

@@Nostalgia.50ba he did tho bubba

[@squeedum4893]

For me, this version of Roger is my fave tennis player of all time.

[@amitkar5316]

100%! I would go as far as to say the 2017 version of Roger Federer was the peak of tennis so far: all his experience, talent, technique turbocharged with the new backhand and an injection of confidence after the AO that year, resulted in the most complete tennis player ever. It was all there for the first half of 2017 - with another peak at Wimbledon - and then less consistently through to AO 2018. But for that period, Federer hit a level that surpassed himself in his 2004-2009 prime and which hasn't really been matched since.

[@TheseHoesAreLoyal]

@@amitkar5316 I agree that Federer's 2017 version surpassed his prime (2004-2007). I also think that Federer actually got better with age despite the decline in his movement and power; his 2011 and 2012 seasons for example were higher than 2004-2007 in terms of players' elo and Federer's game. I cannot agree that 2017 version of Federer was the peak of tennis, however. Roger and Rafa deserved every bit of success that they had in 2017, but Rafa was honestly not playing some of his best tennis in the 2017 AO final. His forehand wasn't as penetrating as in 2013 when his hard-court dominance was insane.

[@lammhult100]

@@amitkar5316Could only agree! I am sorry that he didnt meat Novak this year because I think that he would have beaten him, Federer was unstoppable untill he hurt i back in Montreal against Zverev.

[@masterofdisaster9194]

It was the racket change, he finally went to a bigger head. Federer stubbornly kept with his original sized racket for many years even when the courts and balls slowed. 2006 federer with that same racket would be a demolition job

[@TheseHoesAreLoyal]

@@masterofdisaster9194 he would have had much more success with backhand had he switched to the larger racket in 2006, most definitely winning mostly the non-clay matches against Rafa that he did lose. As for his forehand, I'm not sure if he would have been able to hit it as hard or freely as he did with the 90 sq. in racket. I still think that the larger racket was necessary and he switched it only because the baseline grind became a thing starting in 2011. With that being said, he would definitely have had more success against Rafa during his prime for sure.

[@khurramiqbal6445]

This version of Federer had everything, serve, volley, forehand, backhand, court coverage, self belief. Just had niggles after Toronto and couldn't perform at the US open. It was his for the taking. He came back to his best at Shanghai. The last flicker of the candle had it all. That year was so lovely after a decade of being second or third best. Such was a treat for our prayers for the great man. Sweet. ❤❤❤

[@srinitaaigaura]

He injured his back after returning to hardcourt. Maybe that's why he stopped hitting so flat and hard afterwards.

[@DarkPa1adin]

Serve isn't his forte

[@msaw504]

He injured his back in the Toronto final. I think this Neo-backhand puts a lot of stress in his back.

[@harsh5469]

I agree . Healthy Federer would have beaten Nadal in both US open 2017 and 2019 finals but sad he lost in QF both time due to injury. 4-0 in 2017 and just beat Nadal in Wimbledon a month ago in 2019. Both 2017 and 2019 chances at US he missed

[@sleepyjoe7616]

22 > 20

[@farhatk6054]

Can't believe some people can watch this and don't think this is perfection. This is the most amazing Tennis I've ever watched

[@MrMjolnir69]

Find the Oz finals Vs Rafa if you haven't seen it. 5 sets of it. After 6 months no match practice. I picked him to Win that thing (he's sneaky) as it just felt right- genuine excitement to hit again. Enjoy.

[@michael.forkert]

Stupendous. Without grunting! Even better.

[@miguelbarahona6636]

This must be an inspiration to all the one handers out there, specially those on the Tour. Don´t let die the most beautiful shot in tennis.

[@huzcer]

only 1 player in the Top 100 under 25 with a 1hbh. Federer killed it off.

[@CdawgAMVsFilmEditing]

I'll bring it back to my club tennis then. 😂😂

[@miguelbarahona6636]

@@CdawgAMVsFilmEditing 🤝

[@colinmcmullin1154]

We are coming-wait another ten years

[@sakshamsanwaria7486]

​@@huzcerFed killed it, seriously. Dude, he is the one who let it survive for too long. Barring Nole, no one was a problem to his BH. Even not Rafa post 2015

[@tennisfreak312]

7 years after that historic win in Melbourne. 7 years after the 26 rally where the last right off the bounce forehand went down the line. "Riddiculous". 7 years after the tense hawkeye challenge for that cross court forehand. God damn, time flies.

[@robertoiannucci4881]

I'm convinced that 2017 Federer is peak tennis. No one else comes close.

[@AK-cp6br]

lol

[@felixy23]

Fed's new coach gave him contribution as well for neo backhand. taking the ball early to returning of Nadal's forehand is the one of winning factors against Nadal

[@michael.forkert]

_Nobody is gonna do that again. It’s perfection on its own._

[@hennybogan59]

Got to see Federer vs Warwrinka live at this tournament, a check off my bucket list

[@WivoRN]

Wow, that's amazing!

[@allboutthemojo]

​@WivoRN I was 10 th row Courtside seats Indian Wells 2012. Saw Rafa vs Roger , Novak vs Isner . Roger vs Isner . After that I had fully satisfied my urge to see any live tennis. It was my Grand Slam!

[@WivoRN]

@@allboutthemojo WOW so happy for you my friend!

[@allboutthemojo]

@@WivoRN thanks. We got super lucky as nobody knows who will be the final 4 in any event. The love of tennis paid off

[@yeeeaaahmayneee3808]

I really miss that roger and rafa intro

[@WivoRN]

It's never gone buddy, but I won't be able to use it in non-grand slam videos.

[@Akirasenjuuu]

Federer was on fire in 2017 Should have won the french open too that year if Iam being honest As a fed fan I was the happiest

[@nihilus1626]

didn't he skip it?

[@bonejakon]

he did. And honestly there was nothing he could have done against Rafa there. Even he admitted that. Rafa was a beast that year at RG.@@nihilus1626

[@ronishpadhy910]

absolutely not. French Open is Rafa's turf. he will beat anyone especially in 2017

[@aaronusernamefiller9435]

Anybody who watched RG 2017 knows Federer wasn’t even touching a set against Rafa

[@orrissonpereira1070]

His best chance was 2019 and that match was cursed tbh. A sandstorm on court put him off. But then there's Rafa playing his best tennis and not affected by the storm at all. He is in his element after all.

[@miguelbarahona6636]

In AO and Indian Wells 2017, Federer had the best backhand on tour.

[@robertoiannucci4881]

In history maybe.

[@J.-M.]

Exactly what I was going to say. Way better than Djokovic, way better than Sinner or anyone else has now. Better than Wawrinka (he was regularly outplaying Stan in direct backhand-to-backhand rallies in their matches, yet many people still rate Stan's backhand much higher, even though he only had a fraction of Roger's skills off that wing). People still keep badmouthing Roger's backhand, calling it a weakness, comparing it to Tsitsipas (the most ridiculous comparison of all) etc. This video and so many others show how clueless they are.

[@pawshands9706]

It is a tricky thing for any player to change any wing this dramatically, but 37yr old Roger again did it better than anyone could ever have imagined. And in a sport filled with good two handers it was even more dramatic a change.

[@donaldclark7699]

What made 2017 fed backhand better than in his prime, is the depth of shot, pre-2017 fed had a consistent backhand but it landed most times just beyond the service line. 2017 fed was the most complete well-rounded tennis player coupled with amazing tennis IQ to ever exist.

[@mimasaco]

Boy thank a lot for bring back those memories he es the one an only.

[@normanpeters6465]

No one can really match the excitement of Federer’s tennis. No one. Truly magnificent to watch.

[@SJ-di5zu]

So are the Djokovic fans that kept whining under the last few posts gonna calm down yet? Wivo posts highlights for everyone. He’s a Nadal fan first but he’s a tennis lover and has been the best tennis KZbinr for like a decade now.

[@WivoRN]

Thank you so much for the kind words buddy ❤️ People will never stop complaining but it's part of the job haha

[@nunoteixeira6884]

truth is roger will always bring more views.people want magic, talent, touch , creativity and genius! thats what roger produced every game for 24 years. its inevitable that there will be much more content of him

[@NamTran-xc2ip]

The only thing I see is you whining every videos about Djokovic fans.

[@nunoteixeira6884]

@@NamTran-xc2ip and I didnt say a word about bathroom breakovic fans, they are a bunch of ignorant clowns, I dont mix with that sort of people

[@mlrmlr4919]

Tennis heaven. The court level shots are amazing, you appreciate the frightening speed - wish there were more of them.

[@mcximus]

Back in the early 90's, my backhand is stronger than my forehand. I practiced a lot with lefty players. I don't play tennis anymore cuz of injuries but still watching it.

[@Yeplaaa]

Nice compilation and lovely to ad the speech of Stan in the end, my fav player in his prime actually 😊

[@VargoProductions]

Honestly, this gave me chills. To watch the greatest of all-time reinvent parts of his game to make up for his age-related weaknesses is such a pleasure to watch. Truly amazing...

[@angelatanurdzic7508]

What a great performance from Roger! 😍

[@cleiru7859]

This is just real life Prince of Tennis. His backhand is a special move.

[@viknick1]

I miss this 😭😭

[@vanodne]

Wow! If only Roger had discovered that early, on the rise backhand tactic a couple of years earlier--we can only imagine!

[@mocee83]

RF learning this shot and pulling it off successfully and beautifully so late in his career is truly a masterpiece. Yes u r absolutely correct, we can only imagine what he could have done if he had introduced this shot earlier in his career.

[@ahoj6614]

No man could ever play like federer. It’s just perfect

[@s.z.x.01]

Can’t believe this was 7 years ago

[@oliviercohen4168]

Great vidéo! Thanks!

[@WivoRN]

Glad you liked it!

[@anseinueseima408]

Kudos to Ljubicic for improving Federer's backhand.

[@pauljohnson6019]

Yes, don't know what happened in 2019 though, not even coaching? Should have kept the rally going instead of rushing to the net like a headless chicken.

[@anseinueseima408]

@@pauljohnson6019 he's trying to save stamina and finish the games quick cause he's too old

[@GholamFareed]

Ljubicic had an awesome single handed backhand himself!!!

[@pauljohnson6019]

@@anseinueseima408 BS, He was just lazy to play the long rallies, he got to the 5th set and invested all that effort to break Djokovic, he should have rallied him down even if he collapsed at the end, Novak made a routine pass just like Nadal in the semis, Feds tactic was horrible.

[@NNA1984]

The most artistic player ever. He is the beauty of tennis.

[@rotcarr]

What absolute perfection!

[@julienschoepfer]

That's why he's the GOAT, even if you think differently.

[@r.b.6619]

What a variability in his game. No one did it like RF or is doing it. Its genius. The best back Hand ever. I mean the today matches are kinda counterpunching only.

[@richard141724]

I read somewhere that, during the recovery period before AUS Open, Federer reduced the swingweight of his racquets to about 340kgcm@, from 356 -ish previously. This was done to allow him to take his backhand earlier. Seemed to work!

[@srinitaaigaura]

If that is true, it added plenty of racket head speed too. On the forehand he was hitting like the old days.

[@bonejakon]

Freaking legend.

[@LVPAcharn]

It doesn't matter who has the most titles now, that's the best player who has ever drawn a breath !!

[@loria7043]

So beautiful! The GOAT ❤

[@TakwiriraRinomhota]

The best tennis I’ve ever seen

[@srinitaaigaura]

Not only the ball striking firepower on both wings, how fast was Fed on his feet!! I've seen close up courtside views of Fed at this tournament and it's shocking just how fast he really is. He was flyig all over the court that year!

[@caocaohehe]

Rafa was a beast, Novak was a machine. But Roger was a wizard

[@Dilmahkana]

Perfectly said. I'd rather watch a wizard, dancer or jazz player than a machine, robot or cd player.

[@huzcer]

@@Dilmahkana A wizard with a chicken bone caught in his throat at 40-15 😂

[@sakshamsanwaria7486]

​@@huzcerYou despise him with all your heart, don't you? I reckon you wouldn't have even met Nole once but still.

[@alexfed7962]

It was 7 years ago, but I remember This Roger as it was yesterday.

[@DinoSvanhvit]

Best.

[@deadnicedave]

First 8 months of 2017 was peak Roger, especially Wimbledon, where he was almost unplayable at times. For me that was his best period ever, probably just shading his 2004/07 version, he was just on another planet that season, even Djokovic and Nadal had no answer.

[@Sir_Leelord]

So epic

[@zhangyuandyou]

Federer's back hand (and front hand) had been constantly evovloing over his long spanning career. But the real reason that his 2017 was so dominating was because he changed to a larger racket. The new and bigger racket gave his shots more power and momentum while his talent largely made up for the loss of accuracy. He was one of the last pro tennis players who changed to the larger racket because he finally made up his mind for this painful but necessary change after the disastrous 2016 season. It leaves you to imagine how many more grand slams he could have got had he made this change earlier.

[@J.-M.]

Well, he changed to a larger racket at the beginning of 2014 (first played with it in Australia in January, although he already tried a different larger racket in 2013). And he was indeed a very different player between 2014 and 2016 compared to previous years, the effect of the racket was very visible. That's where he added more power, ultra aggression, net play, that's when he invented the SABR etc. But it was only 2017 when he switched to this power baseline game with that insane neo backhand.

[@scrumpymanjack]

Just incredible and unstoppable. Surprised nobody has commented on Warinka's comment at the end...lol.

[@tennisrallies2505]

NEO represent

[@bogdantirea6085]

Was not Neo Federer. Was always Federer. The flying swiss. And an absolutely SWEET backhand.

[@Barcodeali]

2017 federer was the best player on earth.

[@phamngocnam6726]

6:35 that contact point shows crazy hand-eye coordination!

[@cesarsaxo5982]

Federer es de otro planeta !!!

[@mezanine10]

The big 3 could all hit well. Only Federer could play net like a master.

[@teomanturkan8228]

If Federer had been able to use this backhand at the very beginning of the competition, he would not have been beaten so much by Nadal in previous years. Federer has played great tennis for many years, but he was truly great in 2017.

[@huzcer]

Losing to David "0 masters titles" in the 2017 ATP Finals semi with Dimitrov the choker waiting in the finals was peak....

[@J.-M.]

@@huzcerThe problem for Federer in 2017 (and actually every year since 2012) was that he was old and his old body was always done at the end of the season, including the ATP Finals. Especially after such an extremely successful year full of big matches. His backhand was actually great in many years before 2017 (for example, his backhands from the 2006 Masters Cup are legendary), but yeah, this is the ultimate peak. 2017 Federer had the best backhand I've ever seen in my 4 decades of watching tennis.

[@huzcer]

@@J.-M. what about at the start of the season? Federer beat a teenage Djokovic once at the Australian Open and then won a single set TOTAL across 4 best of 5 matches against him there. Djokovic had an elbow issue that saw him take 6 months off the tour and then go for surgery. That was a bigger factor than anything else in Federer getting those slams in 2017/18.

[@tei-mensahodoi8134]

Roger Federer,a Legend ,best of all times.Though he has less Ground Slams.He is the best and Greatest.He taught the Old and Young his Meqstry.

[@huzcer]

And Federer is now closer to Nadal on weeks at No.1 than the outright leader. (who is also double Nadal). It's highlander basically.

[@claudioburgosgonzalez2844]

Most likely, Nadal would have won, but... Imagine if Federer had participated in the 2017 clay tour. A match with that version of Nadal and Federer in one of the Masters on clay or RG would have been crazy.

[@SidneiMV]

Federer era um animal. Uma besta. Um gênio. Um monstro. Um fenômeno. Em números ninguém contesta Djokovic, mas as coisas que Federer fazia..

[@NeroBlitzkrieg]

2017 Federer was just peak. without a doubt the best version of himself.

[@kalorakalora]

Why can't we just enjoy the grace and greatness of Federer without thinking that it somehow makes him the GOAT. He'll always be my favorite to watch, but being the GOAT is defined by achievement

[@AaravYadav-em5tj]

But when that achievement is due to the lack of competition. Weak era stat padding 2018-23 doesn't make Djokovic GOAT.

[@kalorakalora]

Weak era? Dude Fed won most of his slams in a 4 year stretch before Rafa got good on other surfaces and before Novak even came up. He was beating guys like Roddick, Safin, Hewitt, and Nalbandian to win slams. Alcaraz beat Djoker for the first time in 11 years on Centre Court. Sinner beat him for the first time ever on Rod Laver after the first week.

[@J.-M.]

@@kalorakaloraActually, the true weak era was 2013-2022. Many of those years were really the darkest times of tennis, when the competition especially from younger generations was not even weak, it was non-existent. Several consecutive lost generations of spectacularly feckless young players. Unprecedented in the history of the sport. It really was the career-inflation era as many people call it, and both Djokovic and Nadal benefited massively from it. By the way, there is a difference between a GOAT and a BOAT (best of all time). The word "greatest" is not necessarily purely driven by numbers.

[@kalorakalora]

@@J.-M. I consider Novak both. How is he not better than Fed and Rafa when he has a winning record against them and has taken them out at their slams while holding his own slam against them?

[@ashleythomas4112]

@@J.-M. 2013 was still very strong, don't include that year in the true weak era. Prime Rafa, Novak and Murray. OK, Fed had a bad year though. Then there was also great players like Del Potro, the emergence of Stan and other quality players like Tsonga, Ferrer and Berdych. The really young players (like Raonic, Dimitrov and Nishikori) weren't great and that was the start of the lost gen era but the 2013 top 10 were very strong and 2013 was far stronger than some of the other weak years that followed over the next decade.

[@jemand8462]

2017 Federer was the GOAT. No one today would have beaten him back then. What a pity, there was no olympic games that year.

[@MarcyTrinidad]

Awww Stan, so funny! Let me hug you! Roger, you are simply the best!

[@linstein5903]

Nobody mentions his ace record

[@gddfhjiufcv]

Federer vs Johnson: The NEO backhand vs NO backhand

[@knightatthecrossroads222]

No matter what Novak achieved the most versatile player of all is Roger Federer.......it's like a dream and healing music to watch Roger Federer play tennis.

[@toddjohnson271]

It was stats until Djoker broke them.

[@baguettedepain3975]

As a backhand lover I am a bit frustrated Djokovic was off for the entire season. I'd had love to see his backhand vs Neo backhand.

[@ultramarinechaplain88]

The first half of 2017 version of RF is something to behold. Theonly thing he didnt have over the 06 version is spees

[@leonardodelbene6418]

Lahyani speechless 3:55

[@letrantrung1]

Federer fans said that he started losing since 2011 because he was "old". Suddenly he became younger 6 years later?

[@rostamdastaan8724]

Roger the Great

[@michaeldeane9029]

How do you measure greatness. Easy, just warch Roger at his best. GOAT

[@user-so2vj2vx5o]

Oh my goodness me!! FedFanForever

[@milenakupiec1839]

Blimey. He had everyone running around like headless chickens.

[@0ldMatty2]

He gave 0 fx that year, and he destroyed top10 players

[@LordCroker]

Sorry to other fans but Rog on his day is unplayable. The reason Novak has been so successful is he is the most mentally resilient player probably in history, his defence and consistency has almost always been god level. Nadal is rapid around the court and had an excellent balance of incredible defence and offense. But Roger when he's on beats either of these two, you can't defend against him. That's why he's the goat

[@nicolasgamart]

Imagine Federer with 2017 groundstrokes and 2007 physique

[@AstroSully]

2000'S Federer with 2017 backhand would win 40 slams.

[@twinwankel]

An incredible tournament dominated by his backhand. I've seen anyone dominate with their backhand like this. 2017 was the year he destroyed the tour with the greatest backhand of all time.

[@huzcer]

Dominating David "0 masters titles" Goffin in the ATP Finals semi for example - oh wait!

[@aftabkhan1961]

Fed = Genius

[@fritsvanswinderen4532]

He transformed his backhand by changing the width of his rackethead like people had suggested for years but he was to stubborn, if he had listened than it wouldnt have taken him 5 years to win another slam. It probably cost him a few more.

[@therationalpiper7428]

Is this right after he went to the larger racquet head?

[@J.-M.]

No, three years after that (although, as someone pointed out here, he adjusted the weight for 2017, so it might have played a role, too).

[@desy2478]

You can see that Nadal had total respect for his opponent there.

[@zanichbug]

There will in my book never be a better pair of players than Fed and Nadal...

[@Codesta]

I always thought his old backhand was too loopy and short. Imagine if he had this version of his backhand throughout his career. Flat, deep and hard. Stand and deliver smack.

[@mateosimon4237]

I think Roger lost to Delpo in the final, or was it in 2018 final?

[@Braselton21]

2018 & 2019 to Thiem

[@balsamicvinegar4454]

Who is the announcer that says "stop it"? I must know

[@WivoRN]

His name is Robbie Koeing

[@balsamicvinegar4454]

thank you@@WivoRN

[@bebbone81]

I mean... when a pro like Nadal gets under pressure on his own serve... you know you have the 🐐 in front of you.

[@CrazyFrisky]

Make this top comment🗣

[@pdcdesign9632]

Neo backhand = JUST RIP IT THE SH*T OUT OF THE BALL.

[@luisgonzalezalvarez1596]

yes but he did not do that many times before in melbourne when he lost against nadal the final and wimbledon and then wimbledon again against novac

[@sankimalu]

Someone travel back to 2017 and tell Federer to watch that knee, please…

[@harsh5469]

As much as those cross court backhand especially against Nadal at AO and IW look beautiful, the backhands down the line in Shanghai final against Nadal are more tough to play. His control on one handed is next to none. PS. Watch Shanghai final for BH DTL

[@tomlee2651]

Nowadays, receiver backs all the way amongst the ball kids, then expect a 30-shot rally until one side dozes off.

[@kennethwilliams4874]

If Roger would have switched to a larger headed racquet in 2012 instead of 2017, he'd have won 10 more majors. Such a waste that it took him so many years to finally allow himself the same advantage that the rest of the tennis playing world had many years earlier.

[@alexcortez3007]

He totally figured out Nadal's game late in their careers. If they had gone on to play for 5 more years, he'd have closed that H2H gap. Too bad time already ticked.

[@Shadowboost]

This might be considered perfect tennis

[@joshhodkinson9677]

Although Nadal leads Federer in their head-to-head, Roger actually has the better record if you discount clay (nobody would argue Rafa was way better there). A large reason for that is how Roger won so many games against Rafa late in his career.

[@ashleythomas4112]

Rafa does lead 8-6 on outdoor hardcourt though, where conditions are usually quite different than indoor hard, where Fed is much better there.

[@saba7nada176]

فيدرر وبحق عبقري التنس

[@carlkligerman1981]

I think to love tennis is to love watching Federer play the game. But man, the guy has the worst fans 😂

[@Mike-sj1jv]

Djokovic and federer fans are the worst😂

[@huzcer]

@@Mike-sj1jv Sheikh Raf-al Nad-al bin Saudal the Saudi Arabia Tennis Ambassador is the man to look up to 😂

[@Lorenzo1972.]

He could’ve won another 5+ slams had he adopted the new racquet and backhand years before.