Former ATP player Janko Tipsarevic commented on an aspect of Roger Federer’s game that he feels is not appreciated enough.
The Swiss Maestro is regarded as one of the greatest players to set foot on a tennis court and his 20 Grand Slam titles is a big reason why.
He captivated millions of fans around the world due this dominance but also the grace and style with which he won matches and lifted championships titles.
But Janko Tipsarevic believes that amid Federer’s immense talents, there is another quality he possessed that was often overlooked.
Janko Tipsarevic says what he feels Roger Federer did that was overlooked
Throughout his illustrious career Roger Federer received plenty of praise for his graceful and elegant playing style, the likes of which had never been seen before.
But while this left fans and players in awe, Tipsarevic wanted to remind everyone that the eight-time Wimbledon champion was a hard worker and a great tactician, despite how easy he made everything look.
“People do not know this but the player who probably had the most patterns and was tactically sound and knew at every single moment what he was doing, was Roger,” the Serbian told the Tennis Podcast.
“That kind of got lost in the fluidity of his game and the talent and his ability. All of us were guilty of watching Roger dance like a ballerina on court and thinking he is so talented, everything is so smooth.
“I think he even said that he was getting annoyed with people saying everything is so easy for this guy because he is so talented.
“But he is the guy and I had the privilege to speak with Ivan, his previous coach, aside from the fact of working hard, everybody works hard, but he was somebody who was dedicated to the patterns and the discipline in what he is doing on court.
“Outside of Novak I would say Roger would probably be number one, but you don’t see it because of this ultra aggressive tennis.”
Did Janko Tipsarevic ever beat Roger Federer during their careers?
Tipsarevic won four ATP titles during his career and is a former top 10 player.
He faced Federer on six occasions, and failed to claim a single victory against him.
In fact, Tipsarevic claimed just two sets from those matches, and they came in the same match and it was the closest he came to defeating Federer.
Tipsarevic held a two sets to one lead against Federer at the 2008 Australian Open, before Federer levelled proceedings and sent the match into a decider.
It went right down to the wire, before Federer won 6-7(5) 7-6(1) 5-7 6-1 10-8 in a thrilling encounter at Melbourne Park.
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