Former World No. 13 Alexandr Dolgopolov has revealed one of the biggest components of 19-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer’s success on the ATP tour, but the Swiss maestro has never accepted it as a crucial part of his game over the years.
The 36-year-old from Basel ended his season as World No. 2 after winning his fifth Australian Open title over his arch-rival Rafael Nadal in what was a stunning comeback from a six-month injury layoff. The former World No. 1 then turned himself into a winning machine, bagging trophies in Indian Wells, Miami, and Halle before capturing a record breaking 8th Wimbledon crown leaving his Croatian adversary Marin Cilic in tears.
And Dolgopolov declared that the secret to Federer’s supremacy is his ability to set the pace in his contests that has allowed him to dominate proceedings against most of his challengers. The Ukrainian disclosed that he has beaten Roger many a time in practice matches but has failed to replicate that success during official matches.
Dolgopolov said that Federer is indeed the toughest opponent he has faced on the men’s circuit. He simply can’t believe that anybody could be as good as Federer.
The Kiev native said: “Federer plays very fast. This is not visible on the cameras, everything looks very smooth and flat on TV, but in reality, everything happens much faster on the court. Because of how naturally his technique and movement are built, it seems that he does everything somehow easily and at ease.”
“But on the court, this happens very quickly, you just do not have time for it, it takes time from you. I cannot understand how to accept his game, so playing against him is the hardest. If we have a game in training, I take sets from him, then I have zero chances at matches. I cannot accept him at all.”
