What Is Roger Federer’s Clay-Court Legacy?

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: April 13, 2016

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Roger Federer’s return to tennis for the first time since the 2016 Australian Open was a 6-3, 6-4 win over a good clay-court player in Guillermo Garcia-Lopez at the Monte Carlo Masters. The Swiss Maestro passed his first test in knocking off the rust and showing no ill effects from knee surgery and rehabilitation.

Is a strong start on clay meaningful, or is Federer's legacy great regardless of what surface he plays?

Clay is generally considered Federer’s weakest surface, which often leads to divided observations about his success on it. Is he an all-time great on clay? Just very good?

It’s even more complicated when comparing across eras and generations, so where does Federer rank in comparison to the other all-time greats on clay?



 

Against the 1970s

Nobody knows how Federer would do against the likes of Bjorn Borg or Guillermo Vilas, the two clay-court titans of the 1970s. Borg created his version of sweeping high topspin with the small head of a wooden racket and won six French Open titles. His fitness and footwork were supreme, traits that Federer has embodied.

While it’s uncertain if Borg could come to the modern era and beat Federer with modern equipment, the Swede will always get the nod for his gaudy numbers at Roland Garros. He won 30 total clay-court titles and held a 251-41 (.860) record on clay.

Federer’s totals include one French Open title and four finals losses at Roland Garros. He has 11 total clay-court titles and is 211-66 (.762) on clay.

Meanwhile, Vilas, who was a clay king during the time of Borg, played an insane number of matches on his favorite surface. The little left-hander compiled a 659-162 (.803) record on clay to go with 49 titles and two major titles on clay in 1977—the French Open on red clay and the U.S. Open on faster green clay.

Would Federer have been able to ...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Tennis

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