Roger Federer at the Wimbledon Championships last year. (Getty Images)
Swiss maestro Roger Federer spoke about the perfect serve in an old interview
With 20 Grand Slam titles to his name, Roger Federer is an undisputed champion of tennis.
The Swiss maestro is one of the most followed sports personalities on the planet not just due to his on-court achievements but off it also.
Federer is often labelled as the greatest of all time (GOAT) according to fans and a few pundits.
His effortlessness and efficient on-court movement has often won him millions of fans from across the globe. The Swiss international’s greatest strengths involve his classic forehand, which according to him is one of his favourite shots.
In a throwback interview with Vogue ahead of last year’s Wimbledon Championships, Federer explains to interviewer Joe how to play the perfect serve. According to Federer, everything about the serve lies entirely on the toss of the ball.
“Okay, perfect serve is. I think it’s all in the toss really,” Federer started explaining.
He added that the serve was the only shot wherein a player is required to have some control. The other shots allowed the opponent to have some degree of control:
“It’s the only shot we actually do control. Everything else we have to react to the opponent,” Federer said.
The Swiss then gave an in-hand demonstration of how to play a perfect serve to Joe by summing up the process in just three steps – putting the ball up, jump and hope it lands in.
When asked why never played with a two-handed backhand unlike many others, Federer did not take much time to reply.
The Swiss added his heroes had influenced his game, including the backhand.
“Cause all my heroes had a one-hander, so I had no choice,” Federer replied.
Federer mentioned that he had grown up watching Boris Becker, Stefan Edberg and Pete Sampras – all three whom he considered as his idols.
All these former legends were proponents of a one-handed backhand.
Follow our dedicated tennis page for instant news and updates
