Playing style:Federer's versatility was epitomised by Jimmy Connors' statement: "In an era of specialists, you're either a clay court specialist, a grass court specialist, or a hard court specialist...or you're Roger Federer."
Federer is an all-court player known for his fluent style of play and shot making. Federer mainly plays from the baseline but is also comfortable at the net being one of the best volleyers in the game today. David Foster Wallace described Federer's exceptional speed, fluidity and brute force of this forehand motion as "a great liquid whip", while John McEnroe has referred to Federer's forehand as "the greatest shot in our sport". Federer plays with an excellent single-handed backhand which gives him great variety. He has an excellent slice, can also fire top-spin winning shots and he also possesses a 'flick' backhand where he can generate pace with his wrist, this is usually used to pass the opponent at the net. His serve is difficult to read because he tosses the ball in the same spot no matter where he intends to serve it and he turns his back to his opponents during his motion. He is often able to produce big serves on key points during a match. His first serve is typically around 200 km/h (125 mph); however, he is capable of serving at 220 km/h (137 mph). Federer also utilizes a well-disguised drop shot off of both wings. Federer rivals Rafael Nadal in terms of fitness level, and has never retired from any of his matches on the main tour.
Equipment, apparel, endorsements:Federer currently plays with a customised Wilson KFactor KSix-One Tour 90 tennis racquet, which is characterised by its smaller hitting area of 90 square inches, heavy weight of 12.7 ounces, and thin beam of 18 millimeters. His grip size is 4 3/8 inches (sometimes referred to as L3). Federer strings his racquets at 24 to 28 kilograms (52.9 to 61.7 pounds) tension utilizing Wilson Natural Gut 16 gauge for his main strings and Luxilon Big Banger ALU Power Rough 16L gauge (polyester) for his cross strings. When asked about string tensions, Federer stated "this depends on how warm the days are and with what kind of balls I play and against who I play. So you can see – it depends on several factors and not just the surface; the feeling I have is most important."
Federer endorses Wilson tennis racquets and accessories with a lifetime contract along with Nike footwear and apparel. For the 2006 championships at Wimbledon, Nike designed a jacket emblazoned with a crest of three tennis racquets, symbolising the three Wimbledon Championships he had previously won, and which was updated the next year with four racquets after he won the Championship in 2006. In Wimbledon 2008 and again in 2009, Nike continued this trend by making him a personalised cardigan. He also has his own logo, an R and F joined together. Federer endorses Gillette, Jura, a Swiss based coffee machine company, as well as Mercedes Benz and NetJets. Federer also endorses Rolex watches, although he was previously an ambassador for Maurice Lacroix.
Rivalries:Federer vs. Nadal
Federer and Nadal have been playing each other since 2004 and their rivalry is a significant part of both men's careers.
They have held the top two rankings on the ATP Tour from July 2005 to date, except from August 17 until September 14 2009, when Nadal fell to World No. 3 (Andy Murray was No. 2 during that time). They are the only pair of men to have ever finished four consecutive calendar years at the top. Federer was ranked number 1 for a record 237 consecutive weeks beginning in February 2004. Nadal, who is five years younger, ascended to No. 2 in July 2005 and held this spot for a record 160 consecutive weeks before surpassing Federer in August 2008.
Nadal leads their head-to-head 13–7. Because tournament seedings are based on rankings, 16 of their matches have been in tournament finals, including an all-time record 7 Grand Slam finals. From 2006 to 2008 they played in every French Open and Wimbledon final, and then they met in the 2009 Australian Open final. Nadal won five of the seven, losing the first two Wimbledons. Three of these matches were five set-matches (2007 and 2008 Wimbledon, 2009 Australian Open), and the 2008 Wimbledon final has been lauded as the greatest match ever by many long-time tennis analysts. They have also played in a record 8 Masters Series finals, including their lone five hour match at the 2006 Rome Masters which Nadal won in a fifth-set tiebreak.Until 14 September 2009, when Juan Martin del Potro beat Nadal in the US Open semi-final on his way to defeating Federer in the final itself, no player had beaten Nadal and Federer in the same Grand Slam. Nadal has not lost a French Open (4) or Australian Open (1) final, while Federer was undefeated in US Open until losing to del Potro (5). Both have won Grand Slam events on three different surfaces successively (2008 French Open, 2008 Wimbledon, 2009 Australian Open for Nadal and 2008 US Open, 2009 French Open, 2009 Wimbledon for Federer).
Federer vs. RoddickFederer and Roddick have a long, though lopsided, rivalry. They have met 21 times during their careers, with Federer leading their overall head-to-head series 19–2. Roddick is Federer's most frequent opponent on tour. Roddick has lost four Grand Slam finals, each time to Federer: Wimbledon in 2004, 2005, and 2009, and one US Open in 2006. On February 2, 2004, Federer supplanted Roddick as World No. 1 to begin his record reign of 237 consecutive weeks at number 1. Federer and Roddick are the only players to have finished each tennis season in the ATP top 10 every year from 2002 to 2008.
