Sublime Federer adds new weapon to arsenal
Swiss star arrives at Open with sharpened surprise attack known as the SABR
NEW YORK— Through three rounds of the U.S. Open, Roger Federer has been on court for four hours and 10 minutes.
Other players have grinded through single matches that have lasted longer.
At least the quick-time labours have allowed the Fed Express to spend abundant time with his kids, regularly showing up at a favourite local restaurant, sightseeing and taking in a Broadway musical, Finding Neverland. He cried.
No tears at Flushing Meadows, however. Barely broke a sweat, even in scorching temperatures. That speaks to his superior conditioning and preternatural calm.
The Federer signature is elegant tennis.
And through the first week of this Grand Slam — which the Swiss Maestro won five years consecutively between 2004 and 2008 — he’s been utterly sublime.
So much on his divine game that one opponent, the Belgian Steve Darcis, afterwards admitted he felt a bit ridiculous being on the same court with him, such was Federer’s superior level of play.
The just-turned 34-year-old is having a serene tournament and had dropped only nine games before Saturday’s 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 encounter with Philipp Kohlscheiber — an 0-10 head-to-head abyss now for the German. Though Kohlscheiber had the gall to claim afterwards: “I didn’t feel that he was unbelievable today.”
Federer, No. 2 seed, also arrived in Queens with a new trick, as if he needed it. It’s been dubbed the SABR return: Sneaky Attack By Roger. Essentially, we’re talking here about Federer moving forward close to the service box to hit turns as soon as the ball bounces, then taking the net and closing with a volley.
In truth, because there’s nothing new under the sun, this isn’t exactly virgin territory. It’s retro tennis, more commonly known as chip and charge. But few players employ the tactic anymore, not since the Pete Sampras era. Thus opponents have been taken aback countering the strategy — deployed primarily on the second serve — even though they’re now aware of it coming.
“I used to chip and charge some, you know, back in the day,” Federer was explaining the other day. “Against certain players I did it more than others. So I have done it but not in the way that I do it now. Sometimes I stand there and I’m like ‘Should I or shouldn’t I?’ And then it’s ‘OK, whatever, I’m going.’ ”
On Saturday, Federer revealed the genesis of the SABR. Dateline: Cincinnati, a fortnight again. He was practicing with Benoit Paire. Both were gassed after flying in from Europe. After hitting a sufficient number of balls, Federer was prepared to pull the plug. Longtime coach Severin Luthi urged him to keep at it a little longer. “I said, whatever, let’s play some games.
“At the end, we were just kidding around almost and that’s when I said ‘OK, I’m going to chip and charge and just keep the points short. I’m tired. I want to get off the court soon anyway.’ That’s when I started to run in
“Because we were always talking about that tactic, we sort of came up with that name — Sneak Attack By Roger.” ROGER FEDERER ON LATEST TWEAK TO HIS GAME
and hit returns. I hit for a winner. They were, like, ridiculous. He laughed. I laughed. Severin laughed.” Ha-ha-ha. But Federer went back to the aggressive move at his next practice, just to see if it work again, wasn’t a one-off phenomenon.
“And it still worked. That’s when Severin said ‘Well, what about using it in a match?’; I was, like, really?” The idea cracked him up. Luthi kept advocating it. Federer worried he’d end up looking like a fool in a real test. “He pushed me to keep using it, not shy away from us- ing it on big moments, and not just because you don’t know how you look with a full stadium.”
Federer, incorporating the SABR, won the Cincinnati Masters, crushing Novak Djokovic in a straight-sets final.
He’d just discovered another weapon to include in his arsenal. And he’s charmed with it. “Because we were always talking about that tactic, we sort of came up with that name — Sneak Attack By Roger. I don’t know. Call it Fed Attack, call it whatever you want. But I thought it was kind of funny.”
Whether he’ll have the last laugh remains to be seen. Thus far, nobody else has tried mimicking the maneuver. But he’s advanced untroubled through the draw, where other rivals such as Andy Murray have been pressed to unexpected five-set matches. Rafael Nadal, No. 8 seed and two-time Open champion, went down swinging at 1:30 a.m. Sat- urday in a slug-match with Italy’s Fabio Fognini after taking the opening two frames.
That seemed to cement the Spaniard’s stunning decline this season. He will not win a major for the first time since 2004. His despondency was evident as Nadal all but staggered through the players’ tunnel afterwards, a poignantly sad sight.
Federer is well aware: That could be me. Some day, it probably will be me. But not yet. On Monday, in the Round of 16, Federer will face American John Isner. Against such an explosive server as Isner, the SABR will likely be sheathed.
“The idea is not to use it very much against a player like that. Clearly I will think about it but I don’t think that’s going to be the turning point of the match.”
Unless the mood strikes. And the mood for Federer has been mellow fellow.