Why Is Roger Federer So Amazing On Grass? By Francisco Resendiz With An Assist By Vince Spadea

Written by: on 25th June 2014
Why Is Roger Federer So Amazing On Grass? By Francisco Resendiz With An Assist By Vince Spadea  |

Vince Spadea has a book called BREAK POINT. On page 213 he says:
“Grass is not a forgiving surface,even though it feels like it is because it’s so soft. But really you’re slipping and bending lower reaching for balls. It’s softer, so you use your muscles more to BALANCE yourself. The harder the surface ,the more rebound you get, so you don’t have to use as much muscle to stay BALANCED. It’s not a pounding feeling playing on grass, but you’re sinking so it makes you go deeper into your muscular fibers. The more days you play on grass,the more sore you get, and that’s not true when playing on hard courts.

Roger Federer has amazing BALANCE. He glides around the court. It all makes sense now why he rarely has a problem moving on the grass.  For years center court was his. He owned it. Playing on the magnificent court one is great. But not for Roger. He wants to play on center. The crowd noise from “Henman Hill” or “Murray Mound ”  is very distracting while playing on court one.

It’s interesting. Because I’ve played on a lot of grass and often tried to explain what it feels like afterwards to non tennis players and they don’t get it. Even tennis players that have never experienced playing on grass can’t get it. The weirdest part is all grass is different. Depending on mix of seeds. How often they are rolled cut. Watered or played on. All the courts around London play differently. Golf courses are similar that way.”

Thanks Vince for the assist. Tennis players, we say read Vince’s book. It’s great. This is the second time around for me. Vince was a fierce competitor and really has a keen understanding of the game and it’s cast of characters. The mixed doubles team we always wanted to see was Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Vince Spadea.

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