Federer's game perfect for grass
Two histories, inexorably intertwined, follow Roger Federer into the two-week festival that begins Monday at the All England Lawn Tennis Club.
At 23, the lithe Swiss player is the world's best, man or woman. Federer won three of four Grand Slam singles titles last year but, almost inexplicably, failed to win either of the first two Grand Slams of 2005 in Melbourne and Paris.
At the same time, he hasn't lost in nearly three years on the surface most conducive to his elegant game, the sanctuary of green grass. After winning the Gerry Weber Open last week in Halle, Germany, Federer has won a fairly amazing 29 straight matches on grass. His last loss on grass was a straight-set setback against teenager Mario Ancic in the first round of the 2002 Wimbledon.
Since then, he has been invincible. His 6-4, 6-7 (4), 6-4 victory over Marat Safin in Germany avenged his semifinal loss to the strapping Russian in the semifinals of the Australian Open. It was also Federer's 20th consecutive victory in a championship final – a phenomenal achievement, if you stop to think about it.
"I'm very pleased," Federer said. "It was a good performance all week long. It's exactly the way I want to feel heading into Wimbledon.
"I always feel like I can improve. I think there were moments when I could have done better. For example, I can serve and return better. Grass-court tennis depends on a few points, and if you miss those – like me in the beginning of the match, when I had some opportunities and missed a few shots – it shows I can definitely play better."
This, if you are Safin or Andy Roddick or Rafael Nadal, is a daunting thought.
Federer is attempting to win his third consecutive Wimbledon championship, a feat that would place him in the distinguished company of Pete Sampras (1997-2000, 1993-95), Bjorn Borg (1976-80) and Fred Perry (1934-36), the only men to do it in the last 75 years.
On Wednesday, Federer was named the top seed at Wimbledon. He could meet Roddick, the No. 2 seed, in the finals for the second consecutive year. British bookmaker Ladbrokes has installed Federer as a 1.53-1 favorite to win the tournament.
His 29 consecutive victories on the slippery surface that is grass place him within striking distance of history. Borg, during his five-title run at Wimbledon, won a record 41 straight matches on grass.
None of this should come as a surprise.
A game for grass
Federer grew up in Switzerland playing on clay, but as his game evolved, he grew more and more comfortable on grass. His idol, early on, was German Boris Becker, who won Wimbledon as a 17-year-old in 1985 and repeated the following year. His favorite player was Sampras, who won seven Wimbledon titles in eight years.
In 1998, when he was the world's No. 1-ranked junior, Federer won the Wimbledon junior singles and doubles titles. When he won the men's singles championship in 2003, he joined Stefan Edberg, Pat Cash and Borg as the only men to win the junior and men's titles at the All England Club.
Federer's peerless and diverse offensive game is what makes him unbeatable on grass. His serve doesn't sizzle at 150-plus mph like Roddick's, but it moves quickly enough, and like a crafty pitcher, Federer places it well. Balls don't bounce as high on grass as they do on clay, and the grass at Wimbledon, particularly during the first week, causes balls to skid and stay low. Federer's forehand, while not as overpowering as Roddick's, is the best in the game because he hits it from such a variety of angles.
The thing that separates Federer from the field is his ability to serve and volley almost at will. Britain's Tim Henman, who has reached the Wimbledon semifinals and quarterfinals four times each in the last nine years, has mined the same vein, albeit with fewer physical gifts. Roddick, despite a push from former coach Brad Gilbert, has shown little interest in mastering the volley.
In last year's Wimbledon final, Federer lost the first set to Roddick but won the last three with a masterful grass clinic. Gifted defensive players such as Nadal and Lleyton Hewitt have to hope for a dry run at Wimbledon, which would make for a harder court and slightly higher bounces.
One of tennis' hackneyed phrases is the "clay-court specialist." In point of fact, grass-court specialists are even fewer and farther between. Grass, the dinosaur of surfaces, is very nearly extinct.
When Rod Laver swept the four Grand Slams in 1962 and again in 1969, three of the four majors were played on grass. Thirty years ago, the U.S. Open at Forest Hills ditched grass in favor of clay. Now, the Australian Open and U.S. Open employ hard courts. There are 26 ATP tournaments contested on clay, and there are only six on grass, and those six are compressed into a 34-day window. Players coming off the clay-court season make the abrupt transition to grass by tuning up in England, Germany and the Netherlands -- and after Wimbledon, they play on the emerald courts at Newport Casino.
Some of the top grass players, Federer and Roddick among them, have lobbied for a Tennis Masters event on grass that would extend the grass season by a week, but that change isn't likely to occur.
Federer got in some extra work in the Gerry Weber by playing doubles with his good friend Yves Allegro, and they won the tournament. Federer has been practicing this week at Wimbledon, trying to summon the mind-set that brought him titles the last two years. Even though he is a sparkling 51-3, Federer still has memories of that 2002 flameout against Ancic. The following year, defending champion Hewitt was stunned by 6-foot-10 Ivo Karlovic in the first round.
"I feel confident, but there can always be a tough draw," Federer said. "There can always be a shocking loss in the first round. I don't really think about it, but that's what I was more concerned about last year defending my first Wimbledon title."
There is one positive note that might give Federer a psychological advantage at Wimbledon. His two Grand Slam semifinal losses came to players who were celebrating their birthdays. Nadal turned 19 the day of his triumph at Roland Garros, and Safin turned 25. The good news? None of the top players celebrates a birthday on July 3, the date of the Wimbledon final. Jared Palmer (July 2) and Dennis van Scheppingen (July 5) are the only ones even close.
Greg Garber is a senior writer for ESPN.com.
