Roger Federer is WORSE this year than in 2017: This is why – Naderi | Tennis | Sport

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Federer beat Marin Cilic in five sets in Melbourne in January to land his 20th career Grand Slam title.

The Swiss legend has now won three of the last four majors he has entered, with last month’s success following an eighth Wimbledon title and victory in Australia in 2017.

He can return to being world No 1 this evening after over five years away from the top if he beats Robin Haase in the quarter-final of the Rotterdam Open.

But Naderi does not think Federer was up to the standards he set last year in Melbourne, claiming he lacked urgency and aggression compared to his 2017 triumph.

“Was the Fed that you saw in the 2018 Australian Open reminiscent of the 2017 Roger Federer?,” Naderi said on the Tennis Connected podcast.

“Where he came out with that (Tomas) Berdych match, (Kei) Nishikori, (Stan) Wawrinka and then the (Rafael) Nadal match. 

“He was just smashing backhands and playing really aggressive types of tennis. 

“You didn’t see that as much at this tournament, but you saw a lot more slicing, more of that flat slice where it’s really deep and it angles and the drop shots, a little bit more creative. 

“I thought he wasn’t hitting his backhand as big. 

“I think he was playing more aggressive (last year), more with a sense of urgency last year. 

“Now, it needs to be said that he was obviously even fresher last year because he was off for six months. 

“But I think he was hitting bigger, he had a more of a sense of urgency last year, like ‘I’ve got to hit a winner now’.”

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