Comparison of Rosewall - Federer

[gzhpcu]

Both stylish players, note similarity even though Rosewall was not allowed to jump...

[stotty]

Rosewall

Rosewall's serve was about as simple as a serve can get, but it's also the tamest serve I can think of amongst players that standard. It's basically a put-in to start the rally. I cannot imagine him serving a single ace. Not that it was such a big deal back then as it is now. Surely a player couldn't survive with a serve like that these days?

I think Federer's serve is darn near perfect. It has power, placement, disguise and elegance....best illustrated in his 2009 Wimbledon final against Roddick. Federer served 50 aces (Roddick a mere 27) and out-served the biggest server in the world.

I tend to think if a player can serve around the 130mph mark, it's enough. Work on placement and disguise after that.

[tennis_chiro]

More that just a "put-in"

Rosewall's serve was about as simple as a serve can get, but it's also the tamest serve I can think of amongst players that standard. It's basically a put-in to start the rally. I cannot imagine him serving a single ace. Not that it was such a big deal back then as it is now. Surely a player couldn't survive with a serve like that these days?

I think Federer's serve is darn near perfect. It has power, placement, disguise and elegance....best illustrated in his 2009 Wimbledon final against Roddick. Federer served 50 aces (Roddick a mere 27) and out-served the biggest server in the world.

I tend to think if a player can serve around the 130mph mark, it's enough. Work on placement and disguise after that.

My coach, Jerry Alleyne, used to string for the pros in NY. He told me when he asked Laver who was the most aggressive player he faced, the answer was Rosewall. Behind that little serve. He served and volleyed on all surfaces. No the serve wasn't very big and probably the least powerful among players of his level in the game, but his accuracy enabled him to attack behind it. Probably wouldn't have been enough against even the next generation of players, as Connors showed in the '74 Wimbledon and US Open finals, especially at the US Open. Like Nadal, Rosewall served with the opposite hand. He is a lefty, but he played righthanded and never developed a big service.

But it would not be fair to say his serve was just a "put-in". His volleys made it a formidable weapon. Enough that Laver thought he was the most aggressive player he faced. Also interesting is that in those days, World Tennis (I'm guessing here, but I do remember seeing the survey year after year and I'm sure you do too, Stotty!) used to run surveys among the pros of who had the best serve, forehand, backhand, volleys and overhead. No surprise that Rosewall was rated very high or at the top on backhand and volleys, but some would be surprised to see that Rosewall was often named as the best overhead or at least in the top 3.

don

[stotty]

My coach, Jerry Alleyne, used to string for the pros in NY. He told me when he asked Laver who was the most aggressive player he faced, the answer was Rosewall. Behind that little serve. He served and volleyed on all surfaces. No the serve wasn't very big and probably the least powerful among players of his level in the game, but his accuracy enabled him to attack behind it. Probably wouldn't have been enough against even the next generation of players, as Connors showed in the '74 Wimbledon and US Open finals, especially at the US Open. Like Nadal, Rosewall served with the opposite hand. He is a lefty, but he played righthanded and never developed a big service.

But it would not be fair to say his serve was just a "put-in". His volleys made it a formidable weapon. Enough that Laver thought he was the most aggressive player he faced. Also interesting is that in those days, World Tennis (I'm guessing here, but I do remember seeing the survey year after year and I'm sure you do too, Stotty!) used to run surveys among the pros of who had the best serve, forehand, backhand, volleys and overhead. No surprise that Rosewall was rated very high or at the top on backhand and volleys, but some would be surprised to see that Rosewall was often named as the best overhead or at least in the top 3.

don

I understand the whole placement issue. Mecir was a placer...and Fibak. Stotty is too! Plenty of good players developed the knack of making their serves hard to get at. No doubt Rosewall was one of them. It's just that when you look at Rosewall's serve...it could have been better.