Roger Federer wants to unpack the SABR again in 2021
Roger Federer is not only planning his tennis comeback for 2021 - he also wants to revive his very special return.
by Florian Goosmann
last edit: Nov 10, 2020, 03:38 pm
Roger Federer used the past week not only for training, but also for some interviews, especially with his advertising partners. So also with Wilson - the racket company recently presented Federer's “Wilson Pro Staff 97RF Autograph v13” in a new design, and the Swiss had the chance to philosophize about the history and magic of Pro Staff with idol and ex-coach Stefan Edberg .
In addition to all sorts of racket insider material, the conversation also turned to Federer's special strike from 2015. We remember: It was in the summer when Federer suddenly started taking serves as a half volley and storming the net. And suddenly he was born, the “SABR”, the “Sneak Attack By Roger”, as the maestro personally christened his new breed. The ulterior motive of the SABR: to steal the opponent's time and move very far up to the network very quickly. With success: the SABR not only became a crowd favorite, but also a source of points.
Edberg, Federer's supercoach in 2014 and 2015, took himself out of the story behind it. “When Roger arrived in Cincinnati with it, I was pretty shocked,” said the Swede. “But it was fantastic.” You just have to accept “looking ridiculous,” as Federer added. "Because you can simply award a point." On the other hand, the SABR leaves an impression that the opponent would now think: "Will he do that again for the next point?"
Coach Lüthi brought Federer to SABR
And Federer went back to the history of the origin. In Cincinnati, coach Severin Lüthi asked him to take the return earlier. He, Federer, had been tired, had just arrived from Switzerland and had tried, but that wasn't enough for Lüthi. "I can't take it earlier," countered Federer. He then went to the extreme with fun: “Like that?” The SABR was already there.
And Federer won the first points straight away. It was a super relaxed training session with Benoit Paire anyway, and in the training set he then fabricated some winners via SABR. "I really couldn't believe it." Edberg laughed himself to pieces and said Paire: "Are you serious !?" Federer then began to incorporate the SABR into the matches.
Federer wants to bring the SABR back in 2021
In the past seasons, however, the SABR was rarely seen. And Federer explained the difficulty - because the problem is that you can hardly practice it in training. "It wouldn't feel right," he explained. “Though it's a perfectly legitimate tactic . Like serve and volley. Or to wait far back for the return - who would have thought in Stefan's day that it could become normal for the opponent to return from the back fence? The SABR is the opposite of that. ”In training, however, it is difficult, in the end the partner is only allowed to serve. Therefore, it is difficult for him to bring the SABR into matches on a regular basis.
Currently, however, Federer seems to have found the time. Because, as he announced, the SABR should experience a renaissance in 2021: “I'm already thinking about how I can bring it back in the coming year,” promised the inventor himself and laughed.