Roger Federer Copying Pete Sampras Game Plan, Says Tennis Legend

Andy Roddick has drawn a specific comparison between two modern tennis greats–Roger Federer and Pete Sampras–in terms of their playing style.

The retired American player feels the Swiss maestro, who is in the twilight of his legendary career, has adopted a similar style that Sampras utilized for much of his career.

He believes Federer is now much more aggressive while playing each point.

The 20-time men’s singles Grand Slam champion has struggled with injuries in recent years, which has affected his free-flowing playing style.

Federer’s single-handed backhand is among the best the game has seen, but Roddick thinks that the 39-year-old is now "taking cuts" in his stroke while ensuring he plays shorter points.

"That changed even before this last injury," Roddick said per Tennis World USA. "We all made a big deal about the bigger racket; he's taking cuts on his backhand. That was not a necessity. He did not want to play defense as much.”

“If the rally was not over in the first two or three shots, he was going to make sure it was over by the fourth shot unless it was a deuce or a 30-all point," he continued. "Similar to what we saw from Pete Sampras for a lot of his career."

Roddick did not stop at just analyzing his former rival’s playing style but also questioned the possibility of Federer playing the clay-court season in 2021, especially since he will be returning from a long-term knee injury.

"King Roger" has not seen competitive action since his straight-sets semifinal loss to Novak Djokovic at the 2020 Australian Open.

He recently confirmed that he will miss the opening Grand Slam of the 2021 season in Australia, with his manager Tony Godsick indicating that a return in February is on the horizon.

Roddick believes the Swiss tennis legend could skip the clay-court season, including the French Open at Roland Garros, and make his much-awaited return for the grass-court campaign later in the year.

“Is Roger Federer gonna jump back again on the clay and risk a knee slipping sliding around a couple of months? Does not playing Australia mean that we are looking at him on the grass at a tournament that he actually thinks he's gonna win? [I don't know if] he's gonna play a French Open where he's not maybe one of the six, seven, eight favorites on that surface," he stated.