When Roger met Shingo and Gordon...
It’s not often these days that Roger Federer is on the receiving end of a tennis lesson, but he was on hand to learn from the best when it comes to wheelchair tennis – and impart a little knowledge of his own.
The 20-time Grand Slam champion recently joined Japan’s Shingo Kunieda and Gordon Reid of Great Britain, stars of the ITF UNIQLO Wheelchair Tennis Tour, to delve into their sport, share some stories and advice, and even a joke or two while meeting together via Zoom.
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Federer, Kunieda and Reid have laid claim to a combined 83 Grand Slam titles in their careers to date, so who better to discuss the finer points of wheelchair tennis, grass court tactics and the evolution and future of the sport.
In a compelling 20-minute conversation hosted by UNIQLO adviser and WOWOW tennis commentator Masahide Sakamoto, Federer learns about the contrasting fortunes of two of the world’s top wheelchair tennis players on different surfaces, particularly the physical and tactical challenges presented by the recent grass court season.
In return, Kunieda – winner of a record 45 Grand Slam titles in singles and doubles, but yet to win the Wimbledon singles crown – probes Federer on his mentality when playing on slicker surfaces, while Reid sparks an interesting debate about the future of the volley in men’s tennis and the radical overhaul Federer believes will be necessary if net play is to remain a central tactical component for players in the future.
“It's interesting to see how many similarities we actually have,” Federer notes when discussing the coming changes he sees in tennis, as Reid praised both the Swiss, now 40, and 37-year-old Kunieda for their longevity at the top of their respective disciplines.
“No matter how the sport has changed over the years, Shingo was one of the best players in the world when I started, and he still is,” said the 29-year-old Scot, himself a winner of 18 major titles. “You've both adapted your games to the way the sport's progressed and no matter how it's changed, you guys have both stayed up at the top of the game, where maybe other players struggled with that.”
The full conversation can be watched at the link above or on the ITF YouTube channel. The video is also available with Spanish or Japanese subtitles by clicking the links above.