The World Number four ATP gentlemen, Roger Federer and his compatriot Stan Wawrinka concluded the 25th meeting of their career at the round-of-32 of the desert tournament. Roger Federer extended his winning percentage to 88 per cent against his friend Wawrinka in the repeat match of 2017 final in the Tennis Paradise. Later, Federer held a victory against the Brit, Kyle Edmund in the pre-quarters.

This year, Roger Federer has given the confirmation about making his presence on the clay surface and will be seen in action during the Master 1000 event in Madrid. On the mud, he feels that he can have better perspectives and believes the climatic conditions do decide the level of comfort on the surface.

In addition to that, Roger Federer mentioned the ease of executing the serve and volley tactic on clay than on the hardcourt surfaces. “Well, the fun part is that I think you can play the angles a bit more,” Roger Federer said. “You can open the court more. As much as people think that clay is a slow surface, sure, if it’s rainy and stuff, it becomes horribly slow. But when it’s a good, nice day, you can play. Almost serve and volley easier than, for instance, tonight.”

The Swiss adept spoke about the evolution of the playing style amongst the players nowadays and unlike Roger Federer, most of them get to practise it on the hard surfaces. “So I think there are many different ways you can win points on clay, so that makes it really exciting. I mean, sliding and hitting, I know nowadays a lot of guys do it on hard courts, too. I don’t do it that much,” he mentioned.”

Federer disclosed his vicinity to the surface of clay and shares a profound relationship with the same. “So for me, I like that aspect of the clay, and it reminds me of my childhood. I grew up on the clay every day in the summer, in the winter. I was always on the clay. So it’s a surface that, you know, I connect it together with my childhood,” the Swiss revealed.