Roger Federer Says Wimbledon 2019 Courts Have Slowed Down a Lot

Published 07/03/2019, 7:07 AM EDT

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World no. 3, Roger Federer, who played his first round at the Wimbledon Championships 2019 agreed that the courts have slowed down from the past years. The Swiss also admitted that his legs weren’t moving during his first-round victory over Lloyd Harris on Tuesday night.

In a post-match interview, Roger Federer talked about the courts at the All England Lawn Tennis Club being slower. He said, “I just felt like it was slow. I couldn’t really have any impact. He was doing a good job of returning me. I don’t think I had an ace in the first two sets maybe. I had two in the first three sets.”

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However, the 8-time Wimbledon Champion also admitted that he was also moving really slow during his opening match at the Wimbledon Championships 2019 with slower courts. “I was also thinking during the game if it was the slowest ever. But then I was, like, probably not. It’s probably me that is moving like a snail out here,”  Roger Federer said with a smile.

The Swiss further added that he was able to adapt to the conditions and pick up his rhythm after the first set. He continued, “Over time, I get nine aces at the end, I know Lloyd maybe wasn’t moving all that well anymore. I started to pick up my rhythm. Things started to become more normal.”

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Roger Federer also praised the ‘court attendants’, who maintain the Wimbledon courts. The 20-time grand slam champion called the courts at the AELTC: “perfect” and said, “I mean, one thing is for sure: the people who do the job here on the grass courts, they do an amazing job. They make this court so perfect. It actually becomes a bit too simple to play off the baseline.”

However, the Swiss Maestro also feels that the court has not been the fastest. “I feel like it’s a bit of everything. I have to get used to it. I definitely think Wimbledon has not been the fastest overall,” he said.

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  1. Nick Kyrgios also mentioned in his post-match press conference after his first round that he felt that the courts have slowed down.

Roger Federer will face the British Tennis Star, Jay Clarke in the second round of the Championships 2019. Earlier, Jay Clarke earned his maiden SW19 win after he defeated Noah Rubin in the first-round.

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Written by:

Varun Khanna

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Starting off as a tennis author in 2018, Varun Khanna has gone on to contribute to EssentiallySports in various capacities. After setting up interviews with the likes of Serena Williams’ coach Patrick Mouratoglou, Alizé Cornet, and Noah Rubin, Varun is now part of all major ATP and WTA press conferences and has gone on to pen more than 1300 articles for EssentiallySports. He now heads the tennis and NBA division of the organization.
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