Roger Federer has explained how he, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic all return serve differently.
All three players are in the running to win the final Grand Slam title of the season at the US Open over the next fortnight.
And World No 3 Federer was first up in his pre-tournament press conference at Flushing Meadows.
The Swiss star was quizzed on how returning serve has changed over the years and he used Nadal and Djokovic as prime examples.
“No returns no wins, it’s that simple,” Federer said.
“It’s probably not as important as the serve but it is amazing how returning has improved in the last 20 years.
“There was really some shocking return players back in my day when I first started but now you rarely have them.
“Anyone can make returns at all times. I don’t think there’s really a safe place to go to.
“It’s nice to see an improvement and you have different styles of serve.
“You take me, Rafa and Novak and we all return completely different, it is interesting.
“Rafa is the best at returning way back on the court. It is amazing the power he gets from there.
“Novak, how long he is and he is still able to stay aggressive.
“I use the slice a lot and the good thing it you can do it in different ways.
“But the consistency is key when it comes to returning.”
Federer gets his US Open campaign underway against a qualifier.
But the 38-year-old was drawn in the same half as Djokovic so they could meet in the semi-finals.
