Each week, Tennis Channel and TENNIS.com will feature a Tough Call around a thought-provoking topic, and our panel of experts will weigh in both on-air and online.
Be sure to join the discussion by voting in our polls and by commenting on Facebook and Twitter using #TennisToughCall.
In this week's edition of Tough Call: If 2007 Roger Federer played 2017 Federer on grass, who would win?
Ready, set, go...
!4 REASONS 2007 FEDERER WOULD WIN
- He was almost invincible on grass: Federer was on a 48-match grass-court winning streak going into the 2007 grass-court season (and it would eventually extend to 65).
- He was actually almost invincible at every major outside of Roland Garros; going into the 2007 grass-court season, he had won nine of the last 10 majors away from Paris.
- Youth: Not many players have defied the aging process like he has over the years, but the Federer from 2007 played—and won—more than the Federer of 2017.
- He was ranked No. 1 in the world (compared to No. 5 in the world now).
!4 REASONS 2017 FEDERER WOULD WIN
- He’s kind of forgotten how to lose: Federer’s 19-2 this year, and in the only matches he lost—against Evgeny Donskoy in Dubai and Tommy Haas in Stuttgart—he held match points.
- He doesn’t have any wear and tear from the clay-court season, which he skipped entirely this year— including Roland Garros—to focus on the grass-court season.
- He’ll have more momentum on grass now given there’s a three-week lead-up season.
- Experience: In the last decade he’s not only won eight more majors—bringing his career total to 18—but he’s kept up with, and has continued to lead, an ever-evolving sport.