Thomas Johansson details what made Roger Federer nightmare opponent on grass

Thomas Johansson says Roger Federer’s variety on grass was a big reason why the Swiss was such a nightmare opponent on the fastest tennis surface.

Federer’s resume on grass is one of the most impressive in tennis as the Swiss is a record eight-time Wimbledon champion and he is also a record eight-time champion at an ATP 500 event in Halle.

Johansson, the 2002 Australian Open champion, played against Federer seven times and each time ended on the losing side.

Two of those seven meetings were played on grass as Federer beat Johansson in straight sets at Wimbledon and Halle during the 2004 grass season.

Johansson on why Federer was a nightmare opponent on grass

“And I can tell you that playing Roger Federer on grass is not fun at all either. The secret will with Roger, is that in a rally of let’s say 10 shots, he gives you eight different balls, you know? He doesn’t give you the same ball. For example, let’s say, like, Aggasi or Leyton, you know, it’s more like, I would say more machine. You get pretty much the same ball but still, it comes very quick, very deep, with a lot of spin, but with Roger is something different. So, I would say Rafael for sure. But Roger on grasses is, I mean sometimes it’s like you need a GPS to get back to the court,” Johansson said on the Baseline Intelligence with Jonathan Stokke podcast, per Sportskeeda.

Johansson, who is now 48 and retired from pro tennis in 2009, had a chance to play against several all-time greats during his time on the Tour.

“I’ve been very lucky because I was in between to like two of the best eras of tennis, I would say, I was, you know, I played the Andre Agassi, I’ve played Pete Sampras, I played Boris Becker, but at the same time, I played Roger, Rafa, Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic,” Johansson added.

Last year, Federer retired from pro tennis after two and a half decades.