5 most underrated Roger Federer performances

It is no secret to fans that when it comes to tennis, Roger Federer is pretty much perfect. The Swiss is the most technically sound athlete in the game, with natural talent of humongous amounts and physical conditioning of a young tyke. And the fact that Roger Federer continues to be so technically sound even as he nears the age of 40 deserves plaudits on its own.

But really, Roger Federer IS perfect. He boasts of great technical attributes, with a precise serve, an authoritative forehand & a defensively strong backhand. He also does well in tactical attributes like changing the direction & pace of the rally, court craft & control in his timing of the ball.

If that was not enough, Roger Federer also has the endurance of a 200-metre sprinter and the agility of a super ball.

Yet, these are teachable attributes. What really sets Roger Federer apart from many of his peers is his mentality - the Swiss has a killer instinct & a winning mentality that would make even Muhammad Ali proud. And even when he is having an off day, Federer makes the opponent earn the victory.

Perhaps, these are the qualities which Roger Federer has used to give the tennis community one epic match after another. While most great performances by Roger Federer in such thrillers have seen the Swiss at his absolute zenith; there have been a few encounters in which the opponent played pound-for-pound tennis with the Fed Express.

For example, 2007 Wimbledon final, 2008 Wimbledon final, 2009 Australian Open final, 2009 Wimbledon final, 2014 Wimbledon final among a few others.

However, let's have a look at one of those matches that did not have as much historical significance as, say his 2008 Wimbledon epic vs Nadal, but prompted the Fed Express to use his tennis skills in full power regardless.

#5. Roger Federer d. Juan Martin Del Potro 3-6 7-6(2) 2-6 6-1 6-4 in 2009 French Open semifinal

Roger Federer treated the crowd with a clay-court masterclass at 2009 French Open

Roger Federer was yearning for his 1st French Open title, having reached 3 finals in Paris by then, all of them ending in defeats to Rafael Nadal. He had also been outclassed in 9 clay-court finals by the Spanish Matador. However in 2009, Nadal had crashed out early as all the signs beckoned for the Swiss Maestro to finally win the one title that had eluded him all his career.

The stakes were at their highest when Roger Federer faced a young Juan Martin Del Potro in a match that was possibly the final before the final, with the winner facing Robin Soderling - the conqueror of Rafael Nadal - in the championship match. And the Argentine came to play in some style, hammering one forehand after another to Federer's backhand as he took a 2-sets-to-1 lead.

Those who have followed Roger Federer would know that the Swiss' greatest strength is his mind. Clearly seeing the match as his last opportunity at winning the French, Roger Federer upped the ante in the 4th.

At 2-1 40-40 in the fourth on Delpo's serve, Roger Federer showed how consistent his backhand really is as he imprisoned the Giant in his own backhand corner as the Swiss moved him around with his famed inside-out forehands. Eventually, Delpo would cave in and give Federer an easy ball to kill off with a drop shot.

The shining attribute of Roger Federer's game that day was his defense, which was simply impenetrable. Mixing up play with slices and a delectable cross-court backhand, Roger Federer put everything back in play as he tired the Argentine from the backhand. And when Delpo would least see it coming, Federer would end the point with a dastardly backhand down-the-line, winning 75% of his points in which he played a BH DTL as the penultimate shot.

#4. Roger Federer d. Andy Murray 6-3 6-4 7-6(11) in 2010 Australian Open final

Roger Federer plays a swinging volley in the 2010 Australian Open final

After gaining well-deserved redemption in winning the 2009 French Open & the 2009 Wimbledon and also ending the season as the World No.1, Roger Federer was in fine form coming into the 2010 Australian Open. His road to the final was a tricky one with the likes of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Nikolay Davydenko and Lleyton Hewitt providing stiff competition.

But the pretenders could hardly contend with the Fed Express as he blasted his way to the 2010 AO final. On the other side of the net was Andy Murray, who Roger Federer had beaten in his maiden Slam final appearance 2008 USO. With revenge on his mind, the Brit would play some sharp tennis in the final but was always playing second fiddle to the Swiss genius.

Known primarily for his conversion in points that last between 1 to 3 shots, Roger Federer took Murray for a ride in the longer rallies in the first two sets, changing direction and punting winners at will. As the fight went to the final third, Murray was forced to charge his cross-court forehands with quite a bit of pace and was reaping a few rewards. Yet, just when it started to look as if Andy Murray had a look in the match, the Swiss sent him off to fetch with an unbelievable forehand angle.

Truly in his element that day, Roger Federer outclassed his opponent as he bossed Murray in his own service games, hitting 11 winners in Murray's service games in what was a fatal blow to the challenger's confidence - that's a quarter of the total winners that Federer hit all match. Besides the winners, Roger Federer showed Murray he had plenty to learn with his own mental strength in fine display, winning around 50% of his points while serving at 40-40 with a groundstroke winner.

#3. Roger Federer d. Novak Djokovic 7-6(1) 6-3 in

2015 Cincinnati Final

Roger Federer turned back the clock at 2015 Western & Southern Open

With sublime performances far and few, Roger Federer had spent around 3 years in the shadow of his younger, fitter opponents in Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal after his 2010 AO triumph. He had some well-earned victories in between, like the 2015 Dubai SF vs Djokovic or the 2012 Indian Wells SF vs Nadal (which is the next entry in this list!).

One of his wins vs Novak Djokovic in 2015 warranted a mention here, and it is their clash in the 2015 Cincinnati final that deserves a mention the most, as Roger Federer played seamlessly on both serve & return that day. The 1st set was pushed to a tiebreaker as Djokovic somehow managed to hang in with Federer, but it is from here that the Fed Express truly took off.

Facing a tight 1st serve from Djokovic, Federer showed real courage as he SABR-ed the ball from almost the service box. Djokovic was taken by surprise with this tactic r and could not do much in return, as the Swiss ultimately ended the ensuing exchange with a smash winner.

With the Serb visibly shaken, it would just be the start Roger Federer subjugating Djokovic's serve all match long; returning every serve with interest as the Fed Express haunted his opponent with deep returns off his wide serve, a serve that Djokovic has used to great success in his career.

On the serve, the Swiss Maestro was even more matchless, never really giving the World No.1 a crack. Roger Federer won around 85% of his service points when he went for the T, in what happens to be a stat depicting his ruthless accuracy on serve. In the end, Djokovic would gain zero break points on the Federer serve as the Fed Express took everyone back the good ol' days.

#2. Roger Federer d. Rafael Nadal 6-3 6-4 in

2012 Indian Wells semifinal

Roger Federer gave no quarter to Nadal in their 2012 Indian Wells SF

If Roger Federer were to have any regrets in his illustrious career spanning more than two decades, it would be the lack of teeth in his game in big matches vs his arch-rival Rafael Nadal. Having met in 9 Grand Slam finals and 12 ATP Tour Masters 1000 finals, the Swiss was inferior to the Spaniard for a large portion of their meetings.

In the 2012 Indian Wells tournament, Roger Federer had regained his confidence after losing to Nadal in a close 2012 Australian Open semifinal, having won the Rotterdam and Dubai Open.

Nadal was himself playing some fine hardcourt tennis, and the winner would meet the best-in-the-world Djokovic in the final. With stakes as high as ever, Federer showed a welcome change in his tactics as he successfully weathered the top-spin onslaught from the World No.2 on a windy day.

Usually, Nadal traps his right-handed opponent in the corner with his cross-court forehands, looping high balls to the opponent's backhand until the stroke breaks down enough to give the Matador an edge in the rally.

Having used this tactic to great reward vs Federer previously, the Swiss changed his tactics heading into the match to avoid giving Nadal the advantage so easily. Federer hit a high amount of balls to the mid-court with enough depth, not allowing Nadal to create spaces to exploit.

And when Nadal tried to steer a cross-court angle to get a tenable advantage in the rally, Roger Federer would return the favour with another BH in the middle or BH DTL - letting Nadal know that he was ready to go all the twelve rounds with him. Eventually, Nadal's forehand to Federer's backhand started having less effect as Federer won about half of the points in which he was made to play a BH DTL.

With his backhand niggles solved coupled with a searing forehand, Roger Federer eventually prevailed over Nadal in his 1st victory over the Spaniard at a big knockout event since 2009 Madrid.

#1. Roger Federer d. James Blake 6-0 6-3 6-4 in

2006 Tennis Masters Cup Final

Roger Federer ended his 2006 season with a record-breaking 92-5 W-L tally

All of the matches mentioned above had Roger Federer a little off his game. The ones who have seen the Fed Express in its prime would know how the Federer of old would obliterate an opponent 6-0 in under a half an hour, or would totally take apart players who were having the runs of their lives.

At the 2006 Tennis Masters Cup, James Blake met the aforementioned fate. Playing at a career-best level, the American had comprehensively beaten Federer's biggest rivals Nadal and David Nalbandian en route to the final. Expected to be quite the match after Nalbandian had put on an inspiring display of tennis against the Swiss in the previous year's final, Roger Federer would not blink twice in as many finals and never let Blake have even a miniscule chance of winning.

Federer started the match at his scintillating best, destroying the American in the 1st set. Blake would manage to put on a fight in the consequent sets, but not that much of a fight as the Swiss hammered down an ace 21% of the times in the 2nd set.

The biggest highlight of Roger Federer's performance, however, was his backhand in what was an infallible display of groundstrokes. The Swiss would put on a clinical array of backhands, swatting inside-out winners at will as the American was left frustrated.

With his game already clearly at its peak, Blake was left confused and red-faced at the fury he was facing from the Swiss' backhand side. The American would then start hitting at Federer's forehand wing more and more, even managing to break the Fed Express in one of the games.

But that would turn out the last chance Blake had at making the score look respectable, if he had any, as Roger Federer would hold his own in the cross-court forehand rallies to minimize the little edge his challenger had over him.