"Not just me, for 1000s of players it was really tough to play Roger Federer" - Mikhail Youzhny

Roger Federer, alongside Rafael Nadal, dominated the men’s tour for the better part of the 2000s. The two have 42 Grand Slam titles between them. That, added with Novak Djokovic’s 24 Majors, meant that any other player winning big was an aberration at best.

Mikhail Youzhny, a former top-10 player and Federer’s contemporary, remembers the era all too well.

In a recent interview with Tennis Majors, the former Russian tennis player recalled being at a loss for answers when facing Federer. Youzhny conceded that while he felt their styles were similar, the Swiss was just that tad bit better at everything.

"But for me – and not just me, but for thousands of players – it was really tough to play Roger Federer," Mikhail Youzhny said. "We played a lot of times on grass… To be honest, out of all 17 matches, maybe twice, I had a chance to beat him."

"It’s simple – we played the same style of tennis, but he did everything better than me: his serve was better, my slice didn’t work against him,” he added.

Youzhny recalled struggling against Federer tactically, saying you needed a particular style of game to bother the Swiss.

“Maybe only our backhand were equal, but I didn’t have an advantage anywhere. It was very tough for me to find a way tactically," Mikhail Youzhny recalled.

"You remember Guillermo Canas has beaten him twice in a row (Indian Wells and Miami) – Canas had a chance because he played a brand of tennis that doesn’t suit Roger when he’s having a bad day," he added.

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"With Roger Federer, it got harder with every match" - Mikhail Youzhny

Federer and Youzhny at the French Open.

In the same interview, Mikhail Youzhny said he developed a mental block of sorts after losing too many matches to Roger Federer early in his career. He noted that he did not have that trouble with the other two members of the ‘Big 3’ - Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal.

Youzhny was quoted as saying by Tennis Majors:

"There was another thing too – the mental approach. With Rafa and Novak, it was easier to play mentally, because I’ve beaten them in the past. With Roger Federer, it got harder with every match."

The Russian said he would put too much pressure on himself as he wanted to get that elusive win.

"I started to put more pressure on myself because I really wanted to beat him badly – even before the start, it wasn’t a normal match for me, so that emotion lowered my chance to win. From his side, he didn’t want to lose to a guy he beat a ton of times before…,” he added.

Roger Federer and Mikhail Youzhny faced off against each other on 17 occasions, with the former triumphing each time.