Roger Federer shares bold 'safety net' theory involving Carlos Alcaraz & Jannik Sinner, criticizes tournament directors over surface speeds

Roger Federer has suggested that tournament directors, in their desire to ensure finals pitting Carlos Alcaraz against Jannik Sinner, are ending up making courts slow, irrespective of the surface. The legendary Swiss voiced this take amid the ongoing 2025 Laver Cup in San Francisco.

The opening match of this year's edition of the annual men's team tennis event saw Team World's Reilly Opelka lose to Team Europe's Casper Ruud in straight sets. Opelka, who has a formidable serve, was constantly under pressure from Ruud, who, on multiple instances, hit winning returns aided by the slow court speed. Later, the American criticized the court conditions.

Subsequently, during a special appearance on the Served with Andy Roddick podcast, Laver Cup co-founder Roger Federer opined that the way Ruud returned some of Opelka's booming serves was much easier than it should have been. He also took responsibility for the slow indoor hardcourt at San Francisco's Chase Center, the host venue for this year's Laver Cup.

"I just had this conversation this morning with Reilly Opelka. I told him, "it's not okay. I fault myself (for the slow indoor hardcourt at the 2025 Laver Cup)", because I was part of the decision-making of the court surface speed here, but it can't be that he's kick serving on the ad side indoors against Casper Ruud," Federer said.

"Casper Ruud actually can go back, even has that option indoors to go return Reilly's serve, which is arguably one of the best serves in the game right now, and he returns it from hip height and just hits a crosscourt passing shot winner on break point. I feel like it should be a little bit more difficult to be able to do that," he added.

The former No. 1 and 20-time Major champion went on to recall how, in the past, court speeds would vary, which, according to him, would pave the way for exciting matchups, particularly between those who favored one surface over the other. He also bemoaned the similar styles of play among players in contemporary tennis, saying:

"Back in the day only 12 tournaments counted. So everybody would play on their favorite surface and then they wouldn't sometimes meet, and those were the best matches, when you have the attacker against the retriever. And now everyone plays similar. It's because the tournament directors have allowed, with the ball speed and the court speed, that every week is basically the same."

The 44-year-old concluded by talking about a 'safety net' that tournament directors look at, possibly to ensure Carlos Alcaraz vs Jannik Sinner finals. The Alcaraz-Sinner rivalry is in full swing, with the Spaniard and the Italian having shared the men's singles titles at all the Majors played since the start of the 2024 season. They have also won a handful of ATP 500 and Masters 1000 tournaments.

"Obviously, I understand the safety net that the tournament directors see in making the surface slower. It's for the weaker player. He has to hit extra amazing shots to beat Sinner, whereas if it's quick, he can only maybe blast a few and at the right time and he gets past. So that's what the tournament directors are like, "I kind of like Sinner-Alcaraz in the finals, you know? It kind of works for the game."," Federer concluded.

"It's hard" - Roger Federer wonders about longevity of Carlos Alcaraz-Jannik Sinner dominance

Carlos Alcaraz (left) and Jannik Sinner (right) ahead of the men's singles final at the 2025 US Open (Source: Getty)

In an interview with Tennis Channel at the 2025 Laver Cup, Roger Federer was asked to share his thoughts on Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner's dominance in contemporary men's tennis. While the Swiss spoke highly of the Spaniard and the Italian, he also wondered how long they can continue to rule the roost. He delivered his take based on personal experience.

"How long can they keep doing this? Because it's not easy. I've been there. It's hard, and they're making it (winning Majors) look very easy," the Swiss said.

Federer himself, along with Rafael Nadal, dominated men's tennis from the mid-2000s. However, in the late 2000s, the emergence of Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray broke the Swiss and the Spaniard's dominance.