The top players might dominate most of the ATP Tour in competitive action, but they also require their services in practice.
The ‘big four’ – Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Andy Murray – would rarely practice together due to their intense rivalry on the ATP Tour.
The top players would often require a lower ranked player to hit with during tournaments, but it can be a thankless task.
In 2019, Federer outlined exactly what he wanted from a practice partner as he named some of his favourites on the tour.
What Roger Federer wanted from a hitting partner
Federer played with several different players as he was preparing for major tournaments and in 2019 he named some of the players he liked hitting with.
The Swiss star said: “A good guy, a guy who can play tennis. I don’t know. I like to play with Robin Haase or [Jeremy] Chardy or, I don’t know, [Diego] Schwartzman, [David] Goffin. I don’t know. [Marton] Fucsovics I have practiced a ton as well.”
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The star explained what hitting partners needed to do for him in order to continue their working relationship.
He said: “Just guys that I get along well also off the court that maybe also can play up in the court, play aggressive or steady, good to have a chat with before, during, and after the game. I mean, I’m not very picky, to be quite honest. I’m fairly relaxed.”
Federer also mentioned American Christopher Eubanks as a respectable hitting partner for a number of reasons.
The Swiss star explained: “He’s a good guy. He’s funny. Like I said before, you want to practice with the good guys. Yeah, I mean, look, I practiced with him — I wonder if it was last year or two years ago at the Open, at the McEnroe Academy.
“It was his height and power and everything and variation with the one-handed backhand and a good slice and all that stuff.
“It’s nice to practice with somebody like that. And then you want a guy who tries hard. And he does. He’s, you know, always going to joke around a little bit. You’re going to have a good laugh with the guy.
“You know he’s going to show up. Yeah, so this is the kind of guy you want to have around, and I hope for him that he’s going to be able to take it to the next level and not just be a practice partner like you say now, because he’s much more than that.”
What ‘surprised’ Dan Evans about practicing with Roger Federer
British tennis star Dan Evans also spent time working closely with Federer during the height of his career.
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Evans trained with Federer in Switzerland ahead of the clay court swing in the 2019 season and he was shocked by Federer’s level.
In an interview with the BBC, he said: “I was pretty surprised with how simple a lot of the drills were. He was so down to earth off the court. It was a bit surreal sometimes – he didn’t hide away or anything.”
The Swiss star did not win a clay court tournament following his practice sessions with the British tennis ace.
Evans and Federer played each other four times on the ATP Tour, with the Swiss star winning all four of their meetings.
