‘Roger Federer was just so far above pretty much everybody else’, says newly retired pro
Steve Johnson has revealed Roger Federer was the toughest opponent he faced in his career over Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal after announcing his retirement.
The former world No 21 proclaimed that Federer was “just so far above pretty much everybody else” he played both as a tennis player and tactically.
Johnson called time on his 12-year professional career after losing to Emilio Nava in the first round of qualifying for the 2024 Indian Wells Open earlier this month.
The 34-year-old won four ATP singles titles and achieved his best singles result in a Grand Slam by reaching the last 16 at the 2016 Wimbledon Championships, where he lost to Federer. He won a bronze medal in doubles with Jack Sock at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, as well as two ATP doubles titles.
The American lost his other two meetings with the 20-time major champion at Indian Wells in 2017 and at the Australian Open in 2020 and did not win a set against the Swiss icon. Johnson also lost his sole encounters with Djokovic and Nadal.
In a press conference at Indian Wells following his retirement, Johnson explained why Federer was the toughest player he shared the court with.
“For me, the toughest player was Roger to play against just because I played Novak only once, Rafa once,” the American said.
“To see how Roger played me once, the second time I played him, I almost beat him here, lost 6 and 6, had some chances and then the next time I played him, the differences he made in his game, beat me like a drum.
“I left the court thinking, like, what he was able to do from the last time I played him, how he changed his strategy, and what he did was one of the most remarkable things for me.
“That he’s just so far above pretty much everybody else in the world at not only being a tennis player but tactically, how he could get me into situations where I was in big trouble.”
Djokovic is the No 1 seed at the 2024 Indian Wells Masters, where he will face world No 123 Luca Nardi in the third round on Monday. In the second round, the 24-time Grand Slam champion defeated Aleksandar Vukic in three sets in his first match since the Australian Open.
