Roger Federer Wants Faster Play In Tennis, Says A “Serve Shot Clock” Could Happen
Following a quick second round win last night over Gilles Muller, Roger Federer addressed the topic of the day: time between points. In Grand Slam events men are allowed 20 seconds to serve after points, however that rule has long been abused and debated. And Federer wants the rules to be followed.
“I just think it’s important that we, as players, play up to speed,” Federer said. “And don’t exceed the time limit, because what I don’t want is that we lose viewers because we play too slow.
“You cannot take 25 seconds. I mean, I know you need to focus. That you can do in 10 seconds. Just can’t be that we only see two points per minute. I just feel like we need to keep up the pace and obviously play according to the rules.
“The rules are there not to be broken, but of course you need to give leeway to tough rallies and somebody who’s got — needs a bit more time. I’m fine with that.”
Federer also hinted of a possible future on court “Serve shot clock”, one first proposed on this site in 2008.
“What you’re going to see next is all of a sudden a shot clock,” Federer said. “We discussed that as well. We said we didn’t need to go that far. That the next council can decide. If that happens — I wouldn’t be surprised if that were to happen all of a sudden. Because you only just need a couple of guys always doing it, and that’s when it happens.
“We have seen it in so many other sports, people who push it too much, and then you have to go the other extreme to counter that.
“Yeah, they have gotten a little less aggressive, the umpires, again, which is understandable sometimes. But I don’t think all of last year I got a warning. Did I always play under 20, 25 seconds? I’m not sure, but maybe I do get the benefit for playing quick most of the time.”
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