Did you anticipate a Roger Federer revival like we saw in 2017? “No!”

Do you think the serve and volley is a dying art? “Yes”

What about the one-handed backhand? “I wouldn’t advise it.”

Who is a young player he would hypothetically coach? “Where will I find him?”

Stefan Edberg must be more than used to returning the kick-serve questions thrown at him, from coaching Federer to tennis’s generational differences. Yet there are questions that get a chuckle out of him, and answers that give a sharp insight on how he sees the game of tennis.

This is a player who loves the game and a professional who enjoys discussing it. Through a loud coffee machine, technical issues, and after a long day lined with similar interactions, the Swede still sounded enthusiastic as he spoke about the unique place men’s tennis is in the present, the changes from the past and what he hopes should ideally happen for the future.

Top on the list is change. Variation in play, variety in champions.

“The world of tennis today has been quite extraordinary. In the last decade or so there has been a domination with some players winning basically every Grand Slam, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Stan Wawrinka. You would wish that sometimes there would be a little bit of a change. I think it would be good to have a little bit of a change soon hopefully to bring on some new, young players,’ Edberg told The Field in Mumbai. The former world number one is in the city for the TOISA Awards.

But this change doesn’t necessarily have to come at the cost of the top players. “It will probably be great if it happens, sooner than later, to maybe have a surprise young player win a Grand Slam and still have the golden generation keep going side-by-side. That would be ideal,” he explained.

“It will happen eventually, but it is quite amazing that these guys can still keep going at this stage. It is a golden generation of players, it would probably take some time before we see a generation like this again. It has been great for tennis and its popularity,” he added.

Indeed, the last season has been a global advertisement for tennis with the resurgence of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal who climbed back to being the top two in the world. While Federer’s success showed only in 2017, the process started much before, at a time when his boyhood idol was in his box. Edberg coached Federer in 2014-15 and is among the few who had the best seats to witness the making of RF 2.0.

Federer’s backhand making the difference

But did he see it coming? Yes and no.

“I truly believed that, when I was on tour with him [even though] he was at his later stage of his career, he probably could win another Grand Slam. He was very close [losing the 2014 and 15 Wimbledon finals to Djokovic] then taking six months off in 2016, as did Rafa due to injury.”

READ: ‘One of the best weeks of my life’: Federer on his 97th title & reclaiming No 1

“Who would have thought that Roger and Rafa would be in the finals of the Australian Open and Roger winning? It is nothing I thought would happen! It is incredible, everyone was surprised including Roger himself. But one year later he has won the Wimbledon and Australian Open and is No 1 again. It’s almost hard to believe but at the same time, if there is one person who can do it is Roger with all his talent,” he said.

The next question is inevitable. Is Federer a better player today than what he was a decade ago? The answer, straight from the horse’s former coach’s mouth, is yes.

“With time your game improves and he is playing at a very great level as of now, he is confident and has made so many improvements in his game. What made the difference this time around was that he really improved his backhand. It was probably a little bit of a weakness before but today it is a great shot. He takes it early and puts a lot of pressure on his opponents,” he elaborated.

But what about the others in the erstwhile Top Five? The other four are out injured and it is only February. Is the gruelling game, the long calendar or just an anomaly?

“I think it is more of a freak accident happening right now with everyone being injured the same time. Some of the players are not exactly young any longer, everybody is working very hard, trying to stretch the limits, the time you spent on court is quite demanding, you are going to handle an injury sometime.

“There have been questions about the season’s length but I think it is okay as it is, it is just how you handle it. When I was playing, the season was even longer. As of now, it is good in my eyes but the players know better,” he replied.

Need for variety in playing styles

Not only was the season different in Edberg’s playing days, but also the style. In fact, the best exponent of serve and volley technique is in an unique position to describe this change, having played at the time the game began the transition to power-hitting and now seeing it shift towards a balance of both baseline and net play. Ask him to explain this and his detailed answer doesn’t disappoint.

“Tennis goes in cycles, in 70s there were a lot of serve and volley players, due to the racquets, the technology we were playing with, the balls and quick courts. Then 20 years later, basically everything was slow, courts were slow, balls were slow, there was battle from the baseline. Now I have been seeing some changes in the last couple of years, there is a little variation that is creeping into the game, which is very positive. Some of the courts appear to be quicker, there will be some benefit in actually trying to go for the winners,” he said.

“That is good because that is sort of the ingredient that is missing in tennis sometimes – a little more variation, variety in the ways the guys are playing. That is wishful thinking, tennis is good as it is but to make it even better,” he added.

But as rich as tennis is, variety hasn’t been the strongest suit at the highest level.

“[For young players] It is not easy, there are many hurdles to break through. In order for more players to come forward quick, you probably need to open the door a little bit further but it is quite a narrow place. Financially as well, it is quite demanding for a lot of players to break through because it takes a lot longer. Previously you could go straight from the junior into the senior tour, but that is not happening today,” he said.

No plans to coach on the tour

The response suggests a keen mind that would do well as a coach of an up and coming player. But Edberg has no such plans. “I doubt [I’ll be] coaching on the tour. Definitely I’ll be around tennis, but maybe just visiting, not as a coach, it is quite demanding and you need to have the passion for it.”

But hypothetically, if he did, who would be the player he would pick. “You would need to find somebody young, with a different game, maybe a little bit of similarities to myself in character and game. Where do you find him? I don’t know yet,” he said with a laugh.

Press him further and he names Alexander Zverev and Denis Shapovalov who he says plays serve and volley pretty well for their age. “If he (Zverev) can out his game together, definitely,” Edberg concludes.

Will the future see the now 18-year-old dominate tennis, with some help from the past great? After seeing his work with Federer and the depth of his insight on the game, once would certainly hope so.

It may be wishful thinking, but as Edberg himself said, tennis is good as it is but he would like to see it made even better.