Wimbledon 2018: Roger Federer and Venus Williams still bringing grace to the game even after all these years

Writing in his daily Wimbledon column, legendary tennis coach Nick Bollettieri takes a closer look at the SW19 veterans

What a pleasure it was to watch Roger Federer and Venus Williams strutting their stuff at Wimbledon on Wednesday. And I’m not just saying that because veterans like us need to stick together.

This is Federer’s 20th Wimbledon and Williams’ 21st. Holy mackerel, these guys make more records than the Beatles or Elvis Presley ever did.

Federer’s win over Lukas Lacko was his 104th match at Wimbledon, which is a men’s open era record. Williams has played exactly the same number of matches here as Federer, which is more than any other active player in the women’s game. Her win over Alexandra Dulgheru was her 89th at Wimbledon. Man, that’s even more than the number of candles I’ll be blowing out on my birthday cake later this month.

However, it’s not just their longevity that I admire about Federer and Williams. It’s also the beauty of their games.

Venus is such a graceful player. Her all-court game is a joy to watch. At 38, nevertheless, I fear that she can’t keep making such slow starts. Just as she did against Johanna Larsson in the first round, she lost the first set. I don’t think she can afford to keep letting that happen. You can’t always trust that you will be able to turn a match around.

As for Federer, I don’t think I’ve ever seen as beautiful a backhand in my 60 years in tennis. He knows, however, that for all the beauty of that stroke it’s his forehand that does most of the damage. Has there ever been another player who covers so much of the court so that he can hit his forehands?

Williams needs to ensure she stops making slow starts in her matches (Getty)

He’s also a great volleyer with a lovely touch. It used to be the case that he rarely played a drop shot, but now he throws them in every now and then to great effect.

I read that Federer has just agreed a $300m deal to wear Uniqlo kit. Well, seeing him beat Lacko reminded me how he watches the ball as if it was the last dollar bill in his pocket.

Look out for Federer next time and watch how he keeps his eye on the ball all the way until it hits his racket until long after he’s struck it. I don’t think there’s anyone who watches the ball as closely as he does.

Thursday’s match of the day: I’ll be very interested to see how 20-year-old Taylor Fritz performs against 21-year-old Alexander Zverev. Taylor is one of the best young Americans and when you’re No 3 in the world at Zverev’s age you have to be very impressed.

Fritz is 6ft 4in tall and has an excellent serve and forehand, but if he’s to have any chance against Zverev I think he has to be more adventurous than he is usually. He won’t win from the back of the court because when he gets pulled out wide he can be a bit exposed. The longer the rallies go on the more I think that will favour Zverev. Taylor is actually pretty good at the net. He just needs to keep faith in his volleying game.

Zverev has a big serve, big ground strokes and is very competitive. The one area of hope for Fritz is that Zverev doesn’t seem to me to be the strongest player mentally when things start not to go his way.

Alexander Zverev needs to work on improving his mental resilience (Getty)

What the best players have taught me: Every day I’m recalling some of the things I’ve learned from great players I’ve worked with at the IMG Academy I founded in Florida.

Jelena Jankovic came to the academy when she was only 11 or 12, but she did not come alone. Her mother, father and brother also came along. Jelena was with us at the same time as Maria Sharapova and Tatiana Golovin. She was a great athlete who could hit any shot in the book, including her two-handed backhand down the line.

Families can be a great force for the good in tennis, but I always felt that Jelena’s mother, Snezana, almost loved her daughter too much. She talked to Jelena so much that at times her influence ended up being rather negative.

When Jelena played I often felt that her mind was confused. She would keep looking up to her player box and sometimes the messages that she got back were negative ones. I felt for her, because she was always so happy and positive when it was just the two of us working together.

And what I can teach you: Today’s tip is about how to deal with “junk-ballers”, those players who give you no pace, hitting the ball high and deep into the court, usually with no spin. So many times you hear players complaining that they lost to opponents who just tried to get every ball back but gave them nothing but junk.

The key against players like this is to be patient. Keep them at the back of the court but don’t try to go for the lines: give yourself some margin for error and don’t be tempted to go for too many outright winners. You might start off by retreating behind the baseline before starting to move forward and take the ball earlier.

Eventually you should start getting some shorter balls which you can attack. Try hitting the ball deep and use the angles. You’ll then have the chance to come forward to hit volleys. When the ball is coming at you without pace don’t be afraid to hit swing volleys. Surprise attacks like this will usually catch your junk-balling opponent flat-footed.

Read all about it: The Professional Tennis Registry are publishing my personal account of what I’ve learned in a lifetime of coaching tennis. I know it will appeal to everyone who’s interested in this sport, from coaches and players through to fans. You can find out how to buy the book later this summer at www.ptrtennis.org.