"Roger's got too many shots, too much talent in one body. It's hardly fair that one person can do all this - his backhands, his forehands, volleys, serving, his court position ... the way he moves around the court, you feel like he's barely touching the ground, and that's the sign of a great champion. And his anticipation, I guess, is the one thing that we all admire."
- Rod Laver, 2007

"Well, I think when I look at Roger, I mean, I'm a fan. I'm a fan of how he plays, what he's about… he's a class guy on and off the court. He's fun to watch. Just his athletic ability, what he's able to do on the run. I think he can and will break every tennis record out there."
- Pete Sampras, 2006

"He simply does not have any more weaknesses left in him. It is such a pleasure to see him play. To me, Roger Federer is the right model for anyone aspiring to be a tennis player. It is such a pleasure to just watch him play. His shot-making has got better and I doubt there is any shot he cannot make in any part of the court…All records will tumble when it comes to Roger. He is such a complete player that I do not see anyone getting better than him for a long time from now."
- Bjorn Borg to Gulf News in 2007

"Roger is a complete player. What he has -- and it's not luck -- is the ability to change his game slightly as to what his opponent's doing to him…He's not known as a great aggressive player, but he's so good on the defense and so good at the return of serve that he's forcing the other player, mentally, to get a little bit of scaredness. 'I've got to serve a little better or Roger's going to knock it by me. ... I've got to make a better approach shot or he's going to pass me.' He's getting errors because of the threat of his skills. That's why he's the champ."
- Jack Kramer to the Associated Press, 2004

"Roger is like a good red wine, he's getting better with age. I think his best years are ahead of him. I think his big years will be when he is 26, 27, 28, as that is when he will be both mature and at his physical peak. I think he will become a better player in many respects. Roger hasn't even started to use a lot of his game. It's a challenge for all those trying to stop him. But they are playing against a man who will probably enter tennis history as the best ever. That should be motivation enough."
- Tony Roche to The Age, 2007

"[In the modern game], you're a clay court specialist, a grass court specialist or a hard court specialist ... or you're Roger Federer."
- Jimmy Connors to the BBC, 2006

"(Roger) has the potential to be the best ever. I wouldn't give it to him yet, but he is certainly on his way. I watch him and Tiger [Woods]. I feel very fortunate to be watching two who will probably be the best of all times. They are both phenomenal."
- Ivan Lendl to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 2007

"I'd like to be in his shoes for one day to know what it feels like to play that way."
- Mats Wilander to the Associated Press, 2004

"There's probably not a department in his game that couldn't be considered the best in that department. You watch him play Hewitt and everybody marvels at Hewitt's speed, as well as myself. And you start to realize, `Is it possible Federer even moves better?' Then you watch him play Andy [Roddick], and you go, `Andy has a big forehand. Is it possible Federer's forehand is the best in the game?' You watch him at the net, you watch him serve-volley somebody that doesn't return so well and you put him up there with the best in every department. You see him play from the ground against those that play from the ground for a living, and argue he does it better than anybody."
- Andre Agassi, 2005

"I've probably run out of adjectives to describe him on the court to talk about his excellence. He's just unbelievable."
- James Blake, 2006

"I really consider myself a top five player in the world, which it doesn't mean that I am close to Roger."
- Ivan Ljubicic, 2006

"He's a real person. He's not an enigma. Off the court he's not trying to be somebody. If you met him at McDonald's and you didn't know who he was, you would have no idea that he's one of the best athletes in the world."
- Andy Roddick, 2005

"The metaphysical explanation is that Roger Federer is one of those rare, preternatural athletes who appear to be exempt, at least in part, from certain physical laws. Good analogues here include Michael Jordan, who could not only jump inhumanly high but actually hang there a beat or two longer than gravity allows, and Muhammad Ali, who really could "float" across the canvas and land two or three jabs in the clock-time required for one. There are probably a half-dozen other examples since 1960. And Federer is of this type - a type that one could call genius, or mutant, or avatar. He is never hurried or off-balance. The approaching ball hangs, for him, a split-second longer than it ought to. His movements are lithe rather than athletic. Like Ali, Jordan, Maradona, and Gretzky, he seems both less and more substantial than the men he faces. Particularly in the all-white that Wimbledon enjoys getting away with still requiring, he looks like what he may well (I think) be: a creature whose body is both flesh and, somehow, light."
- David Foster Wallace, New York Times Magazine, 2006

"I've heard comparisons between what Federer is doing and what Tiger Woods is doing these days. But, here's the thing: Tiger doesn't do anything to you. Obviously, he's intimidating, but Tiger is playing the course, just like you. But Federer is playing you. And when he takes away the thing you do best, it just cripples you. He does what it takes to beat you, regardless of what kind of player you are."
- Patrick McEnroe to the St. Petersburg Times, 2007

"On Sunday night at Rod Laver Arena, Roger Federer took my breath away. I was mesmerized by the audacity of his stroke play. His sheer mastery of the art of tennis was pure genius and to bear witness was to evoke some sort of spiritual experience that occurs only a handful of times in a lifetime - if you're lucky. To try to describe the way Federer plays tennis is like trying to describe how Rudolf Nureyev danced or Jascha Heifetz played the violin. Common words or images do none of them justice."
- Gareth Andrews of The Age, 2007

"Yes, I really hit with him when he was 15, during a tournament in Basel, and I knew then he would be good, but not this good. If he stays healthy, it will actually be a miracle if he doesn't win more Grand Slams than Pete [Sampras]. The way he picks his shots is unbelievable. He is fast, he has a great volley, a great serve, great backhand, great everything. If I was his coach, what can I tell him? He is a magician with a racket. Even when he is playing badly, which is rarely, he can still do things with his racket nobody else can do."
- Goran Ivanisevic to The Independent, 2004

"He's the most gifted player that I've ever seen in my life. I've seen a lot of people play. I've seen the Lavers, I played against some of the great players-the Samprases, Beckers, Connors, Borgs, you name it. This guy could be the greatest of all time. That, to me, says it all. He's probably the greatest player that ever lived. He can beat half the guys with his eyes closed!
- John McEnroe, 2004

"I've never enjoyed watching someone playing tennis as much as Federer. I'm just in awe. Pete Sampras was wonderful but he relied so much on his serve, whereas Roger has it all, he's just so graceful, elegant and fluid-a symphony in tennis whites. Roger can produce tennis shots that should be declared illegal."
- Tracy Austin, 2004

"I'm a fan of his game, his temperament, the way he handles himself on and off the court. I do picture myself how I would play him. Now that I'm sitting on my couch watching, I just kind of marvel at the things he's able to do. He's a great mover, does great things off both sides of the court, can come in when he has to, and has a pretty big first serve. He has the whole package. There's really nothing he can't do. I just love it. He just makes it look easy. He's smooth, a great athlete."
- Pete Sampras, 2007

"The best way to beat him would be to hit him over the head with a racquet. Roger could win the Grand Slam if he keeps playing the way he is and, if he does that, it will equate to the two Grand Slams that I won because standards are much higher these days."
- Rod Laver, 2007

"He's probably the most talented person to ever carry a racquet around-the shots that he can come up with, the way he's kind of become a totally complete player. But I think off the court, it's huge. There have been a lot of good champions, but he's just classy. He is never high and mighty in the locker room or anything like that."
- Andy Roddick, 2005

"He hasn't changed a bit. He hasn't been arrogant in the locker room. He never is. That's great to see someone that does it with class. He doesn't intentionally get in anyone's face. He doesn't put people down."
- James Blake, 2005

"You bring up tennis in this day and age and a lot of people roll their eyes, and they're not interested. But listen: if you're not paying attention to this guy, if you appreciate sports, you have to take a moment to appreciate this guy. It's like Tiger Woods. A lot of people are your meat-and-potatoes sports fans: I like football, I like basketball, I like baseball. If you don't appreciate golf, that's fine. You don't have to watch it, and you don't have to pay attention to it, but you have to appreciate the greatness of Tiger Woods. It's the same with tennis. You don't appreciate tennis? I'm not telling you that you have to. But, if you don't give Roger Federer his due, then you're just missing the boat. Roger Federer is the best player in any sport today, and it's not close. It's not close."...
- Mike Greenberg of ESPN Radio's Mike & Mike in the Morning, 2006

"He's a great champion and has proved it all along that he plays his best tennis in finals. I think he's certainly on his way (to breaking the all-time Grand Slam mark for men). When I look at Pete Sampras, we all thought, 'could you get any better than Pete Sampras and his mark as being a great, great champion? I think Roger is really in the middle of his career ... wait and see on Roger. He's a great player and has won a lot of grand slams and the way he's compiling the grand slam titles, I think he's got a great chance of being the best ever."
- Rod Laver, 2007

"What he's done in tennis, I think, is far greater than what I've done in golf. He's lost what ... five matches in three years? That's pretty good."
- Tiger Woods to the Associated Press on Roger Federer after Woods was told of his selection as AP Athlete of the Year, 2006