Roger Federer retorts back at Boris Becker's criticism, calls his new tactic 'not disrespectful'

Roger Federer in action at the US Open

World number 2 Roger Federer, who is a win away from claiming his 18th Grand Slam, hit back at Boris Becker’s comments saying his new ‘chip-and-charge return tactic’, was pretty simple and wasn’t disrespectful as stated by the German legend

Becker had earlier said that Federer’s new tactic, dubbed the Sneak Attack By Roger or SABR,  by commentators and experts, was ‘almost disrespectful’ to his opponent. “It’s almost disrespecting the other guy’s serve. Everybody talks about that’s his new strategy — he comes in. It’s within the rules,” said Becker, according to news.com.au.

He went on to say, “In my generation, guys would not have accepted as it is now. If he would have played a (John) McEnroe, (Jimmy) Connors, (Ivan) Lendl or even me, we would have said, ‘Roger, in all honesty I like you very much (but) I’ll go straight at you.’”

The 34-year-old Swiss ace, however, maintained that his tactic was pretty simple and not disrespectful, “Yeah, no. It’s not disrespectful, Pretty simple.” he said. 

 The Swiss legend’s move involves advancing right up to the service line on an opponent’s second serve in an attempt to return the ball on the half-volley. The aim is to disrupt his opponent’s rhythm and either force them into a mistake by hitting the ball deep into the court with a lack of pace, or finish the point off quickly at the net. Federer has successfully implemented this particular tactic with great effect throughout the US Open and has bamboozled his opponents. 

Severin Luthi pushed me to use that tactic in big moments: Federer

The 17-time Grand Slam champion recalled the time when he first used this tactic as a dare, during practise with one of his long-time coaches, Severin Luthi. “At the end of practice we were just kidding around almost. I said, ‘Okay, I’m going to chip and charge and just keep the points short. I’m tired. I want to get off the court soon anyway.’ That’s when I started to run in and hit returns. I hit a couple for a winner. They were ridiculous,” said Federer, according to news.com.au.

“That’s when Severin said, ‘Well, what about using it in a match?’ I was like, ‘Really?’ 
“So he pushed me to keep using it and not shy away from using it in big moments.”, explaining how he thought about using the tactic in matches.

Federer’s reply comes at a time when he has to face Becker’s pupil, Novak Djokovic in the final of the US Open on Sunday. Chasing his 18th Grand Slam title, one can only assume Federer continuing to use the SABR tactic in the final as well and expecting the same from his opponent. 

Here's a video of that chip and charge tactic from Federer: