Rod Laver says his greatest pleasure as a tennis spectator has come from watching world No.1 Roger Federer.
Although the Swiss is yet to win a French Open title to give him the full set of all four grand slam crowns, his elegant positioning on court marks him out as extra special, according to "Rocket" Laver.
"I certainly know from the tennis side of it just how much talent that Federer has got," said Laver, who won 11 grand slam titles. "His court coverage and anticipation are uncanny and make him different from anybody else out there. He's never out of position and has a knack of knowing what he hits will determine what's coming back, and he knows what's coming back.
"And so it becomes a simple game for him. Plus he's got all the strokes anyway, and his service has improved a lot from a year ago."
Federer's failure, so far, to clinch the French Open does not undermine his credentials to be bracketed among the game's elite, in Laver's opinion.
Claycourt supremo Nadal beat Federer 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in last year's French Open final, ending his opponent's bid to join American Don Budge and Laver as the only men to hold all four majors at the same time.
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