Often racket reps hand a player a model that represents millions of dollars and countless hours of investment. Almost intuitively, the player either likes it or doesn’t. Pressed to articulate their likes and dislikes, the responses are often vague. It sucks. It feels weird. I’m not comfortable with it. Federer, by contrast, was “incredibly, incredibly sensitive,” says Ballon. “He’d say things like, ‘When I hit a backhand volley a little off center, it feels a bit too stiff.’”
