Being a child of the late 80's and early 90's, I grew up watching Stefan Edberg and Boris Becker.

I was a massive fan of Edberg's, and he was probably one of my first childhood idols. I never felt confident watching him, though; it was as if his weaknesses were always obvious to me: rickety forehand, exaggerated serve, etc.

This was especially true whenever he faced Boris Becker. Becker was a much more naturally gifted tennis player, but had a bad temperament, and as his autobiography revealed, bad addictions to sleeping pills.

Stefan Edberg was very similar to Roger Federer in his absolute commitment to the game; both had steady girlfriends and even temperaments on court. I know Federer wasn't naturally like Edberg; his temperament was closer to Becker's initially.

It leads me to conclude that Roger Federer is the DNA link between Edberg and Becker. If somehow the two were forged into the one person, with a strain of Pete Sampras, what would emerge is a player exactly like Roger Federer.

Think about it. Federer's serve is a little bit like Edberg's; both rely on accuracy and topspin rather than sheer power.

Why doesn't he volley? Because he has developed a groundstroke game much like Becker (heavy topspin) with good use of angles. He also has the power and athleticism of Sampras.

They say genius is the ability to take what's ordinary and represent it to us in a way that's extraordinary. Federer took players in his day and bred them to create a new genre. That's his genius.