diff --git a/.changesets/fix_geal_redis_fixes.md b/.changesets/fix_geal_redis_fixes.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..abb955e25c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changesets/fix_geal_redis_fixes.md
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+### Fix redis reconnections ([Issue #3045](https://github.com/apollographql/router/issues/3045))
+
+The reconnection policy was using an exponential backoff delay with a maximum number of attempts. Once that maximum is reached, reconnection was never tried again (there's no baseline retry). We change that behaviour by adding infinite retries with a maximum delay of 2 seconds, and a timeout of 1 millisecond on redis commands, so that the router can continue serving requests in the meantime.
+
+This commit contains additional fixes:
+- release the lock on the in memory cache while waiting for redis, to let the in memory cache serve other requests
+- add a custom serializer for `SubSelectionKey`: this type is used as key in a `HashMap`, which is converted to a JSON object, and object keys must be strings, so a specific serializer is needed instead of the derived one
+
+By [@Geal](https://github.com/Geal) in https://github.com/apollographql/router/pull/3509
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/apollo-router/src/cache/redis.rs b/apollo-router/src/cache/redis.rs
index db9fbf25dd..1dae895287 100644
--- a/apollo-router/src/cache/redis.rs
+++ b/apollo-router/src/cache/redis.rs
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ use fred::prelude::RedisError;
 use fred::prelude::RedisErrorKind;
 use fred::types::Expiration;
 use fred::types::FromRedis;
+use fred::types::PerformanceConfig;
 use fred::types::ReconnectPolicy;
 use fred::types::RedisConfig;
 use url::Url;
@@ -114,8 +115,11 @@ impl RedisCacheStorage {
 
         let client = RedisClient::new(
             config,
-            None, //perf policy
-            Some(ReconnectPolicy::new_exponential(10, 1, 2000, 10)),
+            Some(PerformanceConfig {
+                default_command_timeout_ms: 1,
+                ..Default::default()
+            }),
+            Some(ReconnectPolicy::new_exponential(0, 1, 2000, 5)),
         );
         let _handle = client.connect();
 
diff --git a/apollo-router/src/cache/storage.rs b/apollo-router/src/cache/storage.rs
index f11c39429b..9996f1d23a 100644
--- a/apollo-router/src/cache/storage.rs
+++ b/apollo-router/src/cache/storage.rs
@@ -82,9 +82,10 @@ where
     }
 
     pub(crate) async fn get(&self, key: &K) -> Option<V> {
-        let mut guard = self.inner.lock().await;
         let instant_memory = Instant::now();
-        match guard.get(key) {
+        let res = self.inner.lock().await.get(key).cloned();
+
+        match res {
             Some(v) => {
                 tracing::info!(
                     monotonic_counter.apollo_router_cache_hit_count = 1u64,
@@ -97,7 +98,7 @@ where
                     kind = %self.caller,
                     storage = &tracing::field::display(CacheStorageName::Memory),
                 );
-                Some(v.clone())
+                Some(v)
             }
             None => {
                 let duration = instant_memory.elapsed().as_secs_f64();
@@ -117,7 +118,8 @@ where
                     let inner_key = RedisKey(key.clone());
                     match redis.get::<K, V>(inner_key).await {
                         Some(v) => {
-                            guard.put(key.clone(), v.0.clone());
+                            self.inner.lock().await.put(key.clone(), v.0.clone());
+
                             tracing::info!(
                                 monotonic_counter.apollo_router_cache_hit_count = 1u64,
                                 kind = %self.caller,
diff --git a/apollo-router/src/spec/query/subselections.rs b/apollo-router/src/spec/query/subselections.rs
index cb5ae374e6..4bbb16ac45 100644
--- a/apollo-router/src/spec/query/subselections.rs
+++ b/apollo-router/src/spec/query/subselections.rs
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 use std::collections::HashMap;
 
+use serde::de::Visitor;
 use serde::Deserialize;
 use serde::Serialize;
 use serde_json_bytes::ByteString;
@@ -14,12 +15,69 @@ use crate::spec::IncludeSkip;
 use crate::spec::SpecError;
 use crate::Configuration;
 
-#[derive(Debug, Serialize, Deserialize, PartialEq, Hash, Eq)]
+#[derive(Debug, PartialEq, Hash, Eq)]
 pub(crate) struct SubSelectionKey {
     pub(crate) defer_label: Option<String>,
     pub(crate) defer_conditions: BooleanValues,
 }
 
+// Do not replace this with a derived Serialize implementation
+// SubSelectionKey must serialize to a string because it is used as a JSON object key
+impl Serialize for SubSelectionKey {
+    fn serialize<S>(&self, serializer: S) -> Result<S::Ok, S::Error>
+    where
+        S: serde::Serializer,
+    {
+        let s = format!(
+            "{:?}|{}",
+            self.defer_conditions.bits,
+            self.defer_label.as_deref().unwrap_or("")
+        );
+        serializer.serialize_str(&s)
+    }
+}
+
+impl<'de> Deserialize<'de> for SubSelectionKey {
+    fn deserialize<D>(deserializer: D) -> Result<Self, D::Error>
+    where
+        D: serde::Deserializer<'de>,
+    {
+        deserializer.deserialize_str(SubSelectionKeyVisitor)
+    }
+}
+
+struct SubSelectionKeyVisitor;
+impl<'de> Visitor<'de> for SubSelectionKeyVisitor {
+    type Value = SubSelectionKey;
+
+    fn expecting(&self, formatter: &mut std::fmt::Formatter) -> std::fmt::Result {
+        formatter
+            .write_str("a string containing the defer label and defer conditions separated by |")
+    }
+
+    fn visit_str<E>(self, s: &str) -> Result<Self::Value, E>
+    where
+        E: serde::de::Error,
+    {
+        if let Some((bits_str, label)) = s.split_once('|') {
+            Ok(SubSelectionKey {
+                defer_conditions: BooleanValues {
+                    bits: bits_str
+                        .parse::<u32>()
+                        .map_err(|_| E::custom("expected a number"))?,
+                },
+                defer_label: if label.is_empty() {
+                    None
+                } else {
+                    Some(label.to_string())
+                },
+            })
+        } else {
+            Err(E::custom("invalid subselection"))
+        }
+    }
+}
+
 #[derive(Debug, Serialize, Deserialize)]
 pub(crate) struct SubSelectionValue {
     pub(crate) selection_set: Vec<Selection>,