Roger Federer
Roger Federer
Roger Federeris a Swiss professional tennis player who is currently ranked world No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals. His accomplishments in professional tennis have led to him being regarded by many as the greatest tennis player of all time. Federer turned professional in 1998 and has been continuously ranked in the top 10 since October 2002...
NationalitySwiss
ProfessionTennis Player
Date of Birth8 August 1981
CityBasel, Switzerland
CountrySwitzerland
When I was 12 years old, I was just horrible. My parents were ashamed to watch my matches. I would play on a court at the local club and they would watch from the balcony. They would scream, 'Be quiet' to me and I would scream back, 'Go and have a drink. Leave me alone.' Then we would drive home in a very quiet car. No one speaking to each other.
Winning or losing, it's always something special and something you'll remember, even more so when the match was as dramatic as it was today. It's even more memorable when I see my kids there with my wife and everything. That's what touched me the most, to be quite honest. The disappointment of the match itself went pretty quickly.
I'm shocked every time that I've reached so many finals or won against so many players or whatever record it is. It strikes me and makes me obviously very happy and very proud that I've been able to do it for so many years at the highest of levels.
My aim over the next few months is that I have a lot of points to defend in Miami and Hamburg, after that I can set my sights on No. 1.
It is always in my mind still that I can crush anybody. That's not an issue. But I think that is the same for most athletes. If you don't believe you can win tournaments anymore, then you can't do it.
Before, I guess, mum and dad were everything, but now, in my case, I had two new girls and all of a sudden they're completely dependent on you and there's a third generation. It's a funny shift all of a sudden. You have the babies, you have yourself and then you have your parents.
I used to get nervous, you know if my parents would come watch. And then I would get nervous if my friends came and watched. Today it's not a problem anymore actually, because now I enjoy it. I see that they, you know, respect me immensely, and I try to put on a good show and show that I can still play very good tennis.
I definitely feel there's room for improvement.
I never waited 27 years, because 27 years ago I was just born. My parents never told me, 'If you don't win Roland Garros we take you to the orphanage.
Every match I go into, I'm the huge favorite. I lose a set and it's, like, crazy.
When they [court announcers] say, 'This is the world No. 2,' it just doesn't sound right to me because either I'm No. 1 or I'm a grand slam champion. I'm not world No. 2. I just don't like the ring of it when I'm introduced on court because I've been up there for so, so long.
I'm not angry. As an athlete ... you should be open to criticism, and you're allowed to be criticized, because not everybody has the same opinion, not everybody likes the same players. The rankings are quite volatile: Today you're 'great,' tomorrow you're 'not,' but then you're 'great' again. It makes for great stories. Now, I always look at the long term and by doing that, obviously, I can stay calm through the storm.
Watching a movie a couple of weeks ago. An American movie. I can't remember the name, but it wasn't even a sad movie. It caught me off guard. I was on an airplane.
For me, I'm in the driver's seat; I'm No. 1 in the world. I've won the last couple of meetings, and I've won the big tournaments lately. Whoever comes, I'll try to beat him. But it's almost up to me to decide who's my rival, isn't it?