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
Once you reach a good level in tennis it fills you with a lot of motivation. I hope I can do it for a long time.
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.
You have to believe in the long term plan you have but you need the short term goals to motivate and inspire you.
Just stay with him, for the entire time. I have the feeling that other guys tend not to take the physical challenge with him. That's what I won't do.
That doesn't happen very often going into slams,
I was the guy making all the errors and he was not. He was playing a few good shots. I had a few sloppy points here and there. He made me doubt.
When I would lose matches, I would feel, I think, three times worse than when the guy was losing. I just realized that's not the point, either, ... I wanted to enjoy it, win or lose, out on the court. It's not some kind of war or anything. We're having fun out there in the end. I like the challenge. When the match is over, life goes on.
Trying to put on a show? Not really, ... All I'm trying to do is win the match.
I am extremely proud and honoured to have beaten Pete's record as he was my childhood hero and I have always looked up to him.
I'm a very positive thinker, and I think that is what helps me the most in difficult moments.
This year I guess I decided in the bigger matches to take it more to my opponent instead of waiting a bit more for the mistakes. Yeah, this is I guess how you want to win Wimbledon, is by going after your shots, believing you can do it, and that's what I was able to do today.
Usually early on I'm looking for my rhythm. Today it was there straight away. It's a good sign, a good feeling.
I'm a little bit used to the situation, and it's not an easy one to be in. I mean, basically, he has been waiting for this day his whole life. He's going to come out there and try to beat me, not just play with me.