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06 July 2004
'Mr Finesse' preserves the aura of invincibility
By John Roberts, Independent
Bjorn Borg
started all that sinking to the knees in triumph caper. Now Maria
Sharapova is in on the act and Roger Federer has taken celebration to
the point of contortion with his Wimbledon version of a paperclip.
Visiting the men's singles champion the morning after his successful
defence of the title, your correspondent pointed to the photograph on
the front page of yesterday's edition of The Independent showing
Federer bent over backwards with his head touching the ground. Surely
this was not something readers should try at home. He looked in danger
of doing himself a mischief.
"It wouldn't have mattered," he smiled. "If I had a strain, I would
have become injured by winning Wimbledon. That is fine. I just thought
it was so good, I went all the way down. I could not believe I had won
it again. It was such a huge relief for me."
The 22-year-old from Basle, who overcame the mighty serves of Andy
Roddick to prevail 4-6, 7-5, 7-6, 6-4, added: "It's strange looking at
that picture. I guess it's just me. This movement, I have done it when
I was younger, maybe in bed. Then it's much easier to stretch yourself.
I was surprised I did this actually, though. I didn't plan it all."
Nor had he planned to have to rid his mind of so many doubts during
the match. "I felt from the start that it could be a very dangerous
match," Federer said. "I saw that Andy was taking a lot of chances, and
it looked like everything was controlled. And that made me worried. It
was a pity I didn't take my chances in the first set."
Returning the 21-year-old Roddick's serve, which was timed at 153mph
at Queen's Club, is surely a task for an upturned trampoline? "I'm used
to his serve, in a way," Federer said, "though I don't play him every
day. I have no choice but to return it. I wasn't serving well in the
beginning of the match, so it looked like here we had the Big Serving
Guy, and Mr Finesse on the other side. I also felt this way. But I
ended up with one more ace than him [12 against 11]."
Federer's bags were packed and he was about to leave for the clay
court tournament in Gstaad, where he is due to play Thomas Behrend, of
Germany, today. "This time I will be coming home as No 1 as well as
Wimbledon champion," Federer said. "I think it will be a special
occasion for sports fans in Switzerland."
Last year the organisers in Gstaad presented Federer with a cow,
which has since had a calf. Federer thinks two cows are enough, thank
you. "I hope they don't give me a sheep, or a pig, or a donkey," he
said.
Roddick said that Federer has an aura when he steps into the
locker-room. Did Federer remember Pete Sampras having an aura? "Yes,
even though Pete wasn't very often in the locker-room. He arrived and
left. I have to say I do a little bit of the same. I used to be more a
person who liked to hang around the locker-room and the players'
lounge, speaking to everybody. But now I'm selfish. I go home. I come
and I leave very quickly ... I'd rather spend time with my entourage.
"I remember when Pete was in the locker-room, he was very quiet. I
would never go up to talk to him. I was just a junior in the beginning.
I had so much respect for him. He was one of my favourite players.
Everybody knows that when you are a younger player you don't [command]
that respect. Players just come up and speak to you. I feel a lot of
players just come up and speak to me.
"I was surprised Andy said that about me having an aura, because in
the last two-and-a-half weeks we have hardly seen each other in the
locker-room, because he was in a different locker-room, and we've
hardly practised at the same time."
What are his priorities? "My goals this year were my Wimbledon
defence, the Olympics, and staying No 1 at the end of the season. I'm
looking forward to the Olympics, and staying in the Olympic village. I
was asked before the Sydney Olympics if I wanted to stay in the village
or outside. I stayed in the village and had a great time. Last time I
stayed with the wrestlers - I was safe from any attack from anybody. I
also met my girlfriend there.
"It's interesting to spend time with other athletes. A lot of
athletes are not full-time professionals. They also have to work at
other things to make a living. For them I'm like a hero, you know,
because I'm so famous and I'm all around the world, and they read about
me and follow me. It's nice to share views with everybody, to hear
about their sport and their experiences."
Concerning his rivalry with Roddick, Federer said: "The more we
play, the better the rivalry gets. The rivalry with Andy is still young
and fresh. But now we've played each other twice on very big occasions
here in Wimbledon. And this is good for the future of tennis."
What about the 29-year-old Tim Henman, and the media's consensus
that the British No 1's best chance has gone? "Of course they say that
now. But it's not true. He still has a few years left. I think he still
has chances, because he's a great player. People should just be happy
that he puts himself in contention every time, because once everything
could work together and he will be getting up early in the morning on
Monday, doing interviews, like me now the last two years."
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