|
June 21 2004
The hero of all Switzerland and Juliette the cow
By David Law, Independent
Over the past 12 months, Roger Federer seems to have garnered almost as
many headlines for the cow he received as a congratulatory present from
his countrymen as he did for actually winning Wimbledon itself.
It is hardly surprising. Anyone who witnessed the 800kg milking cow
- Juliette - walk out into the Roy Emerson Arena (the centre court at
the Suisse Open in Gstaad) to greet the new Wimbledon champion just two
days after his triumph, will probably never forget it.
"I thought I would just walk on court, salute the crowd, maybe say a
few words, and then walk off again," said Federer, who had made his
professional debut as a wild card at the same tournament six years
earlier. "Then suddenly, out of nowhere, along she came!"
Since then, the Swiss star has barely attended a post-match press
conference without someone asking him about his cow, whether or not he
had brought her with him, and was she planning to start a family any
time soon. "Look, the guy had just won Wimbledon, so whatever we gave
him would seem silly, so we gave him a cow," said the Gstaad
vice-tournament director, Claudio Hermenjat, clearly amused at the
furore their choice of gift had provoked.
Not that Federer was complaining. "It's nice to have a cow," he said. "It's such a quiet animal, and so big."
Useful too. Juliette now lives in the hills above Gstaad, and
Federer receives cheese from her on a regular basis. He has milked her
twice, she has already given birth to a calf, and her public appeal
continues to grow.
"Juliette is huge - everyone wants a piece of her now," confirms
Hermenjat. "We have these pictures on our website that are
free-of-charge for the media, and photographers have downloaded them,
claimed that they own them, and sold them."
"I went on the internet and searched Juliette and Federer one day,
and there was an article in an Indian newspaper about them. Roy Emerson
was even getting calls from Australia with people asking what a cow was
doing on his court."
So, what will they give him if he successfully defends his title?
Hermenjat insists they have no plans, but Federer is already preparing
himself. "They will think of something," he said with a grin.
|
