Sunday June 20, 2004

Federer fulfilling his talent through the power of one

Will Buckley on the Swiss star who relishes being top of the rankings

By The Observer

It was not always the case. Ever since he won Junior Wimbledon as a 16-year-old in 1998, the pressure has been on Federer. He was so obviously better than everyone else, so obviously the most sublime player of his generation, that grand-slam victories had been predicted to follow before 2003.

But with such talent came doubts over whether he might ever fully express it. 'Before, at the very start of my career,' says Federer, 'when I received my first praises, I enjoyed it. Then I had the feeling that the experts were expecting my success too early. And now I have achieved it I take it as a compliment and enjoy it.'

The difficulty with being so gifted is that Federer, who can play any shot, has a multitude of options on every stroke. A lesser player would have had no option but to do his limited best. Federer could do everything. And, like Bill Clinton, because he could, he did. Federer would go out and play what he describes as the 'miracle shot'. His preference would be for playing the shot of the tournament rather than going through the arduous business of winning the thing.

He might have remained too gifted to win anything, had tragedy not intervened. In 2002, his mentor, Peter Carter, died in a car crash in South Africa. The funeral of his first coach was the first he had attended. A few months later, playing for Switzerland in a Davis Cup side that Carter would have captained, against Morocco in Casablanca, he comfortably beat Hicham Arazi and Younes El Aynaoui. 'That was when I got my fire back,' he has said.

Federer's game was ignited. The one-shot-makes-a-summer player was replaced by a player who might win all summer. When he won Wimbledon he proved to himself that he was as good as everyone had said he was. Little wonder he cried. The moment of disbelief founded a new sense of self belief. 'I feel better than last year because I know what I am capable of,' he says. If he played as well as he did then he can only win. If he plays better it is not a question of whether he wins but by how much. Success has bred success.

'You could already see at the Australian Open that I was not as surprised as I had been at the Masters and Wimbledon,' he says. 'I felt so good on court that I was not even surprised.'

It is a sign of his prowess that he is already being compared, and often favourably, with Pete Sampras. 'I would love to win it again,' he says. 'But I wouldn't say lots of times. You have to win it two or three times to want to win it many many times.'

In the past year, Federer has also become the world's number one. An achievement he ranks above his Wimbledon victory. 'I would say the Wimbledon championship made me a different person and a different player,' he says. 'But as world number one you are given more respect. It is something for life. Something magical around you if you go through life as number one in anything.'

Whereas tennis is a fortnightly affair for the watching British, for the players it is a year-long grind. To be ranked number one is a special elixir that, once tasted, has to be drunk again. It was an achievement that means so much to him that he readily admits to choking in his pursuit of it, as happened during the Roddick match at the Montreal Masters last August.

'Because I had the chance to be number one in the world, I found it impossible to control my emotions. I couldn't believe the situation I was in and, yes, I choked.' There is, as he says, 'a little bit of the downside' to everything. 'I always felt with my game that I challenge my opponent and my opponent finds it very interesting to beat me. So even if they don't win a grand slam they can, at least, say they beat the number-one player in the world.'

Everyone will be gunning for him, and the quickest in the draw - and the most dangerous - is Tim Henman. Federer sees similarities between the two. 'I have an admiration of his attitude both on and off the court. He is classy. He knows his potential and what he can do and because of this he has become a better player. This happened to me early on and I was lucky. He has realised his potential a bit later.'

A potential-filled final between the pair of them looks the most likely eventuality in two weeks' time. It is an occasion that Federer would relish. The last time he played Henman at Wimbledon he was fatigued, having beaten Sampras in his pomp on his favourite surface, and he lost. This time, and despite Henman's resurgence, one would expect Federer to prevail. The main danger from his half of the draw will probably come from the manic bundle of Aussie energy that is Leyton Hewitt, whom he is seeded to meet in the quarter-finals.

It is hard to see how the limited baseliner can outwit the complete player. In the semi-finals, he is seeded to meet Guillermo Coria, but the Argentine has to overcome a Wesley and a Wayne (the South African Moodie and the Australian Arthurs) just to make the third round.

Federer's likeliest semi-final opponent is therefore Sébastien Grosjean, the Frenchman who is decorative rather than threatening. Henman's draw starts easily and became a little less tricky in the latter stages yesterday when David Nalbandian pulled out. If he comes through, he is expected to play Andy Roddick in the semi-final. A possibly daunting prospect, but he should, at the fifth attempt, win a Wimbledon semi-final - a victory that would send the nation into a state of heightened expectation, to be swiftly followed by disappointment.

It has to be Federer.

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