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July 26, 2004
Roger Federer Fanletter July 2004
By Roger Federer
Contents
1. Hi, tennis fans
2. To the point
3. A winning streak in Germany, but another slip on the clay of Roland Garros
4. A look back to 1996
5. The chance to give something back
6. A new partnership with Maurice Lacroix
7. My website: your comments, please!
8. My major sporting objectives for the next few months
1 Hi, tennis fans
Well, what a few weeks it's been! First I won the Wimbledon title for a second
time. Then, just a week later, I clinched the Swiss Open in Gstaad – at last,
my first ever tournament victory in Switzerland. After three weeks of non-stop
play, my battery was completely flat and there was only one thing I wanted: a
holiday and a chance to do nothing but lie in the sun on a beach somewhere and
get my head round the crazy events of the last few weeks.
After match point at Wimbledon I was simply overwhelmed. I would never have
expected
it, but the feeling at that moment when I realized I'd won the title was even
more intense than first time round. The enormous weight of expectation that I'd
been under for the past few weeks suddenly hit home. Everyone had been
expecting
me to do the double. I'd even been expecting it of myself. All the pressure had
been like a millstone around my neck, though I didn't realize it at the time.
When I heard the words "Game, set and match, Roger Federer", it was as if a
huge
weight had been lifted from my shoulders. Suddenly it was as if I didn't have
a care in the world. Later, that was replaced by a deep sense of satisfaction.
It really was a crazy couple of weeks. Yet again, the English weather lived up
to its unenviable reputation. Over the course of the fortnight, "Play
suspended"
seemed to be all we heard. It really was nerve-wracking. Nevertheless, I
managed
to maintain my concentration throughout. To defend my title on the hallowed
turf
of Wimbledon was one of my main objectives of the season. And I never lost
sight
of that, even during the endless waiting around. And at the end of the day, you
could almost be forgiven for thinking that the weather was on my side. When
rain
halted play that second time in the final against Andy Roddick, it gave me a
chance to regroup mentally, switch tactics and come back out onto court with
all guns blazing. I'm sure that if it hadn't been for that break in play the
match would have been even tighter than it was. Early in the game in
particular,
Andy was a real powerhouse and he was putting me under a lot of pressure. Hats
off to him for the way he played! When all's said and done, as one British
newspaper
put it, Wimbledon 2004 really did boil down to knowing "how to play the rain"!
I've received many, many compliments from all quarters and that has meant a lot
to me. Obviously, the British were disappointed that the title eluded Tim
Henman
again but I got the feeling that they were genuinely pleased for me when I won.
One newspaper even wrote "Brit wins Wimbledon" – it seems that they'd unearthed
the fact that my great, great grandmother might possibly have been English!
Personally,
I think it's great when people look beyond the national dimension and just
enjoy
the fact that they're getting to see good tennis.
No sooner had I finished celebrating my victory at Wimbledon – it wasn't until
two o'clock in the morning that I made it to bed – then it was time for me to
focus on the job at hand once more and make the difficult transition from grass
to clay in Gstaad. To be perfectly honest, after two gruelling weeks of Grand
Slam tennis, I didn't expect to come to Gstaad and win my first ever Swiss
title.
Of course, I wanted to give it my best shot and I'd reached the final the
previous
year. But I didn't seriously think that I'd be able to top last year's
performance.
That combination of a relaxed approach and the determination to do well enabled
me to give it my all once again. Each match that I won spurred me on and made
me more determined than ever. In the semi-final and then the final, I had to
really dig deep to realize one of my big dreams of my professional career: to
win a Swiss tournament. And I did it! That victory marked the end of three
fantastic
weeks for me.
2. To the point
"For me, national and cultural differences are not barriers. Instead, they
enrich
our lives."
3. A winning streak in Germany, but another slip on the clay of Roland Garros
The run-up to Wimbledon was marked by a narrow Davis Cup defeat against France
in Lausanne, a winning streak in Germany, with victories in the tournaments in
Hamburg and Halle, and another disappointing defeat on the clay of Roland
Garros.
I always like playing in Germany. I feel very much at home there. Of course,
the fact that I have a lot of German fans who come to see me live or watch me
on the TV whenever I'm playing in their country is a special motivating factor
for me.
As I finished my schooling in the French-speaking part of Switzerland, not far
from the Swiss national tennis academy, I also have strong links with the
French-speaking
region. Unfortunately, my flair for French doesn't seem to have done much so
far for my performances at Roland Garros. Although I came up against a
fantastic
opponent in Guga, who was on top form when he knocked me out – and for whom I
have a lot of respect off court, too – I expected more of myself. But I
probably
just need to have a bit more patience with this tournament. I definitely feel
that my time will come at Roland Garros.
4. A look back to 1996
"It's great fun, and obviously I'm also benefiting from training with such
experienced
players." Those were my words eight years ago in response to a question from
a journalist from the Basler Zeitung the first time I got to play an NLA (Swiss
national league) match for the top team at my tennis club, "Old Boys" in Basel.
I thoroughly enjoyed getting to play with big names such as Vaclav Roubicek,
Patrick Mohr, Sandro della Piana and Reto Staubli. Reto Staubli? Would that be
the Reto Staubli who has been accompanying you to various tournaments – most
recently Wimbledon – as your sparring partner, I hear you ask? The very same!
We've been good friends ever since those interclub days. Even then, Reto was
supremely composed and in control. As number four in the team, his were one of
the safest pairs of hands in terms of delivering the points. That was to be the
year that we won the championship. I made my first two appearances in the NLA
that season, alongside Vaclav Roubicek in the doubles. We were playing against
Peter Holik and Yves Allegro. That's right, the very same Yves Allegro that I
play alongside in the Davis Cup these days and also one of my closest friends
in tennis circles.
All in all, 1996 was a really successful year for me. The year before, I'd
joined
the national tennis academy at Ecublens in western Switzerland. That was the
best thing I ever did. It enabled me to make a quantum leap in terms of my
performance.
Suddenly, from the relative obscurity of R1 (a Swiss regional ranking), I was
number 88 in the Swiss national rankings in the space of a year.
Following my first couple of NLA matches, I went on to take part in the 1996
World Youth Cup. Things went extremely well for me there, too. Amongst others,
I managed to beat Lleyton Hewitt, who was a really gritty opponent, even back
then, returning everything I hit at him. On the whole, I was in command of my
opponents. Unfortunately, it was a different story when it came to my frame of
mind. Even then, I wanted to play perfectly every time I came out on court. Of
course, that wasn't always possible and I used to get very agitated about it.
But somewhere along the line it dawned on me that allowing myself to get worked
up on court like that was actually doing my game more harm than good. These
days,
things are very different. In fact, I would say that the ability to balance my
emotions during a match is one of the secrets of my success.
For the true tennis buffs among you and those who like their statistics, here
are my ranking points from 1989 to 1997:
1989 (I am eight years old), Switzerland: 1.583 (R8)
1990, Switzerland: 2.706 (R7)
1991, Switzerland: 3.65 (R6)
1992, Switzerland: 4.926 (R5)
1993, Switzerland: 6.588 (R4)
1994, Switzerland: 8.846 (R2), Europe U14: 102
1995, Switzerland: 9.643 (R1), Europe U14: 84
1996, Switzerland: 86 (N4), Europe U16: 110
1997, Europe U16: 17
5. The chance to give something back
I'm often asked about the down side of life as a tennis star and whether I ever
get tired of being approached by total strangers and having to give endless
interviews.
The way I look at it is this: I'm extremely fortunate in many respects and it
would be wrong of me to complain about the obligations that go with being
famous.
I feel very privileged and I've had a lot of good luck in my life. As such, I'd
like to be able to give something back. With that in mind, I've set up a
charitable
foundation with two aims: firstly, to give disadvantaged children and young
people
in South Africa a chance to make something of their lives, and secondly, to
promote
tennis in Switzerland. The lot of children and young people in South Africa,
in particular, is a cause close to my heart. They are the future of the
continent.
It's heartbreaking to think that young people are being deprived of any chance
of a future through no fault of their own. I want to do my bit to ensure that
they get a fair chance to put whatever gifts they may possess to good use by
helping them to help themselves. I'm sure that comes, in part at least, from
my own experience. It was only thanks to the support I received early on that
I was able to make the most of my talent for tennis. So, for me, it's only
right
that I should now repay that debt by helping children and young people in South
Africa.
The reason for choosing South Africa in particular is that my mother grew up
there, so I feel a real affinity with the country. I'll be keeping a close eye
on the children we support in the city of Port Elizabeth and following their
progress with particular interest. Despite my hectic tournament schedule, I
hope
to be able to find time to get out visiting the children myself at some point
in the next few months. I'd really like to see the good work that's being done
with my own eyes. Whatever happens, I will, of course, keep you up to date with
developments as the project continues. And if you'd like to know more about how
you, too, can help create a better future for the children and young people of
Port Elizabeth, all the details are available on the IMBEWU website at
www.imbewu.org.
IMBEWU is the name of the non-profit organization set up to manage the various
aid projects on the ground.
6. A new partnership with Maurice Lacroix
To my mind, it's important that I'm able to identify with a sponsor and their
products if I'm to be a credible ambassador for that company. With my new
sponsor,
Maurice Lacroix – makers of fine watches – I felt from the very outset that we
share many of the same core values: precision, aesthetics, a blend of tradition
and innovation, and authenticity. My personal favourites are the Masterpiece
Flyback Annuaire and the Masterpiece Réveil Globe. In the Classic Collection
I rather like the sporty feel of the Miros, too. And I'm really excited about
the Roger Federer Special Edition from Maurice Lacroix, planned for this
autumn.
More about that in due course, so watch this space…
7. My website: your comments, please!
I'm always keen to improve communication with you. My website is, of course,
a vital part of that. So my question to you is this: what do you like about the
website and what, if anything, could be improved? Is it up-to-date enough? Can
you generally find the information you're looking for? What do you think of the
design? If you've got any comments whatsoever on the website, we'd love to hear
from you. Simply e-mail your feedback to: feedback@rogerfederer.com. I look
forward
to hearing what you've got to say!
8. My major sporting objectives for the next few months
First it's off to North America to compete in Toronto and Cincinnati, and then
come the Olympics in Athens – one of the main objectives of the season for me.
I took part in the last Olympics four years ago for the first time and it was
an amazing experience, with thousands of athletes from all four corners of the
earth gathering to vie for the ultimate accolade. That's what I love about the
Olympics: for two weeks, the whole atmosphere that surrounds this epic sporting
event is something very special indeed. Naturally, people want to win and break
records. But despite that you can't help but feel that there's a unique common
spirit. Which is why I'm so pleased to be competing again. According to the old
adage, "It's not the winning but the taking part that counts". Nevertheless,
I shall be hoping to take a medal home with me!
Another major objective for me in the coming months is to perform better in the
US Open than I did last year. Flushing Meadow has always been a tough nut to
crack for me. In 2003 I only made it as far as the last sixteen, which was a
huge disappointment. But I know that I've got the right style of tennis to be
able to win the US Open. That gives me the confidence I need to go to New York
and give it my best shot. The forthcoming tournaments in Toronto and Cincinnati
should give me some idea as to where I stand.
Well, that's just about all from me for now. I'll report back soon with news
of my exploits at the Olympics.
Take care, bis bald, à bientôt
Yours Roger
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