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July 2005 Issue No. 100
ROGER FEDERER - A DAY IN THE LIFE OF THE WORLD NUMBER 1
"Speaking exclusively to "Ace", Roger Federer took time off from a hectic schedule to describe his daily routine"
By Ace Magazine
OUT OF BED
As No. 1 I get to play at the prime time, usually between 2pm and 7pm.
That means I get to sleep in a little bit more. I'm a person who needs
a lot of sleep. I'm only really happy if I get my nine or ten hours. So
I wake up around 9.30am and begin the day with 20 minutes or so of
stretching.
EAT, PACK, CHECK
I'm not the biggest breakfast eater. I prefer lunch and dinner, I have
mostly cereal and orange juice, and a coffee if I'm really tired -
perhaps eggs Benedict once in a while.
After breakfast I make sure my tennis bags are packed - something I do
myself. I check that I have enough match shirts, shoes, shorts, socks,
strings and rackets. Once I am at a court I check again that all my
rackets are there and ready. You have to be able to play in any
situation and I have to know I can always switch to another racket.
When I get to the court I warm up for half an hour - always on my match
court if I can. This is two or three hours before the mach and I have
to fit in lunch in between. I get to choose with whom I warm up;
sometimes it is with other players. I warm up for 5 or 10 minutes, then
I do just what you see me do later in the pre-match warm up ....and if
there is time maybe we play a tiebreak.
GET READY
After that I take a shower, get ready, put my match gear on, or maybe
just a practice shirt as I still have to eat. Lunch is almost always
pasta before a match. Then it's time to hang about in the lounge with
my friends, or with other players in the locker room. I very rarely
play cards and sometimes I won't even go to the locker room; in the
early rounds there can be a lot or players around and I want to be
quiet and private. Maybe I'll watch TV - I don't tend to read much - or
watch one of the other matches. I like to keep an eye on the match
before mine.You never know, if there's a sudden injury you could be on
court.
Before a final, or a match against a top player, I will tend to get
nervous. But not so much before a regular match, but it's important
that the intensity is there. If you have to wait too long before your
match it can make you flat, especially in Wimbledon or a tournament
where it rains a lot.
Then comes the match and that's the easy part - no, that's a joke!!
The match over, it's "bad luck" or "congratulations" from other
players. while the ATP representative asks how much time you would like
before the Press Conference. Usually I say half an hour, - 15 minutes
if I want to get out quickly. So I shower, get ready, do the press
conference - in 3 different languages - then radio and TV, and then I
go back to the Hotel, have dinner and either stretch or have a massage.
KICK BACK AND RELAX
At dinner I will watch what I eat. I don't eat a huge steak the night
before I play for example. I don't know if that is right or wrong but I
make sure I eat a lot of salad and pasta, rice and chicken. It's not
often that I have a beer or a glass of wine unless there is an occasion
of some sort, and I try not to during a tournament.
I don't really analyse the day though sometimes I will talk about the
match with my team, check if they had different thoughts about things.
But mainly I want to take it easy, have a nice relaxing evening and
forget about tennis.
I am happiest if I have some time to do something with my girlfriend
Mirka. Maybe we will watch TV together, or go for dinner, just the two
of us...we don't tend to watch movies together because Mirka falls
asleep! Instead we watch the National Geographic Channel. I don't know
about trying to imitate panthers on court, but we both love animals so
we love those channels.
These days are good for me, though of course at times they are very
stressful. Autographs, TV crews, interviews - it's a never ending
story. Sometimes I have enough of it but in general I love my tennis
life. When I am 30 or so I will have time for other stuff - but at the
monent I really love it. I don't keep a diary - the media does that for
me!
How does that compare with a day off tour? Well I just don't have too
many of those! I still live in Basel so that I am close to my parents.
My mother loves to cook for me - very healthy meals. When I'm home I
try to catch up with everybody. I don't want to become a stranger to my
friends.
A rest day off is when no one is around me except Mirka, or when I have
a day off at home with my family. I'm happy when my girlfriend is
happy. It's great when I can make her feel good because around the
world she does everything to make me happy. So when I have the chance
to ask her what she'd like to do and she says maybe we can go and have
a coffee in the city, then I say let's go. For me it's an unbelievable
treat.
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