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June 20, 2005
For No. 1 Federer, history is on his side
By Bud Collins, The Boston Globe
LONDON -- Roger Federer's mother was mad at him. So was his grandmother.
It didn't last. ''No. It's all right now." He is
smiling at the memory of his bad boy behavior when he was falling in
love with tennis, and hitting balls wherever and whenever he could get
away with it. ''Inside the house. Outside the house. Hitting against my
mother's cabinets. Against my grandmother's garage door. Did some
damage." Damage control is the problem for anybody hitting
against Federer at Wimbledon, which starts today when he opens the show
that has been his for the last two years. A strapping Frenchman, No. 60
Paul-Henri Mathieu, gets the first shot on the renowned playground,
Centre Court, where No. 1 Federer slammed the garage door on Mark
Philippoussis and Andy Roddick in the most recent finals. Federer
has taken 68 of his last 71 starts, and 20 straight titles when he's
been in the final. However, two of his losses this year were painful,
suffered in the semifinals of majors: to Marat Safin, who won the
Australian Open, and Rafael Nadal, winner of the French Open. (Both
opponents were celebrating birthdays.) That means Federer can't equal
his 2004 sacking of three majors, missing out only in Paris. Nevertheless,
there was something new in his life a few days ago in a tennis parlor
considerably more ancient than 83-year-old Centre. King Roger I was
crossing rackets, in a manner of speaking, with English kings Henry
VIII and Charles I, inhabiting their royal ground at Hampton Court.
Attached to the palace was the court -- a large concrete chamber,
crimson paved and black walled -- built for Charles I in 1626 on the
site of Henry VIII's earlier court. Though not many athletes are
interested in the history of their sports, Federer was curious about
the abstruse ancestor of the game he plays, the game favored by
numerous kings, called real or royal tennis here, court tennis in the
US. When Philippe Merk, CEO of Maurice Lacroix watches, a Swiss product
endorsed by homelander Federer, suggested Federer might want to try
real tennis, the response was enthusiastic. Merk said, ''This game was
being played in Europe in the 15th century, when the Huguenots migrated
to Switzerland and launched the watchmaking industry." Federer
was intrigued, and, of course, apt, stroking with ex-world champ Chris
Ronaldson, the resident pro. ''It's the first time I've ever played
with a wooden racket," Federer said. ''I had one briefly, but loaned it
to another kid and never got it back. So I started with metal." Endangering maternal property. One
spectator at Charles I's court, the reigning world champ of real
tennis, Rob Fahey, said, ''Roger has the touch and movements to make it
big in our game. But why would he?" Why, indeed. Fahey, an Aussie who
won the US Open at Boston's Tennis & Racquet Club three months ago,
counts his prize money in the hundreds, Federer in the millions.
Federer
wondered why the older game hadn't moved up to high-tech frames, as in
his profession. ''Too dangerous," said Fahey. ''With that added power,
the balls [hard as baseballs] rocketing off the walls would be
missiles."
Rubber tennis balls are missiles enough spurting
from the Federer racket and skidding off the Wimbledon lawn, a surface
he adores. London bookies are so Federerized by the man who, according
to Andre Agassi, ''has every weapon needed," that you have to put up 6
to win 4. His mood is supremely ''confident. Last year, I was
nervous because the pressure was on me to see if I could repeat. I
don't feel any pressure this time. I think it's definitely easier
because I've lived through it." Federer, who will be merely 24 in
August, talks easily about how good he is, without a trace of arrogance
or braggadocio. ''My self-belief is strong. I think I'm readier than
ever for grass because I won both the singles and doubles at Halle
[Germany]. Once under way, I'm going to be tougher." His brown
eyes gleam with assuredness and good humor. Other than Agassi, he's
been the game's finest ambassadorial No. 1 in decades. Accessible,
likable, candid, obviously enjoying contact with fans and press,
Federer is a relaxed conversationalist, pleased to be occupying the
throne, having fun. ''I'm where I want to be. I know how much
time I should give to my game, how many tournaments to play so that I
can always stay fresh. I've stopped playing golf. That can come later
when I'm older. Tennis is the focus. ''Sure, I get lots of
sponsorship offers. Most we turn down." His lady friend, Mirka
Vavrinec, and his parents handle the business end. ''Boris Becker told
me he chased the outside money too much. I don't want to do that, to
feel I have to do appearances all the time. ''But now,
everything's just right. You know, you start out as a kid, go on the
road, and you say, 'Wow, here I am and the other kids are in school.'
You feel lucky. But there are lots of ups and downs. You lose, and you
lose confidence, and you get down, feel small. You forget about the
lucky part. ''But I've been able to appreciate what I've got in
the last few years. I do know I'm fortunate, and I am pleased to be the
center of attention." He hasn't been the center of disapproval
for a long time. Federer shakes his head and says, ''It was at home,
Switzerland, four years ago. I heard a terrible sound, people booing
me. I'd just beaten Pete Sampras at Wimbledon [fourth round], and was
playing Gstaad. Ivan Ljubicic beat me, 6-1, 6-2, in the first round,
and the fans weren't happy with me. I had injured my leg at Wimbledon,
but I felt I had to play at Switzerland. No excuse, but I won't do that
again. I don't want to hear that sound again." Not likely he'll
hear hisses at the Big W. He said [2002 champ] Lleyton Hewitt in his
half of the draw and Roddick at the other end are his chief ''threats."
But you have to play well at the beginning, too. ''I've had first-round
losses at Wimbledon [1999, 2000, 2002], and I'm aware of Hewitt losing
in the first round two years ago to Ivo Karlovic." As he talked,
he recalled ''the vibrations" of hitting the rock-hard balls with a
wooden racket on Charles I's court. ''You could feel the history on
that court, seeing the crowns painted on the wall." Within hours,
he'll be back in his element, the crown belonging to him, King Roger I.
''I've been looking forward to it all year, the crowd, the atmosphere." His
situation is preferable to that of Charles I. That king's career ended
in 1649 with the loss of his head to an executioner. All Roger I can
lose is his title.
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