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July 5, 2005
Life at top a box of chocolates for Federer
By Neil Harman, The Times
IN
A corner of the kitchen in the apartment where he found sleep so hard
to come by on Sunday night was a green box labelled “Single-Handed
Championship — R Federer”. For one who has single-handedly changed the
perception of the way tennis is played, it was entirely appropriate
that Wimbledon should thus describe its blue-riband event. On one kitchen top there were several boxes of Basler Leckerli,
obviously Federer’s favourite Swiss chocolate, on the other a small jar
of Vegemite, showing that Tony Roche, his coach, had not yet departed
for Australia. Into this detritus walked the svelte three-times
Wimbledon victor having completed a round of 19 interviews deep into
Sunday, attended the Champions’ Dinner at the Savoy — arriving at least
two hours before Mary Pierce, a mixed-doubles champion, sashayed in —
and embarked on a further round of interviews yesterday morning. He
was to be asked about his parents, his holiday destination, why he
liked juggling, what he did with his trophies, whether he was at his
peak, why he couldn’t do something different (he looked extremely
puzzled at that one), the depth of his dinner-table discussion with
Venus Williams and whether he would ever think of leaping around the
court like she did on Saturday after beating Lindsay Davenport in the
women’s final. “I am not a kangaroo,” he replied. Essentially, it was about trying to get to the heart of his
brilliance, his motivation, his tennis and whether, as Andy Roddick
plaintively wondered, he may ever get sick of winning so easily. He has three Wimbledon Championships, and while the thrill of
that has not diminished, Federer accepts that the French Open, where,
in seven attempts, he has one semi- finals appearance and a host of
bitter defeats to his name, has become the No 1 target. Would winning at Roland Garros be the difference between
Federer being a great player or falling just short? “It depends how you
look at it,” he said. “Look at (Pete) Sampras and (Andre) Agassi, how
many grand-slam titles did they win? (Or) Pete’s prize-money record.
That he ended the year six times the No 1, something that may never be
beaten. Is he not a great player? But he did not win the French Open. “It is my greatest challenge, my motivation is very big to win
it, a goal until the end of my career. I know I can win the other
grand-slams, even when I’m not feeling good. But I have only given
myself one chance to win the French (this year) and I came awfully
close.” On the table before Federer are images of his Wimbledon
triumph. He said he felt he was at his peak “because if this isn’t my
peak I don’t know where we are going”. He laughed at that. “But I will
always be looking at ways to improve. I am gaining in experience, I am
growing up as a man; I have more power, more timing, but I still have
to work on shots, my fitness and it is important to stay fresh
mentally. It means choosing a good schedule (he is taking the next five
weeks off), being smart. “I think I’ve made good choices over the years that have kept
me away from getting injured, which is so important, I am very
thoughtful about how and when I play and that is why I can be here
today as a winner. I don’t have any problems waking up (he can average
12 hours of sleep a night if allowed to) and going out to practise and
if I keep putting myself in the kind of position when I am playing a
Wimbledon final as I did with no problem, the working and the
travelling is really worth it. I would be surprised if I got bored with
that, honestly.” And so, after doing the rounds of Basle, his home town, for a
couple of days it will be off to the beach. When he next returns to
Switzerland it will be for the Davis Cup tie against Great Britain in
September. “I’m really up for that one,” he said, raising his eyebrows
and shooting a sideways glance in that “and I really mean it” way of
his. Oh dear. FIVE WHO FAILED THE FRENCH TEST
PETE SAMPRAS
14 grand-slam titles, but never went farther than semi-finals at Roland Garros, in 1996
BORIS BECKER
Three times a semi-finalist, in 1987, 1989 and 1991
JOHN McENROE
Two sets up in 1984 final against Ivan Lendl, but lost 3-6, 2-6, 6-4, 7-5, 7-5. He still cannot bring himself to talk about it
JIMMY CONNORS
Never reached final. Banned from competing in 1974, when he won all the other grand-slam tournaments
STEFAN EDBERG
Runner-up in 1989 to a 17-year-old Michael Chang
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