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January 30, 2006
Federer knows no limits
By Darren Walton, AAP
IF
anyone is feeling bleary-eyed and slightly washed up after staying up
late the past fortnight watching the Australian Open, spare a thought
for Roger Federer.
International Tennis Federation officials were today labelling
Federer a welcome freak after the Swiss's extraordinary display of
generosity towards the media following his Melbourne Park triumph.
Far from out on the town celebrating his seventh Major victory,
Federer spent until the early hours of the morning conducting no less
than 17 interviews for TV, radio and newspapers - some of them in three
different languages.
Virtually from the moment the world No.1 finished off challenger Marcos Baghdatis, Federer was in hot demand.
While he was only obliged to do interviews with host broadcaster
Channel 7 and Swiss-German TV as well as the mandatory post-match press
conference - in three languages - Federer, as always, was too nice to
turn anyone down.
So after spending almost 45 minutes revealing all in the press
conference in English, French and Swiss German, the 24-year-old
ventured from room to room answering more questions from various
sections of the international media.
In all, he completed at least eight television interviews, five
more for radio and two one-on-ones - plus a couple of photo shoots.
He finished up close to 3am, more than four hours after
Baghdatis netted a backhand to hand Federer the first grand slam of the
year, and all the while never stopped smiling.
Federer's only request was for one sprite, a Coke and a water.
Aside from his rare on-court talents, the ITF described Federer as a breath of fresh air also off the court.
"In the last few years, Federer has been the most cooperative
player in the media and has a real sense of responsibility," ITF
executive Nick Imison said.
"He's a one-off."
Even when Federer finally got to bed, he was back out almost as quickly.
The Swiss superstar was committed to an interview with Seven's Sunrise
program at 8.30am, followed by an all-in with any other television
stations keen to hear from the Open champion and then a photoshoot at
Docklands at 9.30am.
He was last seen having one last chat with Swiss journalists
before finding some time to celebrate and then hopefully getting back
to some sort of normal existence.
Federer admitted his body clock had taken a battering over the
past fortnight after the world No.1 was regularly scheduled for the
marquee night matches at Melbourne Park.
"The rhythm is just really difficult because the average going
to bed was about four o'clock in the morning, the last few nights,
waking up at 12 to two in the afternoon," he said.
"It's a really weird schedule I'm going through. I wake up and all I do is rest and hit a little bit.
"If I feel like I need to do some extra stuff, I'll do it, but I
didn't have to do it this time because I thought I had to save myself."
Federer's schedule
4pm: Arrives at Melbourne Park to prepare for final
7.30pm: Takes to Rod Laver Arena for showdown with Marcos Baghdatis
10.40pm: Courtside victory speech
11.15pm: Interviews with Channel 7 and Swiss-German TV
11.30pm: interviews with Swiss-German radio, Moma Sport, Radio Suisse, German radio, BBC radio and Australian radio
12.30am: post-match press conference in English, French and Swiss German
1.15am: television interviews with Swiss TV, Fox Sports, Japanese TV and ESPN
2.15am: one-on-one interview with International Herald Tribune and New York Times
8.30am: interview from hotel for Sunrise
8.45am: all-in with remaining TV stations seeking more footage
9.30am: photo shoot at Docklands, Melbourne.
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