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Sunday, June 25, 2006
Roger Federer: The grass master set to take his place at history's top table
By Ronald Atkin, Independent
His favourite event, his favourite surface. The No 1 seed talks to Ronald Atkin about that Borg milestone and his rivalry with Nadal
Mention the name of Bjorn Borg and there is a moment's pause, an intake
of breath and then Roger Federer pronounces this opinion: "For me, he
is one of the top three greats of all time." Why, then, does Federer
regard the overtaking of Borg's record of 41 straight victories on
grass, which he is on course to achieve tomorrow, as no more than a
foothill in the Alps of tennis landmarks?
Acknowledging that winning 42 in a row on the green stuff would be
"quite incredible", Federer insists: "For me, honestly, it doesn't mean
too much. Breaking streaks is not what I am playing tennis for.
Somehow, they don't turn me on. It's nice to equal or beat Borg's
record on grass, it all sounds great, but I care more about the
opponent I beat and the tournament I am playing."
Borg, of course, won all his 41 in the course of clocking up five
consecutive Wimbledons before losing in the final of the sixth, whereas
Federer's 41 have come via three Wimbledons and four annexations of the
top prize in the German grass-court event at Halle. Well aware that
purists may regard this as a lesser sort of 41, Federer offers the
tongue-in-cheek opinion, "You could say that mine was maybe even more
difficult," before adding, "but I don't think so."
When it is pointed out gently that winning 41 matches on whatever
surface is, as our American friends might put it, awesome, the Swiss
giant concedes: "Streaks definitely put you up there with the best in
the game, the all-time greats, and that's always nice, absolutely."
What about the possibility of a fourth straight Wimbledon then, Roger?
Is that a foothill, too? "That is different," he says, garlanding the
opinion with a smile. "That is something extraordinary. I was already
happy with two, even more happy with three.
"Now the fourth might be coming along I just don't know what to say.
The preparation has been good, the feeling is good and now I am looking
forward to seeing how it goes again, because that opening Monday is
pressure and I hope I can survive it." Failure to survive the first day
of the 120th Championships as the holder, as Manuel Santana and Lleyton
Hewitt famously did in the past, would register very high on the
Federer Richter Scale, him being such a careful fellow with an
ultra-professional back-up team.
The preparation he talks about has this year meant him coming
straight from winning Halle and basing himself in London for a week
ahead of The Big W. "Previously, I used to go home to Switzerland to
take a rest after Halle. Now I rest where the tournament is being
played. I feel it is the right preparation, it gives me enough days to
prepare and to knock off all my sponsors' and media commitments. It is
impor-tant that when the weekend comes around there is nothing on my
mind to worry about, so that I am ready for the Monday." Federer is
talking in the wake of a presentation at Chelsea Harbour by Nike, the
people who clothe him on court and who are introducing a new shirt with
the latest keep-cool devices specially for Wimbledon. It surely seems
an unnecessary precaution for someone who has not yet been observed to
break a sweat on Centre Court, so majestic is his reign at the
cathedral of tennis.
So does he regard himself as invincible on grass? "I definitely
don't take any matches easy, I prepare as best I can and respect my
opponents, because I know anybody can be beaten on any day. That's the
mindset I have to give myself.
"Of course, there are matches when I know I won't lose because I am
just a better player on the day - 'This guy has nothing to hurt me
with', stuff like that. But that is not only on grass. I feel that way
on any surface, and that's my strength, I think, that I am so good on
all surfaces that I get the feeling on all of them, not on any one in
particular.
"Actually, on grass I feel it's more difficult to be unbeatable. If
you get broken, to come back into the match is a little more
complicated because the surface is so much quicker. If the other guy
serves well and you don't get back into your rhythm, it's very
difficult." So perhaps that is why our hero is not one of those who
wants to see the grass season extended. "A week more here or there,
perhaps, but I am happy with the way it is. It has been like this for a
long, long time, it is short, sweet, and you can enjoy it. For me, that
is OK."
Everything has been more than OK this season for Federer, with the
exception of his encoun-ters with that pesky youngster from Majorca,
Rafael Nadal. Set against the 49 matches and five tournaments he has
won in 2006 so far are four losses, all suffered to Nadal, three on
clay and one on a hard court in Dubai.
Discounting what he regards as a temporary inability to get past the
Nadal threat, Federer is entitled to regard himself as someone about to
take a seat at the historic top table of tennis. "This year has been my
best season so far," he says, "winning the Australian Open and getting
to the final of the French. Now, Wimbledon is coming up, maybe my
biggest chance to win a Slam.
"I definitely think this might be as good as I have ever played.
Look at the number of ranking points I have, I don't think I have ever
had that amount of points, and if I look forward to the next 12 months,
all I have to do is defend titles and victories, not the easiest thing
to do. It is quite incredible that I did this, me and my team, and that
I have to do it all over again to stay on top. To also have my own
Foundation [in South Africa] and to be international goodwill
ambassador for Unicef, I feel this is my prime time at the moment."
At the age of 24, with seven Grand Slams and 30 other titles already
amassed and people assembling on the sidelines to hail him as moving
fast towards being the sport's best-ever (though he calls himself "just
a little cookie" compared to the game's greatest), Federer remains
refreshingly gobsmacked about being mentioned with other sporting
giants like Tiger Woods. "He is very charismatic, he has brought
something new to golf, and that's what I try to do with tennis also,
with the beauty of my strokes. I have had many compliments over the
years, but to be compared to any other great sportsman is for me a big
honour because I look up to Tiger, Schumacher, all these other great
athletes. You think, jeez, I never thought I would be compared to them.
I am a big sports fan, so to be considered on the same level as those
guys is great."
It would have been unnatural if Federer had not been shaken by what
became summary defeat at the Roland Garros final earlier this month,
wrecking his ambitions of becoming the first man since Rod Laver in
1969 to hold all four major titles at the same time.
"It took me a very short time to get over it," he claims. "Maybe
because I thought the run of three Grand Slams in a row, followed by a
final in the fourth, was so fantastic that there was no need to be
disappointed. I did better than in Paris last year [when he went out in
the semi-finals, also to Nadal], and I lost to the better man on the
day. When I woke up on Monday, I thought, 'OK, it's a pity, but the
grass is coming up' and I wasn't too disappointed because my season has
been absolutely fantastic and I am very happy with my form at the
moment."
Federer has been honing that form in practice at Wimbledon with his
coach, Tony Roche, in readiness for tomorrow and Richard Gasquet, who
took him to three tough sets in Halle. Then could come Tim Henman, of
whom he admitted an early Wimbledon clash would be a worrying thing.
The biggest challenges, though, are expected from Andy Roddick,
runner-up for the past two years, and Hewitt. "They are the guys with
the greatest experience on grass after [Andre] Agassi, but he is short
of matches." He acknowledges the threat of Mario Ancic, the last man to
beat him at Wimbledon (in the first round four years ago), but readily
agrees he relishes whatever challenge is thrown at him right now.
"In the number one position you have to go through that. I have had
some good battles, with Agassi, with Hewitt, with Roddick, with [Marat]
Safin, now with Nadal. Those matches against fellow top 10 players are
always opportunities to show that you are better than the other guy."
And what better place to demonstrate that superiority than his
favourite tournament?
"All my heroes came here and won, and I always wanted to play on
that court and be like them. It is thanks to people like Becker and
Edberg that I started playing. For me, all the emotions in tennis come
basically from Wimbledon. That's why no other tournament can beat it,
that's why I am so happy to be back."
Back with a purpose, too, since Roger Federer closes the chat with the opinion: "I feel like I could do it all over again."
Life & Times
BORN: 8 August 1981, Basle, Switzerland.
VITAL STATS: 6ft 1in, 12st 9lb.
TURNED PRO: 1988.
RANKING: No 1 since Feb 2004.
TITLES: Singles: 38, including Wimbledon 2003, '04, '05, Australian
Open '04, '06, US Open '04, '05. Finalist in French Open '06. Doubles:
7.
HIGHLIGHTS: Youngest player to enter top 100, 18 years 4 months '99.
ATP record 78 match wins '03. ATP record 11 titles in 11 finals,
including three Grand Slams '04. First player in Open era to win first
4 Grand Slam finals '04, first to win 24 finals in a row '04-05.
Laureus World Sportsman of the Year '04.
CAREER EARNINGS: £12,806,335.
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