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Friday, September 8, 2006
Roger Federer, A Man With All the Answers
By Brian Cleary, US Open
Roger Federer is a heck of
a tennis player. But you should see him in the press room. First he
fields questions in English for 10 minutes. Then Swiss-German. Then
French. In each language he displays his mastery of the languages,
astutely considering the topics thrown at him and always coming up with
deft, well-crafted reply. Heck, if the German, Italian and Swiss press
wanted their own time with Federer, other languages that Federer knows,
he would field their questions as well. Federer’s dexterity with
fielding questions in multiple languages is a lot like his unparallel
skill with a racket. No matter what style of game you’ve got on the
other side of the net, Roger Federer somehow, with utter composure,
seems to have an answer. “You can really sum up Federer in just
a few ways,’’ says world-reknown coach Nick Bollettieri. “Whatever the
facts are, no matter what, he finds a solution to the problem. That, in
a nutshell, right there, is what makes him so special." Special
he is. Federer, 25, has already won eight Grand Slams. Last year he
became the first man in the Open era to win Wimbledon and the US Open
back-to-back for two straight years, and this year he’s attempting to
do it for a ridiculous third year in a row. He is currently on an
18-match US Open winning streak, including 12 straight–set matches. “He’s the best player of all-time,’’ says Jonas Bjorkman, who lost to Federer in the semis of Wimbledon this year. James Blake goes further, calling Federer the best athlete of our time. “I
heard something on ESPN about two weeks ago saying Tiger Woods is gonna
pass Michael Jordan as the best athlete of our time, and I think that’s
a joke,’’ said Blake after losing to Federer in the quarterfinals here.
“I’d make a case for Roger Federer being the best athlete of our time.
Not tennis player. Athlete.’’ Certainly with every challenge he
answers here at the US Open, Federer seems to garner more superlatives,
from fans and opponents alike. To understand why the whole of
Federer has reached such heights, it's helpful to look at the different
parts that make him who he is. One thing to start with is his actual game. “He
plays offense unbelievably well, he plays defense better than anyone
I’ve ever played,’’ said Blake. “Volleys well. Serves well.’’ Bjorkman
is impressed with his power and his movement, but feels the most
under-looked part of Federer's game is his serve. "It's impossible to
read because he hits it out wide or up the middle from the same toss,''
he said. In Bollettieri's mind, Federer is the first player in the history of the game to be this solid all around. “Everybody
else had a weakness,” said Bollettieri. “For Sampras, it was the return
of serve off the backhand side. Anyone else, you could point to
something. But Roger doesn’t have anything." His mastery of every
shot has allowed Federer the unique quality, even among all-time
greats, to be a dominant player on every surface. In fact, it's only
Rafael Nadal, possibly the best clay-court player ever, that has kept
Federer from an even more dominant 63-5 record he has this year. Because
of his dominance, many have tried to figure out what Federer is doing,
some secret he might have that is allowing him to play so well. The
hope is that, if they copied it, a similar success might follow. But,
Federer's talent is so unique, it's often found what works for Federer
doesn’t necessarily work for anyone else. Take the way he strings
his racquet. Federer uses synthetic string called Luxilon in his cross
strings and natural gut in his main strings, the reverse of almost
every other player on tour, most of whom use polyester in the main
strings and a softer string in the crosses. Federer likes the spin that
the polyester gives him when placed in the cross strings. “Everyone
tried it, of course,’’ said Ron Rocchi, the Tour equipment manager for
Wilson, who also runs the stringing center at the US Open. “But, for
the most part, it didn’t work for anyone else.’’ Federer also
strings his racket at an incredibly loose 52 pounds. Looser strings
give a racket more power, something every player wants. The rub is
that, the looser the racket is strung, the harder it is to control the
ball. Federer is able to string his racket that loose, according to
Rocchi, because he has such incredible feel in his hands. “Everyone
always comments on how effortless Federer is when he hits the ball,’’
said Rocchi, who said Blake strings his racket at 68 pounds and Andy
Roddick at 64. “It’s because [Federer’s] racket is doing so much work
for him [in terms of generating power]. It was evident last night
against Blake. James was using so much effort to hit the ball, and
Roger was almost on that medium gear.’’ Another of Federer’s
strengths is his composure on the court. The truth is, he doesn’t let
himself get too up or down out there for a reason. “I used to
be very up and down,’’ Federer said after the Blake match, where he
held his composure despite the crowd, including Blake’s J-Block, that
were firmly in Blakes corner. “Now, I focus on each and every point,
you know. I try to let things not get to me. I’ve realized that has
improved my game. “I feel very relaxed out on court, you know, like I am off the court. That works for me very well." Federer
is certainly pretty darn relaxed off the court. He not only handles
questions in five languages, he seems to enjoy representing the game as
the No. 1 player, a role many former No. 1s have despised. It's this
part of the Federer package that makes Federer, despite the fact that
he's crushing so many people out on court, popular among his peers. "Normally
you have someone who's winning all the time, you're hoping for him to
lose,'' said Bjorkman. "But when Roger wins, everyone's happy for him
because he's such a classy guy.'' While Federer has a unique
physical and mental makeup, Bollettieri said he does have company in
one area, and that's in his level of confidence. Simply put, Federer,
like Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan, knows, deep down, that in his
sport, his best game is simply better than anyone else’s. “When
you know you are something special, that’s attitude," said Bollettieri.
“That’s far more important than money, cars, trophies, anything else in
the world. Attitude is the barometer for success and failure, and he’s
got it."
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