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August 16, 2007
Federer keeps it real as he chases Sampras' Slam record
By Associated Press
MASON, Ohio -- If you believe Roger Federer, his pursuit of Pete Sampras'
record of 14 Grand Slam titles happened almost by accident. This was
not a kid who grew up dreaming of tennis stardom: Fascinated by
basketball, Federer says, he decorated his bedroom with posters of
Michael Jordan and Shaquille O'Neal. If you believe Federer, he is
not "too obsessed" with getting the better of Rafael Nadal, no matter
what it takes. Federer did, after all, give his on-court nemesis a ride
on a private jet from last week's tournament in Montreal to this week's
tournament here after learning that Nadal was having trouble finding a
suitable commercial flight. Yep, there they were, thousands of miles
above the earth, Roger and Rafa, chatting with their girlfriends over a
sushi lunch, like any pair of wealthy pals. Would McEnroe have done
that for Connors? Would Woods for Mickelson? If you believe
Federer, he was an overly competitive, emotional wreck as a teen - and
that was just when he played chess with his father, knocking pieces off
the board with a swipe of his hand after losing. He took tennis
setbacks hard back then, too, he says, smashing rackets and crying
inconsolably after defeats. Eventually, in his early 20s, Federer says,
he learned to control such feelings, part of a general maturation that
led to his steady on-court demeanor; tears shed nowadays are of the
joyous variety. If you believe Federer, he lives with self-doubt,
with the worry that he'll awake one morning and no longer have the
skills that have put him at No. 1 in the rankings for a record 185
consecutive weeks, that have led to a .935 winning percentage since
2004, that have earned him 11 Grand Slam titles heading into the Aug.
27-Sept. 9 U.S. Open, that awe opponents and fans and, yes, even
Federer himself. "I surprise myself, almost every day," he said
during an interview with The Associated Press this week. "The shots I
come up with. And if I win, you know, I'm surprised I won. And if I
won, I'm surprised I won that easily, sometimes, you know. I win a
tough match, and I can't believe the way I got out of it. So, yeah, I
get surprised over and over again." Yet there's that gnawing
sense it all could slip away, a feeling that rushes over him from time
to time, particularly in the restless hours preceding a big match
played at night. It's why he says he's always looking to improve, why
he can't seem to settle on a coach and, indeed, is currently without
one. "I have this worry that I'm not going to play well. ... That
the day comes where I don't know how to hit a forehand anymore, you
know? That I'm blank," Federer said, holding his palms up for emphasis.
"That I come on the court and I can't do it." Implausible as that
might sound, you certainly want to believe Federer, and believe IN
Federer - believe that he's genuine. And not merely because his
mounting victories force a discussion of whether he is the greatest
talent in the history of tennis, but also because he's plying his craft
at a rough-and-tumble time in the sports world. Everywhere you
turn, there's disappointment, from Major League Baseball's steroids
saga to the Tour de France's doping disaster, from the NFL's Michael
Vick dogfighting case to the NBA's mobbed-up referee. Heck, there's
even a betting probe in tennis, too. "I have heard of stories of
people getting sometimes money offered for losing a match and stuff. A
lot of money," Federer said. "Nowadays, sports has some funny things
going on. Maybe it's just a bad period." But here's the thing:
You DO believe Federer. Not just because he sounds sincere and sticks
to his stories. Not just because he looks you in the eye, arms crossed
casually, during the hour-long, one-on-one conversation in the basement
of the Cincinnati Masters' main stadium. But also because everyone else
you speak to in the world of tennis has nothing but positive things to
say about him. "He's everything you would want and expect a
decent person to be, and yet he's been able to make a lie of the truism
that good guys finish second, because, in this case, he's a good guy
that comes first all the time," ATP executive chairman Etienne de Villiers said in a telephone interview. He
and Federer haven't always seen eye-to-eye on tour issues such as
instant replay. Still, de Villiers summed up his sentiments this way:
"He's the kind of guy that every mother would like their daughter to
marry." Said Vince Spadea, a former top 20 player: "Roger's a
tremendous gentleman, very cordial. He's not too big for what he's
accomplished; it hasn't gotten to him." In the players' lounge
and outside the locker room, Federer draws smiles, handshakes and
greetings from past and future opponents, players whose careers might
have been oh-so-different had a certain someone born in Basel,
Switzerland, in August 1981, stuck to basketball. Or soccer, Federer's
other early love. Take Andy Roddick,
the last player other than Federer to win the U.S. Open, in 2003. The
last player other than Federer to finish a year ranked No. 1, also in
2003. Someone who has lost three Grand Slam finals, all to Federer.
Someone who is 1-13 against Federer. "I have loads of respect for
him, as a person as well," Roddick said after their 2005 Wimbledon
title match. "I've told him before: 'I'd love to hate you, but you're
really nice."' Bjorn Borg said that if someone had to match his
modern mark of five consecutive Wimbledon titles, he was pleased for it
to be Federer. Sampras, too, considers Federer a worthy heir. "Before,
I felt under pressure when people were saying, 'He's going to break
Sampras' record,' and I was only at five or six," Federer said. "Now I
feel like it's closer." He also hopes to play another five years, at least, adding perhaps a major title per season. If
there's a knock on Federer, a reason some surmise he doesn't get his
due in the United States, it's that he's, well, boring. He doesn't
berate chair umpires. Or toss rackets. Or get into fights with
paparazzi. It's a notion Federer called "totally unfair." "People
are intrigued with crazy things, you know, in this day and age,
especially with reality TV shows and stuff. I see where they are coming
from, but ... I still believe that good manners and politeness is the
better way to go," he said. "And if that's boring, then I'm sorry for
the people who say that it is boring." Asked to admit to a vice
or bad trait, this is what Federer came up with: He often shows up as
many as 10 minutes late when he's supposed to meet someone. Gasp! Like many others in the sport, the man who runs the U.S. Open will let that slide. "He
may not have the Connors swagger or the Agassi showmanship, but he has
a sense of dignity and style and class, both on and off the court, that
is going to win over New Yorkers and the entire country, big-time, and
more so as time goes on," said Arlen Kantarian, the U.S. Tennis
Association's chief executive of pro tennis. "He is, I think, also one
of those players that we're going to tell our grandchildren about 20
years from now: 'We saw Roger Federer play.' That's how significant to the game he has - and will - become."
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