|
June 24, 2007
Place in history suits Federer
By Jim Holden, Sunday Express
ROGER FEDERER is a smiling champion.
He wants to be friends with everyone – even with history.
His face creases in delight as he talks about his ambition to become
the all-time greatest tennis player and reveals his immense pleasure
that legends like Bjorn Borg and Pete Sampras are backing his quest to
equal and then overtake their own proud records.
If Federer captures the Wimbledon men’s singles title again this year,
he will match Borg’s incredible run of five wins in succession – which
would surely be the single greatest sporting achievement of 2007.
It would also take him a step closer to the record seven overall
Wimbledon crowns of Sampras, and give him an 11th career Grand Slam
title, the equal of Borg and Rod Laver. Only Roy Emerson (12) and
Sampras (14) would have more.
“I don’t
like to be the enemy of the past,” said the self-effacing Federer
yesterday after an intense practice session at the All England Club.
“Bjorn has always been very nice about me, saying that if someone was
going to equal his record he would like it to be me. That is very, very
kind.
“When I spoke to Pete recently he
told me he has a lot of admiration for how I handle things on and off
the court. He said he was feeling happy that I might even beat his
record some time.
“It’s so nice to hear.
It’s great that they are happy for me – as I will be happy for people
in the future who make history.”
While the 25-year-old Federer is a mild and understated man, he shares
with his good friend Tiger Woods a clear-eyed and ruthless desire to
demolish all the records.
There is no false modesty with the Swiss champion.
“I’m excited about the prospect of winning a fifth Wimbledon in
succession, and I want to match Borg,” he said. “The overall record of
Sampras is in my thoughts as well. I vowed not to talk about it until I
was over halfway there, and now I am past halfway it crosses my mind.
“Then, when you lose a final in Paris (Federer was beaten in the recent
French Open by Rafael Nadal) it shows you how difficult it is to win
Grand Slams. Now, we’ll see how it goes at Wimbledon.
“I’m only 25 and let’s see how my records are at the end of my career.
Then we can see who is the greatest, who is the best, who is the most
unique.
“Right now, I think Sampras is
the best player of all time – and that’s not to take anything away from
Laver.
“When Laver won his Slams, three of
them were played on grass. Sampras won on different surfaces, and now
players are becoming experts on one particular surface and the Slams
are more difficult to win.
“That’s why
Andre Agassi’s record is so wonderful because he won on all the
different surfaces. When I spoke to Pete recently we talked about our
experiences at the major tournaments.
“We
compared mindsets and so on. It was very interesting for me. Maybe Pete
gave me a sense of security.
“I knew I
was trying to do the right things, but it was good to hear from him
that was the case.”
Federer is a strong
odds-on favourite to win Wimbledon again and he oozes confidence as he
talks about his lack of superstition, the increased brightness of the
roofless Centre Court and his time off in the past couple of weeks
having barbecues at home in Zurich.
He is
master of all he surveys at Wimbledon and says with a happy smile: “I
have the keys to the Centre Court at the moment, that’s for sure.”
|
