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November 19, 2007
Olympics and Paris light Roger Federer’s fire
By Neil Harman, The Times
As he hops from one glamorous venue to another in South-East Asia in the next
few days, Roger Federer will be confronting the man whose grand-slam
tournament record he hopes to break next year and pondering who might help
him do it.
From Seoul, South Korea, to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and ending in Macau,
Federer crosses swords with Pete Sampras in a trio of exhibition matches
designed further to enhance the sport in its fastest-expanding marketplace.
With 26 grand-slam tournament titles between them – including 12 Wimbledon
singles trophies but not a single French Open - Federer and Sampras are the
embodiment of tennis omnipotence in the past two decades.
The 53rd title of Federer’s career arrived in Shanghai yesterday, when he
lifted his fourth Masters Cup in five years with a 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 victory
over David Ferrer, a Spaniard happy merely to occupy the same space as the
Swiss on such an occasion. Sampras won 64 titles and carried off five
Masters crowns between 1991 and 1999, when it was called the ATP Tour World
Championship. Times, as well as names, have changed.
As he was being chauffeured last night back into the Chinese city that
idolises him, Federer was keen to consider how he might sustain another
period of domination. “What happened here and most of this year has put me
in a great situation for the next few months,” the world No 1 said. “I won
three grand-slams, I have a winning record over all my rivals – this is the
first year I’ve had it over [Rafael] Nadal and I beat him on clay, too,
which is good – and it makes you start thinking about doing it all over
again. I’m really excited about next year, with the Olympic Games in
Beijing, and the French Open is there for me to win for the first time as
well. The fact that I finished the year in style does my confidence a power
of good.
“When I lost the first match here [to Fernando González, of Chile, in the
round-robin stage] I had to get my head around that situation. My back was
against the wall in the next match against [Nikolay] Davydenko, but I proved
myself. Definitely, I’ve played some great tennis.”
You could hear the joy in Federer’s voice, the sheer thrill of fulfilment. At
26, he is two grand-slam tournament titles away from equalling Sampras’s
record of 14 and he is not the remotest bit fearful of the opportunities
ahead.
Whether he does it alone, or with a coach, is the next decision he needs to
take. Since parting company with Tony Roche, the Australian, after the
Italian Open in May, Federer has ploughed a solitary furrow and it has been
difficult for him at times.
“I have been looking around, but there were other things that took priority
and I kept having to say to people, ‘Let me think about it,’ ” he said.
“Well, the time has come to give it serious thought now. I have a vacation
after the Sampras exhibitions and perhaps there will be something to say at
the Australian Open.”
Of those who might have been keen to work with Federer, Paul Annacone (former
coach of Sampras and Tim Henman) has just tied the knot for another three
years with the LTA; Darren Cahill (Andre Agassi and Lleyton Hewitt) performs
an excellent job at ESPN, the American cable television network, and Brad
Gilbert (Agassi, Andy Roddick and Andy Murray) will, as we learnt yesterday,
have his hands full for 20 weeks next year inspiring Alex Bogdanovic, the
British No 2, into the world’s top 100.
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