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January 13, 2008
Roger the record-slayer
By Will Swanton, Sydney Morning Herald
ROGER FEDERER is set to quit in less than five years. A
biography of the Swiss world No.1, yet to be released in Australia,
quotes Federer as saying he's likely to pull the pin after the
London Olympics in 2012.
Tennis at the London Games will be played at the holiest of holy
venues, Wimbledon, and by then the greatest player in history could
have almost 30 major championship prizes decorating his newly
erected trophy room in his house at Oberwil, Switzerland.
Federer will turn 31 during the London Olympics.
"That would be the ideal moment to consider making my exit," he
says in The Roger Federer Story: Quest for Perfection.
"I don't think that I'll just quit one day and retire early
because I'm tired. I really don't.
"I understand that the hunger can begin to disappear at some
point. You invest so much and, at some point, the body becomes
tired. You have to go through a lot in a career. But as a boy I
always dreamed of becoming No.1 and it would be wrong if my drive
were to fail me at this point."
The book is not authorised by Federer but the author, Rene
Stauffer, a Swiss journalist who has covered the maestro's career
for a decade, claims to have interviewed him extensively. The book
chronicles Federer's life up until last year's victory at the
Australian Open, which he backed up with triumphs at Wimbledon and
the US Open to leave him entering this week's tournament with 12
major titles.
Federer, now so serene, was a hothead as a junior. He constantly
criticised himself for mistakes, occasionally yelling out the
equivalent of idiot: "Dubbel!" He would berate himself even
after winning points if his execution was less than perfect.
He's portrayed in the book as a mercurial perfectionist dripping
with potential from the age of 15, when he scored a 4-6, 7-6, 6-4
win over "a tenacious young Australian player by the name of
Lleyton Hewitt" in front of 30 people at the World Youth Cup in
Zurich in 1996.
If Federer plays all four majors in 2012, he has 20 grand slam
events left. And if he keeps up his normal routine of winning three
a year - a huge ask, but who's going to stop him? - he'll end up
with 27, setting a grand slam record almost impossible to beat.
Even if he scored two majors a year - meaning he could drop one
of the Wimbledon, US or Australian titles, all of which he
dominates, in any given year - he would be left with a staggering
22 majors. That's eight more than Pete Sampras.
Federer says he's adopting a less-is-more approach to his
career, cutting back on the number of events he plays. He claims
he's not as obsessed about winning majors as world No.1 golfer
Tiger Woods.
"I've learned that it is more important to take a break between
competitions and to be well prepared for the next event than it is
to play in all of the tournaments," he says.
"My goal is to hold my top ranking as long as possible and to
win as many tournaments as possible, preferably grand slam
tournaments.
"But I'm not going to drive myself nuts like Tiger Woods, who
only wants to beat Jack Nicklaus's 18 major titles."
The book recalls one of Federer's most memorable shots at the
Australian Open, against Andy Roddick last year. Roddick hammered a
forehand that landed near the baseline, only for Federer to pull
off a freakish backhand half-volley that travelled cross-court for
a winner.
"Darling," his partner Mirka Vavrinec told Federer afterwards,
"you are a maniac."
Federer, whose preparation was hampered last week by a virus,
begins his defence of the Australian Open on Tuesday against
Argentinian Diego Hartfield. He's in the softer section of the
draw, with Russia's Nikolay Davydenko and Frenchman Richard Gasquet
looming as the only real obstacles to a berth in the final.
The other half of the draw is a tornado, featuring Hewitt, Novak
Djokovic, Marcos Baghdatis, David Nalbandian, David Ferrer,
Roddick, Tommy Robredo, Carlos Moya and Rafael Nadal. They'll run
each other ragged while Federer, in all likelihood, will waltz
through without raising a sweat.
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