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Sunday, March 26, 2006
20 QUESTIONS WITH . . . ROGER FEDERER
A happy champion: `I'm living my dream'
By Dan Le Batard, Miami Herald
Twenty questions with Roger Federer, the world's greatest tennis player:
1) Who do you look at anywhere in sports and say, `That person is better at what he does for a living than I am at what I do'?
``Tough call. Always hard to compare different sports. There are a
lot of guys who have been doing incredible things for a longer time
than I've had success in tennis. Tiger Woods. [Motorcycle champion]
Valentino Rossi. [Race-car driver] Michael Schumacher.''
2) Five adjectives you'd use to describe yourself to a stranger?
``Honest. Positive. Open. Laid-back. Happy. No negative adjectives. I'll leave that to others. I'm positive.''
3) Is it hard to keep motivated given that tennis is so boring and repetitive and alone, especially the preparation?
``Yeah, I wonder about that on a daily basis. But you make
everything a challenge. So many areas to work on -- speed, balance,
mental strength -- that you can tackle something new and different
every day with a good schedule plan for improvement. Center Court in
front of thousands of fans is easy, but the tough thing is what leads
up to the tournament.''
4) You speak four languages. You are smart. Do you ever question the worth of hitting a ball for a living?
``Never. My dream was always to be an athlete, in either soccer or tennis, and I'm living my dream.''
5) Do you ever talk to God?
``No, I don't.''
6) Give me an example that illustrates how irrationally competitive you are?
``I'm a horrible loser, and I used to be really bad about losing in
card games or board games. When I would lose at chess to my father, I'd
knock all the pieces to the floor. But I don't do things like that
anymore. I've mellowed out. I'm much more relaxed. Success made me
relax, finally. I don't mind losing much any more.''
7) Anyone you play against who you really dislike?
``Used to happen. Not anymore. I changed that. I used to think that
anyone who beat me were jerks. But I've gotten to know the people I
play against, and I like them.''
8) The best feeling you've ever known?
``Happiness.''
9) What would your dream doubles game look like?
``A music star, a Hollywood star and an athlete. Gwen Stefani. Sharon Stone. And Michael Jordan. That'll be fun.''
10) Worst thing about being Roger Federer?
``There's a worst thing? I only see good.''
11) Favorite Internet sites?
``I don't really surf. I go to rogerfederer.com to see what fans
write. I check out newspapers and some tennis things, but not much else
unless I'm looking for specific information.''
12) Someone you were awestruck meeting?
``Peter Forsberg. At the U.S. Open. My girlfriend told me someone
wanted to meet me. I asked her who it was, and she surprised me. I'm a
big hockey fan and a huge fan of his. I didn't know what to say. I was
pretty speechless. I just said that I used to play with him on video
games.''
13) Something extravagant you own that you'd show off to a stranger you had to impress?
``Fancy cars. I have a few. They are sort of trophies. I've won a
lot of cars in my life in tournaments. My Mercedes CLS-65. Not too many
miles on any of them because I get a lot of new ones after a few
miles.''
14) Life's most underrated pleasure?
``Sleeping.''
15) The one trait most responsible for making you better than everyone else?
``My will.''
16) Last time you cried?
``Watching a movie a couple of weeks ago. An American movie. I can't
remember the name, but it wasn't even a sad movie. It caught me off
guard. I was on an airplane.''
17) Your last pinch-me moment?
``It happens time and time again. I'm having so much success that I
can't believe it myself. I'm always meeting new people and finding
myself in interesting places. I'll be in a hotel in Dubai or on a nice
island in the Indian Ocean. It's crazy, the life I'm living.''
18) Best show on TV?
``I travel too much to follow any one show. I'm in too many
different countries. I don't watch shows. I watch movies and sports.
I'm always watching documentaries and National Geographic.''
19) Hardest thing you've ever had to read about yourself?
``I don't like that people write something that they don't know
about and go sniffing around in my personal life, but you take the good
with the bad.''
20) How often are you on the court thinking about things outside of tennis?
'Quite a bit. I'm always telling myself, `Can't you wait and think
about that another time?' It is impossible to focus for an entire
match. You are wandering around, sitting, looking into the crowd and
seeing someone that reminds you of something. It isn't a bad thing. You
get tired of your mind always [being] in one place all the time. I try
to block something out, but it always comes back.''
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