Is Roger Federer the greatest ever tennis player? It’s debatable. And experts have been doing just that both before and after Federer’s record breaking 15th Grand Slam tournament win at Wimbledon this year. While pondering whether the Swiss ace is indeed better than the likes of Bjorn Borg, Pete Sampras and (our) Rod Laver, there is at least one thing everybody can agree on. Roger is so lovely. It just goes to show that nice guys can finish first.
Oh, really?
It’s easy being nice when you’re smashing opponents left, right and straight down the middle of the court so consistently. Winners are grinners, after all. Roger’s certainly not faced many setbacks in his illustrious tennis career to date, but when he has it hasn’t always been pretty.
Federer lost his cool during the US Open final this week (won by Juan Martín del Potro), rudely advising the umpire, “Don’t tell me the f**king rules”. Close your eyes and you could swear it’s John McEnroe.
And it’s not the first time Federer’s mongrel streak has been evident recently. Earlier this year he petulantly smashed his racquet while losing to Novak Djokovic at the Miami Masters:
He also disputed HawkEye system decisions during 2007’s Wimbledon final against Raphael Nadal, being heard swearing during a changeover, claiming the system “is killing me”.
Make no mistake. Federer is ruthless. Anyone who’s been at the top of their sport for so long has to be. He’s admitted he struggled to control his on court temperament early in his career (”I had a very bad temper, I was very aggressive. Always testing the limits, always arguing over calls, but never cheating. Always upset with myself. Angry at the conditions all the time. It got to the point where my parents threatened to stop driving me to tournaments if I carried on like this. They were too embarrassed to be seen with me.”) and this character trait could regularly re-emerge if Federer begins losing more often.
If that were to eventuate, don’t be surprised if Federer decides to retire sooner rather than later, lest he damage his impeccable record as a fantastic sportsman and great champion. It’d be a shame to remember him otherwise.
6 Comments
Didn’t his wife just have twins? With her probably not getting much sleep and breast-feeding 2 kids, he’s probably not getting any after his hard days of work hitting a ball around for hours on end. No wonder he’s losing his self control (probably why his game is suffering too).
FYI,
”I had a very bad temper, I was very aggressive……”.
This honest admission of what he was only shows how far he has come. Any average intellectual would simply admire what Federer has turned himself into than just be what he was born with. If anything, it only inspires people with such temper to be better self-controlled.
That he has utter dislike for the HawkEye is no secret. He has made that amply clear over and again. Many other top players have expressed dissatisfaction or even laughed at how error-ridden the entire system has been.
This time, Federer let out his frustration more than ever mainly because of how the chair umpire behaved himself. He asked him to shut up and that enraged Roger further. First of all, the umpire allowed del Potro to challenge long after the time was over. He was not playing a teeny-weeny tourny to let such errors be. It was a GS final and he had all the right to question umpire’s decision. And he did just that.
Being a nice guy does not mean accepting every nonsense happening around. Nice guy do fight. Moreover, when did Federer go around saying that he is a nice guy?
>> don’t be surprised if Federer decides to retire sooner rather than …
This comment shows how little you make of one of the greatest champions. Many small-time writers like you and even experts predicted that Federer would never win another GS after he lost to Nadal in 2008 Wimbledon. But he moved on and won 3 more; much to your chagrin. And he keeps on giving parasitic writers like you enough stuff every now and then to chew on. So enjoy as long as he is there. Some day, after he retires, you will be singing peons for Federer. Because such players do not come by often. At least not any sooner as you have predicted. Not even in your lifetime.
He’s sitting down drinking water and talking (not yelling) to the umpire. Yep really losing his cool.
You do realise he made all 4 grand slam finals, won 2 and lost 2 in 5 sets (and served atrociously in both of those, yet still nearly won)?
Here’s a pop quiz: Federer made the final in each of the Grand Slams this year. Who else made it to the Quarter Finals in each of the Grand Slams?
Answer – no one.
roger never was a nice guy, he only lets you see what he wants you to see, not the real roger. he was right about the judging at the us open. he is a very bad loser and will not give the winning opponent their propers. you have to feel sorry for him, i don’t know what or where his mind was at but he got caught in the oldest trap out there. mirka has been his girlfriend/companion for how many years? now all of a sudden there is a baby. if i were in her shoes i would do the very same thing, she has a lot of years invested in roger and she didn’t want him to dump her like yesterdays trash. she probably didn’t want to wait (just in case he opened his eyes) i hope the babies take after their father and not his porker.
I have nothing against this guys, I like watching his games.
Sports photography captures the glory and honor of the game
if you have a camera on you for that much time in a competitive environment you are bound to slip up.