Roger Federer: “I think the most important thing in taking risks is that you actually believe in what you're trying to do” - UBITENNIS
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Roger Federer: “I think the most important thing in taking risks is that you actually believe in what you’re trying to do”

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9 years ago

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TENNIS AUSTRALIAN OPEN – 19th of January 2015. R. Federer d. Y.Lu 6-4, 6-2, 7-5. An interview with Roger Federer

 

Q. Number 1001. Did you ever think you’d get there after you gotten 1000?

ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, I was hoping it would happen in Australia. I’m very pleased to make this one here tonight. You know, winning first round, it’s always a bit of a relief. I thought I played good. So it was nice to get 1001 here now tonight. We’re not going to talk about this every single match now, right? Let’s just keep it to this one (smiling).

Q. Do you think personality-wise it lends well to succeed for a player, say, if they’re outgoing on court it’s easier to face a pressure point, where someone who is introverted might have to work a little bit harder to succeed?

ROGER FEDERER: Good question. I’m not sure. You would think an introvert is not ready to take huge risks, but then again he might be very thoughtful and play very well-constructed points, won’t go for the silly shot. So I guess it really depends what kind of game you have. But I like the idea when you’re young and you’re fearless, you give it a shot and just go big and take it away from your opponent. That’s kind of how I felt, how I did it sometimes. Yeah but, you know, it didn’t always work. If you look, Lleyton, who wasn’t quite like that, he was more constructive in his points. He had much more success early on. So I don’t know.

Q. You’d class yourself as an intro or extrovert?

ROGER FEDERER: Extrovert probably I’d say.

Q. One year ago you said in the press conference prior to the tournament you came here with the back hurting to some point. This year you suffered some hurt in the back in the World Tour Finals in London. How did you manage to keep the pain at bay from a medical standpoint, the treatment you received, and so on?

ROGER FEDERER: After London?

Q. Yes.

ROGER FEDERER: And Davis Cup?

Q. Yes.

ROGER FEDERER: I had the doctor take a train from Lille Saturday night after the Stan match. I called him up and asked him if he could come see me. When I woke up he was there, which was great because it’s not far away. I hardly could get out of bed. Yeah, he had a look at me. I don’t know, can’t even run so can’t play clearly. I was like, Are you sure? Can’t we wait? He was like, I don’t know. You can’t run so you can’t play. So, anyway, number one, what we did was just let it heal, just do basically nothing except some very minor treatment just so it relaxes the most. It took two, two and a half days, three days until I could run again. And then clearly I was taking medication, heavy ones. Just got back in time. Basically Wednesday night when I went for a hit in Lille, that was the first time I felt like in that afternoon I could run basically. So that’s when I decided, If you can run, you can play. That’s my feeling. And I was happy that I somehow managed to play.

Q. I’m sure you’re well aware what happened to the Swiss franc the other day.

ROGER FEDERER: Yes, I am very well aware.

Q. What do you make of it? How does it affect you?

ROGER FEDERER: Does it mean I’ve got to win now (smiling)? Yeah, I mean, clearly, I don’t know, it definitely had a big impact all around the world, right? Yeah, Switzerland’s an interesting place. It’s small but quite powerful in some ways. Clearly it had an impact on me, too, no doubt about it. Things were going up all the time, so it’s normal have it reset. But the way it was done, maybe there were some question marks behind that because nobody saw it coming. I’m not the expert, so I don’t know exactly what you want me to tell you. Yeah, I guess for export or tourism it’s not ideal, but we’ll see how we’ll adjust to it now. Still think it’s a wonderful place to visit, so please come.

Q. Talk about risk taking in tennis. Is that a skill in itself, to know what to go for? Do you enjoy risk taking? Does it sometimes get a little boring when there aren’t any challenges or risk-taking situations?

ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, I think the most important thing in taking risks is that you actually believe in what you’re trying to do, that you’re 100% committed; 80% commitment is not enough. As you’re running up to the ball or trying to take the ball early, if you have a little bit of doubt that it’s not the right play, it’s funny enough, you’ll fail every single time. You just have to believe and visualize beforehand what’s going to happen. You see the play happening in your mind just before you hit it, and then you have the best chance of making it work. I think that commitment with the risk taking is the right one, and then knowing of what score you’re going to take the risk. Is it at Love-30? 30-All? Love-30? 40-Love? Love-40? It’s a totally different ballgame. What the best players usually do is they play the score very well. That’s something that comes with experience, but I also will experience sometimes I feel you start to play safer or the percentages more. That can become a bit boring. I always try to keep a young mind because I feel my game needs that risk taking, that committed play. Clearly when I’m confident, I can do it much easier.

Q. Novak’s forehand match point shot against you was possibly the greatest risk shot against you. What was one or two of your greatest successful high-risk shots?

ROGER FEDERER: I have no idea. Zero idea. I played too many points and so many times I have had to take a big chance and guessed the right way, and I did. Just felt it. Maybe match point against Sampras. Felt like he was going to slide it wide. I was just waiting there. I believe that clearly he was going to go T with an ace for sure. I gave him that and leaned the other way. Maybe that one sticks out.

Q. You may remember that article from David Foster Wallace years ago in the New York Times where described you as a religious experience, and then I read, a human beings reconciliation with the fact of having a body. What do you think? Do you recognize yourself? An exaggeration?

ROGER FEDERER: Just a slight exaggeration (laughter). But I guess in sports we have a tendency to — there’s no end. You know, it’s just so unbelievable sometimes, like it’s never been seen before. So I’ve been through this entire phase where I got so many compliments, you just thought, Wow, this is the best feeling in the world. But very quickly you get the feeling as well that not everything’s so great sometimes when you don’t play very well. I’ve been on both sides. That’s why I have no problem accepting criticism, because I’ve gotten so many compliments over the years. It’s part of the game. But clearly some unbelievable pieces have been written about me, about tennis, about other players. It’s interesting to read them. Sometimes just slightly exaggerated, but everybody can judge that the way they want.

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Alexander Zverev Deserves More Respect According To Boris Becker

According to Boris Becker, Alexander Zverev deserves more respect from tennis journalists.

Published

1 week ago

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25/11/2023

By

Alexander Zverev (@WeAreTennis - Twitter)

Boris Becker has claimed that Alexander Zverev deserves more respect despite Zverev failing to live up to his potential at Grand Slams.

 

Zverev has only reached one Grand Slam final in his career despite being a regular inside the world’s top ten as well as performing at regular ATP events.

This season Zverev played a limited schedule after recovering from an ankle injury but still managed to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals.

However most critics have been loud when judging Zverev’s career as it was looking likely that he would be a regular Grand Slam champion.

The German has failed to live up to expectations but former Grand Slam champion Boris Becker believes Zverev deserves more respect.

Speaking to Eurosport Becker also said that Zverev’s father being the coach is a more than successful approach when it comes to the former US Open finalist’s career, “In my opinion, he doesn’t get enough respect from the tennis experts internationally,” Becker explained.

“They’re all talking about the young three or four, but don’t give Zverev, Medvedev or Rublev enough respect. He’s playing with his fist in his pocket a little bit, wants everyone show that he is not a thing of the past, but that his best time is yet to come.

“Surely his father knows best what is good for his son, but if you look into the box at the competition, you can also see changes.”

Becker has followed Zverev for most of his career so knows that the best is yet to come from the German.

Alexander Zverev will look to prove himself next season when he starts his 2024 season when he represents Germany at the United Cup.

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Juan Carlos Ferrero Analyses Key Areas For Carlos Alcaraz’s Development

Juan Carlos Ferrero has outlined the next steps in Carlos Alcaraz’s development.

Published

1 week ago

on

24/11/2023

By

(@tennisnewsbrazil - Twitter)

Carlos Alcaraz’s coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero has analysed the key areas for the Spaniard’s development heading into the 2024 season.

 

The former world number one’s season has come to an end after a successful year which saw him win the Wimbledon title as well as winning two Masters 1000 titles.

Alcaraz capped off an incredible season by reaching the semi-finals at the Nitto ATP Finals, where he lost to Novak Djokovic.

However there is a long way for the Spaniard to go if he wants to consistently go toe-to-toe with Novak Djokovic.

Speaking to Marca Alcaraz’s coach Juan Carlos Ferrero spoke about the Spaniard’s development and said that Alcaraz is too emotional, “Be more regular in games, not open doors. Sometimes there are mistakes and it is something that we have to improve a lot,” Ferrero commented.

“Although it is true that he opens doors, he always competes well and at the highest level. He knows it, the other day he already said that Novak doesn’t give you one. He has to improve his decision making and he will achieve that with experience. Carlos is very emotional and that sometimes helps him and other times not so much.”

It’s clear Alcaraz’s high-quality is there but to consistently do it against Djokovic is another task altogether as the Spaniard looks to go from strength-to strength next season.

One area that is clearly a priority for Alcaraz is physical conditioning especially considering what happened against Djokovic at Roland Garros earlier in the season.

Ferrero said that will be a clear focus heading into 2024 but couldn’t guarantee that Alcaraz will play a tournament before the Australian Open, “Because of the year and the fatigue he has been in, what he needs is rest and disconnecting for 8-10 days with his friends,” Ferrero stated.

“From there, the thinking must go back to working really hard, strong and well to start very strongly in Australia. One can never be sure of that. Sometimes you play a tournament and it doesn’t go well, you left home too early. There are many ways of thinking.

“This year we haven’t played Australia and he finishes number two. That means there is no urgency to play a tournament early. Carlos is a player who enters competition quickly, you don’t usually see him without rhythm.

“Although it is true that he becomes more dangerous from the round of 16, from the quarter-finals. I am confident that the two exhibition matches and the training sessions will help us play a good tournament.”

Alcaraz will be looking to play the Australian Open which starts on the 15th of January after the Spaniard missed last year’s tournament due to a leg injury.

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Australian Open Chief Confident Nadal Will Play But Kyrgios’ Participation Uncertain

Published

1 week ago

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23/11/2023

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Nadal RG 2022 by Night (foto @RolandGarros)

The tournament director of the Australian Open says he is ‘certain’ that Rafael Nadal will play at the Grand Slam even though the Spaniard has yet to outline his comeback plans. 

 

Craig Tiley told reporters in Melbourne on Thursday he hopes to receive some clarity over Nadal’s intentions in the next couple of weeks but is confident he will play. However, the tennis official had previously claimed in October that the former world No.1 had already committed to play in the event before his team denied that statement.  

Nadal, who has won 22 Grand Slam titles, hasn’t played a Tour match since his second round defeat at the Australian Open in January due to a hip injury. He was originally expecting to take an eight-week break but the recovery didn’t go to plan and he ended up having surgery. In May he confirmed that he will take an extended break from the sport to heal his body and admitted that retirement next year is a possibility.

“Rafa has been training, I follow him closely, probably every day because he’s a massive drawcard for us,” the Reuters News Agency quoted Tiley as saying. 
“He wants to play, he’s obviously planning on playing. It all depends on how he pulls up.
“Hopefully in the next week or the next two weeks, we get some specific confirmation of that. I’m certain Rafa will be here because he’s not going to want to miss the opportunity to repeat what he did a couple of years ago.”

Earlier this month Nadal confirmed that he intends to return to the Tour but admits that he will continue to experience a degree of pain. Although he has yet to give any information about which tournament he will begin his comeback at. The 2024 season begins during the first week of January.

“I’m well, training, and happy. I’m at a good stage of my life,” atptour.com quoted Nadal as telling reporters in Barcelona.
“Until now I didn’t know if I would play tennis again someday, and now I genuinely believe I will. I’m still not ready to say when, but I’m able to train increasingly longer, and the progress is good.’

Will Kyrgios play?

Another player Tiley is eager to welcome back is home player and former Wimbledon Finalist Nick Kyrgios who has only played one Tour-level match this season due to injury. He underwent knee surgery in January and then tore a ligament in his wrist during the summer. As a result, the Australian currently doesn’t have an ATP ranking due to his inactivity. 

“We have spoken to Nick, and he obviously wants to do the best he possibly can to give him the best chance to play in January,” Tiley said of Kyrgios.
“Whether he’s playing, whether he’s doing something else, Nick will be here in January and to get him to play will be great. But we’ve got to take it as it comes and he’s got to make sure he takes care of his health …” 

Kyrgios recently worked as an analyst for the Tennis Channel during this year’s ATP Finals in Turin and gave a brief update on his ongoing recovery during a segment. 

“After last year, I had such a great year, and I’m so hungry to get back out there,” the 2022 Wimbledon finalist commented.
“So I’m doing everything I can to get back out there. Obviously, you know how injuries are every day, just doing the rehab, doing the gym work.”

The Australian Open will begin on Sunday 14th January. Novak Djokovic and Aryna Sabalenka are the defending champions. 

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