Former Italian tennis player Lea Pericoli has praised 20-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer, claiming the Swiss maestro is one of a handful of stars, who doesn’t play the sport for the money.
According to Pericoli, Federer plays the game because he loves to compete, and playing in front of packed houses gives him a sense of excitement and satisfaction.
Pericoli said that the players from the current generation tend to focus on the prize money and endorsement deals while Federer’s attention has always been on improving his skills as a tennis player.
“The bigger rackets changed everything, you can do whatever you want,” Pericoli told Repubblica.
“With wooden rackets we were less powerful and more technical.
“Thank goodness there is (Roger) Federer, who is close to perfection: he is beautiful, nice, very committed in charity and, crucial detail, he thinks tennis like [in] our times and he plays with today’s weapons and opponents.
“Alex Zverev looks good, if he doesn’t ruin himself. In general all of them have no fascination and only think about money.
“I mean, do you know that some people asked for money even to play Davis Cup, to defend their country’s colours?
“In Italy, to find a true champion you need to look back to Nicola (Pietrangeli) and (Adriano) Panatta.”
Federer, who will lose his No. 1 ranking to arch-rival Rafael Nadal on Monday, is skipping the European clay-court season in order to recharge his batteries ahead of the crucial grass-court swing in Germany and the United Kingdom. Federer is the defending champion both at the Gerry Weber Open in Halle and the Wimbledon Championships in London.
After recording a perfect 17-0 start in 2018, Federer lost two consecutive matches for the first time since his stunning comeback in January 2017 as he was beaten by Juan Martin Del Potro and Australian qualifier Thanasi Kokkinakis in the final of the Indian Wells Masters and the second round of the Miami Open respectively.
