20-time grand slam champion Roger Federer is undoubtedly a household name who has inspired many rising stars over the past two decades. Although his influence isn’t just within the world of tennis.
So far in his career, the Swiss 38-year-old has won 103 titles on the ATP Tour. The second highest tally in history after Jimmy Connors. Besides being the most decorated grand slam singles champion in men’s tennis, he has also held the world No.1 position for a record 310 weeks.
Federer’s achievement has been hailed by professional golfer Justin Rose, who is one of the top figures in his own sports. Rose, who is 39, has won 10 PGA Tour titles and is the reigning Olympic champion.
“I don’t take inspiration from other golfers as much. Tennis is one area.” Rose said during an interview with Forbes.com earlier this week.
“I love to watch Roger Federer play tennis, and if I could trend toward that—clearly I’m not going to win 20 (golf) majors the way Federer has won 20 Grand Slams, but if I could, I’d trend toward the end of my career as someone who plays freer and freer. Thing is, he had to evolve and learn to become that way over his career.”
It is not the first time the English golfer has paid tribute to Federer, who is currently ranked fourth in the world as of this week. Speaking to reporters at the Farmers Insurance Open in January, Rose said he was inspired by how his fellow sportsman has managed to remain at the top of the sport given his age. Federer is the oldest player in the current top 100 and the seventh oldest to have an ATP ranking at present.
“I look at Roger Federer, and there are guys that serve at 135mph, but he serves at 121 in the corners,” said Rose.
“Roger is at the back end of his career, so it’s incredibly effective. So yeah, I’m not going to be a 185mph ball speed guy and if I chase that, it is going to hurt me and it’s going to hurt my swing and body because you’ve got to reabsorb that force.
“But I can serve it 121 in the corners is kind of where I’m at. And for me, that’s like 172, 175mph ball speed. I carry the ball 300, so if I can carry the ball 300 in the air, I can compete on any golf course against any player. So that’s kind of my benchmark.”
Federer is currently sidelined from the tour following knee surgery, which was officially suspended for six weeks on Thursday due to the coronavirus outbreak. He is set to return to action in June at the Halle Open in Germany.
