General Interviews with, or about Roger
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Márcia- Posts : 4980
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Re: General Interviews with, or about Roger
PS: I don't care much for the graphic used as the header of that article, but it's part of a whole!
Cromar- Posts : 6560
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Re: General Interviews with, or about Roger
Great interview by Simon Kuper (Financial Times) aboard NetJets with Roger!
"Federer throws an arm around me, and I put my hand on his back. Every other back I’ve touched felt like a single undefined mass. On Federer’s back you feel every bone and muscle. It’s like reading an anatomy textbook in Braille".
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As some members couldn't access the article on the FT website (only available to non-subscriber via Twitter), I opted to reproduce the article here, this being a private forum. But please respect the FT policy and DO NOT copy it anywhere else. Thank you.
Lunch with the FT Roger Federer
Roger Federer: ‘You cannot be alone at the top’
The tennis great on perfecting his craft, being a father — and what he has in common with Lionel Messi
Simon Kuper June 28, 2019
In 25 years of interviewing athletes, I’ve learnt that they never ask you anything back. Roger Federer is the exception. In the van to his private jet, he bombards me with questions: how badly have the 'gilets jaunes' smashed up Paris, where I live? Do I have children? When he discovers I have twins (he has two sets, one girls, one boys), and that my mother, like his, came from northern Johannesburg, he grins with delight: “We could be like brothers.” He speaks near-perfect English, with some of the singsong rhythm of his native Swiss-German.
This morning we are flying his shared NetJets plane from Zurich to Madrid, where he’s playing a tournament. We take off almost vertically: private jets fly at over 40,000 feet, higher than commercial planes, and whizz through the thin and nearly traffic-free air.
Federer and I sit facing each other in soft beige leather armchairs. The stewardess unfolds a dining table between us. Our fellow passengers — two of Federer’s fitness coaches and a NetJets man — loll on a sofa at the back of the cabin. I feel as if I’m in a magazine advertisement for first-class life. My tablemate, despite a slightly bulbous nose, is as beautiful as a Roman god. With his long legs slung over each other, he looks perfectly at ease in his body. He smiles and makes eye contact with the confidence of a man accustomed to getting a good response from everybody he meets. Unlike many athletes, he doesn’t need an agent by his side to censor his speech.
Aged 37, Federer has been on the circuit playing uniquely gorgeous tennis for 20 years. Pundits began predicting his retirement a decade ago, but he won another Wimbledon in 2017, the Australian Open last year (his 20th Grand Slam tournament) and he returns to Wimbledon next week ranking third in the world behind Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, and seeded second by the tournament’s organizers. He is aiming for a record ninth victory. He seems genuinely unsure when he will retire. On the plane this morning, he appears as vigorous as a grown-up can be.
I want to get him to review his life and career. But first the stewardess brings us mini-croissants and fruit skewers. I had wondered whether Federer would eat human food; Djokovic likes his gluten-free and raw, when he deigns to eat at all. But Federer spreads marmalade on his croissant.
The stewardess suggests detox juices: “Morning energy!”
Federer smiles: “I never have, but let me try one.” She gives him three different juices. I order a café latte, he an espresso, and we both get muesli. This is turning out less Spartan than I’d feared.
“Really,” I start, “you’ve had multiple careers. You had your rise; then unchallenged supremacy; then rivals arrive — ”
“I see it the same way,” he interrupts.
I continue: “Now you’re battling your way back to the top.”
Here he demurs. “It’s really the good times now. It’s like I’m on this tour, almost, and I can appreciate these moments. Not knowing what the end is, is also maybe nice.” He says he savors every trip now, because he knows it may be his last visit to that city.
Then how would he sum up his career?
“It’s gone way too fast. I feel like I was a junior yesterday.”
(Brunch supplied by Park Hyatt, Zurich)
Juices — Morning Energy, Ginger Sunrise, Green Booster
Fresh cut fruits
Birchermüesli
Omelette with bacon and vegetables
Bakeries and muffins
Total SFr 98 (£78)
The bourgeois boy from Basel (his parents worked for the Ciba-Geigy pharmaceutical company) left home at 14 to enter a tennis academy. “I cried when I was away. Every time I took a train, Sunday night at six, I was as sad as could be, but it was my choice. You give up your childhood a bit, but I would probably do it all over again.”
At 15, he sat practicing his autograph on paper tablecloths in French restaurants. “In case I got famous. I was thinking, ‘Hopefully one day I can win tournaments and be in the top 100. And who knows, maybe play against one of those guys I’ve seen on TV.’ I think at 18 I broke the top 100, and you’re like, ‘wow, I can really be on the tour. I’m in the locker room with Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras. My god, it’s so cool.’ ”
The teenager’s biggest challenge was off-court life: “Doing the red carpets, meeting important people, looking at women, speaking to women, speaking to people who I couldn’t place, it was hard. I was a shy person. But I think tennis helped me, really shaped me.”
Aged 19, at the Sydney Olympics, he met his future wife Mirka Vavrinec, who was playing tennis for Switzerland. Months later, he finally won a tournament. He recalls the carefree tennis of youth: “At 20, there’s a great point, and you’re like, ‘This one, I’m going to crush so hard, I’m actually going to make a hole into the ground.’ At 37 you’re like, ‘Hmm, I’m probably going to first hit it there, then maneuver the guy around, and somehow work my way to the net and finish off with a nice volley.’ ” Nowadays, he says, he sometimes has to push himself to try “the crazy shots”. He worries about becoming too canny, and tennis becoming too professional.
Simon Kuper interviewing Roger Federer at 40,000ft
He has wolfed down everything except his fruit. I initially assume our breakfast is over, but the stewardess reappears to take more orders.
“Could I maybe have one more espresso?” asks Federer, adding a very British, “Sorry.”
She suggests an omelet.
“Why not?” says Federer. I concur, and remark on his appetite.
“I don’t want to become too serious,” he says. “It also reminds me, maybe, I’m more than just a tennis player.” Has he really eaten KitKats before major finals? “I’ll have a coffee before every match, and if there is a chocolate on the side, I’ll have a chocolate. Or a cookie.” Geniuses don’t have to sacrifice like mortals.
But Federer had to learn to control his genius. I ask if he recognizes parallels with another natural: Lionel Messi. Federer, a football fan, lights up. He asks excitedly if I’ve met Messi (he hasn’t). “Funny enough,” he says, “I haven’t spoken about Messi nearly enough. What I love about Messi probably most is when he gets the ball and is able to turn the body towards goal, and then he has full vision. Then he’s going to pass, or dribble, or shoot. There’s always three options for him. He’s one of the few who’s got that.”
I note the parallel: Federer, too, has many choices. The tennis writer and coach John Yandell once counted 20 variations of his forehand alone.
“Yes,” nods Federer. “The problem when you’re younger is knowing to use what when. That is quite — how do you say? — complex. Whereas if you’re a player who’s just very good at doing forehands and backhands across court all day, it’s easier.
“I’ve got a lot of different options. For us it’s more challenging. I think once you master the craft of knowing, ‘Which club shall I take out of the bag for this shot or pass?’, it’s incredibly exciting. Maybe this is why my love for the game is so big nowadays. Geometry, angles, when to hit which shot, should I serve and volley? Stay back? Should I chip and charge? Should I hit big?”
Once he mastered his options, he won his first Grand Slam tournament at Wimbledon in 2003. In January 2004 he added the Australian Open. Then, he said, “I took a conscious decision: I’d like to play for a long time.” His fitness coach recommended frequent breaks rather than chasing every appearance fee.
It’s really the good times now. It’s like I’m on this tour, almost, and I can appreciate these moments. Not knowing what the end is, is also maybe nice.
“You could just power out and say, ‘I’m planning to play till 30,’ like everybody else did, but I always thought it’d be so much fun to play through generations. Because our generations are not 10 years, 15 years. Every five years you have somebody else. My generation, then Rafael, Novak and Andy [Murray]. Now you have the next generation. I wanted to experience that, and also — it sounds stupid now — maybe give younger guys an opportunity to play somebody old like me.”
From 2004 through January 2010 he towered over men’s tennis (except against Nadal on clay), winning 15 Grand Slam tournaments. In 2009 his twin daughters arrived. “For me, ’10 and ’11 are a blur, because of the children. All I remember is moments with my family, not my results. I’m happy it’s this way.”
But while Federer changed nappies, Nadal and Djokovic matured and began beating him on all surfaces. Nadal’s record against Federer, after a 15-year rivalry, stands at 24-15, after this month’s straight-set victory in the semi-finals of the French Open. Federer didn’t win any Grand Slam tournaments from 2013 through 2016. Given his age, most pundits assumed he was fading. He says, “Those were the fighting years for me. This is where I had to show battle.”
Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer at the 2009 Australian Open. Nadal defeated Federer in the final over five sets in four hours and 23 minutes :copyright: Getty
Would he have preferred unchallenged supremacy? “Of course. I would have loved to dominate forever. When Rafael and others were coming through, it took me some getting used to.” He says of Nadal: “At one point you tip your hat: you’re very good. I take joy after realizing: you cannot just be alone at the top. You need rivals. I’m thankful to these guys, to make me a better player.”
Federer and Nadal have set a tone of niceness in the locker room. In the 1980s, Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe sometimes didn’t even speak to rivals and youngsters. Federer reports hearing that “in the ’80s and ’90s, a few guys really could not stand each other”.
By the time he started on tour, things had improved. “It was a very friendly locker room already, so I guess I just maintained that. Something I care deeply about is that young guys are welcomed nicely on to the tour, and they realize, ‘This is going to be fun, buddy, and, we, the top guys, are cool.’ ”
So when a teenage rookie walks into the locker room, Federer goes up and says hi?
“Yes. Then maybe: ‘You want to practice?’ And in that practice, you can chat: ‘What’s going on? Do you have brothers or sisters? Who was your hero growing up?’ ”
I interject: “But you were their hero.”
“Not always. Sometimes. That’s always awkward, especially when it happened the first time.”
Roger Federer's wife Mirka (right) and their four children :copyright: Getty
In 2014, Federer’s sons were born. I quote the chess player Garry Kasparov, who told me over an FT Lunch in 2003 that at 40, “You can’t throw energy of nuclear size in the game. Because you have family, or kids, maybe businesses, you have other problems.”
Federer enthusiastically interrupts: “I always feel like I’m wearing two watches, one on myself and one of the family, because I know their schedules inside out. I know when they’re going to bed, when I’m at the tennis. I know I can quickly FaceTime them before they go to bed, 45 minutes before I play.
“I come back [home] after winning a match or tournament, or losing, and they’re like, ‘Hey, can you play Lego with me?’, and I’m like, ‘Let’s do it.’ Fine, I sometimes sit there and my match is going through my mind, but I am trying to give full attention to my son. I never saw in my vision, as a little boy, winning Wimbledon and then going to play with my children. So this is quite surreal.”
His egalitarian fellow-Swiss allow him to be a regular dad. “I can go to playgrounds with my kids. It’s just me speaking to other parents, like what you would be doing.”
Don’t some parents want selfies?
“Yes, and that is normal. I have to make a decision when I walk out in the morning: am I in the mood for it? If not, well, I have a choice to stay home. And I can always be polite and say, ‘I’m with my children right now. I’m trying to build a house in the forest or whatever, but I’m happy to do it later.’ ”
After his knee operation in 2016, many predicted retirement. But he has since added three more Grand Slam titles. “I believe I’m at the height of my physical possibilities still,” he says. Though he takes more breaks nowadays, it’s not only to protect ageing bones. “You don’t want to go through a career racing through everything, and think, ‘I was never enjoying my biggest moments.’ ” A while back, he suggested to his wife that they take time to savor his tournament wins. Instead of flying out at once, “Maybe we could leave the next morning. We could have a nice dinner, a glass of champagne, chill out.”
Has he had a happy 20 years on tour? “Very.”
Federer at Wimbledon in 2003. It was the Swiss player's first Grand Slam tournament win, and the first of eight singles titles at Wimbledon Getty
Federer at the Hopman Cup in Perth, Australia in 2018 Getty
Does he fear the void afterwards? “Not really. Having a foundation, having four children, having some sponsors that are going to exceed my playing days, I think it will be fine.” And he won’t miss the stress, he adds.
“I will miss that other family: the players. I think that’s what will be toughest. One day, when you really leave, the question is, who are you still going to be in touch with? That’s when you realize who your real friends are from the tour. You realize there’s not many.”
Who are they? His immediate answer is touching: “I would think that I’m still in touch with Rafael.”
After nearly two hours of almost ceaseless conversation, we’re descending into Madrid. Federer gestures at the arid fields below us. “Europe is so much fun. You see, we’re travelling just a little bit. The landscape’s already semi-burnt from the sun. In Switzerland, everything’s just green. I love that about Europe.” He tries to enjoy the cities he visits. He never wanted his travels to be “hotel, club, airport, see you later. We try to have a hotel in the city center, so we can go for a walk or go to a park. Nowadays, with the zoo, we see cities from a totally different angle with the kids. I like restaurants at night, to decompress with my wife and friends.”
Federer claims to enjoy interviews. I ask what we journalists still don’t get about him. That he’s a jokester in private, he replies. And also: “Maybe they don’t know I have a wine cellar, and I like to open a bottle with friends.”
On the tarmac, the NetJets man snaps our picture. Federer throws an arm around me, and I put my hand on his back. Every other back I’ve touched felt like a single undefined mass. On Federer’s back you feel every bone and muscle. It’s like reading an anatomy textbook in Braille.
Then I go to the regular terminal for my economy flight home.
Simon Kuper will be speaking about sport and leadership at the FTWeekend Festival in London’s Kenwood House on Sat Sept 7th
Source:
Roger Federer and I chilled on his private plane, gorged ourselves, and reviewed his career and fatherhood. A really nice guy. Lunch with the FT: https://t.co/21IG6cqnqH via @financialtimes
— Simon Kuper (@KuperSimon) June 28, 2019
Cromar- Posts : 6560
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Re: General Interviews with, or about Roger
I am unable to search for the word 'nike' in this article. I'm trying to find the article where Roger lays out his displeasure with Nike designs, etc. I was especially glad to hear Roger's thoughts on the clothing design as I've thought for years Nike's products had gone downhill.
Anyone know about the Nike comment article? Within short order of Roger's comments the Betsy Ross shoe-gate story broke. Coincidence?
wcr- Posts : 1537
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Re: General Interviews with, or about Roger
Nothing I have read mentions Nike specifically, for obvious reasons, but the inference is there.
This article may be the one you refer to when Roger and Adam Scott, another Uniqlo athlete, got together.
https://wwd.com/eye/people/roger-federer-and-adam-scott-in-conversation-1203095449/
An excerpt which addresses this
Despite easily being among the most well-versed about fashion design of their peers, the two are each appealingly straightforward when asked to describe their own sense of style.
“On court? I hope it’s the best, you know?” Federer says, smiling.
“To be quite honest, I just feel like we have some awful tennis-looking outfits sometimes,” he continues. “They’ve just gone too far in the wrong direction. They want to make it look too much like a modern tennis shirt that is completely wrong, in terms of designs. Like a truck drove over it — or they’re just going to come up with funky graphics, which I think in a sport of tennis, that has such a rich history…you know, the tennis polo is very iconic. I feel like if we work on that, to redesign that, which looks nice and crisp and new and fresh, that’s really important to me. I’ve really just tried to elevate the style, the level of that in tennis and hope that resonates also with the new generation coming through.”
Rufus1- Posts : 527
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Re: General Interviews with, or about Roger
He is so enjoyable, the way he talks, describes things. There is no artifice, or trying to present himself in a certain light. He is just very real person, with a good sense of humor, and very good judgment and quite a bit of pragmatic insight into situations and the world. And yet he is good!
Thank you so much for letting us read this article. It is alittle gem for the informality of it and the additional little bits that show Roger in his daily environment, not just as a tennis champion but the man living his life, living with and for his family.
P.S. I never saw any comments from Roger regarding Nike designs. I must have missed it, but would be interested in reading them if anybody can find it.
HeartoftheMatter- Posts : 2301
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HeartoftheMatter- Posts : 2301
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Re: General Interviews with, or about Roger
Rufus1 wrote:
“To be quite honest, I just feel like we have some awful tennis-looking outfits sometimes,” he continues. “They’ve just gone too far in the wrong direction. They want to make it look too much like a modern tennis shirt that is completely wrong, in terms of designs. Like a truck drove over it — or they’re just going to come up with funky graphics, which I think in a sport of tennis, that has such a rich history…you know, the tennis polo is very iconic. I feel like if we work on that, to redesign that, which looks nice and crisp and new and fresh, that’s really important to me. I’ve really just tried to elevate the style, the level of that in tennis and hope that resonates also with the new generation coming through.”
That's the quote Rufus! Thank you for finding it. You might be the best sleuth on the internet as far as I'm concerned. I read this article recently and now know it was published back in April.
Good to find you here. It's been awhile. Then again, I'm here sporadically. All the best to you. wcr
wcr- Posts : 1537
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Re: General Interviews with, or about Roger
Here's a nice radio interview with dear Rog.
ph∞be- Posts : 2099
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Re: General Interviews with, or about Roger
norinchi wrote:With all this talk of wrapping up a decade... This is how I will be ending mine. @Newzroom405 and I are heading to Dubai this weekend to interview #RogerFederer about the @rogerfedererfdn and the #MatchInAfrica. #FedererOn405 pic.twitter.com/JOumFurwZm
— Marc Lewis (@MarcLewisZA) December 10, 2019
Interview time :
19:30 local time (CAT: UTC +2)
18:30 CET (Zurich/Paris)
12:30 pm EST (New York/Montreal)
Might be available live on line?... Waiting for confirmation:
Newzroom Afrika
Newzroom Afrika
Newzroom Afrika
Newzroom Afrika
Cromar- Posts : 6560
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Re: General Interviews with, or about Roger
Here is the video of the interview with Mark Lewis.
Cromar- Posts : 6560
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Re: General Interviews with, or about Roger
https://www.pantagraph.com/sports/tennis/federer-says-a-star-s-legacy-isn-t-at-risk/article_94d0f5e8-5eff-5403-bc5c-456532c6784b.html
norinchi- Posts : 1578
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Re: General Interviews with, or about Roger
Thanks for this Dinora!
The "R" subject is always and still on everyone's mind, but here, at least, we are getting Roger's thoughts in a bit more detailed form, but the conclusion is still the same: "I don't know..." Which suits me fine... I can wait, Roger, for ever!
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Re: General Interviews with, or about Roger
Márcia- Posts : 4980
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Sherl- Posts : 1503
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Re: General Interviews with, or about Roger
It's somewhat of a tradition for Roger to meet with the press while preparing for the new season in Dubai. Last week, he had extensive interviews with several of the Swiss media (mostly in German), and Laura (@avasbar) was kind enough to translate the exclusive interview Roger had with Simon Graf (TagesAnzeiger). I will post it here soon.
Meanwhile, these interviews generated a variety of articles on the web, most addressing some specific portion or topic of what Roger had to say, like the article posted above by Norinchi (pantagraph.com).
While in Dubai, Roger also (re)confirmed his schedule for 2020, as published by 'We tennis'. He has now added Miami to his list (was uncertain before), plus the Exho in Bogota, just before Miami, and no clay tournament before RG. (For details on the 2020 Bogota match, see the Latin American Tour thread.)
And Roger is still hungry for trophies... and says so in a short video published by Eurosport in English! (see below)
In 2020, Federer will return to Colombia and go to Roland-Garros without preparation on clay
By Jean Muller
TENNIS : Roland Garros 2019
Monday, December 23, 2019
In the famous interview with several Swiss media, Roger Federer confirmed almost officially his schedule for the coming year:
Eurosport
Federer hungry for trophies in 2020 - including Olympic gold
22 December 2019
Roger Federer has at least six titles in his sights next year, including an Olympic gold, after missing out on a Grand Slam title in 2019.
The 38-year-old lifted the Miami Masters and three ATP 500 titles last year - alongside the Hopman Cup and Laver Cup - but failed to add to his major tally as he lost an epic Wimbledon final to Novak Djokovic.
And despite his advancing years, Federer insists his hunger to win trophies is still there.
"I need to train really hard and that will obviously be a goal of mine," the Swiss said.
"Trying to win one of the five big ones, plus the Olympics - six."
Federer ranks the ATP Finals and Olympics alongside the four Slams - Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open - in his list of six events.
He added: "I would love to take one of those six chances. I know the French Open's always going to be a bit more complicated".
"And then any title is a great feeling because I know how it feels, even winning the Hopman Cup, Laver Cup, and then, of course, all the other events as well that I won like Dubai, Halle, Miami".
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