Sports - Roger Federer Appreciation #2 : To the fans, he will always be the #1!

BrokenButterfly · 08-27-2008, 08:19 AM

[CENTER]

Welcome to the 2nd Roger Federer Appreciation Thread!

*Country: Switzerland
*Date of birth: August 8, 1981
*Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
*Weight: 187lbs
*Hair Color: Dark brown
*Eye Color: Brown
*Turned Pro: 1998
*Plays: Right-handed; one-handed backhand
*Considers Swiss German his first language, but also speaks German, French, and English fluently
*Established the Roger Federer Foundation in 2003 to help disadvantaged people and to promote sports to youth.
*Former Idols: Boris Becker, Stefan Edberg
*Hobbies:Sports (golf, soccer, skiing), friends, Playstation, music, playing cards
*Appointed a Goodwill Ambassador of UNICEF from 2006
*Named as one of the 100 most influential people in 2007

Singles Career to date

2009 Schedule of Play:

01.01.09 Capitala World Tennis Championship
05.01.09 Qatar ExxonMobil Open
14.01.09 AAMI Classic
19.01.09 Australian Open
23.02.09 Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships
06.03.09 Davis Cup, World Group First Round
09.03.09 Indian Wells
23.03.09 Sony Ericsson Open
27.04.09 Internazionali BNL d'Italia
11.05.09 Mutua Madrileña Masters
24.05.09 Roland Garros
08.06.09 Gerry Weber Open
22.06.09 Wimbledon
10.08.09 Rogers Cup
17.08.09 Western & Southern Financial Group Masters
31.08.09 US Open
05.10.09 AIG Japan Open Tennis Championships
12.10.09 Shanghai
02.11.09 Davidoff Swiss Indoors
09.11.09 BNP Paribas Masters
23.11.09 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals

By Roger

"I fear no one, but respect everyone."
"A man who wins is a man who thinks he can"
"It's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice."
"Every day is is a possibility to improve on something"

On his motivation as Unicef Ambassador: "I told the children that I would always be there for them. Children are our future, and for that reason I have tried to inspire them."
On his being named among the Sexiest Men in People Magazine:"..The more success you have, the better looking you get."

"Domination isn't down to poor competition, it's about making the difficult look easy"
"I recognize the responsibility of encouraging us all - player and fans alike - to look and act like champions.”
" When I lose I am disappointed, but I surely respect my opponent when he beats me and thus can congratulate him with a smile."
"I always believe if you're stuck in a hole and maybe things aren't going well you will come out stronger. Everything in life is this way."

"It's always what people see first — for them, that's what you are 'best at.' ... When you see me play, you see a 'beautiful' player — and maybe after that you maybe see that he's fast, maybe you see that he's got a good forehand, maybe then you see that he has a good serve. First, you know, you have a base, and to me, I think it's great, you know, and I'm very lucky to be called basically 'beautiful,' you know, for style of play. ... With me it's, like, 'the beautiful player,' and that's really cool."

"I'm who I am. I'm not trying to be like somebody else. I think every individual should have their own careers. I think nobody has got the same character so I'll be remembered as myself, not that I've been compared to somebody else"

"People are intrigued with crazy things, you know, in this day and age, especially with reality TV shows and stuff. I see where they are coming from, but ... I still believe that good manners and politeness is the better way to go. And if that's boring, then I'm sorry for the people who say that it is boring''

"I would rather be a role model for kids and myself. It's anyway the person I am and I am not going to go out there to be controversial to be just in the media. I think that’s the way to do it for me. Anyway people give me a lot of compliments but that not why I do it. I do it because it is me and it is genuine and so lets see how it goes in the future. Hopefully I stay out of trouble."

“It's not as though you get used to being No 1 in the world, but for me there is pressure at every tournament, from fans, sponsors, the media and not least myself. I expect a lot from myself. I try to give everything I have. It doesn't matter whether the tournament is Estoril or Wimbledon. I always try to give my best.”

"Be quiet, OK?".

About Roger

"Roger can produce tennis shots that should be declared illegal.” - Tracy Austin
"What he's done in tennis, I think, is far greater than what I've done in golf."- Tiger Woods
"I came up against, in my opinion, the best player ever to play the game" - Andy Murray
"Roger Federer is the best player in any sport today, and it's not close. It's not close."...-Mike Greenberg

"I've probably run out of adjectives to describe him on the court to talk about his excellence. He's just unbelievable." - James Blake
"[In the modern game], you're a clay court specialist, a grass court specialist or a hard court specialist ... or you're Roger Federer." - Jimmy Connors

"He’s the most gifted player that I’ve ever seen in my life. I’ve seen a lot of people play. I’ve seen the Lavers, I played against some of the great players-the Samprases, Beckers, Connors, Borgs, you name it. This guy could be the greatest of all time. That, to me, says it all. He’s probably the greatest player that ever lived. He can beat half the guys with his eyes closed!" - John McEnroe

"Roger's got too many shots, too much talent in one body. It's hardly fair that one person can do all this - his backhands, his forehands, volleys, serving, his court position ... the way he moves around the court, you feel like he's barely touching the ground, and that's the sign of a great champion" - Rod Laver

"He simply does not have any more weaknesses left in him. It is such a pleasure to see him play. To me, Roger Federer is the right model for anyone aspiring to be a tennis player. It is such a pleasure to just watch him play. His shot-making has got better and I doubt there is any shot he cannot make in any part of the court…. He is such a complete player that I do not see anyone getting better than him for a long time from now." - Bjorn Borg

"He's probably the most talented person to ever carry a racquet around-the shots that he can come up with, the way he's kind of become a totally complete player. But I think off the court, it's huge. There have been a lot of good champions, but he's just classy. He is never high and mighty in the locker room or anything like that." - Andy Roddick

"I am amazed, not only by the beauty of Roger's game, but also the consistency of his tournament wins. Even more amazing is the fact that he seems to love what he is doing and he handles the pressure so well. Roger is a great champion and ambassador for our sport." - John McEnroe

"He's a class guy on and off the court. He's fun to watch. Just his athletic ability, what he's able to do on the run. I think he can and will break every tennis record out there." - Pete Sampras

“Roger is like a good red wine, he’s getting better with age. I think his best years are ahead of him. I think his big years will be when he is 26, 27, 28, as that is when he will be both mature and at his physical peak. I think he will become a better player in many respects. Roger hasn’t even started to use a lot of his game. It’s a challenge for all those trying to stop him. But they are playing against a man who will probably enter tennis history as the best ever" - Tony Roche[/I]

Links
Roger's Official Site
Roger Federer Foundation

Vids
Roger Federer as Religious Experience
The 12 Grand Slams of Roger Federer
Top 10 Best of Roger Federer
The Great Roger Federer
Roger Federer - Simply the Best
Roger Federer can't stop laughing!
Roger Federer

Icons
(not made by me!)

Fed Fans

*Catherine*
wingster
rach3
Avatar
naleyforever
natalie8you
Rinniee
BenMcKenzieAlways
Ms X
CreekFreak
Calgaryfan2006
ASG
colorblind
Nadja_S
~Adema~
Amy_UK
kat99
LenH
crissy_robfan
Majora's Mask
margauxv
Pure.Magic
A sorta fairytale
Gossip_Addict

Previous Threads

Roger Federer Appreciation #1

*If anyone would like to be added to the Fed Fans list, or has any suggestions for the OP, please PM me*
**Credit to Anke for "Playing against history" and G.S.M banner, Jessie for the opening banner, and Credit to markeysworld for the beautiful gif!

BrokenButterfly · 08-27-2008, 08:23 AM

New thread

I have to go back and change some of the OP, but I'll do that later.

Again, if anyone wants anything added to the OP, or has any suggestions..let me know.

I'm just going to bring this over from the last thread, incase people want to watch

Final 2 games and on-court interview

Wingster · 08-27-2008, 10:34 AM

...ok i wanted to do that

BrokenButterfly · 08-27-2008, 07:03 PM

Roger out shopping with Mirka and Mary Jo Fernandez

MAJOR Cuteness alert!

Awww.... Roger hugging Mary Jo's daughter.

How perfect is this man?

Seriously! He loves children.....and shopping too. I've said it before, and I'll say it again...Mirka is one lucky lady

ASG · 08-27-2008, 07:58 PM

I hate Mirka witha fiery passion!!! LOL

I've seen this interview with Roger, where he says Mirka has made him the man he is today, seeing as he met her with only 19 year old and on the one hand it's cute that they have been together for so long and that he has found her as the woman he wants to spend the rest of his life with... but on the other hand?? SO. MUCH. HATRED! LOL

christallh24 · 08-27-2008, 10:05 PM

Ooookay.

Why aren't they married? Do we know?

Anyway, Roger and small children, Rafa and babies...men with kids are sooooooo cute!

I wonder what Roger brought? (maybe he got something for Serena!) Ugh, I'm so bad. Catherine, I'm blaming you for this new-found fascination I'm having with Roger and a certain Williams sister. Damn you and your pretty pictures, lol.

I need to go see who Roger is playing next. Maybe I can actually watch that match.

holding my heart · 08-28-2008, 02:26 AM

just pop out, and i saw this amazing pic

LenH · 08-28-2008, 06:59 AM

Aww the pictures are so adorable! I hope he can get it together and win this US Open.

btw, I'm new to the thread... I'm a huge tennis fan, played in college & been a fan almost all my life. Used to be a Stefan Edberg fan & now I'm all about Roger!

BrokenButterfly · 08-28-2008, 07:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ASG (View Post)

I hate Mirka witha fiery passion!!! LOL

I've seen this interview with Roger, where he says Mirka has made him the man he is today, seeing as he met her with only 19 year old and on the one hand it's cute that they have been together for so long and that he has found her as the woman he wants to spend the rest of his life with... but on the other hand?? SO. MUCH. HATRED! LOL

I feel 100% the same way.

When I hear Roger refer to Mirka in interviews it is really so sweet and loving and he is obviously very happy and in love, and so is she and they look great together. Some of their pictures are fantastic. I cant understand how people can say Roger can do better than Mirka

, although I'm assuming it might be because she isnt a typical fake supermodel. She is real and has curves and is beauitful, in my opinion

And I love how they've been together for 8 years, and she has been right by his side during his whole career.

But like you said..on the other hand....

Quote:

Why aren't they married? Do we know?

Well I assume they would wait until after Roger's career...or, well when his career is in the late stages...after he's broken the GS record, ofcourse

But thats just a guess on my part. I can see Roger very quickly settling down and starting a family though

Quote:

Aww the pictures are so adorable! I hope he can get it together and win this US Open.

btw, I'm new to the thread... I'm a huge tennis fan, played in college & been a fan almost all my life. Used to be a Stefan Edberg fan & now I'm all about Roger!

Welcome to the thread

I added you to the list!

Enumaelish · 08-28-2008, 05:35 PM

Hi everyone,

Long time lurker and Roger Federer fan and came out of lurkdom to bring gifts. I was given courtside USO tickets for this Labor Day weekend. For Rinniee and anyone else who are in the NY area (or can fly in) and are interested in joining me or even meeting up, let me know. I have 2 other seats available.

Thanks.

p.s. thanks for a good job in maintaining the thread and keeping us updated Catherine!

BrokenButterfly · 08-28-2008, 06:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Enumaelish (View Post)

Hi everyone,

Long time lurker and Roger Federer fan and came out of lurkdom to bring gifts. I was given courtside USO tickets for this Labor Day weekend. For Rinniee and anyone else who are in the NY area (or can fly in) and are interested in joining me or even meeting up, let me know. I have 2 other seats available.

Thanks.

p.s. thanks for a good job in maintaining the thread and keeping us updated Catherine!

Hi!

Tempting offer..wish I could go

Arrrrrgggg.....

BTW guys,

The schedule for tomorrow is out - Roger plays second in the morning

christallh24 · 08-28-2008, 08:57 PM

Cool. He can get his win in and go back to the hotel and chill.

BrokenButterfly · 08-28-2008, 09:37 PM

Or go out and have more adorable pictures taken!

You know..in theory.

LenH · 08-29-2008, 01:48 PM

He didn't play like the old Federer but I'm glad he pulled it out & beat Alves 6-3 7-5 6-4. It was a little shaky there at times, wasn't it? Hopefully he'll get better with each round.

BrokenButterfly · 08-29-2008, 03:12 PM

It was shaky, especially in that second set

He needs to convert those BP!

But..huge credit to Alves! Alves played well above his ranking and was able to sustain that level for longer than most people including Roger must have been expecting!

And Roger took the chance that mattered in the 3rd set to break and serve it out..

So graceful..

Waiting for the challenge at MP

It was good..

Alves after the match, to a brazilian reporter:

"I'm happy, I did my best there and was happy to play with the great Federer. I lost to the man who'll be holding the trophy this year, just wait and see".

haha..I like the man already. I can forgive the grunting during the match, which was kinda annoying to me

Roger's presser

Quote:

Roger Federer
Friday, August 29, 2008

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. You said during the off‑season you missed 20 days of practice because of your illness. Can you put into perspective what that 20 days means? Is that something that you can make up, or does that affect your preparation for the entire year?

ROGER FEDERER: No, it will definitely affect me throughout the year, you know, because I've got to work during the year, you know, to catch up, which makes you a little bit more tired at times.

This year was difficult because I couldn't really take tournaments off, because I always had to, you know, chase the rhythm of playing on that particular surface that I was wanting to play on.

That's the reason why maybe it was an important 20 days in the beginning of the year this year.

Q. You missed a few volleys today, and I just wonder, are we looking at things because of your year that when you miss a volley, saying, Oh, look he's doing that and he you didn't do it last year and it was not that big a deal?
ROGER FEDERER: Well, I guess we're talking about it today and if I win the title you forget about it again. That's usually how it goes. No, but I was struggling to see the ball at the net a little bit with the crowd in the back.

He did well to scramble back, you know, quite a few balls. But I wasn't comfortable at net from the start, you know. It just made it hard, you know.

And they be in the second set when it got tough, you know, he dug out some shots and everything seemed to go against me on those break points. So it was kind of difficult mentally, but it was actually fun playing this well and really got the crowd into it.

I was never really in danger, so it was actually pretty good for me. I knew the longer the match would go the more tired he would get, so it was was a good match for me.

Q. I read that tennis players get a smaller percentage of overall revenue than basketball players, baseball player, et cetera, other athletes in other fields. I was curious what your thoughts are on that.
ROGER FEDERER: Well, we heard that, as well. I mean, I know that tournaments, you know, all around the world are raising prize money, you know, more and more.

I mean, obviously very happy where tennis has gone over 40 years ago, so that's a good thing. But I agree that I still think the biggest tournaments, they're supposed to share a little bit more with the players, but we'll see how it goes in the future.

Q. Will this lead to more unionization, perhaps, a place to organize? Make sure you get an equitable part of the pie?
ROGER FEDERER: We'll definitely have conversations, you know, over the next year or so, as we usually have. There's a quite a bit of change in the ATP at the moment. I think that's one of the issues on top of the agenda.

Q. The two matches you've had this week have been some of your more comfortable wins over the summer. Winning the gold medal in Beijing in the doubles, even though it's a different discipline, is that confidence you've been able to take into your singles game moving forward?
ROGER FEDERER: Well, maybe wasn't confidence. It was fun. It was good for ‑‑ it inspired me. It was an unbelievable couple of weeks for me, and I left it with good spirits instead of leaving, you know, on a quarterfinals that I lost.

So from that perspective it helped. I really thought I played, you know, great in doubles throughout the tournament. I really carried Stan through a few matches, you know, and then after that he really started to play well.

I was just happy that I was finally playing good doubles again, because I never really did that well anymore in doubles, which was really disappointing for me.

Then it was hard. I was really tired of getting in here from Beijing. But after that I've actually felt fine. I was really eager to practice for the singles again, which was good.

Q. Is there a good feeling about this court, sort of home sweet home where you've done so well helping your spirits?
ROGER FEDERER: Absolutely. It does help, especially starting off with the night session. I think that's always the best way. I really feel great crowd support this year, you know, with the parade, first of all, but also now with the two matches I played on center court. Both times was an unbelievable experience.

Again, you know, after everything I've got through already, these are the early‑round matches, so it will only get better from here.

Yeah, so I'm really happy to be playing well. Everybody's cheering me on, so it's a nice feeling.

Q. You've been sort of on and off with different coaches. Where are you now with that?
ROGER FEDERER: Um, well, José's here, you know, for Robby. For the tournament I had the preparation week for José, but he tries to see my matches and practices as much as he can.

It happened that me and Robby were playing at the same time, so I don't know if José is going to stick around. But.

I have my Davis Cup captain here as well Switzerland, and I've been doing the entire year anyway with him already. So that's the situation here.

Q. Have you been following Nadal's matches? Like did you watch him last night on TV, or...
ROGER FEDERER: No, I missed both matches, actually.

Q. Why don't you just zero in...
ROGER FEDERER: I schedule my life around my life, not his life. (laughter.) (excellent answer!

)

I was gone for dinner and he decided to do it quick, so I missed the ‑‑ I was expecting five sets. I was there for four and five, but he wasn't there anymore, so that was that was problem.

And the other day, I don't know where he was when he was playing Phau. I guess I was in the city.

Q. You played obviously the late match, and then you played a relatively early one. There's a lot of discussion, because this is the only tournament with night matches whether people more comfortable day or night. Does it matter to you?
ROGER FEDERER: No, I feel good in both. I have no preference. Of course, there's days, you know, you're like maybe next match you'd rather play at night. You can sleep in and have more time.

Depends a little bit, you know, the scheduling. But I don't feel superior in the day session or the night sessions. There's always usually more wind during the day. So I think that was good I got used to the wind actually today, because in Beijing there was zero wind, you know, for like two weeks.

Took me a little bit of adjustment, even though in practice there was wind, you know. But in match situations it's different. You can't just, you know, play your normal way. You have to play with the wind a little bit, and today maybe I struggled at times a little bit.

Q. I don't want to ask you if you like Hawk‑Eye or not. It's been here for a while. How do you think it affects matches the way it's sort of evolved?
ROGER FEDERER: I don't think it's affected a whole lot of matches. I don't know how many times it's saved a match, because that's what it's there for really, you know. But at the big tournaments at the big courts, you know, usually you have the best linespeople, as well.

The worst linespeople are usually on the outside courts where you need it more. You know, that's my problem with the system, you know. I mean, we only have it on the two biggest courts. Grandstand already doesn't have it anymore.

I guess as you go down, the umpires get less experienced, same as the linespeople. Look, at least you have it on the matches that are really covered with the TV, so you're not going to have a big scandal anymore like maybe a few years ago. That was more possible back then.

Q. Is it fair that they have a system not for all courts?
ROGER FEDERER: You ask the other guys. You ask the other guys. I don't care, you know. I mean, if it's there, it's there. It's not my problem. Exactly. But I wish it was no problem for nobody.

Unfortunately for the lower‑ranked players, it still exists, you know, so they are the guys that are maybe sometimes not happy.

Q. Since having mono, has there been a residual effect where the normal fatigue that before you would have considered just a normal part of your season you pay more attention to, or, you know, how do you differentiate between just normal fatigue and maybe fatigue that could be signaling a recurrence?
ROGER FEDERER: Mmm, I mean, the fatigue, honestly, I've had it many times through my career, so I never look at it as, Is it back, you know, something like this.

I never really looked at it in this way. I mean, I was so tired after Beijing coming here, and then of course I'm a bit worried. But then I look back, maybe two years back, prior to Wimbledon I couldn't move for a week. I still was able to win Wimbledon after that.

Once the tournament gets underway you find energy somewhere, you know. So this is not the first time it happened, and so I don't put it down as my sickness, you know.

Maybe I put it down as sickness when I still feel a little bit slow sometimes. These are the moments when I might think, you know, this is maybe lack of practice still a little bit.

But with recuperation I never really feel like I have a problem to recover, which is a good thing.


Fan Forum > General Discussion > Sports > Roger Federer Appreciation #2 : To the fans, he will always be the #1!