BILL SIMONS
In the second installment of our three-part exclusive interview, Roger talks about Rafa, being a rock star and a dad, and the one thing we don’t know about him.
Let’s say that the final day has come, Roger, and you’re up at the pearly gates and St. Peter says, ‘Oh, great, it’s Roger, I’m a huge fan.’
(Laughs) He won’t say that ….
He’ll say ‘I’m a Rafa fan.’ (Laughs)
Or he probably will say he doesn’t like tennis. I hope he’ll welcome me with open arms. That’d be nice.
You have a pretty decent shot – 18 Slams. But if he said, ‘Ok, Roger, I’ll let you in, but first you’ve got to tell me the one thing we don’t know about Roger Federer that you can share,’ what would that be?
In some ways there’re a lot of secrets to me. But I don’t mean bad ones. I feel I’ve been incredibly fortunate with my friends and teammates – how much I can trust them. There’s nothing really that goes out [about me] that I don’t want to go out. I know that if anyone starts digging around to find out stuff about me, my friends and my team won’t fall for the tricks. Within my world I can actually have very open relationships and speak openly and be normal. People actually may be surprised how normally I live my life. That’s something I relish and want to protect. I don’t feel that everyone needs to know everything about me. I speak very openly and share a lot of things but there is definitely more to me than everything you see.
After your matches you go through this incredible routine where you give press conferences in English, French and Swiss-German. What’s it like to be so fluent in so many languages?
It’s mostly in English and then in Swiss-German. My French, by far, is my third language. The interesting part about speaking different languages is I have a bit of different humor [in them]. When I learnt French I was 14 to 16 years old. I still feel when I speak French like I’m a teenager, because my vocabulary is not that big or great, whereas in English it feels very much like there’s a camaraderie. It’s very cool and relaxed, while Swiss-German is just my life. I’m not a different person in different languages, but I do think slightly differently in different languages. When I do an interview in English and you ask me the exact same question in Swiss-German, I’ll probably answer quite differently. It’s interesting for me to get to know myself through the press.
Incredibly, you’re the father of two sets of twins. What have you learned from being a Dad?
A lot. It’s definitely has been a journey by itself. Just looking back at the first three years of having the girls, I felt like life on tour was almost a blur, because I remember all my moments with the girls but I don’t remember how I played back in 2010, 2011 and parts of 2012. I was so excited about having them, being a dad and trying to figure things out with Mirka. I learned a lot and I try my best every single day to be a good dad, and it’s difficult, but you keep trying.
It’s both enriching and humbling?
Yes, very much. More than ever, you see how much your parents did for you. You feel humble.
Wherever you go there’s a kind of fan frenzy over you. You’re a rock star. It’s like Beatlemania. Thousands are elated.
It’s great. I’m happy for the tournament. I’m happy for tennis and that there is an excitement. I appreciate that there are so many that buy my caps or a shirt or racquet and feel connected to me that way and I get a chance to have a picture with them, or sign an autograph, or make a dream come true.
Because maybe many people will never get to see a tournament ever again because either it costs a lot of money or they come from far away. So I always tell myself that the person I’m taking a picture with, I’ll maybe never see again. That’s why I try to make that moment memorable for people. Unfortunately, I can’t sign all [the autographs]. Most fans understand, that’s why I don’t get booed if I walk away, even though I could only sign 10 percent. It’s nice…there are so many fans that come to practice, and that queue for autographs and pictures, I appreciate that.
Pete Sampras used to say that Andre Agassi helped him lift his game. Does playing Rafa do that for you? And how would you capture the essence of his game?
[With Rafa] there’s a totally different game and geometry from way back there on the court…[Also] for a typical clay court player, which he is not, he can volley very well. He reads the game really well going forward. He closes the net down very well. He rarely misses serve-and-volleys or anything like [what] we used to see from some great clay court players…[because they] would feel so uncomfortable at net. Rafa’s not like that. That’s why he’s had success in doubles. Because of his spin, being a lefty and his mental and physical ability, he’s raised the bar. And he can out-tough you, if need be, and just make shots. That’s another asset for him, that he’s always got [shots] in the bag somewhere.
Does he help me raise my level of play? Sometimes. He’s not a classic player who actually lifts my game. I have had that maybe against Novak, Murray, Roddick or Hewitt, other guys, where I [have to] play more of a normal ball.
He’s in a category [of players] who play with so much topspin that you never really play normal balls. But naturally, because it has been finals, that’s where usually you play your best. He has definitely also made me play some of my best tennis against him.
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To read “Trials and Tears, Doubts and Change – Exclusive: The Federer Interview, Part One,” click here.
