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Roger Federer off-court

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 lmao



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http://gototennis.com/2011/02/18/tony-godsick-roger-federers-passport-key-to-financial-success/
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Love that ..... lmao



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Exclusive interview with Roger Federer

„I’m going to play way longer than the Olympic Games in 2012“

In this interview with Jörg Allmeroth the former #1 Roger Federer talks about his fitness, his aims and he explains why he doesn’t see a changing of the guard in mens tennis yet.





Mr. Federer, it’s been nearly one month since you lost in the SF of the Australian Open against Novak Djokovic. Afterwards many people talked about a changing of the guard in mens tennis, of a radical change, of the end of the dominance of Federer and Nadal.

Roger Federer: What kind of change should this be? Novak Djokovic, the winner, is a respected and applauded top professional – and this for some years. There are always interplays amongst the three, four top players but nothing happened which you could name n turn of an area. You can’t write about something which doesn’t exist. We don’t have a wonder player right now who comes out of nowhere and who beats four, five topplayers in a row and revolutionizes everything.

In the reporting about mens tennis it is always mainly all about the top four players. The rest seems to be seen as staffage.

Federer: But there is a lot of move behind this top group, interesting players, interesting guys. But you can’t await from these new faces that they will come forward like lightning. They need time, more time as in previous times. Today tennis is a competition which lasts 10 ½ months on an extremely high livel, without rests, without easy matches, without moments to relax. Therefore you can’t expect wonders from young players

In womens- and in menstennis the trend seems to be going away from the young high flyers who disturb the pecking order and already win Grand Slam titles whilst being a teenager. With Kim Clijsters there was recently a mother #1.

Federer: Tennis has become more competetive and athletically. In order to come to the top you need to have a longer breath. There are some new players who are promising, Milos Raonic from Canada for example, but they have a long and rocky road before them. You can’t appraise them after three strong weeks.

You are going to be 30 this year. How much of a cut is this for you? How has tennis and life on the tour changed in the course of your career?

Federer: I don’t feel like someone who gets 30 soon to be honest. Years are passing by really fast in this business. You don’t really notice how the time runs. But I’m lucky enough to be successful. Success makes a lot easier for you. The first years on the tour were the most difficult ones, the self-doubts if you are really talented enough. The criticism of the media which you don’t swallow that easily as a young player. Today I live like in a dream compared to those times.

Do you swallow losses today easier as in former times?

Federer: I never like to lose. Otherwise I wouldn’t have come that far in my career. But I can analyze the reasons better and more rational as in the beginning of my career. Losses are part of the game but they are not the end of the world. In previous times I was hot-headed when things didn’t went well. I threw the rackets. The big step forward came when I found my inner peace through my first big success.

When you lost to Djokovic in Australia you didn’t looked like you would be devastated.

Federer: That was because I had the feeling to be on the right way even though I lost. I was physically topfit and in good form. There have been tournaments where I was extremely exhausted and tired afterwards when I drove home. Where I thought after a loss: Oh my god, how will it going on from here. But that was completely different in Melbourne. I’m ready for big aims this year. To win big tournaments and to become #1 again.

Right now you don’t hold a Grand Slam title in your hands for the first time in nearly 7 years.

Federer:That’s not nice but you can get over it when you have won 16 Grand Slam titles already (laughs). No, I don’t get doleful because of this. It would be a mistake to write me off now. It never worked in the last years as well.

What is the biggest challenge for you now as a tennis player?

Federer: To stay healthy and to be fit. I don’t have any uncertainty what I can or what I can’t. I know that I can achieve everything when I’m physically in a good position. I’m better prepared through practice now as in younger years and know what I have to do. I know my limits, know, how I have to arrange the matches, the practice and the whole season. As a young player you tend to exceed your limit. Then you have success for the moment but get problems afterwards.

Do you have moments, especially now as a family father, where you think: Is it really necessary to travel again and to pack the suitcase for a tournament?

Federer: No, not really. I still enjoy it to travel through the world and we have managed it very good since the enlargement of the family so that it has never been really a burden. Of course we are in a privileged situation, I know this.We are all happy to be able to spend so much time together even though we have a turbulent life.

Do you still have stage fright when you get into a tournament, in a Grand Slam or in a tournament like the next one in your second home Dubai?

Federer: Of course you are always excited. Before every start of a tournament and before every big match. When it would be different it would be time to stop. When you walk into a full stadion it is still a very thrilling feeling. Just as on the first day of being a professional.

You have many commitments beside your matches on the centre court. Interviews for newspapers, radio, TV, PR dates, dates with sponsors, appearances on the red carpet. How do you manage it to keep a friendly face the whole time?

Federer: Fortunately it is not tiresome for me. In the beginning I didn’t felt comfortable to be in the spotlight- I didn’t knew what to say during some of the trophy ceremonies. But meanwhile I see it as a normal part of my job and I have learned to stay professional even in bad moments. Sometimes you are deeply shocked what kind of questions you get asked. But I nearly always manage it to give a diplomatic answer even then.

Do you have a concrete plan how long your career will last?

Federer: No, I don’t. But I think it will be way longer than the Olympic Games in 2012. These Games in London are of course an important milestone but I believe that I will still have very good years afterwards.

http://www.tennisnet.com/oesterreich/welttennis/herren/Roger-Federer-im-Exklusivgespraech-Ich-werde-weit-ueber-Olympia-2012-hinaus-spielen/1525648
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ROGER FEDERER: I am here to win

Monday, 21 February 2011

Reaching 30 is a watershed for many sportsmen, as they begin to wind down their careers and thoughts turn to retirement. Not for Roger Federer.

The Swiss player has already won a record 16 Grand Slam titles and just a few months short of entering those dreaded 30s he shows no sign of stopping.

A semi-final exit at the Australian Open last month was a personal disappointment but with more than 10 years on the circuit now, Federer, a four-time winner of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championship title, relishes the journey his career has taken so far.

Ahead of this week's event he spoke to Sport360° about his future plans, family and the challenges ahead.

What does it mean to turn 30?

I can’t believe that it’s almost so much time. I still feel like I was playing juniors not so long ago. Years on the Tour go by extremely quick because of the travelling. It’s a fast-paced life. And that’s why 30 to me does not feel like 30. I just think that it takes a physical toll, but mentally if you enjoy playing then it’s not such a problem.

Do you feel the years count when you talk to Rafa or Novak or is that irrelevant?

It can work both ways. What I always found interesting with them is that they turned professional so early. I also was professional, but I did not have a huge entourage or a big team. I don’t think I would have been able to handle a whole career with so many people around me day in day out. Even as a professional you have to live normally. I’m sure they live normal and everything is fun, but it’s an interesting part of how players become professional.

What’s your biggest challenge now?

The challenge since the last one year has been to try and stay healthy. I have been able to accomplish that. But now I need to do all the right things to remain healthy. I don’t have to think of picking up my daughter once too many times now, those things are past. So now I can focus on other things like my fitness and my tennis, my schedule, my practice. I pretty much have the same tournaments every single year. I am here in Dubai this year to try and win the tournament.

How was life after a disappointing Australian Open?

I didn’t really spend so much time thinking about the match with Novak. I felt good physically and came out of the Australian Open feeling good. Even though I was obviously disappointed to lose, but after the match, which was really intense, I felt fine. I could have obviously played much more, and I haven’t always felt that way. Sometimes you leave tournaments and you feel sore, tired and exhausted. I didn’t feel that way, so that was a big positive. I thought Novak played great. This one went his way. He was the better player on the day.

How have you spent the last three weeks?

The perfect vacation. I have spent a lot of time with my kids and Mirka. Last year, after London, we could only take a week’s rest and that was just not enough. It’s not enough for your body to rest and heal, and mentally get away from it all. So this time around, we had a longer time off. It was nice.

Planning to play less this year?

At the end of the day I am not the kind of guy who signs in and pulls out again – except when you are injured or sick. You can always take a wildcard, you can always sign in late, instead of signing in a year in advance, like I did in Stockholm last year. So that’s why there is a set schedule and there are always a few tournaments that could be added.

Do you think the men’s game centres around just the top five?

I don’t even think it’s fair to say it’s just only the top 5. Andy Roddick is out of those five and he’s been around for multiple years. Then there are many others exciting players right behind that. The thing is, if I talk about Murray, Novak, myself and Rafa, we’ve been at the very top for so long now. It always seems like there are no new faces. There’s nobody else. But if you look really into the game, you see actually how many there really are. It’s just that people sometimes talk about the Grand Slams just a bit too much. And if there’s nobody else who wins a Grand Slam, it’s like nobody else is winning anything.

The media had written you off after the Australian Open. Your thoughts?

Well, they didn’t write me off. They wrote Rafa off too, after him having won three Grand Slams and going for the ‘Rafa Slam’ – huge hype. He loses by not being able to play fully, then next thing you know, if both are not in the finals, then it’s the changing of guard. It doesn’t happen so quickly.

Compare the Roger Federer in 2011 with the one who won here for the first time in 2003?

Obviously, I am so much more experienced now. In 2003, I was just coming out of my teenage years and still trying to find right ways to play well every day. That’s something I struggled longer to do than may be Rafa, Hewitt, Safin or Novak. At a younger age I was really inconsistent for a very long time. But for me that was very challenging and I was able to turn that around. I became stronger physically and mentally. I was able to make a huge jump forward by staying calm and focused. I’m such a better player now but then I was young and there was no fear in me and you had nothing to lose.

Is ranking still important for you?

Being No1 is important. I had said about it when I got to Qatar and Australia. That goal hasn’t changed in two weeks. Rankings are volatile in tennis. That’s why you got to have long-time vision especially when you look at rankings and if I can keep the level of play I had for the last six months I have a chance to get back to World No1. It’s not going to be handed to you if you don’t win someone else is going to win so that’s how it goes in tennis and it’s tough to get the World No1.

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Roger in Dubai .... wub he's great in jeans ...








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Roger by Mario Testino .... for Credit Suisse .




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Roger by Mario Testino .... for Credit Suisse .



I want her job.
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Pete and Roger @ a Lakers match yesterday in LA ...


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The twins got the  logo RF  on their sweat-shirt .... so sweet .. wub
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 wub

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Awesome legs ... wub
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