The Hindu : Federer slays demons of self-doubt

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jul 08, 2003

Sport

Sport - Tennis

Federer slays demons of self-doubt

Roger Federer of Switzerland wipes off tears as he holds the Wimbledon trophy after winning the men's final on Sunday. — AFP

London July 7 . The tears Roger Federer shed on centre court after receiving the Wimbledon men's singles trophy were those of a man whose prodigious talent had finally triumphed over the demons of self-doubt.

Nobody ever questioned the Swiss 21-year-old's ability. His deftness of touch and languidly elegant range of strokes are universally recognised as being without equal among the current crop of male players.

But prior to this Wimbledon, there were many beginning to ask whether Federer's genius with a racquet was not fatally flawed by a personality which lacked the mental strength required to become a champion.

Federer insisted after his victory that he had always maintained a belief in his own ability, but there was no doubting the sense of relief at finally being able to share it with the entire world.

``I proved it to everybody,'' Federer said. ``It is a big relief because there was pressure from all the sides and also from myself.''

The Swiss number one said his tears had also been partly triggered by his delight at having played his best tennis when it was most needed - in his semifinal win over the tournament favourite Andy Roddick and in the final against Mark Philippoussis.

``I didn't lose a set in these two matches and kept my level up,'' he said. ``In the end when I held the trophy up it was very tough with the emotions. This tournament means so much to me. In 1998 I won the juniors, in 2001 I beat Sampras and now this. It is something I cannot yet understand -- it is just too good,'' Federer said.

The jubilant tone could not have been further removed from Federer's mood 18 months ago, when he was so depressed about his failure to break through into the elite of the men's game that he contemplated quitting.

He was persuaded not to by his coach and mentor Peter Carter, an Australian, who tragically died in a car accident last year.

Federer's frustration was understandable. As a junior he had been the world number one, a winner of Wimbledon and the prestigious Orange Bowl tournament. And he was still only 19 when, two years ago, he produced one of the greatest Wimbledon shocks of all time by beating Pete Sampras in the fourth round.

But, in what was to become something of a pattern in his career, that breakthrough was followed by an immediate reverse - defeat by Tim Henman in the quarterfinals.

In the seven Grand Slam tournaments between that Wimbledon and this one, Federer had failed to get beyond the last 16. By any standard, a player hailed as the most naturally gifted of his generation was seriously underperforming.

Outside of the biggest tournaments however, Federer had been making steady progress under the watchful eye of Peter Lundgren, the Swedish former player who has filled the void left by the death of Carter.

Prior to Wimbledon he had already won four times on the men's tour on four different surfaces in 2003. It was a feat that no one had achieved since Sampras in 1998 and one which gave Federer the confidence to believe he could overcome whatever it was that was holding him back in the Grand Slams.

``Doubt - you know there is no guarantee for nothing,'' he said. ``I knew I had the game and for me it was somehow important that first I could prove it on the smaller events. This is really where I picked up.'' — AFP

Swiss media hails Federer

AP adds from Geneva: A single word was enough to accompany a photograph of Federer on the front of Monday's edition of the daily Le Matin — `Yes!'

After two weeks where enthusiasm and hope increased day by day but nothing was taken for granted, the Swiss media was finally able to install Federer as the country's latest sporting hero.

Although Martina Hingis won the women's title in 1997 and claimed four other Grand Slam titles, Federer was the first Swiss man even to make it to the semifinals of a Grand Slam tournament.

The Lausanne daily 24 Heures, inspired by the huge golden trophy and the traditional royal attendance at the Wimbledon final, crowned the champion `Federer the First.'

The mass circulation daily Blick had the same idea. It hailed `King Roger I' and offered its readers a full-page poster of an emotional Federer holding the Wimbledon trophy up to the cheering crowd.

``Now Roger is truly one of the greats,'' the paper said.

Blick produced a table of Swiss sporting greats based on popularity, international renown and earnings, and placed Federer in joint first place with Ferdi Kuebler, winner of the 1950 Tour de France. Hingis was fourth.

``A genius changes the world of tennis forever,'' Federer's hometown Basler Zeitung said.

In Zurich, Tages-Anzeiger described Federer's victory as a fairytale, beginning its report: ``once upon a time there was a little boy who wanted to play perfect tennis...''

Celebrating the beginning of `the Federer Era,' the Tribune de Geneve highlighted the victory of a player with an old-fashioned, more traditional style of play — a `breath of fresh air' after all the big hitters that bore spectators.

``No, tennis isn't dead! Roger Federer is the saviour we've been waiting for,'' it said.

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