Nearly nine months into fatherhood, Roger Federer is proving that despite family responsibilities, nothing has changed in his tennis.
The top-seed made that clear on Thursday two days before his start in the second round at the Miami Masters as he ticked off his accomplishments during 2009, the year that wife Mirka Vavrinec gave birth to the couple’s twin girls.
On court, he won a first French Open and a sixth Wimbledon, also retuning to the top of the rankings after losing the spot in August 2008 to Rafael Nadal. He began 2010 with another Australian Open trophy.
“In terms of goals, not much has changed,” said the two-time champion at Crandon park. “My ranking is still at the very top or near top. I was number two when Mirka was pregnant, number one (in late July) when they were born.
“I have to aim so high — staying number one, trying to win the Grand Slams, trying to win here in Miami. It’s just something that I’ve gotten used to over the last seven years really — aiming extremely high.”
Federer is coming off a somewhat disappointing loss in the Indian Wells third round to Marcos Baghdatis, a defeat he was perhaps unprepared for, but he said the resulting down time gave him a chance to catch his breath as well.
“I’ve had many years where I run from one thing to the next that also I welcome having all of a sudden more days off, more days of practice, more days where I can just wake up and see what I really want to do instead of having the perfect plan the whole time.
“It’s nice to adjust that for a change, if there’s anything positive to take out of a loss,” said the Swiss after a week in Miami.
Federer said he goes into the South Florida event primed and pumped once again. “My game is where I want it to be.
“I’m always excited coming back here to Miami. I’ve had a lot of success here, and I’ve always enjoyed coming here ever since I played sort of the juniors back in 1995 maybe.”
