Wimbledon - Old Federer spells doom for rivals

Eurosport - Tue, 07 Jul 13:50:00 2009

Roger Federer will set about extending his collection of Grand Slam titles way beyond the record breaking 15th he won at Wimbledon, after declaring that the 'old Federer' was back.

TENNIS Roger Federer Wimbledon - 0

Those words should have all his rivals quivering in their shoes.

"(Eighteen or 19 slam wins) definitely seems possible. I've reached 16 out of 17 Grand Slam finals in a row now, so I definitely have a shot for the next few years," the 27-year-old, who beat Andy Roddick in five titanic sets in the Wimbledon final, said.

In case anyone has forgotten, the old Federer was ranked on top of the tennis world for a record 237 weeks, collected around a dozen titles a year and relished the opportunity to pulverise his opponents.

By his own high standards Federer went through a lean patch in 2008, when he suffered a bout of glandular fever at the start of the season and then reached three Grand Slam finals but only lifted the US Open.

He lost his number one ranking to Rafael Nadal last August but recaptured that crown with his Wimbledon triumph.

On Sunday Federer was hailed as "an icon and a legend" by Pete Sampras - the man whose milestone of 14 slams he obliterated from the record books - and the Swiss said on Monday he was eager to add more weight to his already creaking trophy cabinet.

"I'm still young in tennis terms, I think. It's only after 30 the clock starts ticking, you know, how many more years you've got left in your mind... because normally it's also the body that gives," Federer said.

"Pete always said one Major a year is a good year. I really feel I have chances in all four Majors to wins. That's what maybe gives me a bigger chance to win some."

Federer has rediscovered his sublime touch and precise footwork.

Four Sundays ago he became only the sixth man to complete a career Grand Slam of all four Majors when he finally got his hands on the French Open trophy.

On that day, Federer announced he could play the rest of his career without pressure. He has been true to his word and a relaxed Federer is an unwelcome sight for any of his rivals.

The secret of his success?

"I have no more back pain," laughed the genial Swiss, who also reclaimed the top ranking with his Wimbledon triumph.

"I'm not scared anymore of going into the very corner of the court and digging out the ball, which I was scared of doing at times. That's why my serve sometimes faltered, like in important moments, because I did not have enough belief that my body was holding up.

"Now I feel so much better, I can play the way I normally play. Use offence, use defence, my serve's clicking. I know in the important moments I will take the right decisions.

"Now I feel like the old guy again."

That 'old guy' was trying to come to terms with just how quickly he had surpassed Sampras's benchmark.

It took the American 12 years to fill his trophy cabinet, Federer scooped up number 15 in just six.

When Sampras broke Australian Roy Emerson's previous record of 12 at Wimbledon in 2000, and then extended it at the 2002 US Open, most people thought that landmark would last a lifetime and Federer was almost apologetic for surpassing it so quickly.

"Being on the same level in Majors as Pete, that was kind of important for me and not really breaking his record. I almost feel a little bit bad if I'm quite honest," said Federer, who looked extremely fresh despite getting only two hours sleep.

"It's like disbelief almost that I've got more slams then Pete, who's my hero."

Reuters

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  1. Roger is the greatest ever to play tennis and we all­ know it good luck in everything you do Roger.Hope baby­ is healthy when it comes you will be a great dad and­ husband.

    From AJ, on Wed 8 Jul 3:09PM

  2. Ruan Z, of course I admint it. He deserves it all. I­ just wish I made one hundredth of the money he has made­ (never mind the glory) considering all the hard work­ and dedication I put into my line of work.

    From Jimmy, on Wed 8 Jul 3:06PM

  3. Hanna43 thanks. And I must say I don't understand­ why they hide the comments with the low ratings. What­ is the reasoning behind it? Lots of people don't­ agree with what you said, so we'll hide it? As if­ it's porno or something.

    From Jimmy, on Wed 8 Jul 3:02PM

  4. unzwa - I think you are one of those who actually think­ it is Nadal who banged Federer's wife in order to­ beat him everywhere, right?

    From risimko, on Wed 8 Jul 2:54PM

  5. Jimmy 157: you are forever the gentleman and a really­ nice person! Thanks for this comment and peace! Hanna43

    From hsinghmal, on Wed 8 Jul 2:53PM

  6. Alaye 124: Well said. No doubt many will brand you as a­ "Federer hater" (eurosport is hiding my­ comment #113 for low rating!!!!!) but I think your­ comment is realistic and fair and I agree with you! ­ Hanna43

    From hsinghmal, on Wed 8 Jul 2:51PM

  7. Hey, the bitter has been bitten before. Let's not­ forget that Roger claimed Wimbledon title because Rafa­ was not there. If the lion recovers all the hypes about­ Federer will be easily contained, and will even spell­ dooom for Federer himself. Sometimes last year during­ the comprehensive beatings by Rafa, it looked as if the­ doom had already come for Roger.

    From unzwa, on Wed 8 Jul 2:44PM

  8. siskra83 - I think that emotions deserve to be­ revealed. If Federer wanted to cry because of a heavy­ defeat let him do so. After all, as far as I remember­ he did not yell like a small baby he only cried like an­ any young man does sometimes when something goes wrong.­ I do not know if this can be taken as disrepectful to­ the winner. The only thing I know that it is propably­ emotionally exhausting moment to be there in front of­ the whole world and win it or loose it. I wouldn't­ discredit Federer because of it and call him not humble­ enough. On the opposite - I would say he was so humble­ of his vanquisher that he must have cried to show his­ instantaneous weakness. He gave his "enemy"­ the best reward he could - he cried in tears respectful­ of his power which had just overcome him.

    From risimko, on Wed 8 Jul 2:15PM

  9. Jimmy, fair enough. But you must admit he deserves at­ least some of that money or glory. It takes a lot of­ hard work and dedication to achieve what he did. Oh­ yeah and i cant stand Murray either. Lol!

    From Ruan Z, on Wed 8 Jul 2:11PM

  10. @risimko...you are wright about the tears of joy, I­ like to see them on the face of the winner. I was­ talking about the tears after a lost match. I will try­ to explain why. Every real sportsman coming in the­ court knows (no matter how confident he is) that he can­ win, but also that there is a possibility to loose. You­ cant think about yourself only willing to be in a­ center of attention. Crying because you lost the match­ shows, in my humble opinion disrespect to the winner (­ I have the same opinion for Safina at RG 2009, although­ she didn't cry). We have different opinion about­ humbleness, too. I respect your opinion, but I have a­ different one. The only thing that I don't respect­ is an attitude " All who don't share my­ opinion is stupid, useless hater, moron...."

    From siskra83, on Wed 8 Jul 1:06PM

  11. Ruan Z, of course it's not important that I­ don't like Roger. And it's not important that­ you like him either, since he doesn't know either­ of us exists. What's important is that he pockets­ the money and he basks in glory while we pass the time­ of day arguing who is best and finding this way to have­ fun when there is no tennis to watch. But I think I am­ allowed to have favorites and so are you. And to set­ the record straight I like just about everybody except­ Murray and Roger, in that order. I don't think­ it's really worth having a fight about it. Of­ course, it's fun, though. So, peace!

    From Jimmy, on Wed 8 Jul 12:19PM

  12. siskra83 - the tears of joy are part of life. If you­ think a man cannot burst in tears after winning or­ loosing a grandslam then you are truly a stone cold­ pathetic, sorry to say that. Emotions belong to a man­ just like his skin. This would be the last thing I­ would blame Federer for. As far as his off court­ behaviour goes I think only those who know him­ personally could answer this call. I don't know him­ and I assume you don't know him that way too. I­ also do not know what kind of humblesseness you would­ expect from a man who got 15 GS titles and has been­ among last 4 at GS events like 20 times in row. Do you­ have the feeling he hasn't got a right to give some­ advice? I think this myth of Federer being arrogant is­ an invention of those who cannot deal with the fact­ that we are facing a historical phenomenon.

    From risimko, on Wed 8 Jul 12:08PM

  13. Oh yeah and Jimmy about your other comment, its not­ important that you dont like Roger. The fact that he­ has the most fans in the history of the sport and wins­ the sportsmanship award just about every year is what­ matters. Stop being such a useless hater.

    From Ruan Z, on Wed 8 Jul 10:56AM

  14. Jimmy, if im right it wont be the first time and it­ wont be the last time. Dont discount the possibility­ that he may retire soon.

    Ateeq, im afraid you have­ completely lost it old sport.

    From Ruan Z, on Wed 8 Jul 10:51AM

  15. Federer is the greatest of them all! No amount of ­ "ifs" and "buts" by Nadal fans r­ going to change that!

    From deepak, on Wed 8 Jul 9:54AM

  16. Thank you jimmy, I also like very much your­ sophisticated style of expression and I mean it REALLY

    From siskra83, on Wed 8 Jul 9:51AM

  17. Siskra83 well-said. I also enjoyed your comment about­ Federer wearing a crown instead of a bandana in another­ site. That's exactly what's wrong with him and­ why I might admire him as a player but I'll never­ like him as a person. I would only root for him if he­ played against Murray, who is another spoiled brat, but­ has no justification for it. At least for the moment­ Federer is indeed the best.

    From Jimmy, on Wed 8 Jul 9:42AM

  18. Recently, I discovered a hot place – SeekTall Co m --­ where many sexy tall singles who like sports and­ chatting there. I'm an open minded girl from UK, I­ also like discuss sports and love with tall guys on it.

    From winluney08, on Wed 8 Jul 9:38AM

  19. rafa will come back even stronger he still young he­ will come back as a #1 in tennis word mark my word to­ all rafa fans lets pray for rafa he is # 1 in all­ aspect not just #1 in court good bless rafa

    From jhecks, on Wed 8 Jul 9:11AM

  20. rafa will come back even stronger he still young he­ will come back as a #1 in tennis word mark my word to­ all rafa fans lets pray for rafa he is # 1 in all­ aspect not just #1 in court good bless rafa

    From jhecks, on Wed 8 Jul 9:11AM
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