T here was spite in Roger Feder- er’s decision, when faced with a choice between football or tennis, to choose a racquet instead of foot- ball boots. He was only 12 years old, and his the coach evaluated him as not being tal- ented enough for the so-called white spot. “That day at lunch I told my parents that I’d decided to stop playing football and to dedicate myself to tennis. As was the case later in life, they supported my decision and promised that they would always back me. It wasn’t easy, with everyone telling me that I was incompetent... But I trained for up to seven, eight hours a day without a break, wanting to show that I could do it.” This tennis ace came into the world on 8 th August 1981 in the municipality of Bin- ningen in the city-Canton of Basel. This place is situated on two hills overlooking the city of Basel, the country’s third largest city and a cultural and industrial centre on the Rhine. The son of a Swiss father and a South Afri- can mother, he grew up in Münchenstein, a suburb located a 10-minute drive from Ba- sel, in a Catholic family where he learned“to help others and to respect women”. And it is thanks to Federer that the world learned where Münchenstein is.
though he often stresses that he’s unable to express himself as a poet), it was then that he met “the light of his life, a woman for whom he would go to the moon”. He was persuaded to kiss her for the rst time by a wrestler friend who was with them at that sporting competition. As he told CNN, something extraordinary then be- gan for them. Due to a chronic foot disor- der, Mirka gave up her tennis career and be- came Federer’s PR rep and manager. At the start of their relationship she was even his coach, and their professional cooperation
spectacular series of victories. And by the next year that series had already brought him his rst trophy at the Masters Tourna- ment in Hamburg. This tennis ace, whose role models were Boris Becker, Stefan Ed- berg and Michael Jordan, can today boast of having won every grand slam tourna- ment in the singles category, a total of 20. In a sporting career that has for many been“surreal”, in which the year 2004 stands out as the start of his period of domination, and in which 2006 was his most success- ful season, there have been rises and falls. But no defeat was stronger than Federer himself. Behind his ability to bounce back even stronger after every defeat hides his greatest quality. The winning run of this tennis player, who managed to spend 310 weeks at the top of the ATP list, has been temporarily halted by the infectious dis- ease of mononucleosis, knee surgery and various injuries. There was no record that was strong- er than his desire to break it. Pete Sampras, Jimmy Connors and Bjorn Borg all watched him beat their records for the number of consecutive victories in tournaments and the number of weeks spent as the world number one. His ve consecutive Wimble- don and U.S. Open titles provide the best proof that Roger is like the Terminator of sport. But even Terminators sometimes cry. “Life has taught me to be calm and com- posed, and such an outward appearance often leads journalists to think that I’m ar- rogant and conceited. On the contrary, I’m very emotional and often cry, and I’m not ashamed of that,”says Federer, whose meas- ured and even cold approach on the court is confusing for many.
MOTTO: NO GIVING UP
By the age of 14 this pupil of famous American tennis player and coach Nick Bollet- tieri had already become a national champi- on in all categories. He recorded successes at the Junior Australian Open, Junior Wim- bledon and Junior U.S. Open, and then, in 1998, entered the world of professional ten- nis. When he today looks back at his child- hood, he says that he grew up early. Crucial to his upbringing was a move to Lausanne, where he completed secondary school. “I often cried because I missed a house. All of that was a big change for me, but I en- dured. I learned to be strong, persistent and independent,” Federer has said. He is certainly reminded of his youth by Lake Léman (Lake Geneva), the Collec- tion de l’art brut art museum, the Interna- tional Olympic Committee, or the under- ground metro rail system that Laussane is among the smallest cities in the world to boast. And then, on one of his journeys, he met her - Miroslava Mirka Vavrines.
WHAT’S NEXT?
This athlete, who in 2009 was pro- claimed by the Association of Tennis Pro- fessionals as the tennis player of the decade, uses his own Foundation to help children in Africa and victims of natural disasters. Hu- manitarian work is his great plan for the fu- ture, and during this year’s Laver Cup he gave a donation to the Novak Đoković Foun- dation intended for the children of Serbia. In the meantime, Roger supports Ro- ma, listens to the music of Madonna and Lenny Kravitz, relaxes with lms like Gladi- ator and Good Will Hunting, speaks English, French and German, as well as a little Swed- ish and Italian. He would like to have more time for his friends. And while he rests at his home in Bottmingen, which is adorned by a beautiful Castle that is a national treas- ure of Switzerland, he thinks about tennis. Because the Terminator is not yet ready to abandon the court.
Gotovo da nije bilo rekorda jačeg od njegove želje da ga obori There was almost no record that was beyond his desire to break it
yielded the following results: of 10 match- es, Roger won nine. They were married in April 2009 at a small ceremony in Basel, and in July that same year they received twins Myla Rose and Charlene Riva, then their family team was joined ve years later by another set of twins, boys Leo and Lenny. The measured and strong Federer tried not to cry while saying“yes”to his Mirka, surrounded by his family and friends, but he didn’t succeed. His emotions have also caused him several times to lose on court, where he has other- wise – thanks largely to the support of his wife – recorded historic results.
WOMAN OF HIS VICTORIES
His fateful encounter with this Slo- vak-born Swiss tennis player three years his senior occurred at the 2000 Sydney Olym- pics, when they were both playing for their national team. In the spirit of his poetic ex- pressions of emotion towards his wife (al-
TERMINATOR ON COURT
His rst ATP title, at a tournament in Milan in 2001, served as the precursor to a
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