Summary
Adding to his grief over his previous losses was the death of his long time coach, Peter Carter. During his stay in South Africa where it was normally a vacation spot for him to relax, there was news across South Africa of his death on August 2, 2002. He died in a car crash. Federer got the news while playing in the Tennis Masters Series event in Toronto, and was absolutely devastated when he heard this. Although Federer had already lost, he was still playing doubles and wore a black armband in honor for his late coach.
After his death, Federer lost all his focus and could not find enjoyment in the game anymore. He withdrew from several events to try and regroup himself. He attended Carter's funeral which was his first funeral ever. However, he did not just sulk but saw this as a opportunity to rest and since he did not play all that much lately, he was fresh for the rest of the season. The Davis Cup was coming up and dedicated to the team's former coach, Peter Carter. They won and soon Federer's confidence came back to him. His goal by the end of the year was the Master's Cup in Shanghai which only allowed the top eight players in the world. He was ranked No.10 at the time and with his victory Vienna he secured his place in the Master's Cup.
The Masters Cup was round robin with the eight qualifying players paired in two round-robin groups of four. Federer considered Agassi as a favorite and Juan Carlos Fererro as the runner up but proved to be wrong when Agassi was defeated. Federer got to the semifinals where he faced Leyton Hewitt who was No.1 at the time. His record against Hewitt was not the best and even though Federer put up a good effort, he could not beat him and lost 5-7, 7-5, 5-7.
When 2003 started, Federer made it a goal to win a Grand Slam tournament. At the Australian Open, which is the first Grand Slam of the year, he got past the first three matches without losing a set but met David Nalbandian who Federer had a losing record against. He lost in five sets, but later went on to win the next 16 out of the 17 matches he played. The next two Slams met with similar results except he seemed to have gotten worst, losing in the first round of both the French Open and Wimbledon, both where he was the favorite to win. He was 22 at the time and 5 years into his professional career.
Quote
"He showed that he was a player who could not pull out a match even though he was not playing his best tennis." (Stauffer 102).
Reaction
What I found interesting about this trait Federer had was that it also showed in other players who later became the best players in the world. Lleyton Hewitt is an example since he was never as talented as Federer but worked really hard and could pretty much win on determination alone. Federer knew he was not playing his best but persisted and it's showing the stages that all champions go through which is making his place in the world after beating Sampras, going through the emotions and maturing after being on tour, winning consecutive small tournaments, and eventually win a Grand Slam after a slump.
Friday, October 29, 2010
Friday, October 15, 2010
The Roger Federer Story: Quest for Perfection (Pgs 68-97)
Summary
Wimbledon was Federer's favorite tournament. He won the junior title in 1998 but had yet to win as a professional. He entered the tournament with pretty good results from the clay court season by going as far as the quarterfinals in Monte Carlo and beating No. 2 Marat Safin allowing him to move onto the third round of the Italian Open. He ended the clay season at the French Open with his best Grand Slam results yet reaching the quarterfinals.
Federer entered his third time into Wimbledon ranked No. 15 in the world. He got past the first round with an easy win over Christophe Rochus with a 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 victory followed by another victory in the second round against well known Xavier Malisse. He finally defeated Jonas Bjorkman and this put him in the draw of 16 for the first time. On the day of his quarterfinal match, it was unseasonably warm and for the first time, Federer was stepping onto Centre Court. Little did he know that he would be playing Pete Sampras, the leader at the time of Grand Slam titles with fourteen Grand Slams under his belt. The stage was set. Surprisingly, Federer had no qualms about himself that day and walked onto the grass confident, looking for a win. After a grueling three hours, and forty-one minutes, Federer drove a return down the line, and everyone that was watching became speechless as Sampras watched it go past him. Time stood still for Federer, and as soon as he was able to take it all in, he fell to his knees and cried tears of joy. He beat Sampras 7-6(7), 5-7, 6-4, 6-7(2), 7-5 at 7:20 PM. Surely, he was on every newspaper by the next day and was bombarded by the media. Unfortunately, his semifinal match against Tim Henman, Britain's No.1 player, met with defeat.
Federer was plagued with injuries after, injuring his hip muscle and developed shin splints. He spent his 20th birthday in Biel to undergo physical therapy, and there he found Michael Lammer, a rival from his junior years. He did not return until the end of the US Open and from there his ranking just fell, finishing the year as No. 13.
Federer decided that he had to learn discipline on the court which was keeping him back from reaching the top ten. he went into Hamburg with little expectations and won his first round match. This feeling of liberation was a relief to him. In the finals, he had no trouble defeating Marat Safin, and won his thrid ATP Masters event. This brought his ranking up into the top ten for the first time.
Quote
"After three hours and 41 minutes of play, he slammed a forehand return of serve for a winner on match point to close out a 7-6(7), 5-7, 6-4, 6-7(2), 7-5 victory." (Stauffer 78)
Reaction
This was obviously the biggest win of his entire life. He just took out the biggest man on the tennis scene as an underdog and went from a lowly tennis player to what some would call the next greatest champion. This not only denied Sampras the chance to repeat history with five consecutive Wimbledon titles, but was also a significant milestone in his career. After this win, he did not have to try and get lucky to be invited to ATP events but were actually requested to join. No one has beaten Sampras for the last 5 years and then comes Federer who was actually lucky to make it to the main draw, and surprises the entire tennis world.
Wimbledon was Federer's favorite tournament. He won the junior title in 1998 but had yet to win as a professional. He entered the tournament with pretty good results from the clay court season by going as far as the quarterfinals in Monte Carlo and beating No. 2 Marat Safin allowing him to move onto the third round of the Italian Open. He ended the clay season at the French Open with his best Grand Slam results yet reaching the quarterfinals.
Federer entered his third time into Wimbledon ranked No. 15 in the world. He got past the first round with an easy win over Christophe Rochus with a 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 victory followed by another victory in the second round against well known Xavier Malisse. He finally defeated Jonas Bjorkman and this put him in the draw of 16 for the first time. On the day of his quarterfinal match, it was unseasonably warm and for the first time, Federer was stepping onto Centre Court. Little did he know that he would be playing Pete Sampras, the leader at the time of Grand Slam titles with fourteen Grand Slams under his belt. The stage was set. Surprisingly, Federer had no qualms about himself that day and walked onto the grass confident, looking for a win. After a grueling three hours, and forty-one minutes, Federer drove a return down the line, and everyone that was watching became speechless as Sampras watched it go past him. Time stood still for Federer, and as soon as he was able to take it all in, he fell to his knees and cried tears of joy. He beat Sampras 7-6(7), 5-7, 6-4, 6-7(2), 7-5 at 7:20 PM. Surely, he was on every newspaper by the next day and was bombarded by the media. Unfortunately, his semifinal match against Tim Henman, Britain's No.1 player, met with defeat.
Federer was plagued with injuries after, injuring his hip muscle and developed shin splints. He spent his 20th birthday in Biel to undergo physical therapy, and there he found Michael Lammer, a rival from his junior years. He did not return until the end of the US Open and from there his ranking just fell, finishing the year as No. 13.
Federer decided that he had to learn discipline on the court which was keeping him back from reaching the top ten. he went into Hamburg with little expectations and won his first round match. This feeling of liberation was a relief to him. In the finals, he had no trouble defeating Marat Safin, and won his thrid ATP Masters event. This brought his ranking up into the top ten for the first time.
Quote
"After three hours and 41 minutes of play, he slammed a forehand return of serve for a winner on match point to close out a 7-6(7), 5-7, 6-4, 6-7(2), 7-5 victory." (Stauffer 78)
Reaction
This was obviously the biggest win of his entire life. He just took out the biggest man on the tennis scene as an underdog and went from a lowly tennis player to what some would call the next greatest champion. This not only denied Sampras the chance to repeat history with five consecutive Wimbledon titles, but was also a significant milestone in his career. After this win, he did not have to try and get lucky to be invited to ATP events but were actually requested to join. No one has beaten Sampras for the last 5 years and then comes Federer who was actually lucky to make it to the main draw, and surprises the entire tennis world.
Friday, October 8, 2010
The Roger Federer Story: Quest for Perfection (Pgs 35-68)
Summary
With Federer's junior career coming to an end, he has yet to reach the number one and is trying to end the year being the best of all juniors. The best juniors receive better contracts from sponsors and get more wild card entries into tournaments. Just before making his ATP debut which is the men's professional tennis, Federer won the Wimbledon junior singles championships and received a wild card entry into the Swiss Open in Gstaad, a relatively local ATP tournament as it is in his country despite being ranked 702 in the world. His first round match was against Tommy Haas, who was ranked 41 in the world and was also rising in popularity on tour. However, at the very last minute, Haas withdrew and instead Federer played Lucas Arnold who was ranked 88. Federer lost and his first experience with the professionals showed how different juniors are from the professionals.
At 17, with a ranking of 878, he achieved his greastest breakthrough by advancing to the quarterfinals of the tournament in Toulouse, France, his best record yet in an ATP match. For his good showmanship of skills, he was invited to the Swiss Indoor, a prestigous tournament with a history many epic matches between legends. Federer's first round opponent was Andre Agassi, one of the highest ranked players there and to no one's surprise, he beat Federer giving up only 5 games. On December 21, 1998 Federer finally made it to number 1 in the International Tennis Federation's world junior rankings with the Orange Bowl, one of the biggest events in the junior tennis calender.
Quote
"He charmed spectators with dynamic displays of the most diverse strokes and with his virtuoso onslaught. He seemed to posess infinte potential-but he nonetheless repeatedly lost to inferior opponents. ."(Stauffer 44)
Reaction
I thought this quote made Federer sound like he had so much potential even he had no idea what to do with it. This showed that Federer was a diamond in the rough and just needed some polishing. I like this quote because I can relate to this since I can't seem to get around pushers who are essentially a wall and just gets the ball back every time, but when its against someone who hits the ball, I somehow play a lot better even though the shots made from an opponent is much harder to return.
With Federer's junior career coming to an end, he has yet to reach the number one and is trying to end the year being the best of all juniors. The best juniors receive better contracts from sponsors and get more wild card entries into tournaments. Just before making his ATP debut which is the men's professional tennis, Federer won the Wimbledon junior singles championships and received a wild card entry into the Swiss Open in Gstaad, a relatively local ATP tournament as it is in his country despite being ranked 702 in the world. His first round match was against Tommy Haas, who was ranked 41 in the world and was also rising in popularity on tour. However, at the very last minute, Haas withdrew and instead Federer played Lucas Arnold who was ranked 88. Federer lost and his first experience with the professionals showed how different juniors are from the professionals.
At 17, with a ranking of 878, he achieved his greastest breakthrough by advancing to the quarterfinals of the tournament in Toulouse, France, his best record yet in an ATP match. For his good showmanship of skills, he was invited to the Swiss Indoor, a prestigous tournament with a history many epic matches between legends. Federer's first round opponent was Andre Agassi, one of the highest ranked players there and to no one's surprise, he beat Federer giving up only 5 games. On December 21, 1998 Federer finally made it to number 1 in the International Tennis Federation's world junior rankings with the Orange Bowl, one of the biggest events in the junior tennis calender.
Quote
"He charmed spectators with dynamic displays of the most diverse strokes and with his virtuoso onslaught. He seemed to posess infinte potential-but he nonetheless repeatedly lost to inferior opponents. ."(Stauffer 44)
Reaction
I thought this quote made Federer sound like he had so much potential even he had no idea what to do with it. This showed that Federer was a diamond in the rough and just needed some polishing. I like this quote because I can relate to this since I can't seem to get around pushers who are essentially a wall and just gets the ball back every time, but when its against someone who hits the ball, I somehow play a lot better even though the shots made from an opponent is much harder to return.
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