Laureus record-breaker Roger Federer in photos and quotes: on Nadal, retirement and more
Roger Federer reflects on his record-breaking triumph at the Laureus World Sports Awards this week
After a tennis season like 2017, which had followed a tennis season like 2016, Roger Federer was perhaps always the favourite to win big at the “sporting Oscars”, the Laureus World Sports Awards.
Sure enough, he picked up not one but two statuettes, first for Comeback of the Year and then as Sportsman of the Year—his fifth in that category and sixth in total, records both.
Favourite, because when he underwent knee surgery early in 2016, managed only five more events before pulling the plug with both knee and back problems after Wimbledon, won not a single title for the first time in almost 16 years, and then returned to the tour last January ranked 17, many believed his glory days were probably behind him.
After all, he had not won a Major in almost five years—Wimbledon 2012—and just three Masters during that same span. And of course, Father Time was all the while stalking the Swiss star, now 35 and with a mountain to climb in Melbourne. Yet Federer would beat four top-10 players, including his greatest rival Rafael Nadal, and via three five-set marathons, to win the Australian Open.
Federer with Nadal, who was also returning from an injury-plagued few months, would share all four Majors, win five Masters, and contest the No1 ranking at the end of the year. But Federer beat Nadal in all four of their meetings, lost only five matches in 57, won a tour-leading seven titles, picked up a record eighth Wimbledon without dropping a set, and extended his record tally of Majors to 19.
And although 2018’s performance was not strictly a factor in the judging by the prestigious Laureus Academy, it must have been hard to ignore. For Federer won his 20th Major in Australia this year, and has so far gone unbeaten in the Hopman Cup, Australian Open and Rotterdam. Now aged 36, he arrived in Monaco yesterday, 13 years after winning his first Laureus Award, back at No1—the oldest tennis player in the Open era to top the rankings.
Fitting, then, that he ticked off another record in Monaco, and fitting that he should receive his sixth trophy from Martina Navratilova and in the company of Monte-Carlo royalty, the Prince Albert of Monaco—a notable sportsman himself—and Princess Charlene.
This time around, Federer was joined at the event by two of the men he credits with much of his recent success, long-standing friend and coach, Severin Luthi, and current lead coach, Ivan Ljubicic. In previous Laureus ceremonies, though, he was escorted by wife Mirka, but then much has changed in the intervening 15 years: The two have married and become parents to two pairs of twins. However, it was to Mirka that he referred in his opening words:
“Martina, thank you for giving me the award today. Because of you, I met my wife, and she was inspired by you.”
It is no exaggeration: A nine-year-old Mirka met Navratilova at a tournament in Germany, the prolific Major champion spotted her ability, and later sent her a racket. The Federers first met at the Olympics in 2000, played Hopman Cup together in 2002, and have been inseparable ever since.
Yet in a night packed with thank-yous, press conferences, selfies and a brief collapse of the Laureus website when Federer’s Sportsman Award was announced, there were many other clues to this man’s longevity, success and popularity.
Here are just a selection of words from what the Academy’s own Press Release headlined: The Laureus Goat.
On fellow Sportsman nominee, friend and rival, Rafael Nadal…
“To my rival Rafa, I wanted to just give a shout-out. He had an unbelievable year himself. We had a great battle and it’s because of a guy like him, I feel like I’ve become a better player… He could very well be here as well, and standing here with this award. He’s an incredible player, incredible friend, an incredible athlete.
“The rivalry on court is quite clear. We play very different and with different intensity, yet I think are both champions, and I think we try the same way to win a match. It’s hard work, tough mentally, blessed with a lot of talent, and we really respect each other…
“Yes, friends off the court, just because we’ve had some good moments away from it. Playing charity matches for his and my Foundations, him inviting me to the opening of his academy, playing doubles together at the Laver Cup, and just all the matches that you’ve played against one another, they connect you…”
On being asked so often about retirement…
“It goes way back—since I won the French Open [2009], people asked me about retirement and it has not stopped, because they want to be the first person to know, in case I did change my mind two minutes ago.
“This has been a big challenge for me, not letting that get to my head, truly listening to myself and my team and everybody around me. Can I still win? And as long as I believe truly that I can, then I believe it’s worth it to come back from injury, it’s worth it to stay on tour. Because that’s the feeling I had. You can be misled by negativity around you sometimes, but I feel I never let that come to me.
“Of course, I have my moments of doubts, too, but it’s been wonderful, not to prove people wrong but to prove myself and my team right. We did have a plan, we were right, we believed we could beat the best, maybe win one more slam, and that’s what makes me incredibly proud and happy right now to receive these two awards.”
On why people find his tennis elegant…
“I guess over time I tried to move as best I could on a court. Happens that it seemed elegant to a lot of people, because tennis became a very aggressive moving kind of a game.
“Maybe with my one-handed backhand, using the slice, seeming that I’m playing a high-impact game [but] make it seem low impact, made it quite elegant. I think I have been very fortunate, because I think my movement has allowed me to stay more injury free maybe than others. I think the pounding made on my body has been reduced by my way of movement to some extent.
“I do play offensive style. When you play offensive, you dictate where you’re going to go. Whereas if you are in defence, you can’t dictate, you’re more at the mercy of what your opponent is doing. And even then, I make it sometimes look elegant, but it doesn’t feel elegant, it just feels like a brutal passage during a point! I’m happy it resonates so much with people around the world, but it was never a goal of mine to play elegant tennis, it just happened that way.”
On keeping free of injury at 36…
“When you get older, you have to put in a little bit extra work, different kind of work than you did when you were younger. You have to be careful. But you don’t want to be so careful that it becomes almost not enjoyable anymore.
“I don’t need to play so much tennis [but] I need to play good tennis. That allows me to take sufficient breaks, so when I do play, I should feel very hungry and motivated. It’s an interesting stage of my life. I never thought I would play with a schedule I have today. I always thought I was going to play 20 or 25 tournaments every single year till I retired.
“I can’t worry about injuries all the time. Otherwise, I will never be free, it would be like being locked in a cage and I can’t reach my maximum potential on the tennis court like that. So I can’t be scared.
“I really try to make a conscious effort with my fitness coaches that they don’t always ask me ‘How are you feeling?’ or ‘Are you feeling anything?’ I was doing a fitness session this morning, and my fitness coach actually did ask me, ‘How are you feeling?’ and I was like, ‘No, no, I’m fine, everything’s good, please don’t ask me!’”
On reasons for his popularity…
“I wish I knew! It helps to have been in the game for 20 years, people get to know you, I get a chance to speak to a lot of people through you. They feel it’s not a stranger talking to them.
“I think through my elegant play, maybe, something attracts them to my game because it reminds me of the olden days.
“Maybe some enjoy my honesty, they know that if they ask a question, I’ll give something in return. It won’t just be a yes or no answer.”
“I think also going through some tougher moments, ever since 2010/11, where I didn’t win so much, people saw me struggling a little bit more, and that made me more human, and since then my popularity has really gone up a lot, and even more since the comeback.
“Maybe being a family man, maybe they think I have the right values, I’m not sure. I do mention a lot that without my wife it would not be possible. I was brought up with a normal background, and my parents are amazing. I love my kids and wife above everything. Much more important than tennis for me.
“I don’t want to please everyone, but I’m proud to be an idol for some kids… Maybe through my Foundation work, I see what’s really important.”
And talking of the Federer Foundation, the Swiss returns to court in San Jose California on 5 March for “Match for Africa 5”, his latest fund-raising event. The Foundation’s Annual Report, just published, shows that MfA3 and 4 raised almost CHF3 million (£2.15 million).
