Despite his immense talent, Roger Federer took some time before he sorted out all the details of his game and became mentally solid as well. The former world number 1 had several behavioral problems at the beginning of his career and it was essential to surround himself with the right people to fully express his infinite potential.
When he understood what was the correct direction to take, the former Swiss champion began to lift one trophy after another and his career was truly legendary. It is no exaggeration to say that the King was the tennis player who had the greatest impact in the history of the sport and his legacy is destined to last forever, although he lost most of his records to Rafael Nadal and especially Novak Djokovic.
Rafter on his first match against Federer
In an interview on the ATP’s YouTube profile, Australian legend Pat Rafter recalled his first match against Federer in the 1999 edition of Roland Garros. The Swiss was really young at that time and had no experience in best-of-five-set matches.
The 20-time Grand Slam champion surprised his experienced opponent in the first set, before dropping sharply and winning only five games in the next three sets.
“Roger Federer came on the scene in ’99, and I got to play him; he got a wild card I think,” the Australian recalled.
“He came on, and he beat me the first set 7-5. I was like, ‘You punk!’
I was trying to work out how I was going to get through to him as well, and I got off in the second set, and then he might have done a double fault or I won a big point and I just got in his face and went ‘Come on!’
He sort of melted a little bit. He was a little soft at that stage” – he concluded.
The Swiss Maestro would take a few more years to express his full potential, but there were already signs of a player destined to become a legend.
Tennis World USA