Roger Federer's bar-raising 18th Grand Slam title was more than record or reiteration. The Swiss master tells TOI in an exclusive interview that the resonance of that victory the world over gave him the greatest satisfaction.
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The time he spent away from tennis has done Roger Federer good. You can see it in his superbly toned form, hear it in his voice or even in his silence. That may have been obvious from that awe-inspiring win at the Australian Open, but it's more so the case from up close. Lean and lethal, and in his own words, 'feeling more comfortable and getting better'.
On the sidelines of the Dubai Duty Free tennis championships, the 35-year-old dwelt on a range of subjects - his record 18th Grand Slam title, its significance, whether the number can be surpassed, the year ahead and what it means to play doubles with friend and rival Rafael Nadal at the Laver Cup.
Excerpts...
Expectations go up when you play the way I did at the beginning of the year. At the same time, I try not to keep them sky-high, especially not until April. All the way up until Miami, I need to have a work-in-progress perspective. Knowing that I didn't feel well all of last year, that's why every match I get through, injury-free, healthy, wake-up fine the next morning in different continents of the world, is important. That's the goal right now. When we hit the two-thirds of the year mark, I'm going to be 100 percent. That's how I see it. That's with the bonus of having already won the Australian Open.
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Look, I mean, yes. It was big on so many levels; I don't think I needed 18 to be happier in life or to feel more complete or anything. It gives me more reason to play tennis. It tells me that it was the right choice that I made years ago, to keep on trying, to get to 18 one more time. It shows that hard work does pay off, that I was on the right path for a very long time and it was the right decision to take a break last year. It gave me the approval for a lot of things I was trying to do, trying to follow, when there was a lot of criticism. Also, by getting to 18, I made a lot of people happy. I felt like there was a big echo around the world, people really felt like 'Rog deserves this one more'. That was also nice.
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Not really. Because I then go back to, 'why did I take the six months off in the first place?' It was for longevity, that was always the goal for me. I never saw myself play this one tournament, or match, or go for one victory and then tell myself that's it. Who knows? It might still all end that way. But I don't see my retirement that way, I see it's going to be more of a process. I try not to think of the whole retirement situation, because the more I think of it, the more I feel the closer I am to it.
I was so happy at that moment (in Melbourne); the crowd was into it, my people were all so happy that by the time everything was said and done and I was back partying with my team again. We were already talking about what's the next plan - Dubai and then Indian Wells and Miami. So the question or thought didn't really cross my mind, to be completely honest.
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I didn't have bad years. I won a lot of tournaments. I almost got back to world No.1. So it shows that I actually had really good seasons. I remember beating the best in those times. I won the Davis Cup in 2014. So I had good years. Then I had tough years, 2013 and 2016, which almost cancelled themselves out because of back and knee issues. What I like is when I changed racquets and I tried to reinvent myself, to some extent. I was actually able to come back from 2014 and play really positive, aggressive tennis. I was able to turn it around for myself. I actually had more fun after that. After 2012, I was still trying to win Wimbledon again and I came somewhat close. Looking back, that seems like a long time, but I did play good tennis in some stretches. So it wasn't frustrating maybe like you thought it was.
It was an injury. I had a surgery a bit over a year ago now, that didn't really heal because of which I was always having issues with the knee. It was feeling heavy, it would fill up with liquid. When the knee is fighting something, it creates liquid to kind of oil it. Then it feels heavy, doesn't feel right. Over a long period of time, I didn't feel well. That's why doctors told me you should rest now, shouldn't keep playing because that's when things get bad, maybe even really bad. I didn't like the sound of that. That's when I said, for my life, my health, my career, these three reasons, I should take a rest. I thought it was going to be something like three-four months, but my physio, my fitness coach, my doctor all said take six months. Take the proper amount of time, the body needs it, deserves a break. That's what I did finally and I was happy to do it.
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It's possible for somebody to pass it. As we go forward, on the men's and women's sides, players are going to be more and more focused on records. I don't think Pete Sampras was so focused his entire career on records. I don't think Serena (Williams) even when she won her first few Grand Slams or (Martina) Navratilova or go further back Rod Laver even. I don't think they knew in the beginning what they were doing. It just ended up being that way. They set the bar. Now the media and players chase it more than ever. They feel that this is what you have to do to be the best. I feel like there's a big chance of that happening in the future. That's why you're now seeing records being broken more frequently in this day and age. Because that's how you set up your career. For me, Wimbledon, US Open, I'll always have chances as long as I am playing and I am healthy. Those courts suit me there.
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At one point (in your career), it's all about working hard, dedication, motivation and understanding what you do, what you need to do - taking the right decision at the right time. There are a lot of players out there who are going through the motions, not playing with a purpose. They think it's great to be on the Tour. The aim should be to get the most out of yourself, yet still enjoy what you're doing. It's a fine line, it comes with having the right people around you, right practice, partners, amount of practice, not too much or too little. Maybe also take enough breaks. It's also about discovery, finding out what surface you maybe like to play on, learn from your experiences, early and quickly .
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I would love to play doubles with Rafa. I've faced off against him so often, that I think playing Laver Cup doubles with him is going to be really inspiring and really cool. I'm anyway excited about the Laver Cup, the format is going to be amazing. You're going to have all these great players on the same team, and with Bjorn Borg coaching me and the rest of the European team, it should be so much fun. Just me being on the same side as Rafa, finally - after facing off against him so often, I think it's a relief and joy at the same time. I know what he's capable of and he knows what I am capable of. If we then create that great play at the same time, it could be beautiful. We know doubles is not two great singles players playing together, but you try to be a team in doubles and I think that's where it's going be.