10 sportspersons and their idols

They are some of the biggest names in their respective sports. They have been idolised for decades now and millions look up to these sporting sensations.”I want to grow and be like Federer”, a little kid pursuing tennis would say. ”I want to run like Bolt”, a teenage boy with a dream of winning an Olympic gold in 200m would wish. We all have our idols. There are people we draw inspiration from. Just the mere sight of these stars makes us fall in awe at their greatness.But who made them ‘want to be’ what they have become today? Who inspired them to reach the pinnacle that they have reached today? Who was the inspiration behind their success?Here, we look at 10 of the most celebrated sports stars and their idols:

#1 Roger Federer

Federer still idolises Boris Becker

He has 17 Grand Slam singles titles to his name, and is arguably the greatest male player of all time. But Roger Federer has an idol who was as big a star as him in the 80s. It was Germany’s Boris Becker who inspired the Swiss Master to take up tennis seriously.

Federer was just four when Becker won his first Wimbledon final in 1985. From then onwards, Federer would watch tennis matches day and night on the television.