"When I win, it’s 'Oh, it’s so easy' and when I lose, it’s 'Wish he tried more'" - Roger Federer on how the 'beautiful' tennis-label impacted him
Roger Federer's tennis has often been described as "beautiful" by several keen-eyed observers of the game over the years. As for the Swiss maestro himself, while he takes it as a "big" compliment today, it comes as a surprise that it did not always use to be the case.
Speaking in a recent interview with GQ Sports, the 20-time Grand Slam champion shed light on how the label impacted him. Federer admitted that he was disappointed that fans, seeing the effortless nature of his game, often forgot to see the fighter underneath.
The former World No. 1 opined that effortless tennis would never become possible without unbelievable hard work, somethings fans accused him of lacking at times. Federer pointed out how when he won, his wins would be referred to as being too easy, while on the rare occasions that he lost, criticism about his lack of fighting spirit would surface. Even now, such criticisms appear to be a bit of sore point for the 42-year-old.
"Today, I take it as a big compliment. When I was playing, I was struggling a little bit more with it because I feel like then they would not see the fighter and the winner I hopefully was. Because if you’re not a fighter, if you cannot put in effort—you cannot achieve what I achieved with just being effortless. I think when you’ve worked unbelievably hard, only then can you make it look effortless," Roger Federer said.
"So I always struggled—especially early on—with the thought of: Well, do they not see the passion and fight and everything I put into it? Because when I would win it’s like, “Oh, it’s so easy.” And when I would lose, it’s like, “Wish he tried a bit more,” almost. And that in the beginning was really, really hard to accept and really complex for me. It was a bit of a mind bender then," he added.
"Eventually I felt really comfortable in my skin and I knew that I was putting it all on the line" - Roger Federer
Thankfully, Roger Federer quickly grew out of beating himself up for such criticism, as he became comfortable in his own skin and the idea of the work being its own reward. As long as he gave it his all, the 20-time Grand Slam champion learned to accept losses and move on without being worried about what fans would think at the end of the day.
"I think eventually I felt really comfortable in my skin and I knew that I was putting it all on the line. And that’s why when I would lose a match, I could literally, five minutes later, match was over, It’s no problem. I gave it all I had, and we move on," Roger Federer continued in the interview.
After more than two decades in service of the game, Federer bid adieu in 2022, appearing for one last time as a professional tennis player in front of fans at the Laver Cup.