Amidst the rumours of match-fixing and findings of the use of unfair means to win matches in tennis, one man stands tall to steer the tennis community in the right direction. Roger Federer has been the perfect role model for everyone from a teenager to a professional tennis player alike.
He is the epitome of greatness. The manner in which Roger carries himself on and off the court, makes him one of the most loved sports athlete in the world. Here we take a look at what qualities apart from his tennis genius, differentiates the Swiss maestro from all others.
Humility
Roger is a 13-times fan favourite award winner, an achievement that is natural to bring arrogance in any normal human being. But Roger Federer is no normal human being. Even after securing such an accolade, Federer is one of the most humble and nicest guys on tour.
Roger once said in one of his interviews:
“ It is nice to be important but it is more important to be nice”.
His on-court rivals have often praised his humility. One such example is when one of his biggest rival, Andy Roddick, once joked after losing to Roger in a Wimbledon final that he still couldn’t hate Roger because ‘he is just so nice’.
It’s difficult to imagine a man who has bagged achievements of such magnitude to be so humble and down-to-earth. But then he is Roger Federer, he can do anything.
On-court behaviour
In a sport in which the outcome of matches may be decided by a handful of points, it is not rare to see players frustrated and angry. However, the Swiss man never seems to lose his cool. He carries with him an aura, that almost engulfs everything that comes in its surroundings and makes it lovingly calm and gentle.
It is a serene feeling, something that only this great man can produce.
Also read: Roger Federer brings sports to the Oscars, makes heads turn with his red carpet appearance
Sportsman spirit
Sportsman spirit is when you see a guy walking off the court and you cannot tell whether he won or lost. There is no arguing this fact that there are not many athletes who have shown greater sportsman spirit than Roger.
We see clear instances of this in Federer vs Nadal Wimbledon 2008, perhaps the greatest match in the history of the sport. After losing the epic encounter, a physically and emotionally drained Federer did not fail to praise his opponent. It takes character to praise your opponent minutes after throwing every single thing you have to beat that same person. This is the video to that post-match interview.
Wawrinka too has been on the receiving side of this perfect sportsman demeanor of Federer. In their match in Basel, Federer was leading 30-15, when he lost a point. The scoreboard, however, suggested 40-15 and a match point to Federer. Roger was quick to notice this and immediately asked the umpire to correct it and make it 30-30. This is pure class. Here, check out the video.
Charity
Roger has his own foundation with the name of the ‘Roger Federer Foundation’ that is currently working with 277,000 thousand children worldwide and providing them with quality education. Roger has made trips to Africa and India in support of this program and invested not only his money but also his time to make this foundation a huge success.
It all started with a dream of winning Wimbledon once in his life. That small boy from Switzerland is today known as the King of Grass worldwide. After fulfilling his childhood dream on seven different occasions and breaking hundreds of other records, Roger keeps on working, in pursuit of something bigger.
What is the new dream of this grown up boy? Nobody knows, but what we do know is, Roger Federer is a perfect role model.
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