Flushing, N.Y. – His racket is like a hammer, his mental hardiness like a rock.
Roger Federer is forcing us to take notice, the novice tennis fan and aficionado alike. He glides into the U.S. Open final here today against Andre Agassi with appreciation for what he has built and a sultry eye for what he can compile.
But like most 24-year-olds, he is squarely stuck in the moment, riding his spree of some of the most staggering tennis we have ever seen, mortifying the best players in today’s game. At a time when Federer’s peers are growing sick of his sight, we are just getting to know him, just beginning to understand his frozen will and graceful aptitude. We are taking a second look and sometimes a third to ensure what we see is indeed our fancy.
Lleyton Hewitt saw it in semifinal action here Saturday. Federer toyed with him, smothered him in a four-set victory. It was his ninth straight victory over Hewitt. It was his 24th consecutive victory overall.
Here was the guts of it from Federer – strapping one-handed backhands, aces when needed most, charming changes in speed and pace, hypnotizing body control and an enviable knack for mastering all the angles.
“Confidence comes with success,” Federer said. “You need success to get it. I have a hold on that now. I don’t want to give it away.”
He comes from Switzerland, where he picked up a racket at age 3 and started swinging for grandeur with a passion and petulance that had to be nurtured and molded. Federer has taken his lumps. That is part of the intrigue of his story.
Federer was born in Basel, Switzerland. His father, Robert, worked as a drug company salesman. His mother, Lynette, is from South Africa. He used to throw fits on the court as a teen – he did it in anything where he competed and lost – but he grew out of that.
Summer 2002 induced his growing pains. That was when he lost his coach, Peter Carter, who died in a car crash in South Africa. It hit Federer hard. He lost his fire, he said.
That tragedy and being bounced in the first round of the 2003 French Open awakened in him something earnest and unpredictable. Out of ashes, his game rose. His growling forehand, his snarling backhand, his stamina, his desire all increased. His mental makeup morphed. His footwork excelled and his rare geometric view of the game developed.
That is a primary gift he possesses, the ability to read the game aptly. While hitting his shots, he knows his opponent’s options and often responds in his positioning, using fancy footwork, before his opponent can. Legends in the game call him a throwback, a graceful, elegant player who uses finesse as much as power, all complemented by a sharp mind.
After each of his matches, Federer conducts separate news conferences in English, Swiss-German and French. I listened to them here this week and had little clue what he was saying in the foreign languages. But it sure sounded good. Just like his game looks.
He resides in Oberwil, Switzerland and is not an athlete who surrounds himself with a bulky entourage. He keeps his handlers few and even coaches himself, on occasion checking in with former tennis great Tony Roche. Having few experts whispering in his ear has helped him to focus on himself, his game, his confidence, his independence.
It also has helped us gain a measure of his naughty boldness.
This past week at the U.S. Open, while others were extolling the wizardry of the Andre Agassi-James Blake match, Federer said Blake blew it. When people talked about Americans Agassi and Robby Ginepri being in the semifinals, he said Americans should enjoy it because it does not happen often. When asked about opponents altering their game to combat him, he said that could cause them to “run into the knife more brutally.”
He is the world’s No. 1 ranked player.
He knows it. He acts like it.
Agassi said of Federer: “The guy plays great defense, plays great offense. He has a great hold game and he has a great break game. The challenge is real simple, you know. Most people have weaknesses and most people only have one great shot. I mean, Federer doesn’t have weaknesses and has a few great shots. So, that equates to a problem.
“I could lie. I could say something else. But he’s earned that respect. That means you go out in the match and you address it with urgency. He’s not the first guy to make you feel that way, but he’s certainly the guy that’s doing it better than anybody now.”
Today Federer can become the first player to win consecutive U.S. Open titles since Patrick Rafter did it seven years ago. He already has won three straight Wimbledon titles. He could earn $1.1 million today to push his career earnings close to $20 million.
Like current titans in other sports – the New England Patriots and the Southern Cal football team and Tiger Woods and Lance Armstrong – Federer is ruling his sport. The end does not look near. He has won 22 consecutive finals matches. When his peers talk about him now, their eyes roll and their heads spin over this monster running riot.
“It is hard for them, day in, day out, with people asking them questions about me,” Federer said. “I would be a little upset about that if it were me in that spot. Thank God, I’m on the other side. Maybe one day I will have to answer questions like that about someone else.”
Not now, because, like Federer says, it is results that count.
His idea is to keep finishing what he has started.
And keep giving us plenty to count.
Staff writer Thomas George can be reached at 303-820-1994 or tgeorge@denverpost.com.
