Weapon of choice …

(Extract of an article published January 25th 2010, by Darren Saligari, australianopen.com)

In tennis, you need a weapon. Fernando Gonzalez’s weapon is his forehand. Andy Roddick wields his serve like a rocket launcher, and Justine Henin has a backhand that can put an ‘L’ next to a player’s name quicker than the petite Belgian can yell “Allez!”.

But what is Roger Federer’s weapon of choice? The world No.1 is pretty damn good at, well, everything. But he does have a weapon that perhaps isn’t as obvious as a killer forehand or lightning court coverage. Federer’s biggest weapon is, arguably, all in his mind.

His name features at the top or near the top of every record worth achieving in men’s tennis.

He has been No.1 for a total of 266 weeks over a career that is now in its 13th year. Of his time at the top, 237 of those weeks were consecutive – the next person on this list is Jimmy Connors with 160, and then Ivan Lendl with 157.

He has won a major in each of the past seven years. Pete Sampras and Bjorn Borg each did it for eight years, and Federer could equal that this week.

And, of course, he’s won 15 major singles titles – one more than Sampras.

The next record on the Fed Express’s list is Sampras’ achievement of 286 weeks as the world No.1, and the Swiss could do that some time this year if all goes to plan.

But how does he do it? Talent is only part of the equation. To come back after losing his coveted Wimbledon title to Nadal in 2008 and the No.1 spot with it, to withstand the force of the next wave of contenders pushing from behind in 2009, and to keep winning on a tour that takes no prisoners and gives players little rest between seasons takes a strength of mind and resolve that few can match.

“He is in charge of his mind; physical work makes the psychological side of his game stronger,” said Federer’s conditioning coach, Pierre Paganini.

“There are many links between body and mind, but there are also links between the way you play and your mind as a whole.”

The man himself agrees. “I think you definitely need it [mental strength] to stay at the top of the rankings for so long,” Federer says.

“You have to be mentally strong to be at the top no matter – regardless of the player you are … I know I’ve got the game, and this is very important that you know that you have it.”

It’s been well documented that what is now Federer’s greatest strength was once his greatest weakness.

“He was going nuts on the court; if you look at him now you can’t believe it,” said friend and Swiss Davis Cup player Yves Allegro.

“I was very bad when I was young, to be honest. I always had a tough time being consistently strong mentally,” explained Federer.

“I would always have these lapses where I would get very disappointed, very angry, very sad. I would go through an emotional rollercoaster all the time.

“And this is what I think the other players always expected me to do. They would say ‘if you stay on top of Roger, eventually he will let go or he will have these 10 minutes where he won’t be able to control himself’.”

Former world No.1 and dual US Open champion Pat Rafter played Federer three times early on in Federer’s career, with the Australian taking the honours on each occasion.

“He just hadn’t developed,” said Rafter. “He needed to get the experience on the tour. He had to become tougher mentally, and that happened over those couple of years; he became better and better.”

And as he built up his mind to be as sharp and strong as a bear trap, the victories started to come, tons of them.

So what now for the King? He’s won practically every tournament there is to win and is universally recognised as one of the greatest sportspeople on the planet – so what’s his motivation? What could there possibly be left for him to do in the game that he has practically owned since 2004?

“I think you can always find ways to motivate yourself. I obviously loved the time when I was dominating and winning 10 to 12 tournaments a year and not losing to any top 10 player. I mean, those were fantastic times for me, of course,” he says.

“But then again, it was also nice going through the time with the incredible rivalry I had with Rafa. Before that, being able to play against guys like Sampras and Agassi and so forth and being the up‑and‑coming guy. So I think you take it as it is and try to make the best out of it. That’s the way I looked at it.

“I think today it’s a completely different situation. I’m still at the top of the rankings and I like to be challenged. That’s what makes me better.”

…

“It’s something that you just hope it’s gonna last as long as possible. It’s amazing being world No. 1 and playing in front of sell‑out crowds every match I play,” he says.

“If you lose your ranking, you hope to get it back. You know, what I’ve achieved, nobody can take away from me. That’s obviously something that’s very satisfying. It’s also something I like doing.”

Source: http://www.australianopen.com