‘I had no Confidence’- Roger Federer

Roger Federer, who is known for his calm demeanor on the court, and seems to be in total control of himself and his emotions, even if the match has not been turning out in his favor. Federer is also known to consistently reach the later stages of most of the tournaments. However Federer recalls that consistency was one of his major problems when he first burst out onto the tour.

“I wasn’t the player like maybe Roddick, Hewitt and Safin and Nadal who came out, and just right away consistently won matches,” said Federer. “I had a real drought of six months where I was really struggling to win matches.” He also added, “that’s when I lost to Bjorn (Pau), as well. That match was really hot I remember in Washington. I could hardly walk anymore after five games.”

He also recalls playing with the big players immediately on the tour, remembering that how he was short of confidence. “I came up on Tour and I got many, many wildcards, especially in 1999 after finishing the junior year in ’98 as No.1′, recalls the Swiss maestro. “So I was thrown in with the big boys very early. That was a great experience for me, but then also I had no confidence.“

Roger also said that this lack of confidence and loosing matches early on made him enjoy his wins even more. “If you have no confidence against a player who’s steady from the baseline, you’re always going to lose. That’s where I was just not good enough yet. I went through a patch where I had many losses, and maybe more so I enjoy it now when I win, so it’s great.’ said Federer.

Federer has signed up for the Hopman cup, where he will team up with his friend and compatriot Belinda Bencic, as he gears up to defend his Australian Open crown.