Federer says, “I was the opposite of cool”

The calm and composed personality of tennis, Roger Federer was once a Mr Angry young man. The 20-time elegant Grand Slam champion once had a really bad temper as a junior professional. The Swiss legend used to throw racquets around the court and would mentally break down. He was more of a crybaby on the court. When Federer was once questioned about his cool mental temperament as a kid, Federer responded, “I was the opposite of cool.”

Once when Federer was 16 years old, he distressed during his training session threw his racket into the new backdrop of the National Tennis Center. The racket pierced the backdrop like a “knife through butter.” Post that incident, Federer’s coach kicked off the court and made him scrub toilets for a week. “I feel a little ashamed to throw around racquets and hit around the balls on the court, getting booing sometimes,” Federer accepted his activities in the past. “I’m not in the mood for that. So I changed automatically because of the respect towards the fans and the tournament and everything, I guess. That is one thing. I also started to realize that it’s not good for my game. (These were a) few simple reasons.”

After getting to know himself and his dilemma, Federer focused on his behaviour and his etiquettes. “I had a tough time getting my act together out on the court, trying to behave properly. For me that was a big deal,” he admitted. He underwent counselling sessions and learnt how to blend ‘ice’ and ‘fire’ at the same moment. Federer said, “You know like, have the fire and desire to win but the ice coolness to absorb losses and absorb bad mistakes.”

Additionally, he is the man who slams a perfect and a flawless backhand on the opponent’s court. However, at the beginning of his career, he did not have the best approach to hit a shot. “My backhand was definitely my weaker shot,” Federer said. “I’ve definitely improved it because everybody’s been going to it, you know. Of course, serving is the easiest thing to do, just to go to the backhand. I had to improve it, you know. I think footwork was also a thing I was not doing well on my backhand side. Since I got that right, my backhand’s been a much better shot. Especially on the passing shot, I can really rely on it. “ 

No matter what his past was he will always be the second to none and eternal Mr PeRFect in the world of tennis.