Roger Federer Gets Angry: “I Don’t Care What You Say”

World No.3, Roger Federer defeated Juan Ignacio Londero 6-3, 6-4 in the first round of the Western and Southern Open 2019 on Tuesday. The Swiss is bidding for a record eighth Cincinnati Masters title.

Roger Federer has achieved it all in his career and has fulfilled all his hopes and dreams. Various other players have also achieved major milestones on the ATP Tour but they have not earned as many wins or titles as Federer. In the post-match interview on Tuesday, Federer threw light on fulfilling others expectations. He feels that tennis doesn’t treat the top players with the same respect once they start losing matches.

“I think probably if you ask a lot of the guys on the Tour, they’d say, ‘I probably did much better than I expected’, because the dream is, of course, to be Top 100, Top 10, World No. 1, winning tournaments and all that stuff. But to be able to make a living from what you wanted to do, I think that’s the cool bit,” Federer said.

Roger Federer suggested that he tries to not to pay attention to people who criticize him for not winning a match or a tournament. The 20-time Grand Slam Champion has conquered 3 titles in the 2019 season and has crossed more than 1200 match wins in his career. However, Federer is still criticized for missing two championship points against Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon finals last month.

On the other hand, Rafael Nadal, who reached the finals of the Australian Open 2019, conquered the French Open 2019 and also reached the semifinals of the Wimbledon Championships 2019 is still criticized for winning on only one surface – clay. The top players have always been under pressure to perform up to the standards expected from the media and audience.

Roger Federer reflected on this topic and further added, “That’s when sometimes it gets a bit rough. All of a sudden you achieve your dream and you have been told you’re terrible because you didn’t win so-and-so. You’re like, ‘Okay, you know what? Get lost. I don’t care what you say.”

Roger Federer also explained that in tennis or in any other sport, the No.100 ranked player has also achieved a big feat and is a champion and the people should respect each and every sportsperson out there.

He further added, “You’ve got to do what you can do best and make yourself proud, your family, your country, whatever it is. And in tennis, very quickly, take another sport, but if you’re the No. 100 best player or athlete or whatever of your sport, you’re a champ. In tennis, you say, ‘Oh, he’s just 100’, and I disagree with that.”