ATP: Early retirement thoughts with Roger Federer

Roger Federer has some good years ahead of him. He almost put the bat aside in 2004.

It is unlikely that Andrey Rublev will be able to look back on a similar register of success as Roger Federer at the end of his career. Which puts the Russian in the best of company – namely with the rest of the tennis world. Nevertheless, Rublev’s development runs parallel to that of the Swiss Grand Master, at least in one respect: Where only a few years ago the clubs were still flying, attention is now focused on the essentials.

How Roger Federer managed to get his emotions under control was explained by the 19-time Major Winner at last week’s ATP Final in London.

“At the age of 17, my family decided to send me to a psychologist at the age of 17 because I was always so angry on the court. From that moment on, I’ve been constantly improving.”

It is all the more astonishing that a few years later, Federer fell into a deep hole in his motivation:”In 2004, when I became number one in the world, I was actually thinking about quitting,” explained the father of four. But then I realized that I could keep playing because I didn’t have to prove anything to anyone.”

Even 13 years later, this worked out very well, even though the semi-final defeat against David Goffin in London left a slight taste after winning two Grand Slam titles and three ATP Masters 1000 trophies in 2017.

Federer will make his next appearance at the Hopman Cup in Perth alongside Belinda Bencic. A good omen – last year the two Swiss players did not win the mixed tournament, but Roger Federer had collected enough practice for the Australian Open after his long break.