ATP Finals: Roger Federer in London: The break maker

Roger Federer has gradually improved at the ATP Finals in London. One reason: less training.

By Florian Goosmann from London

Do the books on successful tennis training need to be rewritten? Isn’t life all about training more in order to become better – as parents, teachers and sports coaches have taught us from an early age?

Not in the case of Roger Federer, anyway. After his disaster game against Kei Nishikori on Sunday, Federer was not drawn to the training ground before the Thiem match, on the contrary. “At first, it didn’t occur to me to take a day off. I was thinking What’ll we do? Where do we train?” His team then suggested, “How about a day off?”

One has realized what makes him happy and provides relaxation… and motivated when he gets on the court. “So we kept it that way. Yesterday I didn’t train either. And I doubt that I will do it tomorrow,” Federer said after his fine performance against Kevin Anderson.

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He also gave a reason for the time-out: If he can’t train on the match court anyway, it doesn’t make sense to go to a different court, to feel a different atmosphere. And then there’s the usual warm-up on match day, a few hours before the start. “I can warm up with high intensity and then I’m ready,” Federer continues. “I’ve played so much in the course of my career, this season too, especially last season – I don’t feel like working on anything. At this point, it’s all about the matches.”

However, he did not have time or leisure for sightseeing, Federer added. Until he’s at the hotel, slept in, stretched and massaged… it makes more sense to spend time with family, team and friends.

Federer builds on the tennis quality he has developed over many years, which of course doesn’t disappear overnight because of an odd training session. “I am a great supporter of holidays. I believe in taking a break sometimes. But when I go to work, I do it right, I do it the proper way – professionally and with my team.”

Quantity instead of quality: This mantra seems to have been the secret of Roger Federer’s success in the past seasons, but it also applies to the training work at tournaments – which ultimately serves less for training than for staying in rhythm.

If Federer continues to improve during the London tournament thanks to his “Pause” motto, the 2018 season could end with a bang. Before we really go on vacation.

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