You wanna know what makes the truly great players in each sport stay on top for long periods of time, longer than most athletes would ever dream of? Well, if you ask Roger Federer, his main motivation is that he loves tennis.
For those of you that have been living under a rock for the past six years, Federer is quite possibly the best tennis player EVER. He has won 16 Grand Slams, the most ever, and has physically and mentally dominated the game since 2004.
The 28-year-old Swiss master won't ace you to death, he will just play a flawless, mistake-free game and then patiently wait until you try to force things and/or go out of your mind with frustration to systematically beat you into submission.
In an interview with the French newspaper L'Equipe, Federer said that what fuels his desire to win is reminding himself of why he has worked so hard durig the past few years, why he chose to play tennis as a kid, and asking himself what he loves about the game so much.
Federer said that the answer, and therefore his conclusion, is simple. Nobody loves tennis as much as he does.
Sometimes all it takes for him to get going is to remind himself of his track record against a certain opponent, like he did before this year's Australian Open final against Andy Murray. Murray had had success against him in recent matches in smaller stages, but Federer manhandled Murray in the biggest stage and disposed of him in three sets.
The man loves his job, period. Federer achieved what we all dream of at some point, which is to not only find a job, but a career and a vocation in which he excelled and became the best of all-time.
There is nothing more to dissect or analyze, because unlike many other greats such as Andre Agassi, Kim Clijsters or Serena Williams, Federer is genuinely happiest with a racket in his hand and a trophy on his mantle.
No comments:
Post a Comment