Fatherhood won't affect Federer, the tennis player
Many experts felt that fatherhood coupled with his record breaking wins might lessen his motivation for the game. However, having claimed his second Masters title in two years by winning last week's tournament in Cincinnati, he has proved them wrong.
IT REMAINS to be seen whether fatherhood will have any effect on Roger Federer's tennis. He spent three weeks at the hospital after the July 23 birth of his twins, Charlene and Myla, but said he practiced almost every day during that time. He looked in good form last week, when he won the Cincinnati tournament over Novak Djokovic. Federer said the title was extra special because it was his first as a father. Given that his win at the French Open completed his set of major titles and that his Wimbledon triumph took him past Pete Sampras' record of 14 Grand Slam crowns, they asked whether he would now lack motivation in the years to come? Any such doubts were swept aside with his performances in Montreal, where he reached the quarter-finals and in Cincinnati, where he beat Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals. With Rafael Nadal still recovering from knee trouble and not at his best on hard courts, Federer could hardly have put down a better marker than to beat Murray and Djokovic, No 2 and No 4 in the world respectively and losing finals to the Swiss. Federer agreed he had taken fatherhood in his stride. The Swiss superstar said, "I had a good nine months to get ready for it, which helped. Mirka was great during the pregnancy, so I knew that when the babies arrived she'd be relaxed, would be great support and wouldn't mind the travelling. All of that has helped me to be free in my mind and to do what I do best. People don't know about the hard work I put in again between Wimbledon and Montreal but things went great." He added:"I'm actually playing very well at the moment. Of course I was always going to be confident after winning those big titles in a row. I felt like my game was already pretty good in practice, so I knew I wasn't coming over just to show up, but to really do something. That's already paid off." When asked that whether he was losing sleep or not, as he must have been on diaper changing duty, the world No 1 said: "I've been sleeping well enough. Things have changed in a good way. I love my life now. I'm happy Mirka could join me with Myla and Charlene as well. It's been a lot of fun outside of the tennis grounds. It's definitely a very positive change in my life, having twin girls. We're enjoying every second we can spend with them. Mirka spends 24 hours with them and I spend a little bit less because I'm sometimes at the tennis, which I still have to do. I know it's not an easy thing to do but so far it hasn't prevented me from playing great tennis and it's actually going to have more of a positive impact than a negative.” The 15 time Grand Slam champion confessed he was evolving into being a good dad. He said:"I'm growing into the situation. I'm trying to be a good dad and I think I am. Mirka has been a wonderful mum so far. Right now in my life I'm best at being a tennis player. Maybe down the road I will say I'm also a good dad. So far I'm just trying to handle it, and I'm having fun. It's really good times." Nonetheless, Federer felt no more or less at ease than he had ever done. "I'm a relaxed person," he said. "I've always been that type. When I wasn't winning all the Slams and I was losing in finals some people said that I wasn't relaxed anymore and was too crazy about winning, but that's untrue." The reigning French and Wimbledon champion remarked: "I like to move and I like to be on tour. I like playing in front of great crowds. I feel like we have a good time in the men's game right now. There's great excitement and I don't want to miss this time." Federer has every reason to feel more confident going into the US, because the expectations are off his shoulders due to his triumph at Roland Garros in early June which made him only the sixth man to complete the career Grand Slam in the history of tennis. He added, "It helps if you're happy in your personal life, though when I walk on the court it's all tennis. I have to be able to block out things that happen off the court. I want to have fun out there. I love playing in front of sell-out crowds. If you don't get a high from them, something's wrong with you and you'd better retire. I don't ever have that feeling and I'm sure I never will."
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