Enormous pressure for the young Roger Federer
The expectations of the growing Roger Federer were very high in Switzerland. Daniela Hantuchova remembers this from conversations with the Maestro's ex-coach.
by tennisnet.com
last edit: Jun 05, 2020, 08:29 pm
Second-hand information is always difficult to evaluate, but when in doubt we want to believe the great Daniela Hantuchova. In a technical discussion with Greg Rusedski on Amazon Prime, the former top ten player from the Czech Republic remembered the coach with whom Roger Federer had celebrated his first successes on the ATP tour - including the triumph at Wimbledon in 2003.
"I remember Peter Lundgren, his former coach, who kept telling me that people put so much pressure on Federer," said Hantuchova. "You would have asked: when will he finally win tournaments? And Lundgren just replied: 'Just wait, give him time, because if this boy starts to win, he won't stop for a long time.'
Jimmy Connors before Roger Federer
What to say Lundgren should be right. Since the premiere triumph in Milan in 2001, 102 additional titles have been added, the last one for the time being last autumn in Basel. Only in 2016 there was no entry in the tournament victory column, but at that time Federer took the rest of the year after his end in the Wimbledon semi-final against Milos Raonic, due to a knee injury.
Greg Rusedski of course knows how to correctly classify Roger Federer's achievements. “It's incredible because we're talking about this generation as the best ever. We have Murray, Djokovic, Nadal - getting 100 titles there is unbelievable. “You might never see something like that again. Another legend with 109 triumphs is still at the top. “It will be difficult to displace the man in charge, Jimmy Connors. But maybe Federer can do it. ”