Wimbledon 2012: Fatherhood, age inspired Federer
Swiss maestro insists he never doubted his return to the top.
LONDON:
Roger Federer believes becoming a father and celebrating his 30th birthday inspired him to a record-equalling seventh Wimbledon title on Sunday.
Federer has been driven on by wanting to see his twin girls Myla Rose and Charlene Riva get the chance to witness their father in action in his pomp, not his decline.
“People forget sometimes I have twin girls,” said Federer. “That has had a massive impact on my life. It’s helped my game more than anything because I think I’m playing some of the best tennis of my life right now. But just to be able to juggle everything together has been a challenge. And I think you learn from mistakes. You try to make it work for everyone involved. I admit it hasn’t always been easy. The victory is a dream come true for me and my family.”
Federer, whose next target will be a quick return to the All England Club for the Olympics, said he never doubted that he would be back on top of the world again.
“It was just a temporary thing. You’re always going to go through ups and downs. But I knew how close I was for the last few years, and some people didn’t quite see that.”
Distraught Murray vows strong comeback
Meanwhile, the losing finalist Andy Murray vowed to come back stronger after the heartbreaking defeat that left the distraught Scot crying tears of frustration on Centre Court.
“It’s not an easy tournament for British players in many ways, but I think I dealt with all of the extra things away from the tournament pretty well, better than maybe I had done in the past,” said Murray. “It was my first time in a Wimbledon final. I’d never been there before. I’m still improving, still playing better tennis, which is all I can do.”
After such a painful defeat, a mentally drained Murray plans to take time off before beginning his preparations for the Olympics and the US Open.
“There’s no point in going on the court until my mind is right and I’m ready to go out there and work hard. I’ll wait and see how my body recovers over the next few days but I won’t be on court next week that’s for sure.”
Azarenka reclaims top spot
Meanwhile, Belarussian Victoria Azarenka returned to the world number one spot in the latest rankings released yesterday thanks to Serena Williams’ victory over Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska in the Wimbledon final.
Radwanska needed to win Saturday’s final to take the world number one ranking but had to settle for a move up from third to second. Australian Open champion Azarenka reclaimed the ranking that she lost to Maria Sharapova after the Russian’s French Open success last month.
Roger Federer
“You’re always going to go through ups and downs. But I knew how close I was for the last few years, and some people didn’t quite see that.”
Andy Murray
“It was my first time in a Wimbledon final. I’d never been there before. I’m still improving, still playing better tennis, which is all I can do.”
Published in The Express Tribune, July 10th, 2012.
Roger Federer believes becoming a father and celebrating his 30th birthday inspired him to a record-equalling seventh Wimbledon title on Sunday.
Federer has been driven on by wanting to see his twin girls Myla Rose and Charlene Riva get the chance to witness their father in action in his pomp, not his decline.
“People forget sometimes I have twin girls,” said Federer. “That has had a massive impact on my life. It’s helped my game more than anything because I think I’m playing some of the best tennis of my life right now. But just to be able to juggle everything together has been a challenge. And I think you learn from mistakes. You try to make it work for everyone involved. I admit it hasn’t always been easy. The victory is a dream come true for me and my family.”
Federer, whose next target will be a quick return to the All England Club for the Olympics, said he never doubted that he would be back on top of the world again.
“It was just a temporary thing. You’re always going to go through ups and downs. But I knew how close I was for the last few years, and some people didn’t quite see that.”
Distraught Murray vows strong comeback
Meanwhile, the losing finalist Andy Murray vowed to come back stronger after the heartbreaking defeat that left the distraught Scot crying tears of frustration on Centre Court.
“It’s not an easy tournament for British players in many ways, but I think I dealt with all of the extra things away from the tournament pretty well, better than maybe I had done in the past,” said Murray. “It was my first time in a Wimbledon final. I’d never been there before. I’m still improving, still playing better tennis, which is all I can do.”
After such a painful defeat, a mentally drained Murray plans to take time off before beginning his preparations for the Olympics and the US Open.
“There’s no point in going on the court until my mind is right and I’m ready to go out there and work hard. I’ll wait and see how my body recovers over the next few days but I won’t be on court next week that’s for sure.”
Azarenka reclaims top spot
Meanwhile, Belarussian Victoria Azarenka returned to the world number one spot in the latest rankings released yesterday thanks to Serena Williams’ victory over Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska in the Wimbledon final.
Radwanska needed to win Saturday’s final to take the world number one ranking but had to settle for a move up from third to second. Australian Open champion Azarenka reclaimed the ranking that she lost to Maria Sharapova after the Russian’s French Open success last month.
Roger Federer
“You’re always going to go through ups and downs. But I knew how close I was for the last few years, and some people didn’t quite see that.”
Andy Murray
“It was my first time in a Wimbledon final. I’d never been there before. I’m still improving, still playing better tennis, which is all I can do.”
Published in The Express Tribune, July 10th, 2012.