Roger Federer's shock admission: “I was an angry person"
Roger Federer has dominated the tennis world since 2003, but he recently reflected on his bad behaviour in an interview with Tennis World USA.
When the Swiss tennis legend was a teenager, the champion admitted he didn’t have a lot of control over his emotions.
Federer explained:
"I also had my bad times, I struggled with my temper, I was an angry person on the court and very sad once I lost.”
Federer also mentioned that he would ruminate on the mistakes he made whilst he was playing.
“I was more always very sad commentating every point I lost and I was like, 'Okay, play today is terrible.'
“It took me a long time to get really serious and maybe that's the small regret I have, maybe that I did not realise or react earlier but with all the success I have had, I had a very normal and clear path.”
This clear path to tennis success has helped him keep a clear head when it comes to his goals, although the 37-year-old did reflect on how long it took him to break through into the world of tennis.
“It took me more time than other players maybe to breakthrough but once I broke through, everything was in place ... I did not become a superstar overnight so I think that helps me today."
Federer has just recently won his 101st career title as he won the Miami Open over John Isner on April 1.
Without his tennis idols, Federer might not have had the drive to be where he is today.
His two idols were Stefan Edberg when he was growing up and Bjorn Borg later on. This is due to Federer’s coach Peter Lundgren telling stories about Berg.
“I heard so many stories from my coach Peter Lundgren and all these great records and what an influential and great person he was for the game of tennis and this is obviously when I started to admire Bjorn as well and everybody who did such amazing things for tennis.”
Federer maintains that without these two idols, the world of tennis would be very different today.
“I am thankful too because they created the great platform we play in today and I hope I can do something similar for the next generation."
With 101 career titles under his belt, Federer is well on the way to inspiring a new generation of tennis stars.