Resurgent Federer excited by prospects for 2012

Roger Federer says he is “very excited” about his prospects for next year after finishing 2011 riding a wave of optimism and with the mental scars of some painful defeats apparently healed.

The Swiss won his last grand slam title at the 2010 Australian Open and was overshadowed by Novak Djokovic, Rafa Nadal and to a lesser degree Andy Murray this year but after winning a record sixth ATP World Tour Finals title on Sunday, he looks primed for a new assault on major silverware.

Despite being the elder statesman of the “Big Four” at 30, Federer ended 2011 on a roll. He was unbeaten since the U.S. Open, claimed a hat-trick of indoor titles and stretched his winning streak to 17 matches.

His resurgence, he said, comes after having a long, hard look at himself in the wake of a series of shattering defeats.

He blew a big first-set lead in the French Open final against Nadal, squandered a two-set advantage against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the Wimbledon quarter-finals and then snatched defeat from the jaws of victory against Djokovic in the U.S. Open semi-finals.

“I think it was a mental thing,” Federer told reporters after fending off a Tsonga fightback to end the season on a high in London on Sunday. “Sometimes it’s about the other player. “Jo played better than me at Wimbledon. Maybe not much, but enough just to come through. Same as Rafa at the French Open in the finals, Novak in the semis of the U.S. Open.”

“It’s fine to respect that. But I feel when it happens maybe that often, I do have to question myself that maybe I did something wrong.”

“For me it was important to step back and sort of have that bird’s eye view from up top and say, ‘where am I right now in my year? It’s been a good year. I know I’ve been playing well, I’ve been healthy. When is all this hard work going to pay off?’

“I think I’m mentally good right now. There are a lot of times that goes by out on tour, during a match, you’re just trying to stay positive, but you can’t always be positive.”

“It’s just too difficult. That’s where maybe the doubts were just a bit too strong during certain important moments. I think I didn’t have those doubts now for the remainder of the season, which is what I wanted to get out of my system.”

During his two-year grand slam drought, Federer’s impending slide has been widely predicted.

Yet with a new season looming the doom-mongers may soon be eating their words.

GOLD MEDAL

After reversing a downward trend in the world rankings by reclaiming his place in the top three, it is not inconceivable that Federer could reclaim the No.1 ranking again in 2012. It is the prospect of adding to his record 16 grand slam titles and an Olympic gold medal in London, not ranking points, which motivates the Swiss though.

“This was the strongest finish I’ve ever had in my career, which I’m very proud of,” he said. “I’m looking forward to next year. I’m really excited.”

“To win grand slams would be nice (next year). I’ve missed out on a few occasions now this year, and maybe also some last year. So I feel like it might be around the corner. Maybe not. But I think the prospects are good.”

While Nadal revealed a dip in “passion” at the end of a long season, Murray was injured and Djokovic looked jaded after his romp through the first three quarters of 2011, all three will be firing on all cylinders again in a month, Federer said.

However, Federer is ready to go toe-to-toe with them for the forseeable future with his hunger to improve and meet the challenges undiminished.

“I love this game more than anybody, so I’m not all of a sudden going to wake up in the morning and say I don’t like it anymore,” he said.

Worryingly for his rivals, he thinks he can still get better.

“It’s interesting how you evolve as a tennis player. For me it’s only logical to improve,” he said. “I have been amazed how long I’ve been able to keep it up. But I’m happy my level is still very high and my body’s holding up.”

Date: 28.11.2011, Source: Reuters

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Federer wins record 6th title at World Tour Finals

Roger Federer has become the first player to win six titles at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. The fourth-seeded Swiss won his 70th tour-level trophy in his 100th final on Sunday after he defeated sixth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France 6-3, 6-7(6), 6-3, in two hours and 19 minutes, to become the oldest titlist at the year-end championship.

The 30-year-old Federer, who won all five matches he played this week, at The O2 in London, picked up a cheque for $1,630,000 and 1,500 South African Airways ATP Rankings points. He was also year-end champion in 2003-04, 2006-07 and 2010. The victory also tied Federer with Ivan Lendl's wins record at the tournament. Lendl compiled a 39-10 mark, with five titles, while Federer is now 39-7.

It was Federer's third straight indoor trophy, after title runs at the Swiss Indoors Basel (d. Nishikori) and the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris (d. Tsonga) two weeks ago. He also beat Tsonga last Sunday in Group B round-robin play and finishes the year unbeaten indoors with a 16-0 mark.

Federer, who had won the first set in his six previous year-end finals, turned up the heat on Tsonga at 4-3, when he hit three straight backhand winners to give his French opponent a headache at 0/40. Federer, who had looked second-best for much of the first set, broke serve and ultimately clinched the set in 35 minutes, despite the best efforts of Tsonga to break.

On Federer's first set point at advantage, Tsonga drew Federer to the net before ripping a backhand winner down the line. Federer then hit a forehand approach winner and on his second set point chance, Tsonga made a backhand error under pressure. Federer hit nine winners to Tsonga's 12, but took his chance in the eighth game. Tsonga, lost just five points on serve and his 12 winners, but came out second best.

Tsonga almost buckled under the pressure at 1-1 in the second set, after he hit two double faults, but he managed to salvage the game from 15/40. Two games later, however, Federer set up one more break point opportunity. Taking advantage of a second serve at 30/40, Federer ran around his backhand to lash a forehand winner downthe line for a 3-2 lead.

Federer served for the title at 5-4, but a lapse in concentration saw him face three break points at 0/40. He saved two when Tsonga hit a backhand return long and a forehand into the net, but he could not win the third as Tsonga attacked the net off a forehand to strike a smash winner. In the next game, Tsonga saved one break with with a powerful forehand approach, which Federer could not scramble back. The set was decided on a tie-break.

Federer took a 4-2 lead in the tie-break courtesy of a forehand volley, after both players made edgey starts. He then hit a drive volley winner for a three-point cushion. But Tsonga came back by winning three straight points, until Federer's sixth ace of the match took him to his first match point chance at 6-5. Tsonga kept his nerve and fired a mid-court forehand for a winner, then hit an unreturned serve for his first set point opportunity at 7-6. Tsgona jumped all over Federer's second serve, hammering a forehand return to the Swiss' feet. Tsonga hit 18 winners in the set and won 10 of his 15 net points.

The quality of tennis in the deciding set improved with every game. Tsonga came through hold for 3-3, with his never-say-die brand of tennis, when he hit three forehand winners, while Federer continued to clinch routine service holds.

The presure, of serving second in the set, looked to weight heavily on Tsonga's shoulders at 3-4. He fought back from 0/30 with three straight points, but then committed two forehand errors to gift Federer a break point opportunity. Tsonga saved it by following a forehand to the net and hitting a volley winner. Two points later, facing break point again, he came to the net and executed a perfect back cross-court angle that left Federer motionless. Federer made it third time lucky for a 5-3 lead, when Tsonga over-balanced while running for a forehand that he hit wide.

Federer closed out his 64th match win of the season (64-12 overall) with a hold to love, finishing with a forehand volley winner, and leapt in the air in celebration. He has a 6-1 record in year-end finals, losing only to David Nalbandian in the 2005 title match.

“I couldn’t be more happy and I couldn’t be more exhausted because Jo sucked all the last energy out of me today,” Federer said on court after sealing the $1.63 million jackpot for going through the tournament undefeated.

"For me, it was the strongest finish I’ve ever had in my career, which I’m very proud of. I’m looking forward to next year. So I’m really excited." said Federer.

The final was watched by the Mayor of London Boris Johnson and Real Madrid footballer Cristiano Ronaldo, among other well known names, in a capacity 17,500-strong crowd.

Date: 27.11.2011

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Federer beats Ferrer to reach 100th final, Aims for 6th year-end title

Roger Federer reached the 100th tour-level final of his career to guarantee he will finish in the Top 3 of the year-end South African Airways ATP Rankings for a ninth straight season.

Third seed Federer beat fifth-seeded Spaniard David Ferrer 7-5, 6-3 at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals for a place in his seventh year-end championship final. It was Federer's 806th win, which draws him level with his childhood idol, Stefan Edberg, at No. 6 overall for most match wins in the Open Era (since 1968).

"I thought it was a tough match," said Federer. "I could clearly see why David beat Murray and Djokovic here - he takes the ball really early, is able to generate great angles off his plays and is super consistent. Obviously, it was a key 5-4 game for me to hold and then break the next game. Then, actually, break again early on in the second set. That was a crucial sort of 15-20 minutes for me. I'm happy I was able to decide the match right there."

The five-time champion will now look to lift his 70th trophy (69-30) against either No. 6 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga or seventh seed Tomas Berdych in Sunday's final. Federer has a 15-0 indoor record this year and is looking to lift his third straight indoor title.

"It's obviously a special occasion for me tomorrow playing my hundredth final, possibly winning my 70th title and winning my sixth at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals," said Federer. "That would be a record."

Federer sensed blood when Ferrer hit two double faults at 2-2 in the first set, but the speedy Spaniard worked his way back into the game, until he handed Federer a break point opportunity with a mis-timed forehand. Ferrer attacked the net, rushing Federer into a backhand error. Federer survived an eight-minute, five-deuce, service game for 5-5, before he raised his game to create two break point chances on Ferrer's serve.

Ferrer saved one as a Federer return went long, but dragged a forehand wide one point later. Federer, who committed 19 unforced errors in the first set, was not at his best, but he managed to clinch the 50-minute set with a hold to love. He won 19 of his 25 first service points and nine of his 10 net points. Ferrer committed 11 unforced errors.

Right at the start of the second set, Ferrer's forehand mis-fired to give Federer a break point opportunity at 30/40, which the Swiss took with a powerful forehand return winner. He won his fourth straight game with a hold to love, ending with a forehand winner down the line. At 2-3, Ferrer was lured to the net at 15/30, only to mis-hit a forehand. It handed Federer two break point chances, but the 16-time major champion hit two groundstroke errors.

Federer got to match point, following a net cord winner, on Ferrer's serve at 3-5, 30/30. He squandered the opportunity with an overcooked forehand, but converted his second match point opportunity two points later when Ferrer could not return a forehand for victory in 86 minutes.

Federer hit 24 winners and did not commit a single unforced error on his backhand. He dropped one point on serve in the second set to improve to 12-0 lifetime and to 25-3 in sets against Ferrer, who finished runner-up to the Swiss in the title-match four year ago, when the tournament was played in Shanghai.

"I've maybe had some easier matches against him," admitted Federer. "But lately, they've all been very tough, very physical. He's improved a lot. He's really cemented himself into the Top 10, now even into the Top 5. I expect him to have another very solid and good season if things fall in place for him. He's one of the best returners we have in the game. He's got great mental toughness. He's extremely fit."

Federer, who has a 38-7 overall record at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, is looking to win his third straight indoor title after lifting silverware at the Swiss Indoors Basel (d. Nishikori) and the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris (d. Tsonga). He has a 63-12 match record on the season.

Date: 26.11.2011, Source: ATP

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Federer beats Fish, Finishes Group B with perfect record

Roger Federer completed Group B play with a perfect 3-0 record on Thursday after beating eighth seed Mardy Fish 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals.

Federer hit 28 winners and won 10 of his 12 net points to improve to 14-0 indoors this year. Fish committed 32 unforced errors in the pair's eighth meeting (Federer 7-1), which lasted one hour and 49 minutes.

"The first set wasn't as one sided as the score suggested, and the second set he played great," said Federer. "He really started to zone in on many shots. I thought he was able to keep that up in the third set. So I was happy to get the crucial break early in the third and maybe cruise a bit more. I definitely struggled a little bit more today, but I thought that was more due to the circumstances, like you mentioned, and Mardy playing well for most of the match."

Federer could overtake Andy Murray to become year-end No. 3 in the South African Airways 2011 ATP Rankings, if he reached the final at The O2. Federer has a 5-1 record in year-end championship finals, finishing runner-up to David Nalbandian in the 2005 title-match.

Defending champion and five-time titlist Federer, who had already qualified for the semi-finals by virtue of beating his great rival Rafael Nadal on Tuesday, broke Fish's serve in a 14-point second game on his fourth break point opportunity when Fish hit a backhand long. Though Federer was immediately broken back, to 30, Federer raised his game with two more service breaks in the fourth and sixth games. At 5-1, he battled back from 0/40, winning six of seven points to clinch the 32-minute opener.

In the second set, Fish broke Federer to 30 for a 3-1 lead and could have clinched the set 6-2, but failed to convert two break chances in a 12-point game. Fish coolly held to 30, to level the score, when Federer hit a backhand into the net - one of 11 errors in the set. Fish, attacking at every opportunity, struck 16 winners.

A forehand pass from Federer, saw Fish lose his serve to 30, in the second game - a break the Swiss confirmed with a hold to love, ending with two straight aces. Fish saved one break point at 0-3, but Federer's proved too strong as he improved to 62-12 on the season.

The Swiss superstar is now two wins shy of equalling Ivan Lendl's year-end championship 39-10 record. Federer is 37-7 with five titles, won in 2003 (d. Agassi), 2004 (d. Hewitt), 2006 (d. Blake), 2007 (d. Ferrer) and 2010 (d. Nadal).

"I'm happy I was able to win today just because of momentum for the semis in a couple of days. I'm surprised how well it's gone always at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals-level for me because these are maybe almost the toughest and most dangerous matches to play during the year because it's best of three sets, against fellow Top 10 players indoors, where a few shots usually do decide the outcome of the match."

Roger will now play the runner-up from Group A in Saturday's semi-final.

Date: 24.11.2011

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Federer stuns Nadal, Qualifies for SFs

Five time titlist and defending champion Roger Federer qualified for the semi-finals at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals on Tuesday with a 6-3, 6-0 victory over his great rival, second seed Rafael Nadal.

Federer won his first match over Nadal since last year's final at the year-end championship, by hitting 28 winners to four in a 62-minute win. It was their fifth meeting in England. Nadal leads 17-9 in their series.

"It was a great match for me basically from start to finish," said Federer. "I was able to do what I was hoping to do:  dominate from the baseline, play close to the baseline, serve well, take his time away. [It] hasn't always worked.

"I always knew I could beat Rafa. The question is sometimes it was hard to do because he has a big say, as well, in how the matches go. The quicker the court, the more I favour myself.  Maybe Rafa didn't play his very best tonight. But on an indoor court, it all happens very quickly as we saw at the end. For me it was an exciting match to play."

Federer broke Nadal's serve to love for a 4-2 lead and went onto close out the first set in 32 minutes, having hit 12 winners - including nine off the forehand wing - and winning 17 of 21 first service points.

Federer ran through the second set, as Nadal won just nine of 35 total points. The 30-year-old Swiss committed just eight unforced errors and hit seven aces to improve his perfect indoor record to 13-0 in 2011.

It was the third time Federer had won a 6-0 set against Nadal in 26 meetings (also 2006 Wimbledon and 2007 Hamburg). Nadal recorded a 6-0 set over Federer in the 2008 Roland Garros final.

"The score is true, and today he played too good for me," said Nadal. "Just accept that today when you play against Federer and he's playing like this, the only way to stay in the match is have free points with the serve, because for the rest his level was too high in this surface. And I didn't had these free points as usual."

Federer could overtake Andy Murray as year-end No. 3 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings by reaching the final at The O2.

He has a 61-12 match record on the season, highlighted by three ATP World Tour titles at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open in Doha (d. Davydenko), the Swiss Indoors Basel (d. Nishikori) and the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris (d. Tsonga).

Date: 23.11.2011, Source: ATP

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Federer receives two ATP World Tour Awards

Roger Federer was honoured in a special, on-court presentation Monday at The O2, as the winner of the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award and ATPWorldTour.com Fans’ Favourite presented by RICOH in the 2011 ATP World Tour Awards.

The 30-year-old Swiss accepted his two trophies, crafted by Tipperary Crystal, from ATP Executive Chairman & President Adam Helfant and RICOH Europe’s Director of Corporate Communications Javier Diez-Aguirre.

“Many awards now. It’s 22 from the ATP [World Tour Awards] and nine straight Fans’ Favourite,” said Federer. “I can only thank them as many times as I already have, through the TV, through websites and when I see them and sign autographs and speak to them, how friendly they always are with me, and how nice it is to be well-liked, really. It’s nice to have so many fans all around the world.

“And then the Stefan Edberg award is very special to me because he was an idol for me growing up. Sort of being popular like him and being regarded from my fellow peers, and my rivals really at times, as a fair player... This is already my seventh award in the fair play category, so it’s very nice and I’m very proud of those achievements.”



Date: 21.11.2011, Source: ATP

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Federer starts title defence with Tsonga win

Five-time champion Roger Federer began his title defence at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals on Sunday with a 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 victory over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the first round-robin match of Group B at The O2 in London.

Making his 10th straight appearance at the season finale, Federer improved to a 35-7 event record with his sixth win in 10 meetings against Tsonga. Seven days ago, Federer also beat Tsonga in the BNP Paribas Masters final in Paris.

"I thought it was a good first set and even the second set was fine," said Federer. "But he did well to serve bigger and better as the match went on. Once he got the upper hand in the second set, he started to swing more freely and got more dangerous. With me, it was just trying to stay calm, trying to wait for my chance, trying to create chances when he was not serving as well as he did at times.

"It's really hard to get into any sort of rhythm against him from the baseline because he's a very good 1-2 puncher, which he proved over four and a half sets against me at Wimbledon. I think that makes him particularly hard to return sometimes.

"Overall I think I've been trying to do different things this year on my returning, at times a bit more offensive, sometimes a bit more, sort of normal the way I return. But recently I've played well."

Fourth seed Federer swept through the first set in 21 minutes, dropping just three of 19 points on serve. In the 30-minute second set, sixth seed Tsonga lost two points on serve and converted both of his break point opportunities.

The pair's seventh meeting of 2011 went with serve in the deciding set, before Tsonga fell to 0/40 at 4-5. He saved one match point, but Federer was not to be denied as he wrapped up his 60th match win of the season (60-12 overall) in 89 minutes.

Federer is attempting to win his 70th tour-level title this week and third trophy on the bounce after back-to-back wins at the Swiss Indoors Basel (d. Nishikori) and in Paris.

Date: 20.11.2011, Source: ATP

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Federer targets record in London

Roger Federer will aim to finish an off key year on a high note by winning a record sixth title at the ATP World Tour finals which start on Sunday at London’s O2 Arena, a venue more famous for staging the biggest acts in the music business. The world number four, who opens round robin action in the defence of his crown on day one against dangerous Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, is level in the season-ending tournament’s roll of honour with Ivan Lendl and Pete Sampras.

Despite being the oldest player in the eight-man draw, and arriving with his lowest ranking since 2003, few would bet against the Swiss 16-times grand slam champion supplying a show-stopping end to a year dominated by Serbia’s Novak Djokovic.

Now in its third year beside the River Thames, the appeal of the tournament has never been higher with more than 250,000 people set to watch eight days of action at the event often dubbed the “fifth” grand slam. “That’s like the equivalent of 15 back-to-back sold-out Beyonce concerts,” managing director Chris Kermode told Reuters by telephone on Thursday as work continued to turn the O2 into one of the most spectacular venues for tennis in the world.

“We have set the bar every high and we are lucky that we’re hosting the tournament in the golden era for men’s tennis. “Often generations have one star player and a supporting cast but we are blessed with four marquee names in Federer, Rafa Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Ands Murray and then players like Tsonga who is very popular with British fans.

While Federer, like American soul diva Beyonce, just turned 30 and has fallen behind Djokovic, Nadal and Murray in the rankings after a rare year without a major, he is still the biggest draw in the sport.

Successive titles in Basel and Paris in the run-in to London, surprisingly the first time he has won back-to-back tournaments since 2006, proved Federer’s mercurial game and remarkably injury-free body are in good shape as he prepares for his 10th consecutive appearance at the season-ender.

With serious questions over the state of Djokovic’s serving shoulder and Nadal, who is also in Federer’s group along with American debutant Mardy Fish, not enjoying his best year away from his beloved European claycourts, the Swiss is arguably the favourite to claim the title again.

Djokovic, who is a group with Murray, Czech Tomas Berdych and Spain’s David Ferrer, looks to have hit the wall after lifting three of the year’s four grand slam titles and seizing the number one ranking.

Date: 18.11.2011, Source: Reuters

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Roger Federer: The Renaissance Man

Defending Barclays ATP World Tour Finals champion Roger Federer often makes success look easy, embracing and excelling in his roles as player, family man, philanthropist, ambassador and global celebrity.

Earlier this year a major poll was carried out to discover which global celebrities were most respected, admired and trusted. Unsurprisingly, it was Nelson Mandela who topped the list. But guess who was in second place? It wasn’t anyone from politics, culture or business. No, number two on the planet-wide poll carried out by an organisation called the Reputation Institute was none other than Roger Federer.

It’s a lofty accolade, even by this Swiss champion’s standards. Ahead of Bill Gates in third place, Roger was the only sportsperson in the top 15, finishing comfortably ahead of baseball legend Derek Jeter, basketballer LeBron James and football star David Beckham.

One of the rare bits of criticism that tends to come Roger’s way is that he can be a little too concerned with his image. But when you have a halo burning as brightly as his, it’s understandable you would wish to protect and enhance it.

Roger is a global figure in a global sport and, for well-documented reasons, his reputation now stands well ahead that of Tiger Woods, to whom he is now rarely compared. The combination of supreme athletic ability, an astonishing record, worldliness, good deeds, a willingness to show emotion and an easy, metrosexual charm all makes for an irresistible combination.

“When you have a halo burning as brightly as his, it’s understandable you would wish to protect and enhance it”

Roger turned 30 in August and, although he will not hear a word of it, the reality is that he won’t be at the top of the sport forever. There’s no doubting that one reason why the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals has drawn such huge crowds to The O2 is that all self-respecting sports fans want to be able to say that they saw the Swiss master play in the flesh.

And for those who have seen him, what will they remember as his greatest attribute? It could be those technically perfect groundstrokes delivered with a God-given sense of timing. Or maybe the ease with which he glides across the court. In an age when tennis has become such a physically demanding sport, perhaps it is his ability to dominate opponents with such extraordinary regularity over a long period.

Roger made his Grand Slam debut in 1999 at Roland Garros as a then somewhat irascible teenager against Australian Pat Rafter, losing in four sets. As we now know, it was to be the start of an incredible career in the sport’s four major tournaments which, for sheer consistency, may never be matched. Just over five years later he won his second Wimbledon singles title, heralding the start of what, for many observers, is the most remarkable sequence the sport has ever seen.

Amid the mountain of statistics you could apply to Roger, arguably the single most impressive is that between 2004 and Roland Garros of 2009 he reached the semi-finals or further of every Grand Slam. A similar run continues to this day in that he has now made the quarter-finals or further in the last 30 Grand Slams held.

It is all for debate, for there are so many milestones from which you could choose. Another is the fact that he has won the ATP’s year-end championship five times in all, including last year’s victory over Rafael Nadal.

He has also so often made success look so easy, both on and off the court. Many is the time when, in some pressured hothouse around the world, you have seen Roger’s opponent caked in sweat, on his last legs, while the man himself looks to be fresh as a daisy, such is his glorious economy of movement. It is this latter quality which has kept him so consistently out on the tour when rivals’ bodies have succumbed to the physical pressures.

“He appears just as comfortable sitting by the catwalk as he does chatting to impoverished children”

Another crucial factor is that Roger simply loves playing and living on the tour. At the same time he is a man of varied interests who has never been blind to life outside the rectangle of the tennis court.

The son of a Swiss pharmaceuticals manager and South African mother, he has now embarked on raising a family himself, and is the proud parent of twin daughters with wife Mirka, a former professional player herself. Many tennis players have found juggling the ATP World Tour with family life a difficult task, but Roger has embraced it and declared that it has made the whole experience better than ever.

The Federers have always tried to enjoy the places they visit and have made some high-profile friends along the way. Look at Vogue magazine editor Anna Wintour, for example, a regular guest in the player’s box. The 16-time Grand Slam champion enjoys the glamour of the fashion world, yet does not forget the opposite end of human existence, financing schemes to help the poor in Africa through his charitable foundation. It is not unknown for him to travel straight from Milan fashion week to east Africa to personally oversee projects which have benefitted from his organisation. Seamlessly, he appears just as comfortable sitting by the catwalk as he does chatting to impoverished children.

In a similar vein, it is not unusual to see him switching effortlessly from one language to another in interviews. He speaks four tongues fluently.

Roger generally keeps his ferociously competitive instinct well hidden unless it’s on the court, although there is no question that he hates losing, and has a tendency to see each defeat as an injustice. Yet nobody could have achieved what he has done without a burning desire to win. There is no obvious sign of that desire waning. When it inevitably does, however, he has little to fear from the tennis afterlife; probably less than most players. Such are the capabilities of his mind and the range of his interests, it may even appear to him that, when he has more time on his hands, life will only just have begun.

Date: 18.11.2011, Source: ATP DEUCE

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2011 World Tour Finals groupings announced

The ATP World Tour Finals will start this coming Sunday.

Roger, defending champion and five time winner of the tournament, is in Group B together with Rafael Nadal, finalist in 2010, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Roger's last opponent in Paris-Bercy as well as Mardy Fish.

The players competing in Group A are Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, David Ferrer and Tomas Berdych.

Roger will start the round robin match on Sunday afternoon at 2:00 pm against  Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

Date: 15.11.2011

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