What I love about Roger Federer

Written by: Staff on 13th December 2011

BNP Paribas 2011 Masters Tennis Tournament

What I love about Roger Federer

YEARENDER 2011 NOVEMBER
Roger Federer of Switzerland returns the ball to Tomas Berdych of Czech Republic during their semi final match at the BNP Paribas 2011 Masters Tennis tournament in Paris, France, 12 November 2011. EPA/HORACIO VILLALOBOS |

by: Irene

There is something about watching Roger play tennis that makes me happy and excited. I think it’s the way he moves– his footwork, his style, his serve, his manners and the way he makes tennis seem so effortless, smooth, and easy.

I love it when they show a fantastic shot Roger made in slow motion because we can really see how he approaches a shot and how he engages his body to either attack or defend the points and how he moves his feet to get to that ball to hit a winner and his thought processes along the way.

His service motion is not the most powerful of the players but it is seamless, accurate and pretty to watch. His opponents have to guess where the balls will land since he doesn’t give them any clues ahead of time. At the World Tennis Finals in London this year, Jimmy Arias said Roger is pretty to watch even when he makes a mistake. I totally agree.

Roger seems to glide on court and as some commentators have said, he seems to float above the court. I enjoy seeing him serve and then immediately cause his opponents to run from side to side until they give up in despair and lose the point. It’s almost as though he’s playing chess with them on court and he’s always trying a figure out a way to win a point, sometimes from impossible angles. In London this year, he made Nadal look lost and Tsonga feel frustrated. It was a fantastic feeling for me to see Roger outshine them after losses to them earlier in the year.

Watching Roger speak to interviewers after matches, in English, French, and Swiss German is always informative and entertaining. He is such a good communicator and has almost total recall of the details of his career. He loves the history of tennis, and is the best ambassador for the game. Even his advertisements are fun and entertaining to watch during the tournaments.

Finally, I like the fact that he’s not afraid to show his emotions, and laughs and cries freely in front of people. He is passionate about tennis and has brought so much excitement to the game as well as so much joy and inspiration to his fans. It’s become a delightful ritual for me to watch Roger play the last 4 years and I hope to watch him win gold at the Olympic Games in London next year and beyond.