Roger Federer always showed an elite level of grace when he was out on a tennis court during his legendary career.
The man who won 20 career Grand Slam titles boasted the most pointless sporting accessory in existence. A sweat band that used to be finely placed around his head was rarely used, given that he often dispatched the opposition without the need for perspiration.
Federer gave the game of tennis so much. He was classy in defeat, kept celebrations to a respectful level after all of his wins and ultimately conducted himself like every model professional does in the world of sport.
It wasn’t always a smooth ride for Federer, however. Unlike some players who burst on the scene and start dominating the ATP Tour and winning titles, the Swiss performer played in 16 Grand Slams before winning his first at Wimbledon in 2003.
Federer took over the mantle of the dominant force on grass from Pete Sampras, but it’s fair to say that when he was starting out, some people weren’t convinced the eight-time SW19 champion had what it took to become a future star.
What Darren Cahill said about Roger Federer when he was 13
Cahill is one of the most reputable coaches who has ever existed in tennis. He’s worked with Andre Agassi, Lleyton Hewitt and Simona Halep, whilst he will call time on his career this year, having worked with Jannik Sinner for a number of years.
As a player, Cahill was a semi-finalist at the US Open and reached a world ranking of number 22, suggesting that he knows what he’s talking about when it comes to the game of tennis.
It would appear that he got something badly wrong about Federer, though. Having attended a training camp in Basle, Cahill admitted that the future legend had some major flaws that he needed to attend to if he was ever going to make it as a professional.
In quotes published in the book, Federer – The Biography by Chris Bowers, Cahill said: “Peter Carter (Federer’s coach at the time) asked me what I thought of the kid.
“I said I thought he was very good, that he looks alright, but I reckon I’ve got someone a little bit better back in South Australia, who I’m working with. That was Lleyton Hewitt.
“Roger struck me as being loose in everything. His forehand was really fast; he mis-hit a lot of balls, especially off the backhand. His footwork was a little bit all over the place, and he was a little bit lazy with his feet.
“He looked like he played a French style of tennis: carefree, big-hitting and extremely loose. You could see he had beautiful hands and good hand-eye, and he tried to make a bit of magic happen on the court, even at that age, but he didn’t hit the ball square all that often.”
How Federer refined his game after Cahill critique
It’s quite remarkable to hear how such an iconic player in the world of tennis started with so many crippling errors creeping into his game at an early age.
Federer bounced back, though, with hard work and sheer determination to become the best. The player’s one-handed backhand became iconic, whilst the whip he used to get on his forehand was mesmerising when in full flight.
It’s fascinating that he called him lazy, too. Federer was hardly renowned as a professional player who didn’t work hard, and clearly it was something that his coaches worked on with him during rigorous practice sessions.
Roger Federer’s record as a junior
It won’t come as a surprise that Federer’s most successful tournament as a junior player was Wimbledon. There, he won both the singles and doubles in 1998, beating Irakli Labadze in the singles and partnering Olivier Rochus to win a second crown that year.
Federer was ranked as the world number one on the junior circuit and also reached the US Open junior final during his career, losing to David Nalbandian in 1998.
The Swiss legend clearly felt that he outgrew the junior tour pretty quickly. Federer still had a year to go on his card when, in 1999, he decided to wave goodbye to that level of tennis and join the main tour instead.
The rest, as they say, is history…
Receive exclusive tennis news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
