Roger Federer once admitted he had a ‘problem’ in juniors which he quickly got rid of once he turned professional

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Roger Federer is no longer an active player on the ATP Tour, but still has a large influence on the current tennis landscape.

Federer retired at the Laver Cup two years ago, playing his final match in doubles alongside Rafael Nadal.

The Swiss won 20 Grand Slam titles in his decorated career, but Federer has labelled Nadal as his toughest opponent.

When speaking about Nadal he particularly mentioned the Spaniard’s dominance on clay, with Federer only able to win one Roland Garros title, despite reaching five finals.

Another of Federer’s great rivals was Andre Agassi, that included playing each other in the 2005 US Open final that the former won.

Roger Federer explains the problem that he had in juniors that he got rid of

While Federer is one of the more popular players amongst fans, he had to develop a ruthless nature that enabled him to win 103 career titles.

Following from Agassi’s straight sets first round win at the 2005 US Open, Federer followed up with an even more dominant performance against Ivo Minar and lost just three games.

Agassi had admitted that he did not feel sorry for his opponent when winning so convincingly, so this question was also brought to Federer who explained that his perspective had changed over time.

“No, I don’t. I used to. That was a problem for me,” said Federer. “Like I had the feeling the guy deserves it more than I do. That’s a horrible feeling to have inside. Especially when I was playing juniors or coming on tour. No, that feeling is definitely gone. That’s good.

He added, “I don’t know. Because I had the feeling maybe they were practicing harder than I was. I was lucky enough to be in Switzerland, you know how it is. Couldn’t get over it sometimes.”

Federer was subsequently asked in his press conference about how he lost that feeling of guilt when transitioning from junior to senior tennis.

“Well, it’s just the fire to win, always wanting to be the best,” explained the then 24-year-old. “I think once you get that going, then you realize, you know, if you lose or win, you can still chat after the match. But then when I would lose matches, I would feel I think three times worse than when the guy was losing.

“I just realized that’s not the point either. I wanted to enjoy it, win or lose, out on the court. It’s not some kind of war or anything. We’re having fun out there in the end. I like the challenge. When the match is over, you know, life goes on.”

Roger Federer’s quickest matches in history

Federer’s learnt ruthlessness has provided him with some incredibly brief victories over the years, including two wins under 40 minutes.

One of these wins for Federer came against Alexander Zverev’s brother, Mischa Zverev, winning on the grass of Stuttgart in just 39 minutes and without losing a game.

Two years later, Federer was also able to win in that exact timeframe against James Duckworth in Brisbane.

Federer is often associated with Wimbledon, as a record eight-time title holder, and he produced some pretty speedy feats at SW19 too.

This includes a 16-minute game against Adrian Mannarino in 2018, but Federer’s fastest match at Wimbledon came in the second round of the 2004 tournament.

Playing against Colombian qualifier Alejandro Falla, Federer raced to a 54 minute victory en route to eventually winning the title.

Ironically, six years later Federer found himself on the brink of losing to that same player, having to come from two sets to love down to beat Falla on Centre Court.