08/08/2021
Roger 40
My favorite Roger story is the time his father let him know where the bear crossed the river. Tennis parents should know that they cannot always take the role of the teddy bear. Every now and then grizzly bear moments occur and most definitely should.
If you have ever been in a tennis hall in Europe, you know there is a place to have a beer. So the story goes, and by the way, I heard Roger tell this the story. He was a teenager and acting like a spoiled, immature brat on court. He was doing the typical teenage tennis thing; swearing, throwing racquets and acting like a total jerk. His father, Robert, was in a viewing area above the court with a few other parents. He finally yelled to his son and gave young Roger the directive to behave better.
Roger replied, "Why don't you go to the restaurant and have a beer." His father behaved like an orderly Swiss gentleman and walked away. There was no further reprimand to be observed in public.
What happened in the end? When Roger and his father left the tennis club and entered the parking lot and then action was taken. Roger ends this particular story by saying, "My father grabbed me by the neck and put my head in the snowbank."
One has to figure that so many things like this had to happen for Roger Federer to become Roger Federer. He has been a gift to the world. He himself, his parents, his sister, his wife and a host of others need to be thanked for Roger being and becoming Roger.
Steve Smith & Andy Fitzell
GreatBase
TENNIS
