Roger Federer Doesn’t Care Anymore
Roger Federer Doesn’t Care Anymore
Roger Federer’s tantrum at the Sony Ericsson Open has left me aghast. In case you missed it, the Swiss Mister smashed his racquet while losing to Novak Djokovic during the men’s semifinal of the Sony Ericsson Open on April 3, 2009.
Granted, had Federer simply lost instead of acting like a child, I’d be well over it, but I gotta get this off my chest…. On March 25, the ATP announced the recipients of their “awards” prior to the start of the Open. For the fifth consecutive year, Roger Federer won the ATP World Tour’s Stefan Edberg sportsmanship award.
Other-more appropriate awards included our Spanish delicacy, top-ranked Rafael Nadal chosen as player of the year, while James Blake nabbed the Arthur Ashe humanitarian of the year award for his charitable efforts. (More on that in another post.)
Interesting, no? Ten days after receiving his fifth “sportsmanship” award, Federer decides to throw a tantrum because he was outplayed? This would be like James Blake going out and kicking a homeless person after winning his humanitarian award. Come on ATP, can we please stop kissing R-Fed’s Nike laced ass.
“It is great to receive two more awards,” Federer said. “It is always important for me to be a good sportsman on the court and give the right example for others to follow and hopefully inspire the next generation. It also means the world to me to be the fans’ favorite player for the sixth year in a row.”
What is it, arrogance? A cultural difference? A sense of entitlement? I’m confused. Sure, I’ve met R-Fed before, and yes, he was sweet as a button- there’s an undeniable charm to R-Fed. He is a ‘nice guy. But a sportsman award? I think not.
How did he win this? Why did he win this? Because he wears blazers, he’s automatically a ‘gentleman’? Classy sportsmen don’t smash their rackets like a two-year-old having a tantrum because the “wind” carried his ball out-a-bounds. And let’s please remember his loss to Rafael Nadal at the Australian Open earlier this year. Instead of graciously stepping aside and allowing Rafa to enjoy his spoils, Federer broke down in tears and hijacked Rafa’s moment. Sportsman-like conduct? Not in my book.
And I bet anyone it’s just a matter of time before the ‘baby’ is blamed for his lackluster performances. Federer excitedly announced his news last month: “It’s not going to really disturb my mindset on tennis a whole lot.” Really? You can’t even play in the wind Roger, what kind of distraction is a courtside Mirka and mini-me going to cause?
The hypocrisy that is Roger Federer even comes via his words: “Thank God the hardcourt season is over,” he said. “It’s the end of the hardcourt season. I don’t care anymore. I’m moving over to clay, a new chapter.” Um, new chapter? You mean playing on your least favorite surface-red dirt? The one on which you have been the least successful? Good luck Roger, we’ll be seeing ya in ‘He Lost It Hall of Fame.’
As always, thanks for reading. Delinda@athlebrities.com
I think this is literally the most ignorant piece of writing that I’ve ever read about Roger! Now, let me clear it up that I was FURIOUS when Roger broke his racquet because it ended a long streak of gentlemanly behavior on the court, and it was especially humiliating after he won the award, but holy shit, you cannot look at that one time that he snapped and IGNORE the fact that he was extremely sportsmanlike for the last five years—a perfect record. He deserved to win that award. It’s just unfortunate that he fucked up immediately after doing so. But seriously, kissing his “Nike laced ass”? He’s a great player and a great sportsman so that was just an inappropriate comment. I agree that in some ways he is privileged too much, but they didn’t give him that award because he was Roger Federer. He didn’t have a scuff mark on his record the last five years (or more!) up until that point. Have you watched American boy Andy Roddick play? He breaks his racquet all the time! He just broke it in Cincinnati a week ago! Just because Roger isn’t perfect doesn’t mean he isn’t the best sport on the court. However, in actuality, I think Roger should have received runner-up because I think Rafael Nadal is the kindest, most polite athlete there is, but people voted and Roger won this time. Rafa will win next year. Secondly, Roger crying at the Australian Open was not some plot on his part to steal Rafa’s thunder. I don’t know if he was relieved the match was over, intensely depressed that he couldn’t match Sampras’ record (he was so close!), frustrated that he once again could not outplay his nemesis and friend, the Spanish bull Rafa, but you took what happened and turned it 180 degrees. He had tears running down his cheeks. He wasn’t sobbing or pitching a fit or doubled over in sadness and pain. He was sitting there, he had tears in his eyes, they fell down his cheeks, but he gave, once again, an amazing speech boasting his kindness and great sportsmanship. And did you fail to recognize that he and Rafa are friends? He’s not angry that Rafa won it. But he’s allowed to feel emotion. He’s not a Swiss robot. And if you ever write an article about Roger Federer again, maybe you should do some research. I haven’t missed a match in the last five years of either Roger or Rafa. But what annoys me the most is this: “The hypocrisy that is Roger Federer even comes via his words: “Thank God the hardcourt season is over,” he said. “It’s the end of the hardcourt season. I don’t care anymore. I’m moving over to clay, a new chapter.” Um, new chapter? You mean playing on your least favorite surface-red dirt? The one on which you have been the least successful? Good luck Roger, we’ll be seeing ya in ‘He Lost It Hall of Fame.’” Okay, yes, Roger has not aced clay in the past. He’s still one of the top three players on clay in the world! And he’s allowed to forget about his poor season on hardcourt and embrace a change. Did he not WIN the French Open that year for the first time? Yes, he did. Roger is no hypocrite. He proved to be the best player on clay that year.