MELBOURNE: After two decades of high-intensity tennis, non-stop travel, and the commitments that come with being a sporting superstar, Roger Federer is still loving what he does.
The 36-year-old Swiss, who is gunning for a 20th Grand Slam title at the Australian Open, admitted Sunday he was enjoying it as much as ever, if not more.
This is despite saying the lead-up to the opening major of the year had been “intense” with feverish interest from sponsors and media in one of the world’s most marketable athletes.
On top of this, he said the off-season for him was now tougher than playing tournaments so he can get his body in good enough shape to stay at the level needed to be one of the top players in the world.
But he wouldn’t have it any other way as he enters the final years of a glittering career.
“I’ve always enjoyed it, you know. Do I enjoy it more now? It’s unfair if I say yes, because I felt like I loved the time when I was coming up and playing my heroes from TV,” he said.
“I mean, that was extremely cool. It was like a little boy in the candy store back in the day.
“When I was number one in the world, winning all these tournaments, that was a lot of fun, too. That was OK.”
He seems to be getting more out of it now than ever before, traveling with four children — two sets of twins — in tow and conscious perhaps that it will not go on forever.
“Now it’s different,” he admitted on the eve of his 72nd Grand Slam. “Now I have a big family. I have a lot of friends that travel the world with me.
“I get to see familiar faces again at all these events because I’ve made so many friends over the course of my career. I’m so happy to come back to Melbourne, see all my friends that live here in Melbourne.
“It just seems that it’s nice that it’s never actually gone away, the fun aspect of actually enjoying the travel, coming back to Australia.
“Yeah, it’s great times in my life and in my career that we can make it all work, that I can still play tennis. My wife (Mirka) is incredibly supportive.”
He added: “It’s definitely great times. Is it the best ever? I’m not sure, but it’s definitely a lot of fun right now.”
Fun-loving Roger Federer having a ball at 36
Fun-loving Roger Federer having a ball at 36
Rajkovic excels as Al-Ittihad cruise to victory against Al-Shabab
- Al-Ittihad secure fifth Saudi Pro League win of the season with a 2-0 victory
JEDDAH: It has not been the start to the season that Al-Ittihad fans had anticipated. Nevertheless, on their return to Saudi Pro League action after a 36-day hiatus, the defending champions delivered a performance that offered renewed confidence ahead of a demanding run of seven matches in the space of 30 days.
The opening exchanges proved far from straightforward for The Tigers.
Attempting to play out from the back, they were punished within the first two minutes as Abdullah Matuq pounced on a mistake to find himself one-on-one with Predrag Rajkovic, only for the Serbian goalkeeper to produce the first of several crucial saves. Just 60 seconds later, Rajkovic was called into action again, this time denying a header from a corner.
Momentum soon shifted. Roger Fernandes began to cause problems down the left wing, his quick footwork getting the better of Al-Shabab’s defence before he delivered a low cross into the box. Ahmed Al-Ghamdi, aided by Karim Benzema’s intelligent screening of Saad Balobaid, met it to open the scoring in the 16th minute.
Al-Ittihad came close to doubling their advantage in the 28th minute. Mohannad Al-Shangeeti struck the far post with a powerful effort, before his follow-up attempt narrowly missed the target, drifting wide of Marcelo Grohe’s goal.
Grohe was later called upon to keep Al-Shabab in the contest, producing a fine save in the 58th minute to deny Benzema after the Frenchman was released by a perfectly weighted pass from Steven Bergwijn.
Al-Ittihad continued to dominate possession, though Imanol Alguacil’s side managed to limit Fernandes’ influence by committing extra defensive cover on the left flank.
That adjustment failed to account for Al-Shangeeti’s runs from deep, as he surged down the right to find Bergwijn, who finished first time to seal the contest for the hosts in the 85th minute.
Late substitute Abdulaziz Al-Bishi thought he had added a third in the closing stages, but his effort was ruled out for offside.
The win lifts Al-Ittihad into sixth place on 17 points, while Al-Shabab remain just two points above the relegation zone, extending their winless run to eight matches since their Matchday 2 victory over Al-Hazem.
