Family man Federer won’t follow Blake into quitting
Roger Federer believes becoming a father of twins keeps his love of tennis alive, so much so that retirement still remains way off his radar even if he is 32 and his powers appear to be waning. This time last year, the 17-time Grand Slam title winner was paying fulsome praise to contemporary Andy Roddick, the man he had defeated in three Wimbledon finals, when the American quit.
On Tuesday, he was expressing similar support to another long-time American rival, James Blake, who has also announced his retirement from the sport at the US Open. Blake is just eight months older than Federer, but the Swiss star insists he has no intention in calling a close to his career. ‘Clearly when you win everything, it’s fun.
That doesn’t necessarily mean you love the game more. You just like winning, being on the front page, lifting trophies, doing comfortable press conferences. It’s nice,’ said Federer. ‘But that doesn’t mean you really actually love it. That maybe shines through maybe more in times when you don’t play that well. For me, I knew it, winning or losing, practice court or match court, that I love it.’
His twin girls, Myla Rose and Charlene Riva, have just turned four. When they were born in July 2009, Federer admitted that he wasn’t sure how being a father would impact on his career. But despite now standing at seven in the world -- his lowest ranking for a decade -- Federer intends to keep playing. ‘Clearly when I had my two girls, I wasn’t sure right off the bat how it was going to be after that,’ Federer added on Wednesday.