That attempt to preserve normalcy extends to his family life.

Not like he’s about to go out and beat one of the best players in the world.” “It feels like you’re in a coffee shop hanging out.

“If you wanted to talk to him about anything 10 minutes before his match, you can have a normal conversation,” says Blake. Most athletes turn inward before a big contest, with a Do not disturb sign etched on their face. There’s a generosity of spirit with Roger that anyone would want to emulate.” “There’s a lot to be said for those rare people who you meet that, when you speak to them, nobody else in the room exists. “I’ve been in a lot of rooms and been around a lot of people,” says Agassi. With a win, Nadal would have trimmed Federer’s major championship edge to 17-15, with Nadal’s favorite tournament, the French Open, around the corner.įederer’s fellow players, however, have selected him winner of the tour’s sportsmanship award 12 times since 2004. When the world’s top two players, Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic, were upset early, Federer seized the opening, winning three five-set matches over top-10 players with a combination of grit and guile. “Honestly, I never thought I’d be able win this tournament,” Federer told TIME in a phone interview from his home in his native Switzerland a few days after the final.īut luck, as they say, falls on those in position to receive it.

Federer spent months rehabbing and entered Melbourne ranked 17th, a borderline afterthought–even to himself. A freak knee injury sustained while running a bath for his twin daughters helped end his 2016 season early. Federer had not won a Grand Slam title in nearly five years, since Wimbledon in 2012, and even his diehard fans were starting to wonder if he would ever win another.

Federer age