Wimbledon’s newest star has South African connections
Neal Collins
Somewhere beneath the enveloping Henmania of Brit-biased Wimbledon this week, a star was born. And he holds a South African passport.
Actually, Roger Federer was born on August 8 1981, but in tennis, stardom takes a while to gestate, especially in that exclusive area of London known as SW19 in the last week of June and the first week of July.
Officially listed as Swiss, Federer is half-South African, thanks to his mum Lynette.
For much of the Wimbledon fortnight, the Basle-born teenager was the man to watch. His opening two wins over Belgian opposition went largely unnoticed.
Then he saw off Jonas Bjorkman, the 33rd-ranked Swede, in straight sets to cruise into round four.
But when he beat grand slam record holder Pete Sampras, inflicting the American’s first defeat on the grass of Wimbledon in five years and 31 matches, the rumour mill began to grind furiously.
Forget Andy Roddick and Leyton Hewitt. This was the new Sampras, the new Agassi, the new Borg. His five set win over Pistol Pete, who was chasing a Bjorn Borg-bashing fifth successive singles title, showed a nerveless approach rarely seen in one so young. With the long, flowing locks and unbelievable backhand, was it a case of a star is Bjorn?
Not just yet. On Wednesday, Federer very nearly put paid to great British hope Tim Henman, though experience told in the end and the big-serving grass specialist triumphed amid whoops of patriotic applause and flag-waving all round.
But they were by no means four easy sets for Timbo. Federer appeared completely unfussed, cool in the face of massive vocal opposition. A man set to dominate Wimbledon for years to come.
Fervent tennis watchers will tell you we should have noticed him sooner. In 1998 Federer was junior Wimbledon champion, following in the footsteps of Stefan Edberg, Pat Cash and the great Borg. He won the doubles too and dominated junior tennis the world over.
In 1999, at 18 years and four months, Federer was the youngest player to finish in the top 100. Last year he reached the semifinals at the Olympics in Sydney and conjured his first tournament victory in Milan. South Africans will recall his doubles victory with Martin Hingis over Amanda Coertzer and Wayne Ferreira which put the holders out of the Hopman Cup in Perth last January.
Federer, whose mother Lynette is South African, may have felt a little split on the loyalty front for that one he linked up with Ferreira for the doubles at Wimbledon this year but had to pull out in round three because of his surprising success in the singles.
The South African connection remains strong. Federer lists Durban alongside Miami and Sydney as his favourite holiday destinations and still says: “The ideal day for me is when I can go to the beach, enjoy the weather and just relax all day long.”
His sport away from the tennis courts? “I thought about being a soccer player. But I really enjoyed deep-sea fishing in South Africa with my godfather in December 1999. We were fishing for marlin, but weren’t too successful.”
He owes quite a bit to mum. He adds: “She likes hockey, tennis and volleyball, and I started playing tennis at four. My sister Diana plays too.”
It was his mother who persuaded him to add a South African passport to his Swiss documents in 1999, but he remains firmly Swiss in tennis terms after a couple of epic Davis Cup ties which remain the highlight of his career so far.
Though she works on the administrative side at chemical giant Ciba with her husband Robert (a chemical salesman), Lynette also runs the transport at the Basle indoor tournament every year where Federer first earned money from tennis. As a ball boy.
He spent an unhappy year in the Swiss tennis school as a 14-year-old but recovered from his homesickness, and a period of sustained ill-temper to emerge as a real contender (coach Peter Lundgren persuaded him the racket-throwing didn’t always work).
He admits his worst weakness with disarming frankness: “I get pissed off sometimes. My temper has become better over the years though.”
At 19, the right-hander moved his career earnings over $1-million at Wimbledon. If he keeps the poise he showed over the past fortnight, expect further millions to follow.