How Federer's Idol Changed From Becker To Edberg
Many children throughout the world idolise Roger Federer, whether it’s because of his picturesque game, the 102 tour-level titles he has won, or any of his impressive achievements.
But three decades ago, when Federer was growing up, he had a dilemma: should he favour Boris Becker or Stefan Edberg?
“Becker was first my idol until some of my friends said, ‘Why Becker? Edberg is cooler’,” Federer recalled. “Is he? Okay, I'll be Edberg.”
Becker and Edberg formed a memorable FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry, with Becker winning 25 of their 35 meetings. A staggering 16 of their matches (46%) came in tour-level finals.
“It was important. I remember sitting in the living room on the carpet rather than the couch because I was too nervous on the couch, so I moved down,” Federer said of watching his idols compete. “They played against each other here a few times.”
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In fact, Becker and Edberg played in three straight Wimbledon finals from 1988-90. Edberg won two of those three clashes, with the 1990 championship match going to five sets. That was one of the rivalries that motivated Federer as a kid.
“Both [players] were very important for me. Of course, I was joking around also hoping one day I'd be a Wimbledon champion. This was more like how it is, just dreaming about it, not really believing it,” Federer said. “Naturally after they retired, I thought Pete [Sampras] was the guy, the cool guy, the Wimbledon champ and everything. They were big. Yeah, 30 years ago, it's crazy. Can't believe it.”
Federer broke Sampras’ then-record mark of 14 Grand Slam titles a decade ago here at Wimbledon by defeating Andy Roddick in a scintillating five-set final to lift his 15th major trophy. The 37-year-old Swiss is pursuing his 21st Slam crown and his record ninth victory at SW19.
Federer can earn his 100th match win at The Championships by advancing to the semi-finals. The Swiss carries the momentum of a run to the title at the NOVENTI OPEN in Halle, which he earned on the German grass. Additionally, Federer played well during the clay-court season — his first on the surface since 2016 — advancing to the Roland Garros semi-finals.
“So far I'm really happy I played the clay-court season,” Federer said. “I'm happy I was able to adjust again on the grass. I came through Halle, the clay-court season, French Open, without any injuries, feeling good.”
Federer is set to face South African Lloyd Harris, a 2018 Next Gen ATP Finals alternate, in the first round.