Federer keeps his cool
ByReuters
Published 09/09/2006 at 22:09 GMT
Roger Federer was the picture of relaxation on Saturday as he cruised through to the U.S. Open final with a 6-1 7-5 6-4 victory over Russian Nikolay Davydenko. The world number one was rarely pushed as he became the first man in the Open Era to reach six
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The win keeps Federer on course to emulate the achievements of John McEnroe and Ivan Lendl in winning three consecutive U.S. Open titles.
Federer said that learning to control his emotions had been one of the most important factors behind his success.
"It used to be one of my weaknesses really," Federer said. "I just really tried to relax on the court, not try to go through too many emotions because I always felt like I was totally exhausted after each and every match I played.
"Maybe I could win two rounds or so, but I couldn't win an entire tournament playing like this. So for that reason I had to relax a little bit."
Federer said the realisation came in 1999 at a tournament in Marseille.
"I beat (Carlos) Moya, number four in the world - I was number 300," he said.
"I remember I lost in the quarters but I was so exhausted after two matches that I had no hope in the quarters. I was like, I have got to somehow relax a little.
"It took me years after that to finally understand that I had to. It took me to smash a racquet in Hamburg to finally get my act together. Finally I did. I'm happy and it paid off."
Federer said the understanding was a natural result of maturing.
"I think it comes over playing a lot of matches over the years," he said.
"I think the mental part of the game is getting more and more important.
"Whereas before, maybe talent and physical strength was important, but now I think it is the mental part because the margins are so small these days that it makes a huge difference if you have got that edge over an opponent."
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