Roger Federer, a genius who made tennis look effortless, said that he “tries to be as natural as possible. Every shot is an important shot to me.”
I was watching Federer play, and I came to a conclusion: He was playing to win. His game was like a symphony of musical events, and each move was like a part of a composition. He was doing everything. I was playing to compete.
We are all competitive. It is natural. If a woman is playing a man, it would be normal to compare them. If I am playing tennis with Mike Tyson, and he thinks I can defeat him, then I am not trying to win. I’m just trying to play to compete with him.
When I started to hit my shots, they were hitting balls into the net. That’s what I like about tennis. If I’m hitting a tennis ball into the net, I’m hitting into the net like I’m hitting a tennis ball. It’s like throwing a baseball, and the tennis ball just flies right over. You can throw so many of those balls into the net and not hit the net.
I was a little surprised at how well Federer did at the U.S. Open. He said he came expecting to win and felt good when he did. He also said he was surprised at his opponent’s lack of ability.
I don’t think it’s his first time in the tournament. At his age, it’s natural to have a sense of “I don’t want to lose this tournament.”
When he started to play, the ball kept getting into the net and I thought he was going to lose, but he was winning. He was winning every point. I was happy with that, but it was a relief at the end of the day that I didn’t have to go out there to win.
When he got to the third round, I told him I wanted to know. “What’s next?” he asked. “Are you going to win? Do you think you’re going to win? Do you think you’re going to win in the final?” I asked him what he said. He said, “No. I don’t think so. I’m not going to win. I’m going to make it out of this tournament