Everyone said Roger Federer could be the next Sampras in 2001, says Boutter
In an interview to The Telegraph, former world No. 46 Julien Boutter recalled his three-set 2001 Milan loss to Roger Federer. That match marked the first Swiss player's career-title win. After that, Federer won 99 more titles including the latest one at last week's Dubai tournament. "At this time, it was the beginning of Roger", recalled Boutter. "Before that, he was many times pissed [off] on the court. But during this match – it was his third final – he stayed focused. I lost the first set, won the second, and then the umpire made a mistake at the start of the third. It should have been Roger’s turn to serve. During this game, I was thinking, “It’s not my turn!” I lost my serve and after that, no chance to come back.
Everybody was saying “Yeah, he can be the next Sampras." In Roger’s case, it was huge, because even if he was really talented, he made an improvement in his mind. He decides to say nothing on the court and just be focused, have the best attitude. It was a metamorphosis, and after that, it went really fast. He was the next Sampras, but better. In our final, the points went quickly because it was an indoor hardcourt in Milan, a fast surface, and we both liked to come to the net. In those days, he was coming serve-and-volley most of the time on the first serve and once in a while on second. And maybe that’s why it took a bit longer for him to win his first slam than someone like Rafa. Coming to the net is more stressful than staying at the baseline. That’s why the guys who won grand slams when they were really young all play far behind the baseline. Chang, Wilander, Borg, Nadal. It’s easier to say “I run and I put the ball in the court.” It’s much harder to take the ball early, to find the angle and go to the net. That’s why the offensive guys are coming a bit later."
from Tennis World USA http://bit.ly/2EihKBK
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