'Roger Federer has made mistakes, like recently...', says former Wimbledon champion

The aura of perfection has accompanied Roger Federer for most of his career. However, especially when he was very young, the Swiss had to deal with some temperamental intemperances that threatened to jeopardize his career. The former World number 1, who played only one tournament in 2020, will only return to the court at the beginning of next season after the double operation on his right knee. The 20-time Grand Slam champion has already targeted Wimbledon and the Tokyo Olympics, postponed to 2021 due to the Coronavirus emergency. According to his coach Severin Luthi, next season may not be the last season of his immense career. Meanwhile, former Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli has rejected criticism that Federer enjoys excessive protection from insiders.

Bartoli on Roger Federer

"I don't think we protect Roger Federer every single time," Marion Bartoli said. "He has been able to build this image of the perfect person. Knowing him, he is not far from it but he has made mistakes, like recently he was photographed with somebody without a mask in pictures that came up online. I don't think the treatment is that different for Novak and Roger, and Djokovic will learn from what he has done and the consequences. He will probably try to build a better persona, but to say Roger can do anything and nobody will touch him is taking it too far," she added. Renowned journalist Ben Rothenberg also gave his thoughts on the 'good guy vs bad guy' debate. "I don't know where that (Federer's appeal over Novak Djokovic) comes from," Rothenberg said. "I was at the 2015 US Open final between them and I have never heard a partisan and loud crowd that I heard in favour of Federer. Djokovic won that match but it was the most loud, charged matches I have been at. I don't think it necessarily comes from the media," Rothenberg said. "I think fans have made that personal preference for themselves. Fans have just gravitated to Federer more. Roger deserves a lot of credit for that," he continued. "For building this brand and a persona that has appealed to people. It's not effortless, he has worked very hard for that. Novak Djokovic too is not a very unpopular person. It is just hard to compare yourself to Roger Federer, who is probably the most loved tennis champion of all time," Rothenberg concluded.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2PNTq05