I did not expect Roger Federer to win so much, says Philippoussis
Speaking on Amazon Prime the Australian former player Mark Philippoussis praised Roger Federer's longevity. Philippoussis lost to Federer in the 2003 Wimbledon final against the Basel native, which marked his maiden Grand Slam title.
Philippoussis said: "I think we all knew he had Grand Slams in him and to be number one in the world. But did we think he’s going to win 20 Grand Slams and to still be around at 37, in contention for Grand Slams? It is unbelievable. If you said that to me, I would have said there is no way in the world. Back when we were playing, [Pete] Sampras had 14 Grand Slams and we thought that is not going to be beaten for a long time. Not only has that been beaten, but it’s also been beaten three times. Federer’s got 20, Rafa has 18, Djokovic on 15. Nadal could pass Federer and then you’re thinking Djokovic could pass both of them if he is still winning two or three Grand Slams a year. I never thought Federer would be the champion he is but I’m incredibly grateful to have had the opportunity to play against him. Unfortunately, it was against me in the first one. I would have loved to have gotten one if I knew he was going to have another 19."
On the final loss to Federer in the All England Club, Philippoussis concluded: "He definitely played better than me on the day. The first tiebreak was huge to get the momentum going. At 4-3, I missed a forehand and double-faulted and that cost me. Whoever won that first set was going to go on a roll and that's what happened."
from Tennis World USA http://bit.ly/31Pa04f
Post Comment
No comments