Roger Federer tells a funny anecdote about Guga Kuerten

The suspension of the tennis tour due to the Coronavirus emergency has had mixed consequences for Roger Federer. On the one hand it allowed him to recover calmly from the operation on his right knee last February, on the other he will prevent him from going on the assault of the ninth title at Wimbledon and the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics (postponed to next year). The 20-time Grand Slam champion played only one tournament in 2020, the Australian Open, where he almost miraculously reached the semifinal surrendering in three to the future winner Novak Djokovic. The Swiss Maestro went to Cape Town for a charity exhibition with his friend and eternal rival Rafael Nadal. The two raised $ 3.5 million in beauty, as well as setting a new spectator record for a tennis match.

Federer tells a funny anecdote about Guga Kuerten

During a recent conversation with former world number 1 Gustavo Kuerten, Federer revealed their meeting in the Indian Wells round of 16 in 2003. The 38-year-old from Basel said that his coach of the time, namely Peter Lundgren had advised him to practice the backhand response to thwart the Brazilian's serve. Roger recalled that - when the game started - Kuerten directed his first 15 reports on Swiss law. At that point, Federer could not help but look puzzled at his coach. ”I remember a funny story in Indian Wells. Peter Lundgren my coach told me that against Kuerten he’s got this really big serve into the backhand, he serves it really hard and he always goes there. I tell you I think you hit the first 15 serve to my forehand and I looked at Peter and i’m like, you told me backhand! And he’s like “I’m sorry!”” - Roger Federer recalled. Federer is one of the founders, via his management company TEAM8, of the Laver Cup; the annual team tennis tournament which pits Europe against the rest of the world. He co-founded the tournament in honor of tennis legend Rod Laver and the inaugural edition was played in 2017. In 2018, Federer returned to the Australian Open to defend his 2017 title and won his 20th Grand Slam tournament. Rafael Nadal, with his 2019 US Open win, sits one behind Roger. The former World number 1 failed to win a Grand Slam trophy for 4 1/2 years.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/3eOP6rO