Roger and Me - by Thomas Fabbiano

N

nikdom

Guest
Roger and Me

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I knew Federer would win the Australian Open. Even before you see the board, even before you guess the conditions of Nole, Stan and Rafa. Even before knowing where Dimitrov and Del Potro, Kyrgios and Goffin had ended up. Before we even cross Sascha Zverev and think that the boiserie is beautiful, for heaven's sake. But that Roger is Roger. And the others ... okay. I knew Federer would conquer his twentieth Slam in Melbourne. But I took a moment to understand why. Indeed, to see why. The truth revealed it rained between head and neck two weeks before that match against Cilic who photographed once and for all his role among the immortals. And not just for this sport. It was Sunday, January 14, at noon and surroundings. While on the secondary courts my former teammates rowed in the sun for a spot in the main draw - which I had won early with a good 2017 - we were on the Rod Laver Arena.

Me and Federer. Roger and me, to put it to Michael Moore . An empty stage all for us. The green seats. The huge out. The open roof. The soles squeak on the surface. Fabio next to me. Next to him are Luthi, Ljubicic and Paganini. A handful of photographers and journalists allowed to peek into action for about ten minutes and then away. Again alone on the plexicushion. In that system of 14 thousand places where he was at home and at home he felt. Master of space, physically in shooting, technically relaxed, with a thousand concentration. Yet amused. Here, at that precise moment I thought:

"Roger is walking on clouds because he feels too superior to others. I do not see who can stop it ".

And indeed nobody stopped him. Neither the reverse of Gasquet , nor the set point of Berdych , nor the fourth set of Cilic . Neither the identity card. Nor is the fear of not having opponents outside of himself. I knew that Federer would win.



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(Photo by Quinn Rooney / Getty Images)

DATING IN DUBAI
The road to success in Australia actually started in Dubai in December. And there I was there too. When I landed in the Emirates I had informed of my presence Ljubicic , letting him know that I was in the area and that if he needed me for a workout I would be available. In an excess of sincerity I think I wrote to him that I would be happy to train with Roger. Ivan's answer came to me on the afternoon of Saturday 16th.

The Federer coach had asked me if I would be enlisted the next day. I was. But even if I had not been, I would have found a solution to divide the field with what for many is a mysterious object, for others a cult object, for almost all GOAT . A unique opportunity. Which then became two. Three. Four. One better than the other. Only if they had asked me at that moment I would not have been so sure that the Norman Brookes cup would have been hers for the sixth time.

I do not know why Ljubo contacted me. I like to think that I have understood that in training I do everything I need to prepare myself better but at the same time I work hard to make sure that my neighbor too gets the most out of it. I do not know if he has chosen me for my ranking, for my technical characteristics, for my dedication to work or the way I'm on the field - giving everything in every single shot.

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But maybe the truth is another. I only know that that early afternoon in Dubai I arrived well in advance and that I was tense as on the first date. But certainly after that early afternoon in Dubai he and his team must have thought that they can count on me with their eyes closed. To my credit, Federer had been inactive for a month and a half, and that engine in the running- in phase helped me break the ice. One thing is to deal with a demigod, another is to dribble with a mortal good or bad to your height. Palleggiare, then.

We actually played at least 11 sets . And almost always it was a long set decided at the tie-break. In short, in Dubai with Roger I played it on equal terms for four times. Because after that first training session on Sunday, December 17th, Ljubo contacted me on the 19th, asking for availability for the following day. That time I had an appointment with Marius Copil, but I asked him to turn a blind eye and he understood. Before I made sure that Ivan wanted me to play with Federer and not with Auger-Aliassime, who in those days trained with them. The confirmation came immediately: on December 20th I would have trained again with the winner of 19 Majors. And also on 21 and 22.



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RUGGERO ITALIAN

Four days on a tennis court is enough to understand a player, not a man. Yet what I saw was enough for me to form an opinion on Roger , as he called himself every time he made a mistake not from him. "Ruggero! Ruggero! But why did you miss this shot! "He said in Italian. And it was not the only Italianata I attended. He and Ivan often speak in our language and I had the distinct feeling that Federer knew enough to support a whole conversation in Italian.

When the dampener flew from the stringbed and we had to stop to pick it up, he first asked me how to say it in Italian and then he had a big laugh when he found out that we call it anti-vibration. Who had baptized frigidaire has changed his mind since that day, because Federer is not only willing to laugh. He is one with a contagious laugh.
During the field changes he asked me how much I knew Dubai and if I had some favorite Italian restaurants.

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He asked me about the personal and professional reasons that led me to train there in winter, looking for easy fields and a better temperature than Foligno . Federer explained to me that Dubai adores the anonymous and stress-free lifestyle beyond - of course - the climate, the geographical location and the fast surfaces that make it an ideal bridgehead in view of the summer down under. For this reason, for some years he has chosen it as a destination for himself and his family. Between a chat and the other, Ruggero also gave me some advice on how to manage back problems that he suffered in the past.

I can not say that in Dubai , in those four afternoons together on a tennis court, a friendship was born or something comparable to a knowledge. I kept my distance, I took what Federer gave me without demanding forms of intimacy or asking for anything else.

I know that he already has many commitments, which in addition to tennis has a very intense family life and is divided into a thousand other activities, so I have not gone further. I have not even taken a selfie. And I had a lot of hesitation in sharing this experience with the world. Hardly I made public a couple of photos taken with Djokovic after that triptych of training at Christmas, always in Dubai. Then, when in Melbourne it happened again, I felt it was time to empty the bag.



CONTINUED...



http://thomasfabbiano.it/roger-and-me/
 
N

nikdom

Guest
PART 2...

BILLING ICE, LIVING PLAYSTATION

Thursday, January 12, 2018, in fact, Ivan Ljubicic has made himself alive again. So Federer and I traveled the psychedelic blue tunnel under the Rod Laver Arena and shortly after midday we met for the fifth time together. However, compared to Dubai, everything had changed. To begin with, Ruggero sat next to me. Perhaps because when we entered the stadium the other bench was still occupied by those who used the ground before us. Or maybe he chose this way to make the training even more casual. At each change of course we talked about a different topic: Perth, how much he enjoyed the Hopman Cup, how he managed to alternate moments of fun in which he took the event for what it is - an exhibition - and others in which he played hard to win. Obviously we have dealt with the theme of the Australian Open, also comparing ourselves to our respective adversaries. It is not common practice for the two training partners to share the chair. I did it with Roger Federer on one of the most important fields in the world.

Between a chat and the other, of course, we also played. In Dubai we had simulated partitelle, but in Melbourne the atmosphere was softer. But the quality not only did not suffer, but it was very high indeed. For its part much higher, as if the winter rust had disappeared within two weeks. The Federer I found on the Rod Laver was back from the four games won in Western Australia and played in a stadium where he had already played about eighty games, raising 5 trophies. For my part, on the eve of the match with Zverev I was stretched like a guitar string and it took me a while to melt. Ruggero, on the contrary, was so at ease that until a moment before he started laughing and joking. Then, click. A second later the concentration had skyrocketed. But yet,however focused , Federer looked serene like a white collar back from a weekend at the spa, not as one of the most revered men on Earth, as a sportsman in the spotlight of the world, crushed by the weight of the role of favorite. Free and beautiful, not a slave to expectations. So much so that for some games I did not see her.

Performance anxiety had nothing to do with it, and even that back pain that had conditioned me in Doha. In fact, however, I suddenly felt stiff as the first time in Dubai. Fortunately for me I was playing, I'm playing, well enough. When my level is decidedly good, a couple of minutes of competitive trance is enough and everything passes. When all the adrenaline rushes in your veins, it is easy to recover from the first mistake and it is difficult for the overall quality of the performance to be affected. In my case, getting rid of that ballast was training in training. That on the other side of the network there is Roger Federer or a boy from the Foligno academy, the intensity must first depend on me. And to get it, it is crucial to keep concentration and the desire to work properly.The problem - that afternoon on the central Melbourne Park - was that the other had more than anyone else. Roger Federer was a living playstation that day.



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SERVICE AND STRAIGHT. BUT ALSO REVERSE, ANTICIPE AND MUCH MORE

It makes you go out of time. It can take every area of the field with an absurd precision. It's not possible to read it. It can change speed, even if it does not reach 230 hours. Although not a bomb, the service is the thing that impressed me most of Federer. The moment Roger realizes that you have guessed two answers, at the third attempt he mocks you with a direction and a cut that you do not expect. Oh God, not that the exit from the service is less. After a joke, of any kind, you find yourself with your feet inside the field. The sense of the advance is its quality, everyone knows it. But even if you know you can not help it get hurt.

When you were able to impact well one of his first and for a fraction of a second you are deluded to have put him in trouble, he arrives on the ball with a shot and sends it to you where you would not have believed it was possible. If you lower the guard you're screwed, the next shot is already a winner. More than once in the field I realized I had just shot an absurd blow. A fast trajectory, razor, long and complicated to repel, which with 99% of the players would have brought to the point directly or would have forced them to make me pull a comfortable shot, a ball to close. With Roger no. When I impacted his service and I answered him 3 centimeters from the row, he pulled a counterbalanced right out of the cylinder. A thing out of the world.

I do not find out, I tested it on my skin at most. But on a technical level it is impossible to find a defect. Federer has a hand, has an eye, has an inexhaustible range of solutions. And at the right time he always has the jolly ready in his pocket.Straight or wrong, crossed or long. There are no areas of the field that do not hurt you.The obverse is honestly incredible, but the reverse is even more dangerous because it is unpredictable. From that side it has even more options and changes of pace. The one covered in the top is excellent, but Roger has a thousand options in his hand and you never know where he will pull you. If you have a good ball to attack it, it is useless to ask yourself whether it is better to push on his forehand or his backhand. If you attack him, you have to try to pull a winner, because if Federer gets on the ball he somehow puts it between the strings of his shoes. And if you can pull up a volley from under your feet, he will pass you by.



HAPPY-GO-LUCKY

Even if I have to improve my ranking of 10, 20, 50 positions it will always be an honor to play with the best of this sport. Because with the best in the world you realize that the difference on the technical level exists, of course, but that the true gap lies in the mental attitude and in the ability to do the right thing at the right time. The champions are those tennis players that important moments change gear. They are the ones that can hear the bell and that in front of the alarm signal not only do not panic, but react by choosing the best solution. Which translates into two ways: either by scoring a number to get out of a complicated situation or by opting for the simplest thing. At that moment the champion does the thing that suits him best, possibly going to touch the opponent's weak point. I saw him on TV, and I saw him again when I found myself on the field with two break balls available. Federer has erased them in an amen, as if it were the most natural thing on this planet.

On the other side of the net you never get the impression of having a thirty-six year old, much less with a full stomach. But even more than the physical component, from which one understands that it is perfectly managed by sipping tournaments and training, the one that attracts the most is the way in which Federer has fun in the field. It is impressive the light and light-hearted way Roger deals with every day. Surely he will have his tensions, because in addition to tennis he has a thousand activities that remove mental energy. But when he enters the field he dedicates his body and soul to that hour, to those two hours of training. The passion with which he confronts them is commendable. And it is probably another key to its success. Perhaps the determining one.
 
N

nikdom

Guest
Straight from Google translate, so apologies for the quality of the translation. Any native Italian speakers who can translate better? (Link at the end of the OP)
 

Fedforever

Hall of Fame
Straight from Google translate, so apologies for the quality of the translation. Any native Italian speakers who can translate better? (Link at the end of the OP)
Thank you so much for this. I have heard before that Roger does speak pretty good Italian but keeps quiet about it to avoid having even longer press conferences.
 

True Fanerer

G.O.A.T.
PART 2...

BILLING ICE, LIVING PLAYSTATION

Thursday, January 12, 2018, in fact, Ivan Ljubicic has made himself alive again. So Federer and I traveled the psychedelic blue tunnel under the Rod Laver Arena and shortly after midday we met for the fifth time together. However, compared to Dubai, everything had changed. To begin with, Ruggero sat next to me. Perhaps because when we entered the stadium the other bench was still occupied by those who used the ground before us. Or maybe he chose this way to make the training even more casual. At each change of course we talked about a different topic: Perth, how much he enjoyed the Hopman Cup, how he managed to alternate moments of fun in which he took the event for what it is - an exhibition - and others in which he played hard to win. Obviously we have dealt with the theme of the Australian Open, also comparing ourselves to our respective adversaries. It is not common practice for the two training partners to share the chair. I did it with Roger Federer on one of the most important fields in the world.

Between a chat and the other, of course, we also played. In Dubai we had simulated partitelle, but in Melbourne the atmosphere was softer. But the quality not only did not suffer, but it was very high indeed. For its part much higher, as if the winter rust had disappeared within two weeks. The Federer I found on the Rod Laver was back from the four games won in Western Australia and played in a stadium where he had already played about eighty games, raising 5 trophies. For my part, on the eve of the match with Zverev I was stretched like a guitar string and it took me a while to melt. Ruggero, on the contrary, was so at ease that until a moment before he started laughing and joking. Then, click. A second later the concentration had skyrocketed. But yet,however focused , Federer looked serene like a white collar back from a weekend at the spa, not as one of the most revered men on Earth, as a sportsman in the spotlight of the world, crushed by the weight of the role of favorite. Free and beautiful, not a slave to expectations. So much so that for some games I did not see her.

Performance anxiety had nothing to do with it, and even that back pain that had conditioned me in Doha. In fact, however, I suddenly felt stiff as the first time in Dubai. Fortunately for me I was playing, I'm playing, well enough. When my level is decidedly good, a couple of minutes of competitive trance is enough and everything passes. When all the adrenaline rushes in your veins, it is easy to recover from the first mistake and it is difficult for the overall quality of the performance to be affected. In my case, getting rid of that ballast was training in training. That on the other side of the network there is Roger Federer or a boy from the Foligno academy, the intensity must first depend on me. And to get it, it is crucial to keep concentration and the desire to work properly.The problem - that afternoon on the central Melbourne Park - was that the other had more than anyone else. Roger Federer was a living playstation that day.



WhatsApp-Image-2018-02-06-at-11.22.46.jpeg


SERVICE AND STRAIGHT. BUT ALSO REVERSE, ANTICIPE AND MUCH MORE

It makes you go out of time. It can take every area of the field with an absurd precision. It's not possible to read it. It can change speed, even if it does not reach 230 hours. Although not a bomb, the service is the thing that impressed me most of Federer. The moment Roger realizes that you have guessed two answers, at the third attempt he mocks you with a direction and a cut that you do not expect. Oh God, not that the exit from the service is less. After a joke, of any kind, you find yourself with your feet inside the field. The sense of the advance is its quality, everyone knows it. But even if you know you can not help it get hurt.

When you were able to impact well one of his first and for a fraction of a second you are deluded to have put him in trouble, he arrives on the ball with a shot and sends it to you where you would not have believed it was possible. If you lower the guard you're screwed, the next shot is already a winner. More than once in the field I realized I had just shot an absurd blow. A fast trajectory, razor, long and complicated to repel, which with 99% of the players would have brought to the point directly or would have forced them to make me pull a comfortable shot, a ball to close. With Roger no. When I impacted his service and I answered him 3 centimeters from the row, he pulled a counterbalanced right out of the cylinder. A thing out of the world.

I do not find out, I tested it on my skin at most. But on a technical level it is impossible to find a defect. Federer has a hand, has an eye, has an inexhaustible range of solutions. And at the right time he always has the jolly ready in his pocket.Straight or wrong, crossed or long. There are no areas of the field that do not hurt you.The obverse is honestly incredible, but the reverse is even more dangerous because it is unpredictable. From that side it has even more options and changes of pace. The one covered in the top is excellent, but Roger has a thousand options in his hand and you never know where he will pull you. If you have a good ball to attack it, it is useless to ask yourself whether it is better to push on his forehand or his backhand. If you attack him, you have to try to pull a winner, because if Federer gets on the ball he somehow puts it between the strings of his shoes. And if you can pull up a volley from under your feet, he will pass you by.



HAPPY-GO-LUCKY

Even if I have to improve my ranking of 10, 20, 50 positions it will always be an honor to play with the best of this sport. Because with the best in the world you realize that the difference on the technical level exists, of course, but that the true gap lies in the mental attitude and in the ability to do the right thing at the right time. The champions are those tennis players that important moments change gear. They are the ones that can hear the bell and that in front of the alarm signal not only do not panic, but react by choosing the best solution. Which translates into two ways: either by scoring a number to get out of a complicated situation or by opting for the simplest thing. At that moment the champion does the thing that suits him best, possibly going to touch the opponent's weak point. I saw him on TV, and I saw him again when I found myself on the field with two break balls available. Federer has erased them in an amen, as if it were the most natural thing on this planet.

On the other side of the net you never get the impression of having a thirty-six year old, much less with a full stomach. But even more than the physical component, from which one understands that it is perfectly managed by sipping tournaments and training, the one that attracts the most is the way in which Federer has fun in the field. It is impressive the light and light-hearted way Roger deals with every day. Surely he will have his tensions, because in addition to tennis he has a thousand activities that remove mental energy. But when he enters the field he dedicates his body and soul to that hour, to those two hours of training. The passion with which he confronts them is commendable. And it is probably another key to its success. Perhaps the determining one.
Great read. The translation is decent enough too. He holds Federer in high regard. Very honored to have the opportunity.
 
N

nikdom

Guest
What kind of game does Fabbiano have? Missed his match v Zverev at the AO.
 

Jackuar

Hall of Fame
Nice read. Equally impressive which I always admire is how he stays grounded with people and not boss around or take them for granted but instead makes them feel more friendly than they expected. Appears even his team does the same apparently.
 
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