Экспресс обошел Папу 

Роже Федереру знергии не занимать. Он успевает и на корте блистать,
и общественной жизнью активно заниматься.
В начале октября он как почетный гость открыл новый теннисный стадион в Шанхае.
Также не забывает швейцарец пополнять свой благотворительный фонд. Поклонники Федерера уже имеют возможность купить настенный календарь на 2006 год. Страничка каждого месяца украшена фотографиями игрока, на корте и за его пределами. Есть даже несколько детских снимков шестикратного чемпиона Большого шлема. Все собранные деньги пойдут в фонд, который поддерживает детей из малообеспеченных семей и развитие спорта среди молодежи. А через персональный веб-сайт мастера теннисной ракетки можно купить видеодиск с документальным фильмом о Роже. Перед зрителями проходит вся карьера теннисиста, начиная с тех дней, когда он еще был мальчиком, подающим мячи на кортах Базеля, и до восхождения на вершину мирового тенниса. Здесь же немало интервью с семьей и друзьями Федерера, с Джоном Макинроем и Борисом Беккером.
А увидеть "вживую» и рядом двух легендарных теннисистов - прошлых лет и современного - можно было на вручении ежегодной награды "Лучшие люди 2005 года» в Мюнхене, которую учредил модный журнал GC, чтобы отметить выдающихся представителей спорта, шоу-бизнеса и просто бизнеса. Роже Федереру награду вручал Борис Беккер. Интересно, что в "Международной» категории (награда- то немецкая) конкурентом Федерера был сам... Папа Римский Бенедикт ХVІ. Швейцарца это шокировало: "Абсурд какой-то. Сравнивать меня с Папой. Он персона намного важнее, чем я».
Но награду все-таки взял.

Federer in full swing for legendary status
By Mark Hodgkinson
(Filed: 13/01/2006)
A man apart on the tour, and quite possibly the finest racket-swinger in the sport's history, Roger Federer has different ambitions and considerations to the rest at this stage of the season. While the others are simply readying themselves for the Australian Open, his thoughts were somewhat grander yesterday, with the Swiss disclosing that he wanted to "become a legend".

He is the shortest-priced favourite in the history of the Australian Open, which starts here on Monday, with seemingly all the bookmakers across the state of Victoria making the wise decision that the other 127 players on the drawsheet are more than a couple of perfectly-hit forehands off Federer's talent. Judging by the odds, the bookies plainly believe that Andy Roddick, Lleyton Hewitt and company might as well sling their racket-bags over their shoulders now and trudge off into the distance.

Federer, the world No 1, is hoping to accumulate his seventh grand slam title at Melbourne Park, after winning Wimbledon in 2003, taking the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the US Open in 2004, and last season defending his Wimbledon and US Open trophies. And he has done it all with class and style, and lately it seems that he has been giving some serious thought to how he will be perceived long-term. The "legend" comments were not meant to sound immodest, as he is not one for pre-season pretence and bombast; it was just that Federer knows exactly how good he is.

"I know that I mustn't get injured, that I have to stay healthy, that I have to live for tennis. I'm not going to be the best player in the world just fooling around. I have to be professional and serious, and stay that way for a long time. That is the difference between the legends and those who are just good players - legends are capable of keeping it going for a long time. That is what I want to achieve, to become a legend," the 24-year-old said.

Perhaps some in the tennis world already regard Federer as such. He has enjoyed praise from most of the celebrated players in the sport, current and former, and admitted that there have been occasions when it has been difficult to stop his head from being turned. He does not want his ego to get out of control. "I like what former players say about me, but I have to watch out that I don't like it too much," he said.

But, of all the compliments Federer has received for his trophy-winning skills, he says that the ones that have meant the most have come from his girlfriend. Mirka Vavrinec, Federer's public relations manager as well as his girlfriend of five years, is herself a former top-100 player and has watched almost all his matches at the highest level, so he says that she can fully appreciate the magnitude of what he has done.

"I don't often get a chance to reflect on what I have achieved, and it usually happens when I'm on vacation, and I'm talking to Mirka, and she will say to me, 'Jesus, Roger, I can't believe what you've been doing, that you've been winning all these matches'. That is the nicest moment for me, when Mirka tells me that she is proud that I can handle it all. Those are the times, when I'm talking to Mirka, when I feel really good about myself."

One achievement which registered highly with Federer was winning the US Open last season, as that put him level with Boris Becker and Stefan Edberg, his two boyhood idols, on six slams.

"That was a nice feeling for me, as I remember watching them when I was growing up, and how great they were, and I've matched their careers. It's great to be on the same page as them as they were the ones that I looked up to when I was a kid," he said.

Inevitably, the conversation then turned to the possibility of Federer breaking the record set by American Pete Sampras, the winner of 14 grand slam titles. "I can understand why people are saying that I will equal the Sampras record, as I am halfway through my career and everything is possible, and the last few years have been outstanding.

"I certainly do have a shot at breaking the record, but I just need to keep it going for a long time. It will be a hard thing to do, as the Sampras record is phenomenal. And though it would be nice to break the record, for the moment I'm just concentrating on my own career, and seeing where it takes me," he said.

"My main goals this season are to keep the world No 1 ranking and to win Wimbledon again. I want to have another great season, and I love winning matches and winning as many as I can. A first French Open title would add something to my career. The slams are important but, then again, every tournament I go to becomes important. I'll try to win every event I enter this season but I know that it's going to be hard."

Chasing history has come at a high price. Such have been the demands on his time that Federer said that what started out as a sport often felt more like a business. "There are definitely occasions when it's like a business to me, when I don't have time for myself.

"I was in Switzerland for 10 days during the off-season, and I had to pick up an award, and then I was practising hard with my conditioning trainer, and then I had to meet my friends, my family, and spend time with Mirka. And all of a sudden I realised that I didn't have very much time for myself," he said.

"I started to plan my time very carefully, and it was terrible. I had to tell my friend, 'Look, in three days, we will meet at 10.45 in the morning in this place, and we will have exactly an hour and a half'. That was awful. I feel like I'm not being true to myself, which isn't right. I have to watch that tennis doesn't dominate my life."

Federer said that tennis often left him mentally and physically drained. On a number of holidays with Mirka his energy levels had run so low after the long year that all he could do was slump on to a sun-lounger and lie there for hours. "Sometimes I've been on holiday at the end of the year and I've been too tired to even walk to the beach, or get up and order a drink, and that's not good," he said.

"But the good thing about tennis is that I don't have to play on until I'm 50 years old.

At 35, it's all over. For me, at 35, you are still young and there's still so much to achieve and do. You can change your life, you can become a construction worker, whatever you want to do. That is why I give everything to my tennis career now, and once I have had enough I can then walk away and say, 'OK, what's next?'"

Federer said that when he is done with tennis he would like a trophy room in his house so that he can look back on his career. "I have many awards and trophies, but I don't have a trophy room at home as my apartment is too small. I put my awards in the living room, and all my grand slam trophies in the dining room, so I can see them every day when I'm home," he said.

"One day I hope that I will have a trophy room and present it nicely, with all the pictures and trophies and statistics all together in one place. But maybe it's good that I don't have that room yet, as if I did I might get too caught up in myself."

Гений. По-другому не скажешь))))). А еще левушка-ревушка))))))))). Молодец, молодец. Великолепен просто)))))))))))))))))).

Мне интересно, кто-нибудь видел ли когда-нибудь плачущего Марата?

Мне интересно, кто-нибудь видел ли когда-нибудь плачущего Марата?

Ага,родители в детстве сполна наверно насладились этим зрелищем.

А ты думаешь, он вышивать умеет? Надо открыть тему, "Умеет ли Сафин вышивать?" ржунемогу

Элан, а енто идея! * * Сафин - рукоделиница. У него ж стоооолько сломанных ракеток! Ух, если леску вытянуть, немалый клубочек получицца  :web: того и гляди добро даром не пропадет!

Из струн?....это уже вообще больше на макроме смахивает.А Федю можно привлечь к сматыванию клубков из струн. rofl