Christopher
Clarey
Track Timing
-
Signs of early potential (08:44) |
Parenting influences on Roger (14:30) |
Roger's curiosity and empathy (26:10) |
Managing down-time between rallies (38:12) |
Secret to Roger's longevity (42:49) |
How Roger picked his Coaches (55:13) |
Bouncing back from a rough patch (01:10:29) |
Roger the businessman (01:14:25) |
In Summary – Playing to Potential (01:20:16) |
Sowing the seeds for the next innings (01:22:58) |
Federer’s biographer
Roger Federer is somebody who needs no introduction. While, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal have overtaken him in terms of the overall Grand Slams won, when there is a discussion about the Greatest of All Time (GOAT), all fingers very often still point to Roger. One could attribute that to his fluidity, his charm on and off court, his longevity, his stable family life, and much more.
I had a unique opportunity to engage with Christopher Clarey, a veteran New York Times Correspondent who has been covering Sports at an Elite level for more than 30 years. From Bjorn Borg to Serena Williams. He has recently published the book - The Master: the Brilliant Career of Roger Federer. He gives us a behind the scenes account of Roger’s journey starting from his childhood.
We speak about how Roger handled his mental chatter, how he made choices that made him play a long innings, how he handled stress, the role of his parents in shaping his character, how his skills as a businessman are probably better than his skills on the court. We hope you enjoy the 100th episode.
Published in March 2023.
Nuggets from the
Conversation
Signs of early potential
Chris speaks about how people were talking about Roger’s potential when he was just 13 or 14. He speaks about how Regis Brunet saw Roger in action in Florida and then immediately ran to the payphone to get hold of Roger’s parents back in Switzerland.
Parenting influences on Roger
Chris discusses Robert and Lynette’s parenting style on Roger. Not putting the child on a pedestal given his precocity, having goals to de-risk the path, handing out consequences when the child crosses the line and so on. He speaks about how they emphasized as much on raising a good human being as being committed to his growth as a tennis player.
Roger's curiosity and empathy
Chris speaks about Roger’s curiosity and empathy when he met somebody. He speaks about how he would always be curious about where the other person was coming from before getting into tactical matters of business.
Managing down-time between rallies
Chris speaks about the fact that players often have 60-70% of match-time when they are not playing a point where they have to channel their focus and attention. He speaks about how Roger managed these periods of time.
Secret to Roger's longevity
Chris speaks about Roger’s ability to context switch instantaneously from one situation to another. He also speaks about how Roger decided to declutter his plate by choosing to play fewer tournaments when he knew that he could get the ATP points he needed by doing will in lesser number of tournaments.
How Roger picked his Coaches
Chris speaks about how Roger thought about his Coaches at various points in time and how he moved from Peter Carter to Peter Lundgren to Tony Roche to Paul Annacone to Stefan Edberg to Ivan Lubicic while having Severin Luthi as a constant in his team. He speaks about his judgment on some of these matters over his career.
Bouncing back from a rough patch
Chris speaks about how Roger came back from different phases of his career when he was having a rough patch. He speaks about how, at each of those inflection points, his career could have taken a nosedive.
Roger the businessman
Chris discusses how Roger earned about USD 125 Million in prize money but more than USD 1 Billion in earnings. He says that this multiple is quite rare in Sporting elite circles. Chris speaks about some of Roger’s traits as a businessman.
In Summary – Playing to Potential
Chris speaks about his take on the term – Play to Potential. He also says that whether somebody is playing to his or her potential is a matter of perspective and opinion. He says that Gunter Bresnik (a reputed coach from Austria) thinks that Roger should have won many more Grand Slams and he possibly didn’t quite play to his full potential.
Sowing the seeds for the next innings
Chris speaks about how Roger thought about success at various points in time but at the same time was sowing the seeds for his next innings of his life (e.g., the connect with Bill Gates in the context of his Foundation).
