Exclusive Roger Federer book extract: Federer’s rock (Part 1)
Exclusive Roger Federer book extract: Federer’s rock (Part 2)
Sve je vezano za Mirku, najbitnije deo njegovog tima i da bez nje ne bi toliko osvojio, niti bi igrao jos uvek.
Doduse, to zna svaki Fed fan, Mirka
ovo su neki najzanimljiviji delovi
The 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney were ill-fated for Swiss Tennis: the star players Martina Hingis, Patty Schnyder and Marc Rosset had all withdrawn. So the small tennis delegation made up of young Roger Federer, Vavrinec, Emmanuelle Gagliardi and their coach, Peter Lundgren, shared a house in the Olympic Village with four Swiss wrestlers. Nobody had even an inkling of the romance which was to blossom under the Australian sun. Even before the Games, Vavrinec told Swiss journalists that Federer had given her a stomach ache by making her laugh so much. She liked that he wasn’t a bore, but rather a joker who always put everyone in a good mood. But for a long time she didn’t realise that he was interested in her. “I just didn’t get why he wanted to talk to me so much,” she said later.
On the court Roger Federer missed two chances at a medal: in the semi-finals against Tommy Haas and in the bronze medal match against Arnaud di Pasquale. But off court he took his shot: on the last day he summoned all his courage and kissed Mirka. She like it but joked: “You’re still so young. A baby.” He had just turned 19, she was already 22. “She’s a little older than me, and women mature earlier anyway. That helped me a lot when we got together,” he says in hindsight. “Our relationship quickly got very serious.”
Initially the two were able to keep their romance from the public eye. Even though it was an open secret on the tennis scene in the summer of 2001, at Federer’s request it only became public during the US Open. By then it was also nearly impossible to hide, given that they both eagerly watched each other’s matches from the stands and that Federer’s coach, Peter Lundgren, was also working with Vavrinec. “The cool kid from Basel and the beauty from Thurgau – they share more than net cord, aces and break points. The two play ball off-court too,” revealed the Zurich tabloid, SonntagsBlick. The reporter let his imagination run wild: “She kisses him when he wins, which is often. He comforts her when she loses, which is not so rare. For months now, Roger and Mirka have been making their way through the daily jealousy, resentment and relentless competition of the hectic professional tour together.” Vavrinec offers a quote, saying: “It’s not easy. Thank God there’s phones and texting. Because we only play together at Grand Slam tournaments and in Key Biscayne.”
During Wimbledon 2004, she told the Zurich-based Tages-Anzeiger: “When Roger wins, it’s as if I were winning too. I feel it so intensely and I know what it means. He shares everything with me. On some level, Roger gives me back my tennis life. I enjoy being back on tour. And now everything is even more intense than in the time when I played myself, since he’s number one.” These words are quoted often as they come from the last longer personal interview she gave. Whilst in the early days she also worked as Federer’s press manager and had to send a lot of refusals, she later passed the task on to his manager, Tony Godsick, and stopped speaking publicly. Not least on Federer’s recommendation, careful as he is about what his immediate circle say in public. His wife isn’t on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or Snapchat.
In 2012 Federer’s coach at the time, Paul Annacone, told The New York Times: “She still plays a huge role and has great input and impact. She understands the big picture extremely well and does a great job in terms of letting us work but also shares invaluable information. This is a tricky balance. She’s been there since day one, so she knows very well what it takes and how to get there.” And she’s not one to shy away from telling her husband what she thinks to his face. Even if it hurts.
