Home » Former American Idol: “If Roger Federer is your hero…”

In 2002, Roger Federer made his mark for the first time by reaching the final of the Masters 1000 tournament in Miami and then going on to win the inaugural tournament at that level in May of that year in Hamburg by defeating Marat Safin. The Swiss, who had been stuck in the top 15 for months, finally broke into the top 10 the following day. They hope to repeat their successful showings from last year at Roland Garros and Wimbledon.

Instead, he lost early in both Grand Slams and dropped spots on the ATP rankings over the following months, only making a late push during the fall indoor season to qualify for the Masters Cup in Shanghai.

The Swiss player suffered a groin injury at the beginning of 2003, which hindered his performance in Doha and Sydney. He had a chance to win a Major, but he lost in the fourth round of the Australian Open to David Nalbandian. Roger hopes to continue his impressive form from the season-opening Masters 1000 event in Indian Wells by repeating the feats that earned him two Davis Cup victories and trophies in Marseille and Dubai in February.

The Swiss had to work hard in the first desert test, but eventually prevailed 4-1 (6-7, 6-4, 4-1). It was Roger’s 21st victory of 2003, putting him atop the rankings heading into the upcoming events in Indian Wells and Miami with renewed vigor.

I took a few days off after winning Dubai, and now that I’m back at it, my body hurts. Having won the previous tournament gives me confidence, and that’s especially true before a major tournament like the one in Indian Wells.

Roddick lauds Federer‘s performance.

During an interview with the Kasich and Klepper Podcast, Andy Roddick admitted to feeling “jealous” of Roger Federer. More than the Swiss man’s achievements, he was envious of the Swiss man’s personality, he said.

“His user-friendliness is the key,” you might say. As Roddick put it. If I could go about things the way he does, I’d play a practice match and stay out there for two hours. When I would walk by Roger’s court, he would be joking and laughing as I played exactly as I planned to play three days later in the first run of a slam.

And now he is calm and collected. I was envious of how he could “kind of tend to his responsibilities away from the court, kind of always be in a good mood,” he said, adding that this was particularly irritating to the rest of the gloomy people.

He’s a great human, Roddick said, but “he has this ease of operation which is creates envy.” It’s been said that you shouldn’t try to meet your heroes, but if your hero happens to be the Fed, you should definitely go ahead and make that connection.