"He hasn't changed a bit. He hasn't been arrogant in the locker room. He never is. That's great to see someone that does it with class. He doesn't intentionally get in anyone's face. He doesn't put people down." James Blake
"It's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice." Roger Federer
Roger Federer seems like the type of person you would want heading up the UN. At the age of 24 he has already set up his own charitable foundation to which he has devotes both time and money. He was recently appointed a UNICEF ambassador. He is confident without being arrogant, proud but not boastful and fluent in at least five languages. Roger Federer is Swiss but at the same time he transcends nationality. Oh and he's on course to becoming the greatest tennis player of all time.
Yet in the final of the Rome Masters Series event something strange happened. During the match Federer lost his composure and said, 'is that good enough for you Toni', to his opponent Rafael Nadal's coach, accusing him of illegal coaching. Later in the deciding fifth set he spent a lot of time challenging a line call which replays would show was actually correct.
The fact that Federer would go on to lose the match after wasting two match points is largely irrelevant. Great players can lose close matches. However his temperamental behaviour indicated that no matter how gracious a player he normally is, when pushed to the limit he is just as likely to do away with niceties as the rest of us. Yes, even the great Roger Federer is human.
For a lot of people this became apparent when he cried after winning the Australian Open. That was portrayed as Roger not being afraid to show his emotions. That he was a man and not a machine. Yet this vulnerability actually detracted from the fact that he is human. Rather than being brought down to the level of mortals, Federer breaking down in front of the world elevated him.
Don't get me wrong, Federer is still a class act and as good a role model as you can find. Its just that playing and losing to counter-punchers who behave obnoxiously when winning can be incredibly frustrating. I'm just glad to see that it affects Federer as well.
