An Interview with Roger Federer by Sean Brawley

Roger Federer has often been described as effortless, graceful, almost serene when he plays. But what that description misses is the fire underneath the ease.

I spoke with Federer after his five-set 2017 Australian Open victory over Rafael Nadal, just prior to the Indian Wells tournament, as part of a special “Mental Readiness” project for Wilson Tennis.  Federer had won that title after a knee injury had taken him away from the tour for six months.  So you can imagine how meaningful such a comeback victory was – even to someone who’d already accomplished so much.

Several things stood out to me.

I loved the way Federer described himself as having “fire and ice” — the fire of desire, competition, and emotion, balanced by the ice of staying focused and calm.

I also hope this interview allows readers to look past Federer’s achievements and see how human he is. He too battles emotion, negative thoughts, and even the hidden desire to quit. Early in the fifth set against Nadal, he admitted that it would have been easy to tell himself the comeback had already been a great run. But he refused to let that thought take root.

The Federer who…