Feeling Federer

What is it like to face the greatest player of all time?

My, oh my, how time flies. It seems like just yesterday that I was battling out on the ATP tour with the best players in the world. I certainly have many, many fond memories of playing pro tennis all over the world.

But I can recall one particular event that stands out for no other reason than the fact that I faced arguably the greatest player of all time on the other side of the net, Roger Federer.

It may have been a meaningless practice session before a major tournament…or was it? Looking back on that hour, I was struck by his champion-like presence and unstoppable game. Despite its apparent insignificance as a routine practice, that hour playing tennis with him had an impact on me that I will always remember.

Let me set the stage. It was July 2004, and I headed up to Toronto to play in the Canadian Open qualifying rounds, one of the top tournaments in the world. Venturing north with me was my coach at that time, Joseph O’Dwyer, one of those unsung gifted mentors, someone absolutely instrumental in helping me break into…