Federer has been the most influential player in this sport
Another Swiss, Marc Rosset, says this about his fellow countryman. He also acknowledges that he would have liked to see Roger winning the individual Olympic gold, just like he did.
For the second time in modern history, the Olympic Games will take place on clay courts, something we haven't seen since Barcelona 1992. And what happened on that occasion? Well, Marc Rosset, a two-meter tall Swiss giant, claimed the gold medal, an unexpected outcome. What will happen this August? Since it's impossible to predict, the folks at Tennis Magazin have kindly interviewed the Olympic champion from 32 years ago to discuss that memory, his connection with Roger Federer, and other current topics. Let's highlight the most interesting points.
His Gold in Barcelona 1992
"Honestly, I don't have many memories of that, I remember everything about the Olympic Village and other things, but when it comes to tennis, I didn't retain much. Also, at that time there was no Internet, no smartphones, so to speak, we were in our own world, a world of athletes, where I was the only Swiss with a medal. You couldn't even read the news, so you couldn't know how people in your country reacted."
The Medal's Aftermath
"The final in Barcelona was on Saturday, and I flew back on Sunday, but I didn't get to Cincinnati until Monday. Maybe I made a mistake; I should have taken a break, stayed home, and enjoyed it a bit. When I returned to Geneva after visiting the United States, I realized that I was an Olympic champion, the only one from Switzerland. I knew it would be a special day for everyone."
The Missing Trophy for Federer
"We had an agreement. When I won the Olympic Games, I said that he could win everything except the Games (laughs). Seriously, it was a shame he couldn't achieve it, I would have liked him to win in 2012, in London. It would have been exactly twenty years after my greatest success, so it would have been very nice to share it with him. I'm not really the type of person who prefers to be the only one to win a gold medal."
Player Succession in Switzerland
"Sports are cyclical, it also happens in football, with teams that rise and fall from the top. In tennis, we had the United States dominating for a long time with Agassi and Sampras, but then it faded a bit. In France, Germany, or the Czech Republic, it's similar. Sometimes you can do everything right, have the best coaches and structures, but you also depend on other coincidences. Roger was born in Basel, although he could have easily been born in France or Germany. Switzerland is a small country, but a player emerges every five years, as we saw with Wawrinka. Now we have Dominic Stricker and others starting to play well."
Lack of Support in His Country
"When we won the Davis Cup in 2014, some people asked me how it was possible that we had so many good players, but I didn't see it that way. It's not that we invest much in sports; in fact, Hingis and Wawrinka achieved what they did with little support. The only player who was really supported by the Federation was Roger, although he would have become the player he has been anyway. They didn't help me either, so I would say that in Switzerland, making progress is quite challenging."
Who is the GOAT?
"It all depends on what being the best means. If we look at Grand Slam numbers, then Nadal and Djokovic are better. If we consider the player with the greatest influence in the sport, for me, it's Roger. Much of what makes up this sport now, like the attention or the prize money, we owe to him. In basketball, there was a before and after Michael Jordan. People who love Federer will say Federer is the GOAT, but those crazy about Novak will tell you it's Novak. Those who support Nadal will outright say he has won everything."
Confidence in Zverev
"When Alexander plays aggressively, he is the most dominant tennis player for me. If he plays like he did against Nadal at Roland Garros, he can dominate any player. He has beaten Roger and Novak in significant tournaments, serves missiles, can move along the baseline, and accelerate the ball at any moment. He even covers the court like Djokovic. If he plays aggressively, the match is in his hands, I love this guy, he moves incredibly despite his size."
This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, “Federer ha sido el jugador más influyente de este deporte”