People want the next Federer, but there won't be one

Fernando Murciego | 30 Jan 2025 | 17.00

Henry Bernet talks about his comparisons to Roger Federer. Source: Stefan Bohrer

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Twelve matches, twelve victories. This is the record of Henry Bernet at the start of the 2025 season. Title at the J300 of Traralgon and at the 2025 Australian Open, thrilling all the Swiss fans eagerly waiting for a new local champion. Will Henry be the chosen one? It is still too early to predict his future, but he is the first to distance himself from any comparison with the Basel genius. While they share common factors, falling into that trap would only make the path even more difficult. In a conversation with Blick, the new junior world No. 1 values his recent success and talks about how winning a Grand Slam changes your life.

The life-changing title

“All these experiences I'm having these days are still new to me, but little by little, I try to settle into this position. Meanwhile, I've had time to celebrate with my family, also because the day we played the final was my 18th birthday. What a birthday it was! Now I've been told that this Saturday there will be a small event here at the Club Old Boys in Basel.”

Experience in Melbourne

“What impressed me the most was seeing the world No. 1, Jannik Sinner. I always thought he was very slim, at least that was the impression when I saw him on TV, but when I saw him in person, I realized he's really muscular, it's incredible. I remember many junior tennis players asking for photos with the professionals, but I didn't. I thought that even in the locker room, they deserved a break.”

His phone blowing up

“I've received many congratulations, including a very friendly email from the Federer family, that is, from Roger and his parents, Lynette and Robert. It made me very happy when I saw it. In the email, they congratulated me and wished me much success on my journey. Besides Roger, other professional tennis players also took a minute of their time to congratulate me, such as Stan Wawrinka, Dominic Stricker, Belinda Bencic, Viktorija Golubic, Marc-Andrea Hüsler, or Ben Shelton.”

Comparisons with Federer

“People want the next Federer or the next Wawrinka, but there won’t be one. I am aware of the parallels I can draw with Roger, but this can really be a problem. For now, I try not to think too much about it, to somehow hide it; right now, what I want is to pave my own path.”

New team and new schedule

“Starting in February, I will switch from working with Kai Stentenbach to working with Sven Swinnen, in addition to Severin Luthi also collaborating with me as an advisor. The agreement is for him to travel with me for some weeks of the year, although the most important thing is to get back to work to design a training block that helps me compete in the upcoming Lugano Challenger, at the end of next month.”

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, “La gente quiere al próximo Federer, pero no lo habrá”