Roger Federer: Wreathed in Smiles and Cloaked in Purple

Ever since Roger Federer broke cover last month to announce the birth of his daughters, the smile hasn’t left his face. To judge from his words, body language, and actions, there cannot, at the moment, be a more contented man in the world.

It’s there in the promo for the US Series “It Must Be Love”: animated, laughing, humorous, full of fun.

It’s clear again in the first ATP video since his return to the hard courts: relaxed, laid back, and easy barely do justice to the chilled and cheerful conversation.

His latest interview for the New York Times reveals a man entirely happy with his life, and confident about showing it.

But the most eloquent image—and the one that gets to the root of his warm and optimistic view of the world—is the first photo with his daughters. This is not the standard Hello magazine pose favoured by most celebrities. It is a simple image that exudes contentment: Federer and his wife each gazing at the baby cradled in the other’s arms. Yet more telling is that the family snap was taken with his own camera by his own father.

Of course, the record-breaking run of tennis that Federer has produced in the last few months would put a smile on anyone’s face. Becoming a parent will also press all the “euphoria” buttons. Combining the two, however, would make most mortals retire to a darkened room for more than just a few weeks.

For this man—more fairly, for this couple—it is the very special interweaving of these two threads that produces something more than the sum of its parts. And that is the secret behind such brazen joy.

Return to the start of 2009, where the threads began to weave their magic.

Consider first the red thread, the emotional artery that represents Federer’s personal life. He and Mirka met long before fame and fortune came along, and they have remained inseparable since he was just 18. Against the showbiz glitz of the ATP roadshow, theirs has been a relationship of singular constancy, respect, and friendship. Amidst public obligations and generous face-time with the public, they remain private and discrete.

The same is true of their families and their friends. Almost all the information given to the waiting world comes either direct from Federer or is carefully channeled through his Web site and management team. That unvarying team is made up of long-standing and trustworthy members who include both Mirka and his parents. Together they provide the emotional bedrock on which his career is built.

Now turn to the blue thread, the vein of brilliance that has produced arguably the best tennis record in history. Federer has honed his multifarious talents and physical gifts into an unparalleled career through single-minded determination, application, and training. He has also maintained a vice-like grip on managing that career, from schedule to press conference, and from training to tactics.

When, as a young player, his lack of emotional control prevented him from becoming the best, he transformed himself into a restrained and undemonstrative on-court persona able to maintain the focus required to outsmart and outplay his opponent.

So back to the opening weeks of the year in Doha. It was here that he discovered he was to be a father, so it’s little wonder he was unphased by losing in the semis.
 
Then during the Australian Open, Mirka discovered she was expecting twins. He played some wonderful tennis, particularly during his quarter-final against Juan Martin del Potro, but suffered a dramatic emotional break-down in losing the tightly fought final.

The sight of Federer weeping is far from rare. To see him unable to handle a loss is. But factor in the heightened emotions that come with the news of life-changing events, and such tears are less surprising.

Hot on the heels of interrogations about his coaching plans with Darren Cahill, and commentaries about his lack of mental toughness against arch-rival Rafael Nadal, Federer announced the news of his impending parenthood. Suddenly he was also staving off questions about the impact of children on his future career, his desire to stay on the road, essentially whether his heart was in it.

His heart, of course, was supporting Mirka, and they speedily organised an idyllic wedding in their Swiss home town while he was reaching the semi-finals of two Masters events in Indian Wells and Miami.

The heavens almost fell in—judging from the media reaction—when he broke a racket at the latter. Were it not for the sanity and love of a good woman, he may well have smashed a good deal more in his press conferences.

Thus far, the red and blue threads appeared to be running in close but parallel tracks. When Federer unexpectedly opted into Monte Carlo just days after his wedding, they began to overlap. With his personal life in order, and the undoubted encouragement of his new wife, he planned his assault on the media and the record books.

Monte Carlo was an essential warm-up for his clay court campaign, and his mediocre result there was all but irrelevant. Rome, where he reached the semis, was better. He looked fitter and stronger than he had in months and Mirka, sitting courtside with friends, looked both radiant and happy. And if she’s happy, he’s happy. The blue and red strands were starting to intertwine.

So to Madrid, and the purple patch started to emerge from the red and blue. Mirka was burgeoning, and the cameras revealed her surrounded by friends and children, head thrown back in laughter. On court, her husband headed for his first major title since Flushing Meadow 2008. And his victory leap was filled with the same uninhibited and exuberant joy as his wife’s.

That was just the start. The big one—the French Open—followed. He worked his socks off, entirely focused on making this a year that really counted on the courts, while Mirka was doing the same on the home front. It seemed as though the couple had agreed a pact that would mesh completely their public and personal lives.

The French draw opened up perfectly to give him the chance of matching Pete Sampras' Grand Slam record and sealing the one title that had eluded him. When Federer won, the victory celebration was heart-rending—a scream of joy and relief, head clasped in hands, tears in both his and Mirka’s eyes.

Keen observers might have noticed the addition of red highlights to the season’s blue kit: perhaps a symbolic merging of Federer’s two passions.

Wimbledon, of course, crowned the summer, and the All England Club’s color scheme completed the story. Its green matched Federer’s favourite surface, and its purple is the traditional color of royalty. Federer’s daughters would be born to the reigning king of the Centre Court, the world No. 1 and the all-time record holder in tennis.

The Federers withdrew almost immediately to their Swiss home to celebrate in each other’s company and within the support of their families. The birth announcement of twins was short and reassuring, once more made direct to fans via the Federer site. Privacy preserved, they settled into their parental routine and began rewriting their future together.

When the silence was broken, Federer chose a trusted newspaper for an extended interview to confirm that his family was about to leave for Montreal just three weeks after Mirka’s cesarean deliveries.

Federer himself, in between paternal duties, had been out practising but was eager to play instead. It was, he quickly added, Mirka’s decision. Had she or their daughters not been ready, they would all have stayed in Zurich. But Mirka said go, and the meticulous arrangements were made for the family’s journey.

Can either of them be without the other? “We love being together, and we’ll be five weeks together every single today, enjoying the beautiful girls.” It seems not.

So to Canada they have gone. Already, hair trimmed and wearing the latest iteration of blue, Federer has the first match under his belt. He looks trim and relaxed, his serve seems sound, and he continues to try out a variety of new shots.

But the results in Montreal and Cincinnati are unimportant. He has few ranking points to defend at either. The matches will, though, blow away the cobwebs and help launch Federer into New York. And for the moment, his professional motivation is to win a record-breaking US title and to end the year as No. 1. And if he wants it, Mirka wants it.

The career and the records are still important, and he never tires of saying how much he loves the game. Now, off-court, he has something even more important:
“It's about the girls being happy and us giving them as much love as we can. Then we see where it takes us.”

His life has well and truly hit a purple patch. No wonder he can’t stop smiling.