Federer Shows How to Be the World’s Greatest Sportsman

It could have been any one of a number of top seeded tennis players in Australia for the Australian Open, Jan 18-31, to organise a charity match to raise funds for Haiti, but only one thought of it.

One the eve of a major championship, not usually the time for a sportsman (or woman) to exhibit a caring nature, the world’s No.1, Roger Federer, put the wheels in motion.

Within hours of the Australia Open commencing, he had organised eight top seeds, including former Australian open winners Rafael Nadal, Kim Clijsters and Serena Williams into a packed Rod Laver arena to play a charity match, Hit for Haiti.

“I was following it on TV and saw the devastation, and I thought we should do something,” the Swiss champion told reporters. “It was a lot of fun. It’s a great thing and I’m happy the players were also in such good spirits.”

The match raised more than $A200,000 in aid for the victims.

Federer, a 3-time Australia Open champion, is in Australia to win back the title after his shock loss to Rafael Nadal in a five set thriller last year. He is favourite to win the title again, but it will not be this win or loss that will change the view of many that he is the world’s greatest sportsman.

Federer already has 15 grand slams under his belt, winning Wimbledon six times and the US Open five times. Last year, he crowned these achievements with his first French Open championship, overcoming his discomfort on a clay court surface to beat Robin Soderling in a near flawless performance.

Former tennis great Jimmy Connors put Federer’s skills in perspective when he stated: “In an era of specialists, you’re either a clay court specialist, a grass court specialist or a hard court specialist – or you’re Roger Federer.’

The time it has taken Federer to dominate is also a factor quoted by admirers. Federer is often compared with Tiger Woods, although now the latter’s reputation is in disrepair, but it took Tiger Woods 14 years to win his 14 golf titles. It also took Pete Sampras, the previous Grand Slam record holder, 13 years to gain 14 titles. It has taken Federer seven years to get to 15.

However, it is Federer’s off the court behaviour that establishes him as truly great. After being named most popular player on tour in 2004, The Sunday Telegraph reported that Federer was gracious in reply, saying after his thanks: “It’s nice to be important, but it’s more important to be nice.”

Father of two, Federer is considered a quiet, private champion. There is no jet, no luxury yacht and, by all accounts, no other women lurking in the dark. He is respectful of his sport and the position he holds, but he is also savvy in business and a perfectionist in detail.

According to tennis colleague Andy Roddick, he is also humble. “He’s probably the most talented person to ever carry a racquet around—the shots that he can come up with, the way he’s kind of become a totally complete player,” Roddick says. “But I think off the court, it’s huge. There have been a lot of good champions, but he’s just classy. He is never high and mighty in the locker room or anything like that.”