Advertisement

When you're Roger Federer, there's no place to hide at the US Open

When you're Roger Federer, there's no place to hide at the US Open

NEW YORK – Imagine you're sitting in your office after your work's done for the day, chatting with a few colleagues as you lean back in your chair. Normal stuff, right?

Now imagine you're doing just that, and there are a thousand people sitting there watching you – glaring at you, practically – just hoping you'll be done with it soon so you can give them a nanosecond of your time.

Federer is chatting amiably with David Goffin of Belgium after his practice. But all those people standing behind him just want him to wrap it up. (Stephanie Myles/opencourt.ca)
Federer is chatting amiably with David Goffin of Belgium after his practice. But all those people standing behind him just want him to wrap it up. (Stephanie Myles/opencourt.ca)

That's Roger Federer's life. And since it has been that way for such a long time, it seems he's learned to just ignore it and get on with what he wants to do.

Federer, coaches Severin Luthi and Stefan Edberg, and the Belgian David Goffin and coach Thierry Van Cleemput had a long conversation after their practice on this day, a chat punctuated by a lot of laughing with the relaxed, unshaven No. 2 seed. No matter how much the crowd was screaming for him on this day, a few days before the US Open began, Federer was undaunted.

He was going to get up when he decided to get up.

Finally, they wrapped it up and Federer began to sign. And sign. And sign some more. After doing what he could on that side of the court at Louis Armstrong Stadium, he crossed over to the other side and signed some more.

Even coach Edberg, a rock star in his own right, signed his share of autographs.


The former world No. 1, now coaching the world No. 2, signs a few autographs of his own Friday on Louis Armstrong Stadium. (Stephanie Myles/opencourt.ca)
The former world No. 1, now coaching the world No. 2, signs a few autographs of his own Friday on Louis Armstrong Stadium. (Stephanie Myles/opencourt.ca)

Here's how it looked; the exit tunnel completely engulfed them as they were trying to leave, as Jelena Jankovic and Andrea Hlavackova, two players on the WTA Tour, were waiting to take over the court.

The next day, during Arthur Ashe Kids' day on Saturday, Federer was practicing on an even more up-close-and-personal court, No. 17, with countryman Stan Wawrinka. The commotion was off the charts every single time they sat down on a changeover during their practice sets, with the giant balls and the selfie sticks and all the rest of the paraphernalia.

They weren't done. But most of the kids didn't know that. Security would kick in, basically yelling at the kids to back off every five minutes or so. Even during the play the big groups of kids would run in and out, and it was pretty distracting.

Every two games, the fans would rush down courtside to get autographs - not cluing in that they were playing sets and it was only a changeover. (Stephanie Myles/opencourt.ca)
Every two games, the fans would rush down courtside to get autographs - not cluing in that they were playing sets and it was only a changeover. (Stephanie Myles/opencourt.ca)

Federer's well-used to this by now, although the conditions at the US Open are unlike anything he encounters at the other Grand Slams.

At the Australian Open, there's no entry into Rod Laver Arena, where he usually practices, before the tournament starts. Even the media, photographers and videographers are escorted into the facility for 15-minute periods.

At the French Open, on Court Philippe Chatrier, there are a few people around but the qualifying tournament is held in the back half of the site; the fans don't have access to the stadium court, Court 2 and Court 3.

At Wimbledon, the practice courts at Aorangi Park are closed off to the public with the exception of one small viewing area.

But at the US Open – in the image of its host city – it can be a free-for-all. Sometimes, the entire tournament can be a free-for-all. Federer just rolls with it.

"There's certainly a little bit of stress when you come here. There’s almost no place where it’s quiet –   almost the only place is near the referee's office. In the locker room, it's always fun, because you basically know everyone and they respect that the players are preparing for matches. If you want a quiet corner, you know where to find it. But the players' restaurant, it’s crazy. You can't move around, it's impossible. Someone takes your photo every 10 seconds." Federer said after a more than routine first-round match against Leonardo Mayer of Argentina.

The No. 2 seed opened up his quest for another Grand Slam title to add t his resumé with a 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 victory that took just an hour and 17 minutes and was nothing like the first-round challenge Federer had been expecting coming in.

After that match, which was on Arthur Ashe Stadium, Federer signed a ton. He must have been there nearly a half-hour. But as always, it's about the circumstances, which Federer was more than well aware of.

"It's always about the timing. I knew there would be no match (scheduled) after mine, so when you know that for two or three hours there won't be anything, you know you can take a half-hour for the fans, instead of two minutes because Rafa or Sharapova is in the hallway ready to come on court and the network is live on the court – even if they’d let you," Federer said. "But this way, it was fun to sign a lot of autographs and do photos with the fans."

It's not always that easy, because it's not always on his own terms. Despite the great era on the men's side, despite Williams's quest, there still is no bigger attraction in the game than Federer – not even just because he remains, at 34, one of the top players in the game and because he doesn't show any signs of stopping. 

Federer may have done some private events with his many corporate sponsors last week. But as far as all the promotions and sponsor parties and all the other activities that dot the week before the Open – players like Rafael Nadal, Maria Sharapova and others seemed to be all over the place – you didn't see that much of Federer with the exception of the big Nike event that featured ALL of the brand's tennis players.

"Yes, I feel that stress; everywhere I go, people know me, But you get through that and then when you leave the site, it’s calmer. You have to find the spots, the moments that are calm for you," Federer added. "Some do it with the music – headphones – some in their own corner, some on the massage table. When I practice, like (Wednesday) I won’t spend a lot of time here.

"I'll come, I'll practice, shower, and then I'll leave."