罗杰?费德勒：从暴躁少年到温雅绅士

By+Simon+Hattenstone

Roger Federer slowly， lovingly， takes the wrapping off his new racket， like a little boy with a giant lollipop. “Its my Wimbledon1） racket，” he says. He runs his fingers along the frame， bounces a hand against its head. He passes the racket to me—it is light and not highly strung2）， which could also be said of the man. He looks lean， tanned， glowing， in the way only an elite athlete can.

Since winning his first major tournament3）， he has been known for his calm. He doesnt shout at himself or his coaching team; he smiles rather than snarls on court; and he rarely questions decisions. The young Federer was a quite different proposition4）.

He loved tennis from a young age， always playing against a wall at home， at a club with his Swiss father， a chemical engineer， and South African mother. But when he started to compete， aged eight， he would get frustrated， berating himself， telling himself he was rubbish. “Id commentate on each shot， saying， how in the world could I miss that， I cant believe how badly youre playing， this is just a joke.” For a second， he sounds like John “You cannot be serious” McEnroe5）. Tournament officials would tick him off6） for being too verbal， and tell him he was putting off other players.

Could he have become a champion if hed stayed that way？ “Yes， but not to the extent I am today.” He grins. “Well， Ive won 17 [grand slams7）]， so maybe I could have won a few being a little bit cuckoo8）， but Im not sure. You have to be mentally tough， physically strong， consistent， and I wasnt. So Im really proud I managed to turn it around.”

Federer is missing his first grand slam in 17 years. He has played in 65 successive slams， a testament to his hunger and his fitness. Then there is his record. Or records. Federers grand slam total makes him the greatest male tennis player ever. His closest rivals， Pete Sampras9） and Rafa Nadal10）， have 14 each. Novak Djokovic11）， who has achieved the near-impossible this year of holding all four major titles at once， is coming up fast behind—but has only 12.

Its not simply his record that makes Federer the greatest， its the way he plays. Only once in a blue moon12） does somebody come along who transcends their sport， elevating it into a thing of beauty： Lionel Messi13） in football， Muhammad Ali14） in boxing， Ronnie OSullivan15） in snooker， and Federer. Theres the spirit with which he plays， and the elegance—the single-handed backhand， the driving forehand. Federer can match todays baseline bullies， but he can also mix it up with the serve16） and volley17） that used to dominate the mens game. His appearance is every bit as stylish. It wasnt always that way： When Federer first emerged on to the scene， he looked fresh out of a teenage heavy metal band. But once he chopped off the ponytail he cut a different figure—more Jay Gatsby18） than Ozzy Osbourne19）.

For all the achievements of Nadal and Djokovic， no player is loved quite like Federer. In a famous essay for the New York Times， the novelist David Foster Wallace20） wrote that watching him play was akin to a religious experience. And in 25 years of interviewing， I have never had such a swooning21） reaction from friends and colleagues when Ive told them who Im meeting—young and old， men and women， Federer crushes know no bounds.

Federer won junior Wimbledon at 16， but then his emotions kept getting the better of22） him. Other players realised he had a fatal flaw. “People knew， eventually hell crack，” he says. “Just stay with him and hell give you some easy mistakes. So I tried to create this aura of invincibility， of being tough to beat.” It took him a long time; Federer was almost 22 when he finally got the title.

So he had to move from being a tantrum23）-throwing McEnroe to a samurai24）-like Bjorn Borg25）？ “To some extent， but Borg was all ice.” Federers heroes come from a later generation and are fiery types such as Goran Ivanisevic26）. When coaches told him he had to quieten down， he agreed， but only up to a point. “I said， I have to get my emotion out， I cant handle it. They were like， yes， its good but not so much. Eventually I said， I need to find a balance. I cant just be ice， it becomes horribly boring. I need the fire， the excitement， the passion， the whole rollercoaster27）. But I need it at a level where I can handle it： If Im all fire， I go nuts. It took two years to figure that out. It was a long road.”

Federer says there is a story that Mirka， his wife and the mother of his children （two sets of twins， identical girls Myla Rose and Charlene Riva， who will be seven in July; and fraternal28） boys Lenny and Leo， two）， tells about the first time she set eyes on him. “I was playing club tennis in Switzerland and everybody said， ‘Go see this guy， hes super talented， the future of tennis. And the first thing she saw was me throwing a racket and shouting， and she was like [mockingly]， ‘Yeah！ Great player， he seems really good！ Whats wrong with this guy？”

Federer says Mirka has played a huge part in his success. Look at the facts， he says. “When I met her I had zero titles， today I have 88， so shes been on this ride for the whole time.” He talks of her with tender pride： “She used to train five， six hours in a row. She was tough， and she taught me how to work.”

There is a conventional wisdom that natural talent gets you only so far： It takes elite performers 10，000 hours practice to fulfil their potential. Does this make Federer the exception to the rule？ Has he achieved his success without putting in the hours？

God no， he says. He was always putting in the hours; just not necessarily in the right order and at the right time. Only when he put in Mirka-style stints29） did he start to fulfil his potential. Even then， his progress was hardly linear.

In 2001， he made headlines by beating Sampras at Wimbledon and reaching the quarter-finals; he also got to the quarters in the French Open30）， but the following year he was knocked out of both in the first round. “All of a sudden， people started to ask， where had the talent gone？”

In 2003， he finally broke through， beating Mark Philippoussis31） in the Wimbledon final in straight sets32）， and over the next six years established himself as the greatest. There is barely a record Federer hasnt broken： 10 consecutive grand slam finals， 23 consecutive semi-finals， 36 consecutive quarter-finals. He has spent 302 weeks as the No. 1 ranked player in the world， 237 consecutively. He is the only player to have won two grand slams five times consecutively—Wimbledon （2003～2007） and the US Open （2004～2008）. He is ranked fourth in Forbes list of the worlds highest-paid athletes， earning around $67m over the past year， $60m of that for appearance fees and endorsements. He has earned more than any tennis player in prize money alone： $98m.

Unsurprisingly， there are endless rumours about his impending retirement， but he insists he has no plans. “I dont want to say Im enjoying it more， but its different. I have a deeper love for the game today. Before it was chasing the dream. Today it is living the dream and appreciating I can still do it. Its a wonderful feeling.”

So many fans thought that， as soon as he stopped bossing the game， he would just walk away. “Yes，” he says， “Ive heard retirement [talk] since 2009 when I won the French Open and people were like， well， what else are you playing for？ Im like， whats wrong with you people？ Dont you understand that playing tennis is great fun？ I dont need to win three slams a year to be content. If the body doesnt want to do it， if the mind doesnt want to do it， if my wife doesnt want me to do it， if my kids dont like it， Ill stop tomorrow. Zero problem. But I love tennis in such a big way that I dont care if I dont win so much anymore. For me that is irrelevant.”

If theres one tournament hed like to win again， what would it be？ “Wimbledon，” he says instantly. “This is where my heroes—Becker33）， Edberg34）， Sampras—won. I won the juniors there in 1998， my first slam. I won all these unbelievable matches there. Wimbledon is the holy grail.”

. New Oriental English

从暴躁少年到温雅绅士

今年1月29日，35岁的罗杰·费德勒在经历四年多的低迷后，重夺澳网男单冠军，收获第18个大满贯，创造了“高龄”夺冠的网坛奇迹。很多人觉得，费德勒能再次攀上大满贯之巅，靠的是天赋和近乎完美的技术。但实际上，一直支撑着“费天王”一次次走出低谷、重新夺冠的，是他对网球的热爱和绝不轻易放弃的精神。

I Need the Fire， the Excitement， the Whole Rollercoaster

罗杰·费德勒小心翼翼地慢慢揭开新球拍的包装，就像一个小男孩拿着一个超大的棒棒糖。“这是我的温布尔登球拍。”他说着，手指滑过拍框，又用手弹了弹拍头。他把球拍递给我——球拍很轻，球线并没有绷得很紧——这也可以用来形容他这个人。他看起来身形精瘦，皮肤黝黑，容光焕发，只有运动精英有这样的相貌。

自从第一次赢得大型锦标赛，他就以镇静闻名。他不大嚷大叫，也不吼自己的训练团队;他在球场上常常微笑，而不是咆哮;他很少质疑裁判的决定。而年轻时的费德勒可与此完全不同。

费德勒对网球的热爱始于很小的时候，他经常在家对着墙练习，或是在俱乐部和自己的父母打网球。他父亲是瑞士人，是一名化学工程师，母亲是南非人。费德勒八岁开始打比赛，但此时他常产生挫败感，会责备自己，骂自己是个废物。“我会点评每一次击球，对自己说怎么会没接住那个球呢，我不敢相信你打得这么烂，这简直是在开玩笑。”乍一听，他就像约翰·麦肯罗，后者常说：“你不是认真的吧。”锦标赛的裁判员们会因为他话多而批评他，说他干扰了其他运动员。

费德勒（中）参加2009戴维斯杯网球锦标赛

如果他一直这样，他还能成为冠军吗？“能，但是不会有今天这样的成就，”他咧嘴笑道，“我已经赢得了17个大满贯（编注：英文原文发表于2016年6月），如果我一直像之前那样不太理智，可能也能拿到几个。但这也说不定。运动员必须心理素质过硬、身体强健、持之以恒，而我以前不是这样。所以我真的很自豪自己努力扭转了之前的状态。”

费德勒17年来第一次错过了大满贯赛事（编注：此处指2016年5月费德勒因伤退出法网比赛）。他已经连续打了65场大满贯比赛，这证明他内心渴望求胜、体能良好。他创造了纪录，或者说一连串纪录。费德勒的大满贯总数使他成为史上最伟大的男网球运动员。与他最接近的对手皮特·桑普拉斯和拉菲尔·纳达尔各自赢得14个大满贯。紧随其后的是诺瓦克·德约科维奇，今年几乎创造了奇迹，一年内横扫四大桂冠——但他也只有12个大满贯。

费德勒之所以成为最伟大的球员，不仅仅是因为他的纪录，还因为他打球的方式。能超越自己从事的运动并将其升华到美的层面的人少之又少：足球领域有里奥内尔·梅西、拳击领域有穆罕默德·阿里、斯诺克台球领域有罗尼·奥沙利文，还有就是费德勒。他打球有一股精神，打法优雅——单手反拍，正手攻球。他能与当今霸气的底线进攻球员们匹敌，还可以把这种技术和曾经主导男子网球的发球及拦击相结合。他从头到脚看上去都很有型。但他以前可不是这样：费德勒刚出现在网球场时，看起来就像刚从重金属乐队出来的少年。但他一剪掉马尾辫，完全令人刮目相看——更像杰伊·盖茨比，而不是奥兹·奥斯朋。

尽管纳达尔和德约科维奇都成绩斐然，但没有哪个运动员能像费德勒那样受到追捧。小说家戴维·福斯特·华莱士在《纽约时报》一篇著名的文章中写道，观看费德勒打球犹如一次宗教体验。当我告诉朋友和同事我要去见费德勒时，他们那心醉神迷的反应是我在25年采访生涯中从未见过的——不论长幼，不论男女，对费德勒的迷恋没有边界。

费德勒16歲便在温网青少年组中获胜，但之后他一直为自己的情绪所左右。其他选手都意识到他有这个致命弱点。“大家都知道我终将失控，”他说，“只要跟我磨，我就会犯些低级错误。所以我努力培养自己战无不胜、难以打败的气场。”这花了费德勒很长时间。等他终于获得温网冠军时，他都快22岁了。

费德勒赢得2017澳网男单冠军

所以他必须改变自己，不再做暴脾气的麦肯罗，而是要变成日本武士一般的比约恩·博格吗？“可以说是这样，但是博格太过冰冷了。”费德勒的偶像出自更晚的那代人，都是热情似火的类型，例如戈兰·伊万尼塞维奇。教练让费德勒沉静下来时，他答应了，但只冷静到某种程度。“我说，我必须把情绪发泄出来，我控制不了。他们就说，可以，这很好，但别太过火。最后，我说我需要找到一个平衡点。我不能只是冷冰冰的，那太乏味了。我需要热情，需要兴奋，需要激情，需要情绪的起起伏伏。但是我需要将其保持在我能掌控的程度。我如果太过激动，就会失去理智。我花了两年时间才想明白这件事，这两年很漫长。”

费德勒提到一件轶事，是他妻子也是他孩子（两对双胞胎：一对同卵双胞胎女孩，今年7月就七岁了的梅拉·罗塞和查伦·里瓦;一对异卵双胞胎男孩，两岁的伦尼和莱奥）的母亲米尔卡说她第一次看见费德勒的情形。“我当时正在瑞士一家俱乐部打网球，周围人都在说：‘快来看这个小伙子，真是天赋异禀，是网球的未来啊。她第一眼看到我时，我正扔掉球拍，大喊大叫。她好像（语带嘲讽）说了句：‘是啊！了不起的运动员，他看起来真不错啊！这家伙有什么毛病吧？”

费德勒说他之所以成功，米尔卡对他帮助很大。事实摆在这儿，他说。“刚遇见她时我一个冠军也没有，现在我已经有88个了，所以我的夺冠之路都有她相伴。”说起米尔卡时，他带着点小骄傲：“她过去常常连续训练五六个小时。她很坚强，教会了我如何训练。”

有一个人所共知的道理，那就是光靠天赋你走不远：精英运动员要用上万个小时的练习去挖掘自己的潜能。费德勒的情况是例外吗？他没投入那么多时间就取得了成功吗？

当然不是，他说。他一直在投入时间，只是时机和顺序不一定对。直到他开始米尔卡模式的定额练习，他才开始发掘出自己的潜能。即使那样，他的进步也并非一帆风顺。

2001年，他在温网打败桑普拉斯，进入1/4决赛，因此登上新闻头条。当年他也进了法网的1/4决赛。但是接下来的一年，他在这两项比赛中都是在第一轮就遭淘汰。“突然，人们开始质疑，我的天赋去哪儿了？”

2003年，他终于取得突破，在温网决赛连胜三盘击败马克·菲利普西斯。接下来的六年里，他被公认为最强大的网球选手，他几乎打破了所有纪录：蝉联十个大满贯，连续23次杀进半决赛，连续36次进入1/4决赛。他排名世界第一的时间达到302周，其中237周是连续排名第一。他是唯一一个接连五次赢得温网（2003～2007）和美网（2004～2008）这两项大满贯赛事冠军的选手。他在《福布斯》全球最高薪运动员排行榜上位列第四，去年赚了大概6700万美元，其中6000万是出场费和广告代言费。单是奖金收入他就超过了其他任何运动员：9800万美元。

费德勒在2015温网男单1/8决赛

关于他即将退役的传言不断传出，这并不令人意外，但他坚持说自己还没这个打算。“我不想说自己比以前更享受打网球，但的确有所不同。我对这项运动爱得更深了。之前我是在追梦，如今我是在享受梦想。我还能打网球，对此我心怀感激。这是一种美妙的感觉。”

很多粉丝认为，一旦费德勒不再称霸网坛，他就会离开。“是的，”他说，“从2009年我赢得法网时，就听到过有关我退役的言论。人们会说，哎，你还图什么呢？而我觉得，你们这些人怎么了？你们难道不知道打网球非常有趣吗？我不需要一年赢三个大满贯来获得满足感。如果我的身体不想打了，心里不想打了，我妻子不想让我打了，我的孩子不想让我打了，那我明天就不打了。绝对没问题。但我太爱网球了，不能再赢那么多冠军这件事我毫不在乎。对我来说，这不重要。”

如果他还想赢一次比赛，会是哪个比赛呢？“温布尔登，”他立马答道，“那是我的偶像贝克尔、埃德伯格和桑普拉斯获胜的地方。我1998年在那儿赢得了青少年比赛，那也是我赢得第一个大满贯的地方。我所有精彩的比赛都是在那儿打的。温布尔登是我心中的圣杯。”

1. Wimbledon：指著名的温布尔登网球锦标赛，每年一届的全英草地网球锦标赛，网球大满贯赛事之一，简称“温网”。

2. highly strung：紧的;（形容人或动物）易激动的;神经紧张的

3. tournament [?t??（r）n?m?nt] n. 比赛;锦标赛

4. proposition [?pr?p??z??（?）n] n. 人，家伙

5. John McEnroe：约翰·麦肯罗（1959～），美国网球运动员，以坏脾气著称，绰号“坏小子”，因惊人的天才和暴躁的脾气吸引众多粉丝，他的口头禅是“You can not be serious”，他还出版了一本自传，以这句标志性的口头语为书名。

6. tick off：斥责;责备

7. grand slam：大满贯，指网球大满贯赛事的冠军。参赛选手赢得澳大利亚网球公开赛（澳网）、温布尔登网球锦标赛（温网）、法国网球公开赛（法网）、美国网球公开赛（美网）这四项大满贯赛事中任意一项赛事的冠军，即为大满贯冠军，也可以说“赢得了大满贯”。

8. cuckoo [?k?ku?] adj. 癫狂的;丧失理性的

9. Pete Sampras：皮特·桑普拉斯（1971～），美国前职业网球运动员

10. Rafa Nadal：拉菲尔·纳达尔（1986～），西班牙职业网球运动员

11. Novak Djokovic：诺瓦克·德约科维奇（1987～），塞尔维亚职业网球运动员

New Oriental English .

Listening & Speaking

听说天地

12. once in a blue moon：少有的;千载难逢的

13. Lionel Messi：里奥内尔·梅西（1987～），阿根廷足球运动员，被誉为“金球之王”。

14. Muhammad Ali：穆罕默德·阿里（1942～2016），美国著名拳王

15. Ronnie OSullivan：羅尼·奥沙利文（1975～），世界著名斯诺克球手

16. serve [s??（r）v] n. （网球、羽毛球等）发球;开球

17. volley [?v?li] n. [网]截击空中球

18. Jay Gatsby：杰伊·盖茨比，美国作家弗·司各特·菲茨杰拉德所著中篇小说《了不起的盖茨比》（The Great Gatsby）的主人公，由一名贫穷的军官奋斗成为百万富翁，英俊潇洒，充满魅力。

19. Ozzy Osbourne：奥兹·奥斯朋（1948～），英国著名重金属音乐人

20. David Foster Wallace：戴维·福斯特·华莱士（1962～2008），美国小说家，代表作为《无尽的玩笑》（Infinite Jest）。

21. swooning [swu?n??] adj. 心醉神迷的;神魂颠倒的

22. get the better of：战胜;占……的上风

23. tantrum [?t?ntr?m] n. 发脾气

24. samurai [?s?m?ra?] n. （旧时日本）武士

25. Bjorn Borg：比约恩·博格（1956～），前瑞典网球运动员，性格沉稳，意志力惊人。

26. Goran Ivanisevic：戈兰·伊万尼塞维奇（1971～），克罗地亚网球运动员

27. rollercoaster [?r??l?（r）?k??st?（r）] n. （情绪）急转突变，忽好忽坏

28. fraternal [fr??t??（r）n（?）l] adj. [生]异卵双生的

29. stint [st?nt] n. 工作期限;定额工作

30. French Open：法国网球公开赛，网球大满贯赛事之一，简称“法网”。

31. Mark Philippoussis：马克·菲利普西斯（1976～），澳大利亚网球运动员

32. set [set] n. [网]盘（以输赢局数决定单打或双打比赛胜负的计数单位，一般胜六局为胜一盘）。温网男单决赛采用五盘三胜制。

33. Becker：即鲍里斯·贝克尔（Boris Becker， 1967～），德国职业网球运动员

34. Edberg：即斯蒂芬·埃德伯格（Stefan Edberg， 1966～），前瑞典职业网球运动员