Roger Federer admits he still feels ‘occasional nerves’ when playing tennis
Roger Federer, despite his experience and greatness in playing tennis, admitted he still feels nervous during matches.
"In normal matches, maybe a quarterfinal match or first-round match, I don't get so worked up so much any more, where I have knots in my tummy," Federer said, reports ESPN. "But I do still get nervous, I still care very dearly and still have the fire.”
Federer approaches 2016 without winning any major titles from this season. However, the Swiss Maestro is optimistic he could add another Grand Slam to his record under new coach Ivan Ljubicic, replacing Stefan Edberg after two years of working together.
Federer’s move to bring in Ljubicic is believed to be an attempt to overcome world No. 1 Novak Djokovic, according to ESPN tennis analyst Brad Gilbert. The Swiss Maestro has defeated Djokovic this season in a final round match-up at the Cincinnati Masters, but he lost to “Djoker” in the other major title tournaments like the Wimbledon, US Open, and most recently at the ATP World Tour Finals in London.
"By the usual standard, Roger had a remarkable year, but what's really amazing is that this is a guy who really thinks he can still get better,” Gilbert told ESPN. “He's never satisfied with the status quo, and right now he has to think about what he can do to beat Djokovic in a five-set match.”
Meanwhile, Federer has released his tentative tournament schedule for next year on Twitter. The 17-time Grand Slam winner will start his season at the Brisbane International on Jan. 4, followed by the Australian Open on Jan. 18. Federer is also expected to compete at the 2016 Rio Olympics, where he plans to play men’s doubles with Stan Wawrinka, and mixed doubles with Martina Hingis.
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