Roger Federer was ‘crazy’ in his early years - Guillermo Vilas

Four-time grand slam champion Guillermo Vilas recently spoke about Roger Federer in a recent interview. According to Vilas, Federer had the quality of being crazy during the Swiss’ early years as a professional tennis player.

In an interview with “Perros de la calle,” Vilas was asked who he think would have won between him and Federer if they play while still in the prime of their careers.” The retired Argentine tennis player said without hesitation that he would have emerged victorious against the Swiss maestro.

“In the first years as a professional tennis player, Federer showed only talent, without sacrifice or mental strength,” Vilas said. “He used to break all the rackets, he was crazy, I didn’t think he could realise so many things for such long time.”

Vilas, however, praised Federer’s work ethic, which he said was ‘very similar’ to his. He said that Federer has a smart game plan that starts with setting a specific goal and then working towards achieving it.

In a match of tennis or any kind of sport, it would be hard to remain calm especially during tough situations. Even if a player has a master of self-control, there would come a time when he would “lose it” and find it hard to keep his emotions together.

Federer used to be “crazy.” Rackets were broken and thrown out of frustration on the tennis court when he was younger, but he has evolved from being a “crazy” player to one that has poised on-court behavior, a complete opposite to his early years as a professional tennis player. Two decades later and after 17 grand slam titles as well as other recognitions in tennis, Federer have figured it all out. Federer had gathered himself emotionally and mentally to become arguably the best player in the world.

Video courtesy: YouTube/Bruce Brent

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