Roger Federer: The Heat Is A Mental Thing, If You Can’t Deal With It, You Throw In The Towel
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Following a straight set win yesterday under a scorching hot sun, Roger Federer explained how he handles the heat at the Australian Open.
“It depends on who you play, if you’re playing a big server, clearly faster conditions,” Federer said after beating James Duckworth. “If you’re getting into rallies, I guess you’ll feel the heat a bit more.
“Depending on where you come from it has a bigger effect on you, this type of heat, than maybe humid heat. So it’s very personal, and it can become just a very mental thing, you know, and you just can’t accept that it’s hot.”
Federer, who trains in the off season in Dubai, admitted it’s not easy to find extreme heat to train in.
“I didn’t practice in 40 degree heat because that’s hard to find, you know, around the world,” Federer said. “I did that after the US Open. In Dubai we had 42, 43, so that was warm then. But like I said, it’s just a mental thing. If you’ve trained hard enough your entire life or the last few weeks and you believe you can do it and come through it, there’s no reason.
“If you can’t deal with it, you throw in the towel. But that’s for me.”
He also is of the mindset the roof should not be closed to keep it cool. “I think it should always stay open, honestly. That’s my opinion.”
And even though the mercury reached into the 100s, the tournament was never suspended nor was the roof closed.
Federer’s win was also notable not just for the 100+ temperatures it was played in but also because it marked the debut of “FedBerg”, his coaching relationship with Stefan Edberg. So what are his plans with the Swede ahead of his next match Thursday against Blaz Kavcic?
“We will probably go to dinner tonight and just see who else joins in, and then we will just watch some matches, you know,” Federer said. “I think he wants to see quite a few matches live, as well. Because he’s seen a lot on TV but, live is a different animal.
“So he’s going to do a bit of that. Tomorrow we will just go through the motions in practice and discuss my future opponent. You know, just spend time, three of us, with Severin Luthi, my coach, as well. That’s what’s on the planning front right now.”
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