Roger Federer Says Travelling Has Helped Him Learn How To Deal With Stress

Playing on the global tour for over 15 years, Roger Federer knows a thing or two about travel. The Swiss has probably seen it all through the years, travelling to hundreds of tournaments and destinations.

After his 4-set win yesterday over Marcel Granollers, Federer spoke about his life on the road and in particular of missing flights.

“Happened last year,” Federer said of missing flights. “I know how that feels. Feel like the worst person in the world, you know, because you feel like you messed it up and you didn’t leave on time or whatever it was. So, yeah, I mean, I think when you travel — we’ve all traveled. Things happen. There’s just too many people. You don’t want to ever see these people again because some are just not nice. So from that standpoint it’s in a way super interesting, you know, just to go through these things.

“That’s why I think traveling you learn so much: How to deal with stress; being organized, being there for the check-in; for the bags; for boarding; for passport control; filling stuff out; knowing where to go. It just never ends when you travel. Plus you do it in a bigger group. You have more luggage. It just adds to the pressure clearly. I usually have help and everything, but nevertheless it’s still a grind. That’s the stuff I don’t enjoy about traveling. But coming to new places, all that stuff, is really cool. Clearly I’ve had a lot of things happening in my time as a world traveler, but I look back at those moments as an experience rather than something negative really.”

Federer will play Tuesday night against Roberto Bautista Agut. The two have never played but Federer knows and admires his game.

“I think he’s done extremely well,” he said. “He’s quick on his feet. He doesn’t miss much. He’s consistent. He’s got a pretty good first serve. He’s overall a solid player. I would assume he’s fit, too, because he comes from the Spanish tennis school, which they just know how to train hard. They never get tired. They’re always ready to go. They have a good mental approach, point-for-point mentality. Then again, he’s not the typical Spaniard with a lot of topspin. I mean, he plays unbelievably flat actually, which is very surprising for a Spaniard.”