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Thursday, September 02, 2010
Roger Federer
One thing I love about Federer (and Gretzky) is how utterly non-ashholey they are. Just a couple of guys who happen to know they are the best, possibly ever, at what they do. They don’t get involved in pettiness or minutiae. They’ve got their act together. Here’s Federer’s between the legs shot. He gives a self-pump for pride, and then deflects it off as luck or undeserving of adulation. As Andy Roddick once said: “I wish I could hate you, but you are such a nice guy.” (There’s also the previous between-the-legs shot at the 1:50 mark).
I remember reading him talking about the previous between-the-legs shot, and basically saying, “Of course I practice that shot. I practice it all the time.” Along the lines of, if I want to be the best, I have to practice everything, be prepared for everything. Pretty astounding.