Roger Federer is back, and he’s fielding your questions. The 39-year-old Swiss recently sat down with ATPTour.com in Geneva to answer fan questions ahead of his Roland Garros campaign.
He covered a lot of ground including which Federer is better, the 2006 version or the 2017 version?
“Somehow I’ll pick ‘06 instead of ‘17 even though in ‘17 [I was] more experienced…” Federer said. “But probably I was a little bit of a better mover in ‘06.”
When asked who his favourite WTA player is, the Swiss chose his compatriot Belinda Bencic. The duo won the Hopman Cup together in 2018 and 2019.
“She’s my best friend on the women’s tour, having played all the Hopman Cups with her, she’s been the best partner,” Federer said. “Hopefully, we can partner up again at the Olympics.”
Federer also gave shout outs to Naomi Osaka, Ashleigh Barty and Serena Williams.
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His favourite hobby shouldn’t surprise anyone.
“It’s all about my children really,” Federer said. “Being a dad, being there for them. I like building Lego so that’s been a bit of a hobby of mine during the lockdowns. It was easy to sit down and take time to build a Harry Potter castle. That was some hard work there.
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He was pressed more on the topic though, as he answered who is easier to parent, the boys or the girls. Federer has two twins, 11-year-olds Myla and Charlene and seven-year-olds Leo and Lenny.
“I’d say right now the girls, but it hasn’t always been like this,” Federer said. “I think it depends on the daily mood. There are some serious mood swings going on from time to time, so it’s a battle but it’s a good one.”
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As for whether or not coaching is in Federer’s future, it’s only going to be on his specific terms.
“I don’t have much interest to be coaching [on tour],” he said. “I would rather coach juniors and youngsters coming up. I would mentor them.”
Federer has shared a practice court with plenty of up-and-comers including #NextGenATP stars Jannik Sinner and Lorenzo Musetti.
“I really enjoy practising with the young guys,” Federer said. “Also welcoming them to the tour. Novak [Djokovic], Rafa [Nadal], everyone does the same, which I think is wonderful actually.”
Federer, playing in just his third tournament of 2021, is into the second round of Roland Garros, where he will face 2014 US Open champion Marin Cilic.