Roger Federer: Health and Perspective

by Vin Miller

Roger Federer is arguably the greatest tennis player to ever live. His career is far from over and some people are already convinced that he’s the greatest of all time. He’s won 13 grand slam titles which is only one short of Pete Sampras’ record of 14. He also spent 237 consecutive weeks as the world’s top ranked player which literally crushed Jimmy Connors previous record by 77 weeks.

2008: The Season of Questions

In 2008, Roger was a semifinalist at the Australian Open, the runner up at the French Open, the runner up at Wimbledon, and the winner of the U.S. Open. For any other player, this would’ve been a dream season, but for Roger, it was substandard.

This time last year, Roger had just been upset in the semifinals of the Australian Open by Novak Djokovich. This was the first time in 11 grand slams, or nearly 3 years, that Roger Federer wouldn’t be playing in the finals. Talk immediately began to circulate through the tennis world suggesting that Roger was officially past his prime.

Some time later, information was released that helped to explain Roger’s early loss. He was sick with mononucleosis which can cause severe fatigue and take quite a while to recover from. In retrospect, it’s amazing that he got as far as the semifinals.

Despite the unfortunate start to the year, Roger later played an epic Wimbledon final against Rafael Nadal. Although Wimbledon is historically Roger’s best tournament, and although he failed to win his sixth consecutive title, it’s regarded by many as the best tennis match of all time. It was simply unbelievable.

Following the devastating Wimbledon loss, Roger collected himself and finished the year on a positive note by winning the U.S. Open. But overall, it was a lackluster year for Roger and much of the tennis world was still casting doubt and asking questions.

To this day, I continue to wonder if his illness affected his entire year, and if perhaps it’s affecting him still. But as I’ll explain, mononucleosis isn’t to blame. it’s the stress and physical demands of his lifestyle that compromised his immunity and made him susceptible to it.

However, it would be naive to not give due credit to the amazing improvements of Rafael Nadal and incredible new talents such as Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray. Regardless of Roger’s health, perhaps the rest of the pack is simply gaining ground.

Mononucleosis, Epstein-Barr, and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Mononucleosis is often caused by the common Epstein-Barr virus. In the United States, 95% of adults have this virus, and most are infected with it at birth or shortly after. The Epstein-Barr virus rarely causes problems when the infection occurs at a young age, but for someone with compromised immunity that’s infected later in life, mononucleosis often develops as it did with Roger.

An interesting thing about Epstein-Barr virus is that it’s frequently associated with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. The virus doesn’t cause Chronic Fatigue Syndrome directly, but because the immune system is weakened, the virus is allowed to flourish. I was diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome several years ago, and when tested, my Epstein-Barr numbers were through the roof.

The key point here is that weakened immunity can allow something as simple as a common virus to destroy your health. The most common cause of weakened immunity is a lifestyle characterized by poor nutrition, excessive stress, and inadequate rest.

The Demanding Life of a Pro Tennis Player

For nearly eleven months of the year, pro tennis players uproot themselves every week and travel all over the world, live out of a suitcase, and rely on restaurants for their meals. Going through airports, flying in planes, living in hotel rooms, and acclimating to new environments are significant sources of stress. It’s also very difficult to follow a healthy diet when you rely on restaurants.

While Roger Federer is a multimillionaire that can afford to alleviate some of this stress by traveling in style, the pro tennis tour is a grueling schedule even for him.

There’s also the mental stress of trying to perform your best and meet expectations. While Roger certainly doesn’t have to worry about winning matches to pay his bills, he’s faced with the expectations of being the greatest player ever. He’s been breaking records for years, but is on the cusp of breaking the most significant record in tennis and has to deal with hoards of reporters questioning his every move. I think it’s safe to say that he has a few things on his mind!

Even without the travel and pressure, tennis is an extremely physically demanding sport. You may not realize this if you’re not a serious player, but the amount of explosiveness, power, and energy required to move around the court quickly enough to keep up with the pace of the opponent’s shots is astounding. Professional tennis players spend hours doing this nearly every day of the year and add to it with intense fitness training. All of this strenuous physical activity is an extreme burden on the body and significantly magnifies the need for quality nutrition and adequate rest.

While pro tennis players are pushing their physical limits on a daily basis, they are hard pressed to get the recovery they need with all the travel and stress they are exposed to. And to make it worse, many of them compound the problem by engaging in unhealthy habits. Although I don’t know the intricacies of Roger’s lifestyle, I strongly suspect the rigors of pro tennis made him vulnerable to mononucleosis and that he could have avoided it with a few lifestyle improvements.

2009 Australian Open Final

I had hoped Roger would get some much needed rest over the off season, get back into his routine of training in Dubai, start 2009 with a vengeance, and win the Australian Open. Although he had a bit of a hiccup in the fourth round against Tomas Berdych, he absolutely smoked Del Potro in the quarters and easily beat Roddick in the semis. Things were looking good!

However, this final was a bit different than the 13 others he’s already won. With a win, he’d tie Pete Sampras for winning the most grand slam titles and would further validate himself as the best ever. It was also only the second grand slam in nearly 5 years that he wasn’t ranked as the world’s top player. Needless to say, the pressure was on!

Having to face Rafael Nadal undoubtedly increased the pressure tenfold. This is the guy that stole his number one ranking, the only player to ever beat him in a grand slam final, and one of a select few to have a winning record against him. By just the second game, the match was already full of intensity and showing signs of being another epic like the 2008 Wimbledon final. But to the dismay of much of the tennis world, Federer lost in a tough 5 set battle and crumbled under the pressure during the final set.

What Went Wrong?

Like many, I’ve been wondering since last year’s Australian Open why Federer lost his strangle hold on men’s tennis. Is it his health? The pressure? Has Rafael Nadal simply gotten too good? Or is it all of the above? Throughout the tournament, particularly in the final, he appeared to be fresh and was making strong replies on shots that most players wouldn’t even get to. Based on this, his fitness, health and training no longer seem to be a problem.

However, a few things that really stood out to me were his demeanor, his poor conversion on big points, and in direct contrast, Nadal’s ability to consistently play the big points well. Although Federer is one of the most stoic athletes I’ve ever seen, more than anything, it was his demeanor that really struck me. Particularly in the fifth and final set, the immense pressure he was putting on himself and his resulting frustration and gut wrenching sadness were all very palpable, even through television. Very much like last year’s Wimbledon final, it was painful to watch.

More than anything else, I think it’s the pressure of being the game’s all time best that’s keeping him from consistently making the big shots that are necessary to beat Nadal. Furthermore, it seems to be detracting from his enjoyment of the game, and in my opinion, this is by far the most disappointing aspect of it all.

What You Can Learn From Roger

Although it’s not good to dwell on the past, sometimes it’s hard not to. With Roger Federer being one grand slam title away from Pete Samrpas’ record, what might he think if he doesn’t break it? Will he dwell on the opportunity he missed at the 2008 Australian Open because of his illness? Does he have thoughts about his illness contributing to his loss at Wimbledon? Will he be antagonized by the thought of his unfortunate 2008 season keeping him from breaking tennis’ most significant record? How would he feel knowing his illness was preventable? And what kind of memories might he be left with if he spends the later years of his career distraught over the pressure he’s putting on himself?

Lifestyle and Perspective

Although the focus of this article has been pro tennis, what’s at stake here is far more important than athletic significance. It’s your vitality, longevity, and well being. While you’re probably not traveling across the world week after week, living out of a suitcase, or enduring the physical demands of a professional athlete, there’s a good chance that you’re under a lot of stress, not eating as well as you could be, and not getting enough sleep. In today’s fast paced society, there are very few people that can’t identify with at least one of these problems. If you’re one of them, the burden you’re putting on your body is of similar significance to that of a professional athlete.

Since you’re not contending to be the greatest tennis player of all time, you’re probably wondering what the big deal is, right? Take a look at the people around you. Problems like cancer, heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and autoimmune disease are more prominent than ever and they’re all preventable. If your unhealthy habits lead to one of these problems, will you be left with regret and wonder how much better life would be if you did things differently?

In addition to the fast paced and unhealthy lifestyle many of us live, we also put a lot of pressure on ourselves just like Federer. But instead of it being about rewriting tennis history, it might have to do with a career, a material item, or even a hobby. It’s easy to focus so deeply on something you want that your life becomes imbalanced and you begin to lose sight of more important things like your family, your friends, and your health. The pain I see in Federer’s face when he loses grand slam finals to Rafael Nadal is indicative of this narrow focus that is perhaps too intense.

In regards to your life, is there anything that you’re focusing on so intently that you no longer enjoy it and are causing yourself a great deal of stress? And is it also detracting from other important areas of your life?

Live Like a World Class Athlete

For a world class athlete like Roger Federer, the smallest deficiency in health or mental perspective can have a significant impact and be the only difference between success and failure. But this applies to life just as much as it applies to sports. Everyone wants happiness, but happiness is difficult to achieve without good health and good perspective. As such, live your life with the mentality of a world class athlete and regard your health and mental strength as factors that are highly essential to achieving your goals.

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