By+Simon+Hattenstone

Roger Federer slowly， lovingly， takes the wrapping off his new racket， like a little boy with a giant lollipop. “Its my Wimbledon1） racket，” he says. He runs his fingers along the frame， bounces a hand against its head. He passes the racket to me—it is light and not highly strung2）， which could also be said of the man. He looks lean， tanned， glowing， in the way only an elite athlete can.

Since winning his first major tournament3）， he has been known for his calm. He doesnt shout at himself or his coaching team; he smiles rather than snarls on court; and he rarely questions decisions. The young Federer was a quite different proposition4）.

He loved tennis from a young age， always playing against a wall at home， at a club with his Swiss father， a chemical engineer， and South African mother. But when he started to compete， aged eight， he would get frustrated， berating himself， telling himself he was rubbish. “Id commentate on each shot， saying， how in the world could I miss that， I cant believe how badly youre playing， this is just a joke.” For a second， he sounds like John “You cannot be serious” McEnroe5）. Tournament officials would tick him off6） for being too verbal， and tell him he was putting off other players.

Could he have become a champion if hed stayed that way？ “Yes， but not to the extent I am today.” He grins. “Well， Ive won 17 [grand slams7）]， so maybe I could have won a few being a little bit cuckoo8）， but Im not sure. You have to be mentally tough， physically strong， consistent， and I wasnt. So Im really proud I managed to turn it around.”

Federer is missing his first grand slam in 17 years. He has played in 65 successive slams， a testament to his hunger and his fitness. Then there is his record. Or records. Federers grand slam total makes him the greatest male tennis player ever. His closest rivals， Pete Sampras9） and Rafa Nadal10）， have 14 each. Novak Djokovic11）， who has achieved the near-impossible this year of holding all four major titles at once， is coming up fast behind—but has only 12.

Its not simply his record that makes Federer the greatest， its the way he plays. Only once in a blue moon12） does somebody come along who transcends their sport， elevating it into a thing of beauty： Lionel Messi13） in football， Muhammad Ali14） in boxing， Ronnie OSullivan15） in snooker， and Federer. Theres the spirit with which he plays， and the elegance—the single-handed backhand， the driving forehand. Federer can match todays baseline bullies， but he can also mix it up with the serve16） and volley17） that used to dominate the mens game. His appearance is every bit as stylish. It wasnt always that way： When Federer first emerged on to the scene， he looked fresh out of a teenage heavy metal band. But once he chopped off the ponytail he cut a different figure—more Jay Gatsby18） than Ozzy Osbourne19）.

For all the achievements of Nadal and Djokovic， no player is loved quite like Federer. In a famous essay for the New York Times， the novelist David Foster Wallace20） wrote that watching him play was akin to a religious experience. And in 25 years of interviewing， I have never had such a swooning21） reaction from friends and colleagues when Ive told them who Im meeting—young and old， men and women， Federer crushes know no bounds.

Federer won junior Wimbledon at 16， but then his emotions kept getting the better of22） him. Other players realised he had a fatal flaw. “People knew， eventually hell crack，” he says. “Just stay with him and hell give you some easy mistakes. So I tried to create this aura of invincibility， of being tough to beat.” It took him a long time; Federer was almost 22 when he finally got the title.

So he had to move from being a tantrum23）-throwing McEnroe to a samurai24）-like Bjorn Borg25）？ “To some extent， but Borg was all ice.” Federers heroes come from a later generation and are fiery types such as Goran Ivanisevic26）. When coaches told him he had to quieten down， he agreed， but only up to a point. “I said， I have to get my emotion out， I cant handle it. They were like， yes， its good but not so much. Eventually I said， I need to find a balance. I cant just be ice， it becomes horribly boring. I need the fire， the excitement， the passion， the whole rollercoaster27）. But I need it at a level where I can handle it： If Im all fire， I go nuts. It took two years to figure that out. It was a long road.”

Federer says there is a story that Mirka， his wife and the mother of his children （two sets of twins， identical girls Myla Rose and Charlene Riva， who will be seven in July; and fraternal28） boys Lenny and Leo， two）， tells about the first time she set eyes on him. “I was playing club tennis in Switzerland and everybody said， ‘Go see this guy， hes super talented， the future of tennis. And the first thing she saw was me throwing a racket and shouting， and she was like [mockingly]， ‘Yeah！ Great player， he seems really good！ Whats wrong with this guy？”

Federer says Mirka has played a huge part in his success. Look at the facts， he says. “When I met her I had zero titles， today I have 88， so shes been on this ride for the whole time.” He talks of her with tender pride： “She used to train five， six hours in a row. She was tough， and she taught me how to work.”

There is a conventional wisdom that natural talent gets you only so far： It takes elite performers 10，000 hours practice to fulfil their potential. Does this make Federer the exception to the rule？ Has he achieved his success without putting in the hours？

God no， he says. He was always putting in the hours; just not necessarily in the right order and at the right time. Only when he put in Mirka-style stints29） did he start to fulfil his potential. Even then， his progress was hardly linear.

In 2001， he made headlines by beating Sampras at Wimbledon and reaching the quarter-finals; he also got to the quarters in the French Open30）， but the following year he was knocked out of both in the first round. “All of a sudden， people started to ask， where had the talent gone？”

In 2003， he finally broke through， beating Mark Philippoussis31） in the Wimbledon final in straight sets32）， and over the next six years established himself as the greatest. There is barely a record Federer hasnt broken： 10 consecutive grand slam finals， 23 consecutive semi-finals， 36 consecutive quarter-finals. He has spent 302 weeks as the No. 1 ranked player in the world， 237 consecutively. He is the only player to have won two grand slams five times consecutively—Wimbledon （2003～2007） and the US Open （2004～2008）. He is ranked fourth in Forbes list of the worlds highest-paid athletes， earning around $67m over the past year， $60m of that for appearance fees and endorsements. He has earned more than any tennis player in prize money alone： $98m.

Unsurprisingly， there are endless rumours about his impending retirement， but he insists he has no plans. “I dont want to say Im enjoying it more， but its different. I have a deeper love for the game today. Before it was chasing the dream. Today it is living the dream and appreciating I can still do it. Its a wonderful feeling.”

So many fans thought that， as soon as he stopped bossing the game， he would just walk away. “Yes，” he says， “Ive heard retirement [talk] since 2009 when I won the French Open and people were like， well， what else are you playing for？ Im like， whats wrong with you people？ Dont you understand that playing tennis is great fun？ I dont need to win three slams a year to be content. If the body doesnt want to do it， if the mind doesnt want to do it， if my wife doesnt want me to do it， if my kids dont like it， Ill stop tomorrow. Zero problem. But I love tennis in such a big way that I dont care if I dont win so much anymore. For me that is irrelevant.”

If theres one tournament hed like to win again， what would it be？ “Wimbledon，” he says instantly. “This is where my heroes—Becker33）， Edberg34）， Sampras—won. I won the juniors there in 1998， my first slam. I won all these unbelievable matches there. Wimbledon is the holy grail.”

. New Oriental English

從暴躁少年到溫雅紳士

今年1月29日，35歲的羅杰·費(fèi)德勒在經(jīng)歷四年多的低迷后，重奪澳網(wǎng)男單冠軍，收獲第18個(gè)大滿貫，創(chuàng)造了“高齡”奪冠的網(wǎng)壇奇跡。很多人覺得，費(fèi)德勒能再次攀上大滿貫之巔，靠的是天賦和近乎完美的技術(shù)。但實(shí)際上，一直支撐著“費(fèi)天王”一次次走出低谷、重新奪冠的，是他對網(wǎng)球的熱愛和絕不輕易放棄的精神。

I Need the Fire， the Excitement， the Whole Rollercoaster

羅杰·費(fèi)德勒小心翼翼地慢慢揭開新球拍的包裝，就像一個(gè)小男孩拿著一個(gè)超大的棒棒糖?！斑@是我的溫布爾登球拍?！彼f著，手指滑過拍框，又用手彈了彈拍頭。他把球拍遞給我——球拍很輕，球線并沒有繃得很緊——這也可以用來形容他這個(gè)人。他看起來身形精瘦，皮膚黝黑，容光煥發(fā)，只有運(yùn)動精英有這樣的相貌。

自從第一次贏得大型錦標(biāo)賽，他就以鎮(zhèn)靜聞名。他不大嚷大叫，也不吼自己的訓(xùn)練團(tuán)隊(duì);他在球場上常常微笑，而不是咆哮;他很少質(zhì)疑裁判的決定。而年輕時(shí)的費(fèi)德勒可與此完全不同。

費(fèi)德勒對網(wǎng)球的熱愛始于很小的時(shí)候，他經(jīng)常在家對著墻練習(xí)，或是在俱樂部和自己的父母打網(wǎng)球。他父親是瑞士人，是一名化學(xué)工程師，母親是南非人。費(fèi)德勒八歲開始打比賽，但此時(shí)他常產(chǎn)生挫敗感，會責(zé)備自己，罵自己是個(gè)廢物。“我會點(diǎn)評每一次擊球，對自己說怎么會沒接住那個(gè)球呢，我不敢相信你打得這么爛，這簡直是在開玩笑?！闭б宦?，他就像約翰·麥肯羅，后者常說：“你不是認(rèn)真的吧?！卞\標(biāo)賽的裁判員們會因?yàn)樗挾喽u他，說他干擾了其他運(yùn)動員。

費(fèi)德勒（中）參加2009戴維斯杯網(wǎng)球錦標(biāo)賽

如果他一直這樣，他還能成為冠軍嗎？“能，但是不會有今天這樣的成就，”他咧嘴笑道，“我已經(jīng)贏得了17個(gè)大滿貫（編注：英文原文發(fā)表于2016年6月），如果我一直像之前那樣不太理智，可能也能拿到幾個(gè)。但這也說不定。運(yùn)動員必須心理素質(zhì)過硬、身體強(qiáng)健、持之以恒，而我以前不是這樣。所以我真的很自豪自己努力扭轉(zhuǎn)了之前的狀態(tài)?！?/p>

費(fèi)德勒17年來第一次錯過了大滿貫賽事（編注：此處指2016年5月費(fèi)德勒因傷退出法網(wǎng)比賽）。他已經(jīng)連續(xù)打了65場大滿貫比賽，這證明他內(nèi)心渴望求勝、體能良好。他創(chuàng)造了紀(jì)錄，或者說一連串紀(jì)錄。費(fèi)德勒的大滿貫總數(shù)使他成為史上最偉大的男網(wǎng)球運(yùn)動員。與他最接近的對手皮特·桑普拉斯和拉菲爾·納達(dá)爾各自贏得14個(gè)大滿貫。緊隨其后的是諾瓦克·德約科維奇，今年幾乎創(chuàng)造了奇跡，一年內(nèi)橫掃四大桂冠——但他也只有12個(gè)大滿貫。

費(fèi)德勒之所以成為最偉大的球員，不僅僅是因?yàn)樗募o(jì)錄，還因?yàn)樗蚯虻姆绞?。能超越自己從事的運(yùn)動并將其升華到美的層面的人少之又少：足球領(lǐng)域有里奧內(nèi)爾·梅西、拳擊領(lǐng)域有穆罕默德·阿里、斯諾克臺球領(lǐng)域有羅尼·奧沙利文，還有就是費(fèi)德勒。他打球有一股精神，打法優(yōu)雅——單手反拍，正手攻球。他能與當(dāng)今霸氣的底線進(jìn)攻球員們匹敵，還可以把這種技術(shù)和曾經(jīng)主導(dǎo)男子網(wǎng)球的發(fā)球及攔擊相結(jié)合。他從頭到腳看上去都很有型。但他以前可不是這樣：費(fèi)德勒剛出現(xiàn)在網(wǎng)球場時(shí)，看起來就像剛從重金屬樂隊(duì)出來的少年。但他一剪掉馬尾辮，完全令人刮目相看——更像杰伊·蓋茨比，而不是奧茲·奧斯朋。

盡管納達(dá)爾和德約科維奇都成績斐然，但沒有哪個(gè)運(yùn)動員能像費(fèi)德勒那樣受到追捧。小說家戴維·福斯特·華萊士在《紐約時(shí)報(bào)》一篇著名的文章中寫道，觀看費(fèi)德勒打球猶如一次宗教體驗(yàn)。當(dāng)我告訴朋友和同事我要去見費(fèi)德勒時(shí)，他們那心醉神迷的反應(yīng)是我在25年采訪生涯中從未見過的——不論長幼，不論男女，對費(fèi)德勒的迷戀沒有邊界。

費(fèi)德勒16歲便在溫網(wǎng)青少年組中獲勝，但之后他一直為自己的情緒所左右。其他選手都意識到他有這個(gè)致命弱點(diǎn)?！按蠹叶贾牢医K將失控，”他說，“只要跟我磨，我就會犯些低級錯誤。所以我努力培養(yǎng)自己戰(zhàn)無不勝、難以打敗的氣場。”這花了費(fèi)德勒很長時(shí)間。等他終于獲得溫網(wǎng)冠軍時(shí)，他都快22歲了。

費(fèi)德勒贏得2017澳網(wǎng)男單冠軍

所以他必須改變自己，不再做暴脾氣的麥肯羅，而是要變成日本武士一般的比約恩·博格嗎？“可以說是這樣，但是博格太過冰冷了?！辟M(fèi)德勒的偶像出自更晚的那代人，都是熱情似火的類型，例如戈蘭·伊萬尼塞維奇。教練讓費(fèi)德勒沉靜下來時(shí)，他答應(yīng)了，但只冷靜到某種程度。“我說，我必須把情緒發(fā)泄出來，我控制不了。他們就說，可以，這很好，但別太過火。最后，我說我需要找到一個(gè)平衡點(diǎn)。我不能只是冷冰冰的，那太乏味了。我需要熱情，需要興奮，需要激情，需要情緒的起起伏伏。但是我需要將其保持在我能掌控的程度。我如果太過激動，就會失去理智。我花了兩年時(shí)間才想明白這件事，這兩年很漫長。”

費(fèi)德勒提到一件軼事，是他妻子也是他孩子（兩對雙胞胎：一對同卵雙胞胎女孩，今年7月就七歲了的梅拉·羅塞和查倫·里瓦;一對異卵雙胞胎男孩，兩歲的倫尼和萊奧）的母親米爾卡說她第一次看見費(fèi)德勒的情形?！拔耶?dāng)時(shí)正在瑞士一家俱樂部打網(wǎng)球，周圍人都在說：‘快來看這個(gè)小伙子，真是天賦異稟，是網(wǎng)球的未來啊。她第一眼看到我時(shí)，我正扔掉球拍，大喊大叫。她好像（語帶嘲諷）說了句：‘是?。×瞬黄鸬倪\(yùn)動員，他看起來真不錯啊！這家伙有什么毛病吧？”

費(fèi)德勒說他之所以成功，米爾卡對他幫助很大。事實(shí)擺在這兒，他說?！皠傆鲆娝龝r(shí)我一個(gè)冠軍也沒有，現(xiàn)在我已經(jīng)有88個(gè)了，所以我的奪冠之路都有她相伴?！闭f起米爾卡時(shí)，他帶著點(diǎn)小驕傲：“她過去常常連續(xù)訓(xùn)練五六個(gè)小時(shí)。她很堅(jiān)強(qiáng)，教會了我如何訓(xùn)練。”

有一個(gè)人所共知的道理，那就是光靠天賦你走不遠(yuǎn)：精英運(yùn)動員要用上萬個(gè)小時(shí)的練習(xí)去挖掘自己的潛能。費(fèi)德勒的情況是例外嗎？他沒投入那么多時(shí)間就取得了成功嗎？

當(dāng)然不是，他說。他一直在投入時(shí)間，只是時(shí)機(jī)和順序不一定對。直到他開始米爾卡模式的定額練習(xí)，他才開始發(fā)掘出自己的潛能。即使那樣，他的進(jìn)步也并非一帆風(fēng)順。

2001年，他在溫網(wǎng)打敗桑普拉斯，進(jìn)入1/4決賽，因此登上新聞頭條。當(dāng)年他也進(jìn)了法網(wǎng)的1/4決賽。但是接下來的一年，他在這兩項(xiàng)比賽中都是在第一輪就遭淘汰?！巴蝗?，人們開始質(zhì)疑，我的天賦去哪兒了？”

2003年，他終于取得突破，在溫網(wǎng)決賽連勝三盤擊敗馬克·菲利普西斯。接下來的六年里，他被公認(rèn)為最強(qiáng)大的網(wǎng)球選手，他幾乎打破了所有紀(jì)錄：蟬聯(lián)十個(gè)大滿貫，連續(xù)23次殺進(jìn)半決賽，連續(xù)36次進(jìn)入1/4決賽。他排名世界第一的時(shí)間達(dá)到302周，其中237周是連續(xù)排名第一。他是唯一一個(gè)接連五次贏得溫網(wǎng)（2003～2007）和美網(wǎng)（2004～2008）這兩項(xiàng)大滿貫賽事冠軍的選手。他在《福布斯》全球最高薪運(yùn)動員排行榜上位列第四，去年賺了大概6700萬美元，其中6000萬是出場費(fèi)和廣告代言費(fèi)。單是獎金收入他就超過了其他任何運(yùn)動員：9800萬美元。

費(fèi)德勒在2015溫網(wǎng)男單1/8決賽

關(guān)于他即將退役的傳言不斷傳出，這并不令人意外，但他堅(jiān)持說自己還沒這個(gè)打算?！拔也幌胝f自己比以前更享受打網(wǎng)球，但的確有所不同。我對這項(xiàng)運(yùn)動愛得更深了。之前我是在追夢，如今我是在享受夢想。我還能打網(wǎng)球，對此我心懷感激。這是一種美妙的感覺?！?/p>

很多粉絲認(rèn)為，一旦費(fèi)德勒不再稱霸網(wǎng)壇，他就會離開?！笆堑模彼f，“從2009年我贏得法網(wǎng)時(shí)，就聽到過有關(guān)我退役的言論。人們會說，哎，你還圖什么呢？而我覺得，你們這些人怎么了？你們難道不知道打網(wǎng)球非常有趣嗎？我不需要一年贏三個(gè)大滿貫來獲得滿足感。如果我的身體不想打了，心里不想打了，我妻子不想讓我打了，我的孩子不想讓我打了，那我明天就不打了。絕對沒問題。但我太愛網(wǎng)球了，不能再贏那么多冠軍這件事我毫不在乎。對我來說，這不重要?！?/p>

如果他還想贏一次比賽，會是哪個(gè)比賽呢？“溫布爾登，”他立馬答道，“那是我的偶像貝克爾、埃德伯格和桑普拉斯獲勝的地方。我1998年在那兒贏得了青少年比賽，那也是我贏得第一個(gè)大滿貫的地方。我所有精彩的比賽都是在那兒打的。溫布爾登是我心中的圣杯。”

1. Wimbledon：指著名的溫布爾登網(wǎng)球錦標(biāo)賽，每年一屆的全英草地網(wǎng)球錦標(biāo)賽，網(wǎng)球大滿貫賽事之一，簡稱“溫網(wǎng)”。

2. highly strung：緊的;（形容人或動物）易激動的;神經(jīng)緊張的

3. tournament [?t??（r）n?m?nt] n. 比賽;錦標(biāo)賽

4. proposition [?pr?p??z??（?）n] n. 人，家伙

5. John McEnroe：約翰·麥肯羅（1959～），美國網(wǎng)球運(yùn)動員，以壞脾氣著稱，綽號“壞小子”，因驚人的天才和暴躁的脾氣吸引眾多粉絲，他的口頭禪是“You can not be serious”，他還出版了一本自傳，以這句標(biāo)志性的口頭語為書名。

6. tick off：斥責(zé);責(zé)備

7. grand slam：大滿貫，指網(wǎng)球大滿貫賽事的冠軍。參賽選手贏得澳大利亞網(wǎng)球公開賽（澳網(wǎng)）、溫布爾登網(wǎng)球錦標(biāo)賽（溫網(wǎng)）、法國網(wǎng)球公開賽（法網(wǎng)）、美國網(wǎng)球公開賽（美網(wǎng)）這四項(xiàng)大滿貫賽事中任意一項(xiàng)賽事的冠軍，即為大滿貫冠軍，也可以說“贏得了大滿貫”。

8. cuckoo [?k?ku?] adj. 癲狂的;喪失理性的

9. Pete Sampras：皮特·桑普拉斯（1971～），美國前職業(yè)網(wǎng)球運(yùn)動員

10. Rafa Nadal：拉菲爾·納達(dá)爾（1986～），西班牙職業(yè)網(wǎng)球運(yùn)動員

11. Novak Djokovic：諾瓦克·德約科維奇（1987～），塞爾維亞職業(yè)網(wǎng)球運(yùn)動員

New Oriental English .

Listening & Speaking

聽說天地

12. once in a blue moon：少有的;千載難逢的

13. Lionel Messi：里奧內(nèi)爾·梅西（1987～），阿根廷足球運(yùn)動員，被譽(yù)為“金球之王”。

14. Muhammad Ali：穆罕默德·阿里（1942～2016），美國著名拳王

15. Ronnie OSullivan：羅尼·奧沙利文（1975～），世界著名斯諾克球手

16. serve [s??（r）v] n. （網(wǎng)球、羽毛球等）發(fā)球;開球

17. volley [?v?li] n. [網(wǎng)]截?fù)艨罩星?/p>

18. Jay Gatsby：杰伊·蓋茨比，美國作家弗·司各特·菲茨杰拉德所著中篇小說《了不起的蓋茨比》（The Great Gatsby）的主人公，由一名貧窮的軍官奮斗成為百萬富翁，英俊瀟灑，充滿魅力。

19. Ozzy Osbourne：奧茲·奧斯朋（1948～），英國著名重金屬音樂人

20. David Foster Wallace：戴維·福斯特·華萊士（1962～2008），美國小說家，代表作為《無盡的玩笑》（Infinite Jest）。

21. swooning [swu?n??] adj. 心醉神迷的;神魂顛倒的

22. get the better of：戰(zhàn)勝;占……的上風(fēng)

23. tantrum [?t?ntr?m] n. 發(fā)脾氣

24. samurai [?s?m?ra?] n. （舊時(shí)日本）武士

25. Bjorn Borg：比約恩·博格（1956～），前瑞典網(wǎng)球運(yùn)動員，性格沉穩(wěn)，意志力驚人。

26. Goran Ivanisevic：戈蘭·伊萬尼塞維奇（1971～），克羅地亞網(wǎng)球運(yùn)動員

27. rollercoaster [?r??l?（r）?k??st?（r）] n. （情緒）急轉(zhuǎn)突變，忽好忽壞

28. fraternal [fr??t??（r）n（?）l] adj. [生]異卵雙生的

29. stint [st?nt] n. 工作期限;定額工作

30. French Open：法國網(wǎng)球公開賽，網(wǎng)球大滿貫賽事之一，簡稱“法網(wǎng)”。

31. Mark Philippoussis：馬克·菲利普西斯（1976～），澳大利亞網(wǎng)球運(yùn)動員

32. set [set] n. [網(wǎng)]盤（以輸贏局?jǐn)?shù)決定單打或雙打比賽勝負(fù)的計(jì)數(shù)單位，一般勝六局為勝一盤）。溫網(wǎng)男單決賽采用五盤三勝制。

33. Becker：即鮑里斯·貝克爾（Boris Becker， 1967～），德國職業(yè)網(wǎng)球運(yùn)動員

34. Edberg：即斯蒂芬·埃德伯格（Stefan Edberg， 1966～），前瑞典職業(yè)網(wǎng)球運(yùn)動員