Roger Federer was snapped by the paparazzi (the real, Italian kind!) as he, Mirka and family jetted out of Genova, Italy on Monday. Hopefully the hard working Team Fed has scheduled some well-deserved R&R far from the reach of telephoto lenses. Federer won both of his live rubbers in Davis Cup this past weekend, helping keep the Swiss team in the elite World Group for another year.
There’s no doubt Roger enjoys the camaraderie of Davis Cup (click here for proof!) but he remains unwilling to commit unconditionally to the team competition. He says he is not sure if and when he can play next year:
“I truly enjoy playing for my country but I’ll also have to see where I have my priorities for next season. If I want to play Davis Cup all the time I might have to leave out some Masters 1000 tournaments. Like in the other years, I will see after the Australian Open how I feel and if I play the first round.” (via Swisster)
The 2010 World Group draw will be determined on Wednesday in a ceremony in Geneva. (click here for more)
Though Federer has faced some criticism over the years for unapologetically putting his personal goals before Team Suisse, it’s worth noting that he’s played more DC matches than anyone else in the Top 5. Of course, he’s also quite a bit older than Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, but I think these numbers put Roger’s supposed lack of commitment in perspective:
Davis Cup career win/loss records (via Daviscup.com)
Roger Federer: 35/11
Andy Roddick: 31/11
Novak Djokovic: 14/6
Rafael Nadal: 14/5
Andy Murray: 9/5
Juan Martin del Potro: 6/2
Now that Roger Federer has completed the career slam, it will be interesting to see if he makes Davis Cup glory one of his final career goals. Switzerland has only competed in the finals once, losing to Team USA in 1991.
Loading ...Okay, Fed hounds, here are the rest of the zoom lens specials! I won’t tell anyone you looked!
(Photos via Celebrity-Gossip.net)
Tags: Davis Cup, Federer, Mirka Vavrinec, tennis
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Funny that that article criticizes Roger's lack of commitment to Davis Cup because he would like to focus on being #1. If he misses the first round, he usually comes through for the playoffs or the next round. Meanwhile, Serena Williams has played one match for the US Fed Cup team in the last 5 years. Just one measly singles match.
as an international fan of course i would like Rog to keep focus on pesonal goals, like keep winnig Slams and Masters by beating the best of the best, but i would be very happy for him if he can win DC withSwitzerland.
BTW, is just me or has Mirka lost some weight?
I was hoping there might be some pictures of the babies! I wonder where they were. Sure would love to see some updated pics of them! As far as Mirka losing weight, I sure she is losing quite a bit. I know after I had twins quite a lot came off the first couple months.
There's one photo where you can see Roger taking a baby carrier onto the plane.
I'm not surprised there are no photos – even with paparazzi involved, the Federer's are in control!
Personally, I love how Mirka's wearing sweatpants.
i love the paparazzi in this situation, for my own selfish reasons. they're just like us, except they fly around the world in private jets.
rog carrying the baby carrier, sweet. mirka looks fab. i am hoping for a new twins pic soon! i know it's none of our business, but i'd love to see how they are. thanks ff!
the feds are pretty good with keeping their private life private. i mean, when's the last time you saw a pic of mirka & rog smooching or out and about? everyone knows who they are now, but they've kept a nice balance between their public and personal lives. i imagine this is why their relationship works so well and their close group of family and friends keep a lid on things.
as for DC, i think team fed will know what works best, esp in the later stages of his career. he would probably play only when they really need him. no one wants him to burn out. i think rog would be happy to add either DC or an olympic singles gold medal to the trophy house. one of those would mean a lot because he loves switzerland.
I don't know why people question Roger's commitment to play Davis Cup. The fact that he flew to Italy after a 5 set loss in the US open finals to play shows his dedication.
I think Roger is using common sense. After Oz, he may need recovery time. So he can commit when he knows more about his condition. Makes sense to me. It doesn't make sense to overcommit and then have to back out. I know that is done often, but Roger has managed his schedule to his needs in last few years, I guess. Rafa, IMO, needs to do more along these lines with his scheduling.
I think that Roger is going to make a priority to be on the Davis Cup Swiss team in March since they are going to be going against the Spanish Armada, hopefully they fall like they did under the English back in the Elizabeth I reign.