This is all kinds of awesome! Roger Federer submits to a fit of giggles while being interviewed by CNN in Switzerland last week:

If Roger wasn’t so adamantly pro-WADA, I’d swear. . .

Roger Federer and financial services company, Credit Suisse, announced today that they have formed “a long-term partnership agreement.” The AP is reporting that it’s a ten-year deal running through 2019 – presumably long-after Roger Federer has retired from the tour. The deal includes a “significant annual contribution” to the Roger Federer Foundation, though the bank is not disclosing how much the deal is worth or what amount is going to the foundation.

In the video, below, “Roger Federer discusses the importance of teamwork in his sport and what drives him to achieve excellence.”

The press release (via Roger’s website):

CREDIT SUISSE AND ROGER FEDERER ENTER LONG-TERM PARTNERSHIP

Credit Suisse today announced a long-term partnership agreement with Roger Federer. The world’s top tennis player, Roger Federer has won 15 Grand Slam titles and 61 singles tournaments. In an exclusive video interview,  Roger Federer discusses the importance of teamwork in his sport and what drives him to achieve excellence.

As part of the partnership agreement, Credit Suisse will make a significant annual contribution to the Roger Federer Foundation, which is dedicated to helping disadvantaged children and to promoting education, sports and play, particularly in Africa. This commitment underscores the importance of corporate citizenship to both Roger Federer and to Credit Suisse.

Brady Dougan, Chief Executive Officer of Credit Suisse Group, said: “Credit Suisse is delighted and proud to be associating ourselves closely with Roger Federer – one of the greatest tennis players of all time, known and admired worldwide. Our decision to enter into a long-term partnership is driven by the fact that Roger represents the values that we embrace as a bank. He has a passion for excellence and is a great player. He has achieved this through a combination of hard work and determination. He brings all of his talent to bear in his play and raises the level of his game to meet the challenge in even the most trying of circumstances. At the same time he sets an example for responsible conduct both on and off the court. We also particularly share his passion for giving back to the community through his sponsoring of educational initiatives and look forward to supporting his charitable foundation.”

Roger Federer said: “I am excited about this opportunity to act as a global ambassador for Credit Suisse. They have been an important and trusted banking partner with me for a long time and I admire their passion for excellence. I also value Credit Suisse’s substantial support for my foundation. I look forward to our ongoing partnership and helping make a contribution to the bank’s continued success

This announcement follows last month’s news that Roger Federer has become the “global ambassador” for Lindt chocolate company.

Roger this! Paul Kimmage of The Times, U.K. did a fantastic interview with Roger Federer at last week’s Basel tournament. Click here to read the entire piece, which was published this weekend. Here are some of the highlights.

The theme of the interview is Roger’s positive attitude and the way he uses this cheerful way of thinking to stay on top of the tennis world.  To underline how unique Federer’s mentality is for a tennis Champion, the piece begins by stating what Federer is not:

How did Roger Federer become the greatest? He was not born in Sweden (Bjorn Borg). He was not shaped by a dominant parent (Ivan Lendl). He is not fuelled by rage (Jimmy Connors) or tortured by demons (John McEnroe). He has never had sex in Nobu (Boris Becker), smoked crystal meth (Andre Agassi) or been afflicted with odd sleeping habits (Pete Sampras). He is as affable as Tim Henman. . . He did not marry a supermodel (Roddick). He does not make fun of his rivals (Novak Djokovic) or pick continually at the crack in his backside (Nadal). He has worse fashion sense than Andy Murray. How does he explain it?

Now wait just a second, here, Mr. Kimmage! Roger Federer’s fashion sense – with the exception of a certain figure skating outfit – is infinitely better than Andy Murray’s! But I’ll use Roger as my inspiration and refrain from going negative.

Here’s Roger explaining how his sunny disposition keeps him motivated:

“I’m a positive person, a very positive thinker. That’s why I like the more positive approach of ‘I love winning’, because to hate losing, to me, is a bit negative. I guess my love for the sport started as a little boy watching Becker and Edberg facing off in the Wimbledon final. I dreamed about it but I never thought it would happen to me. It’s so difficult to keep winning and to keep your love for the game because of all the travelling and the sacrifices, but I just said, ‘I’m not going to let that happen to me. I’m going to take a positive approach that travelling is great and that I’m going to see different cultures and places I would never see if I wasn’t a tennis player’. My wife loves it. I love it, so ‘let’s have a good time because it’s not going to last until I am 70’. And so far that approach has worked for me.”

This positive attitude leads to friendly relations with even his fiercest rival, Rafael Nadal:

“I’m surprised myself by the degree to which we (he and Nadal) actually get along because we’ve had a very intense rivalry and you could say he has hurt my career and that I’ve hurt his career, but we’ve actually helped each other become the players we are today. And the rivalry has helped the game. It’s nice that the two greatest players in tennis, or in a sport, actually get along well, because normally there is all this hate and it’s so negative, and I don’t like that. We’ve had enough controversy in recent years with athletes and it’s a welcome change.”

But what about after the Australian Open, when Roger stood on the podium and said losing to Nadal was “killing” him?

“The thing that was killing me was having to talk while crying. What I meant was, ‘I wish I could stop crying and could talk normally and give Rafa the stage he deserves and not make everybody feel so bad’. This was upsetting me more than having lost the match. The last thing I wanted was for people to feel bad for me. I played a great tournament. I was happy with the way I played. I wish I would have won, but I had to accept, and accepted without a problem, that Rafa was better on that day. So it was [misinterpreted].”

What it felt like to claim his GOAT status later in the year:

“It’s a big relief, especially getting first [the win in] Paris and then the 15 [Grand Slam titles] at Wimbledon within a month. I was shell-shocked that it happened so quickly. To go from being criticised [at the Australian Open] for not being the same anymore to being called the greatest ever was a very fast turn.”

On Mirka’s positive influence:

“It goes way beyond what I thought as a teenager that marriage would be. And the babies . . . phew [exhales], that just gives a different dimension to life. To see the fire in the eyes of my wife, waking up 15 times a night if she has to . . . to see that and knowing what she would do for me, knowing what she would do for them, is very emotional.“

The piece ends with some great news for Fed fans:

“You can definitely play your greatest tennis until 32 or 33, it’s just a matter of how you look at it. . .Many people were asking me, ‘When are you going to retire?’ And I said, ‘Well, I’m definitely going to play until the 2012 Olympics’, but that was to shut them up, really. It depends how fit you are, but I would like to play beyond that, and Mirka has said that she would like our two daughters to see me play. So they need to grow a little bit and I need to play a little bit, but we’ll see where it takes us.”

Roger’s next chance to win comes at the season-ending World Tour Finals, which run from November 22-29 in London. I hope he finishes the year smiling!

Sports Illustrated will be announcing its pick for 2009 Sportsman of the Year on December 1. Until then, SI contributors will be offering up their nominations for the post. “How about Andy Roddick?”, asks writer Albert Chen. “Why?” you ask. Because he almost beat Roger Federer at Wimbledon, of course! (Click here to read the piece.)

If Roddick is an SI Sportsman for losing to Roger, what does that make Roger, exactly?

Probably not Sportsman of the Year. Before winning the French this year, Roger’s most prominent appearance on the SI cover commemorated the 2008 Wimbledon final, when he lost to Rafael Nadal:

It seems like Roger losing – or almost losing – at Wimbledon is more newsworthy to SI honchos (the lovely Jon Wertheim excepted) than him winning, say, three majors in a season (he’s done it three times), completing the career grand slam or surpassing Sampras’s record of 14 Major singles titles. And the odds are against him getting the magazine’s year-end nod. Since the award’s inception in 1954, tennis players have taken the title a scant 3 times: by Billie Jean King and Chris Evert in the 70s and most-recently by Arthur Ashe in 1992. (Click here to check out SI’s past Sportspeople of the Year.)

Who knows, maybe the magazine’s editors are trying to psych us out with the Roddick nomination? Why else would they ignore Roger, who confirmed his GOATness this year with the added touchy-feelies of getting married and fathering twin girls?  If Federer doesn’t make it this year, Lord knows what superhuman feats are required to make a non-American tennis player a shoe-in. I guess beating Roger Federer is a good place to start (SI Sportsman, Julien Benneteau?)

Feel free to state your piece with SI, here.

P.S. While I do think Roger’s been unfairly passed over in the past and would love to see him honored by SI this year, I wouldn’t storm the magazine’s offices over this. Roger’s won the Laureus Sportsman of the Year Award four times, an honor much more prestigious than anything a provincial American sports magazine can offer. SI’s Sportsman of the Year Award is a cover, not a coronation. And this cover is all I really need:

Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images via Daylife

I’ve never liked Julien Benneteau. . .now I know why!

Roger Federer lost to the Frenchman 6-3, 6-7, 4-6 in the second round of the Paris Masters today.

Say quoi??? Sure, Benneteau came to play. He had the hometown advantage and nothing to lose. But Roger Federer is Roger Federer! RF! The Might Fed! At the very least, it should come down to numbers: No. 1 vs. No. 49. No. Contest. But is was.

For those of us who like to reconcile Roger’s losses (after a few good smacks of palm to forehead), I give you this simple fact: Roger’s never made it past the quarterfinals in Bercy.

It’s just not his tournament. Bercy’s not Roger’s scene. And the odds were against him this year - Andre Agassi is the only player to have ever won Roland Garros and Bercy in the same season. Better for Roger to win Paris in the spring than in the fall, don’t you think?

And heck, it gives Roger more time to get ready for the year ending championships. Let Nadal wear himself out saving match points, let Djokovic strain to win his third tournament since the US Open, let del Potro and Murray push their wrists to the limit.

And let Roger Federer party with Marat Safin tonight! (If Mirka says it’s okay.)

But don’t have too much fun, Rog. Get your butt in gear for London. I won’t be so understanding next time.

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I guessed Basel was going to be a Roger Fest, and it hasn’t disappointed me so far! We had that great interview from SI the other day and now this – a phenomenal in-depth chat with Rene Stauffer and Fredy Wettstein of the Basel-based paper Basler Zeitung. It was first published on November 2 – thanks to the Fed Fans at rf.com for finding it.

This interview proves that intelligent questions earn intelligent answers. Beyond the usual “do you change diapers” queries, we gain insight into the stresses of celebrity, Roger’s “exaggerated” reputation as a “Kontrollfreak,” and Mirka’s role in Team Fed decision-making.

This is my computer-assisted translation from the German, with some guessing involved (so don’t take every word as Gospel!). Click here for the original

Roger Federer (28) is on his 10th start in the main draw of the Davidoff Swiss Indoors, but it’s much different than usual. For the first time the Basel-bred world star returns to his home tournament after an extended break, for the first time he presented himself on Sunday for the first media conference, and for the first time he goes into battle Monday, against qualifier Olivier Rochus, after a grand opening ceremony. In a small, unadorned basement office at St. James Hall, between the concrete walls and plastic chairs, he took time for this interview on Sunday night, with tennis only to be a side issue.

Roger Federer, did you sleep well last night, despite the twins?
No problem. It’s up and down, but although they sometimes wake up, I sleep well overall. Mirka is very quick on her feet, we are pleased with how things are going.

Did you specify who gets up?
It’s usually Mirka. But at the same time, it does not bother me if I sleep very little. It’s just not good when my sleep is often interrupted.

You can also change diapers?
Yes. It is important to me that I can also give the Schoppen (“half-pint” – I’m assuming this is a bottle – ff) and change diapers. Mirka is now the Number 1 for the little ones, but I help. The time in which I can play with the children is still to come.

You haven’t missed a single day with your children. Do you want to keep this up in the future, as well?
There will certainly come a point when it is no longer possible, with all the traveling. But we are well organized and have the opportunity to travel comfortably. I’m glad that I could be there from the beginning. You can’t retrieve this time, and in the first few years they develop so much.

Why is family is so important to you?
I don’t think that it is more important to me than others. My parents have always said how important the family is. We used to go often to Berneck, to the grandparents, and we always tried to go on holidays together. I always had the desire to eventually have a family. Now I have been together for almost ten years with Mirka, and three years ago we were talking about when it might be best. We saw that 2008 was not possible, with the Olympics. I believe this is the right time, and we’re thrilled. Even if one can not prepare for it. Suddenly, you are the father and mother, that’s a big transition.

What connects you so strongly with Mirka?
The good understanding that we get along so well. That we know that life is great on the one side, but on the other, sometimes very difficult. You are always in the spotlight, always have to live differently than you’d prefer. She’s always supported me  incredibly. We prefer to spend time alone, which we need because we are often in large groups.

Is she someone who contradicts you, too?
She speaks her mind, she’s a strong person. But mainly she is my wife and the mother of my children, definitely. At the same time she belongs to my team. And from my team, I do not expect that everyone always nods. I expect from Pierre (Paganini, fitness trainer), Seve (Lüthi, coach) – no matter by whom – that they tell me the truth. Even if things go badly.

Opposition is important to you?
Absolutely. That my father’s number 1 thing. That’s what I learned from him.

You are regarded as someone who likes to retain control. One has the feeling that many people look up to you and that around you people hardly dare to do anything without your okay. Are you aware that?
This is an exaggeration. Many people think I’m a control freak. But in the beginning too much information went out, which does not fit me. I wanted to trust the people around me in case there was ever something that should remain private or secret for the time being. That why I suggested that Mirka give no more interviews.

Why?
She was in a dilemma. She used to be the media contact, was often quoted and was always the bad person that had to say no. First, 50 percent “no”, 90 percent, then 99 and finally 100 percent, because I had no more time. That did not suit me for her. I noticed that it wasn’t fun for her anymore. It was a thankless job. Then I advised her to not give interviews anymore. She is happy now that she doesn’t have to any of it.

You’re considered as navigating your life, career and everything as a man with ease and perfection. Have you built up an image that sometimes bothers you?
It doesn’t, but I have to smile sometimes about how people talk about me. For example, if I’m training and hit a normal shot,  they all say: “Ohooo!” If one is good, the normal is represented as extreme, and if you’re not so good, you have to do something incredible to get recognition. I live on this bonus, it’s clear to me. But I don’t think that it’s totally exaggerated. I still have both feet on the ground and also have the right environment for it.

Is it stressful for you, always trying to be nice?
If I know, tomorrow I meet 5000 people, all with handshake – then I pull through. But if I say, tomorrow I’m free, and then I meet 5000 people, then I can’t bear it. Sure, I have to adjust. But it’s much easier for me if I know what to expect for the next few hours, days or weeks.

This year you’ve shown some different sides of yourself. For example, at the Davis Cup in Genoa, where you appeared with the team before fans as a song leader. Many were surprised – is that an understandable reaction to you?
I had to laugh. Many fans of the Davis Cup team know what I’m like. They’ve often seen how I relax and spend time chatting with them. The singing was an addition. I was surprised that it immediately was everywhere in the public. At the moment when I sang I saw some filming, and thought: I hope it does not come out. It came out anyway – and luckily I didn’t compose any claptrap. All who are close to me know that I’m a very relaxed person. I’m just like that, sometimes still a child. And also the man – I think you need both sides in the world in which I move.

Some people say you have had for some nonsense.
That’s so.

Do you have to hide this side and speak in public?
It goes. There is etiquette that should always be respected. I make sure that this is done from my side. It is important to me to show respect towards others. There are many moments where I can be myself, completely free. Now, when I am speaking, I do not pretend. For me it’s important that I can be myself.

How do you explain the respect that many have of you? There are people who do not dare to call you, even though they have your phone number.
People know that I have a lot going on. If one looks to be as well organized for me everything must … I can’t sit here in peace for 20 minutes in the Players Lounge. I always have to speak with new people, and that is not so relaxing. And then there’s always some people who can’t resist to take my photo from a corner, quietly, or film me. It’s embarrassing when you feel observed. Then I prefer to leave. But in the places where I live in Dubai and Switzerland, I can live well. And even if someone were unable to resist coming up to me to shake my hand, to ask for an autograph, to have their picture taken with me, then I fulfill their wish as much as possible.

Do you have to make sacrifices for your fame?
Not necessarily. Although I would like to go into the city more, the cinema … But I am also quite often tired from so much training. And I like to spend much of my time with Mirka. I do not want to change much. My life is very happy, I am very happy with it. Mirka and I have handled everything well. I do not need big changes, I am not lacking much. The biggest need would be to have more time when I’m in Switzerland. Time for my friends, my parents. I would not be so stressed out when I’m here.

Last Wednesday when you went to the Letzigrund (football stadium in Zurich) was that a spontaneous decision?
I knew that they (FC Basel soccer team) were playing and I was in Zurich. I thought I should go, should I not? Then I asked my colleagues if they wanted to go. Tony (Godsick) and Reto (Staubli) felt like it, then I phoned a colleague who wanted to come too. Then I said, ‘Okay, I’ll see if I can arrange tickets. “Although this is usually the case anyway, but I said:”I’ll look.” In Switzerland it’s not like in America or Dubai, where an extra space is always free. If one walks into a restaurant in Switzerland and it is full, then it’s just full, then there is not another table. Then I called Gigi Oeri (the chairwoman of FC Basel) who I know well, first at 17.15 clock … I said if you have tickets, I would like to come, and if there aren’t any it doesn’t matter, no problem.

Then you sit in Wollerau into the car and head down there?
We were already in the city, and we said, Come on, let’s go. It was very spontaneous.

Does the need to expand your private life and cut back on the tennis career grow with the family?
I’m getting to know better how hectic it is with the kids. I said, I must wait for the U.S. Open to see how it is for me, with the travel, how I feel. The joy of playing is still the same. Mirka also said to me: “Look, we did not have babies so you’ll stop playing. This is not the goal. I like it on the tour, I like to travel with you, I want to continue doing it this way with you and not all at once be at home alone, lonely, and you going on trips.” Actually, we do not want to change anything big. But is the great priority that the little ones are well. Not that we drag them along on trips when we should not. We would never do that. But I’m still really totally motivated, have the desire to play. Even though I’ve had a break of six weeks. One might think: It’s nice to just do nothing. But I’m glad if I can train, I’m glad when I come back to tournaments and feel the tingling. As long as this is so, I’ll play a long time.

What would be the ideal departure from the tennis scene?
I’ve also thought about that. No idea. There are players who stopped at their peak, others have said, I’ll play another three months … I don’t know. And as long as I don’t know, that’s a good sign.

Is it important to make the most important decisions from the gut or with the head?
I always have my feeling, and Mirka has her feeling, and if we unite our feelings, we usually have an idea what is good. Here in Basel, for example, I said to Mirka: “You know, I’d like to play doubles.” She said: “Then play doubles, but you don’t have to ask me.” But I think I have a family, so I have to ask now. If she had said no, I wouldn’t have played. There are gut decisions, which are also needed. Like the FCB Match. But then there are the decisions that are discussed beforehand in great detail, with Pierre, with Seve, with Tony. Where we talk about the planning: what will the next few months look like? Exhibitions, yes or no?

Do your dreams change when you can buy whatever you want?  What dreams do you have, then?
The dreams are changing, I’m not 14 anymore.

A car, a house, that big vacation?
I have those dreams, too. Perhaps time to live in a house later … Or if I can buy a nice car that is an equally great joy for me as for others. (Have he and Mirka had the minivan discussion??? – ff) Sure, I have a bank account which is perhaps bigger than others. However, I am traveling so much and investing so much that we are also happy about the little things.

What is it like when you know you don’t have to work anymore?
I don’t see it that way. Though I know. It’s a funny feeling, a good feeling. It is especially relaxing to know that I have won the French Open and the 15th Grand Slam titles. That I managed it within a month takes away a lot from the pressure of having to prove myself again. But I still have the bite, although I have lost the U.S. Open final. And I think the match (against Del Potro), I should never have lost. But maybe I went through too many things earlier this year, so what I had in the end wasn’t quite sufficient. I had muddled through the French Open and Wimbledon by too many matches. Luck was just maybe not on my side for once. But the bite is there, and the joy and love for the sport is bigger than ever. Therefore I don’t consider this question at all.

Roger Federer announced his 2010 schedule via his website. He’s planning to play 18 tournaments and “hopefully” the season ending championships in London.

Roger Federer’s 2010 Schedule: (tournament starting dates noted)

December 31: Capitala World Tennis Championship, Abu Dhabi (exhibition)
January 4: Qatar Exxonmobil Open, Doha (ATP 250)
January 18: Australian Open, Melbourne
Feburary 22: Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships, Dubai (ATP 500)
March 8: BNP Paribas Open, Indian Wells (Masters 1000)
March 22: Sony Ericsson Open, Miami (Masters 1000)
April 26: Internazionali BNL d’Italia, Rome (Masters 1000)
May 3: Estoril Open,  Estoril (ATP 250)
May 10: Mutua Madrileña, Madrid (Masters 1000)
May 24: Roland Garros, Paris
June 7: Gerry Weber Open, Halle (ATP 250)
June 21: Wimbledon, London
August 9: Rogers Cup, Toronto (Masters 1000)
August 16: Western & Southern Financial Group Masters, Cincinnati (Masters 1000)
August 30: U.S. Open, New York
October 11: Shanghai ATP Masters 1000, Shanghai (Masters 1000)
November 1: Davidoff Swiss Indoors, Basel (ATP 500)
November 8: BNP Paribas Masters, Paris (Masters 1000)
November 21: Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, London (if qualified)

Federer will be playing the Estoril Open for the first time since 2008, when he won the tournament, and he is skipping the Japan Open in Tokyo. Monte Carlo is also off the calendar (for now.) No word yet on if he’ll play the opening round of Davis Cup vs. Spain in March.

Roger Federer spoke recently to Swiss news magazine Schweizer Illustrierte about some of his favorite things: his twins Myla and Charlene, Mirka and his hair.  I love that the interviewer, Stephanie Ringel, is unable to hide her Fedophile tendencies. Her descriptions (in italics) sometime read like a tennis Harlequin romance.

Here she is, trying not to look at Roger Federer’s chest hair:

And here’s her article. This is my Google-assisted translation – click here for the original:

At noon, top floor at Lindt & Sprungli in Kilchberg ZH. Roger Federer has been presented to the world as the chocolate company’s new brand ambassador. The third floor has CEO Ernst Tanner’s office and a Japanese rooftop garden. It smells like liquid, warm chocolate. In the conference room there’s a huge oval table surrounded by mustard yellow leather chairs. Beyond the window is a panorama view of Lake Zurich. Roger Federer stands before it in jeans and a white shirt that he has unbuttoned low, revealing his chest hair. Tailored waistcoat and jacket, fine gray, finely checkered. Overall image: “Dressman” with a lot of sex appeal!

Q:Roger Federer, we have ten minutes. Let’s play a game of verbal tennis together? I serve and you return quickly.
Federer: Okay!

Q. You’re playing in Basel at the Davidoff Swiss Indoors. How many racquets do you take with you on the court?
Federer: Twelve.

Q: How many do you have in total?
Federer: At my house? One hundred, something like.

Q: How many sneakers?
Small info: Federer starts every other sentence with “Ääähhh”. That gives him time to think. His brown eyes look out deeply from their sockets. After a few seconds? …
Federer: Uh, perhaps fifty or so. My sporting equipment is in the basement. I have a special room just for that. Headbands, for example, I have almost none since I throw them into the audience after each match. Every tournament I get new ones. I prefer strong colors: Blue, Red, Black.
Clearly, strong guy, strong colors. Well returned so far. We now turn to Mirka  in the Grandstand. . .

Q: How do you say goodbye to Mirka before the match
Federer: I say to her: Ciao! And give her a Küssli (a little kiss.) She wishes me good luck and hopes that the match will go well. Then I say: Okay, I’ll see you later.
Sounds a bit like two teenagers, shyly separating. These two have been together for nine years, day and night. Sothere must be something more that happens. (Really what does Ms.

Q: Is that really all?
Federer: We do not do “give me five” or anything – how terrible. Well, I admit: we embrace.
Yes, a confession!

Q: Who do you see the first thing after the game?
Federer: Sometimes the journalists. Sometimes other players. Often, my coach. But this is different for every tournament. I just always hope that it’s my team, first.

Q. Let’s go bathing? … Shower gel or soap?
Federer: Shower Gel.

Q: Flip-flops or bare feet?
Federer: Always! Flip-flops!

Q: What do you smell like?
Federer: Different things. At the moment I’m into bergamot. People can create fragrances for themselves, so I did that once and used my own brand for a long time.

Q: No favorite perfume?
Federer: Jaaeeiinn! Oh, what shall I say, I am very flexible. I have several.
Today he smells of nothing. At least not noticeably. Roger has a central part. He tries to tuck individual strands of hair repeatedly behind his ear with his right hand. That does not work, they jump right back into his face.

Q: What do you say to your hairdresser?
Federer: Like a shot: Not too short, please! I am always afraid that they’ll cut everything off. Then I explain exactly how long I would like to have it. Although, maybe I’ll cut it very short sometime soon? …

Q: Does he cut your eyebrows?
Federer: Sometimes. But I don’t like that so much.

Q: You’ve had four weeks free. What was your best experience during this time?
Federer: It was great not having a daily schedule. No commitments, no appointments. I could control what I would like to do. It was important to finally relax and to have time with Mirka, Myla and Charlene.

Q: They wanted to go shopping – buy something?
Federer: No, I didn’t go shopping. But Mirka? …
Mirka is known as a fashionista. She loves handbags, handbags and handbags. She wears a size 38 shoe and since she’s a mother, likes wool twinsets. Everything that relates to Mirka and the children, he kept strictly secret. Attack!

Q: You take care of the children. You favorite game with Myla and Charlene?
Federer: I employ it simply, they reach for my fingers, I tickle their belly. It’s really great to feel them on me.

Q: What do you prefer: feeding or swaddling?
Federer: Ääähhh.
Oh, sensitive issue. It seems as if he wants to say he doesn’t love swaddling, but as a modern man he can’t make a fuss.
Federer: Fifty-fifty, I’ll do both.

Q: Have you been hit with a deluge of baby spit?
Federer: Definitely!

Q: Myla cries – do you call for the nanny?
Federer: You say it “Meila,” not “Mila.” I try the first time myself, otherwise I ask for Mirka. But, hey: I’m getting along pretty well. The girls are so far very good. They’ve had no teething problems.

Q: Which one resembles you?
Federer: Myla is like me, Charlene is like Mirka. When I see baby pictures of me with Myla, there are many similarities. I want to be with them as often as possible. They are growing so fast.

Q: When did you last sleep through the night?
Federer: A week ago. Sleeping is very important for me. Otherwise, I hurt myself. When I’m tired, I plug my ears and sleep, despite cries from the bedroom.

Q: An old trick from my mother: a piece of chocolate on the tongue helps with sleep.
Federer: Um, I’ve never tried. But good idea. I loved chocolate when I was a boy, preferably white. Today I prefer hazelnut.

Q: Favorite cake?
Federer: Cake?? I don’t like it.

The Lindt CEO sneaks into the conference room. I switch quickly to an official issue.
Q: Are you allowed to stock up now for free at the factory shop?
Federer: No idea, but I think it sounds good. Mr. Tanner?
Tanner nods and sneaks out again. Return to private life? ...

Q: Champagne and chocolate: prima ingredients for the perfect seduction. The most successful come-on?
Federer: Come-on? What do you mean?

JAVIER SORIANO/AFP/Getty Images via Daylife

That Roger Federer is just so full of himself!

After winning his first round match against Olivier Rochus today at the Davidoff Swiss Indoors in Basel, Roger Federer bragged to the hometown crowd about his deft hand-eye coordination – at changing diapers:

“I have an unbelievable technique,” he said to laughter – mainly from his wife sitting in the stands. (via Eurosport)

Roger’s returning to court after an extended six week vacation, where he had plenty of time to practice with the Huggies.

“This was my longest pause, even longer than in the close season. But I really needed it and it was worth it,” Roger said.

Click here for some footage from the match and the dirty-nappy interview.

Federer will play Italian Andreas Seppi in the second round on Wednesday. Roger will be playing doubles on Tuesday with good friend Marco Chiudinelli and Novak Djokovic will be in action vs. Andreas Beck. Click here for the TV schedule.

The Times U.K. is confirming Blick’s report that Roger Federer has hired a new physiotherapist, Frenchman Stéphane Vivier, to be part of his full time team:

Federer, the 28-year-old world No 1, has appointed Stéphane Vivier, one of seven ATP physiotherapists, to travel with him full time to make sure that he is in the finest physical shape every time he plays. If anything was certain to nail the suggestion that Federer is thinking of slowing down after winning 15 grand-slam singles titles — and reaching a record-breaking 22 consecutive semi-finals — this has to be it.

And:

Like Andy Roddick, who snapped up Doug Spreen, a former full-time ATP trainer, to work with him on a private basis three years ago, Federer is placing his faith in someone whose responsibility has been to treat every player at his respective tournament.

Federer has an enormous amount of respect for Vivier, a Frenchman, going so far as to say that the physio knows how his body works even better than he does himself. Remarkably, although Severin Luthi, the Swiss Davis Cup captain, travels on an occasional basis with Federer, the world No 1 still has no permanent coach.

The Times did not mention Gary Hamilton, the Australian masseur that Federer hired to travel with him for the past couple of seasons. Blick reported that Vivier is Hamilton’s replacement.

(Sidenote: I have a new pet peeve – I’m tired of the media insisting that Roger has no coach. Severin Luthi is his full-time, permanent coach. It’s like saying Nadal has no full-time coach because Uncle Toni doesn’t travel to every tournament with him.)

While Federer is taking extra steps to stay fit and healthy, he’s facing some (indirect) criticism for helping to promote Davidoff, the tobacco and luxury goods company that sponsors Federer’s home tournament in Basel this week.

Via SwissInfo:

Pascal Diethelm, director of the anti-smoking group OxyRomandie, said last year “players drowned in an advertising soup for Davidoff“.

“At the end of the match the young ball boys and ball girls received a medal from Roger Federer in recognition of having served the cause of Davidoff so well. Each medal bore the Davidoff logo in order to make sure that these potential smokers would know which cigarette brand to choose,” he said

Anti-smoking advocates have even tried asking Federer to pull out of the tournament:

Two years ago OxyRomandie sent an open letter to the world number one – signed by more than 500 international health experts – calling on him to either pull out of the tournament or ask that the organisers to cut all ties with Davidoff and the tobacco industry. He declined to respond.

Unless he has a belated change of heart, Roger will be taking to the courts of the Davidoff Swiss Indoors on Monday evening, where he’ll play Olivier Rochus in his first round match. Click here for the Davidoff Swiss Indoors TV Schedule and live streaming info.