Roger Federer continues to break records as he nears his 36th birthday. His latest achievement was a historic eighth title at the Wimbledon Championships, rewarding him his 19th grand slam trophy. The Swiss player is a formidable force in tennis, but he has also inspired many other stars of the sports world.
Justin Rose (golf)
English golfer Justin Rose has admitted that he models himself on 35-year-old Federer. Rose is a former winner of the US Open golf championships and is a two-time runner-up at the Masters Tournament. At this year’s Wimbledon championship, he was seen in the royal box on Centre Court watching Federer’s matches.
“Roger is the sporting athlete I look up to and can try and model myself on.” Said Rose.
“Everything he does is pretty much spot on, the way he handles himself, the grace in which he plays the sport I think is incredible.
“I scrutinised him and mentally how he doesn’t give much away. I think is a style that’s well suited to golf, too, I think.”
Rose, who is currently taking part in The Open Championships at Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, has earned over £30 million during his career, according to the PGA.
Lindsey Vonn (Alpine Skiing)
Former Olympic champion Lindsey Vonn revealed her high admiration for Federer when he went to watch one of her races in February. Participating in the world Skiing Championships in Federer’s native Switzerland, she sealed a bronze medal in the downhill race. The seventh world championships medal in her career.
Federer’s triumph at this year’s Australian Open was an achievement hailed by Vonn, who told CNN that she tries to ‘emulate’ the Swiss player.
“He’s the best. He won in Australia and I feel like a lot of people counted him out because he’s ‘old.’ And he won.” Said Vonn.
“I get so much inspiration from that. He’s such a humble person but he has so much heart. He always gives everything he has. I try to emulate that in myself, in my skiing, in my career.
“To have him come here and watch me … this is the first time he’s ever watched me race and I’ve been to many of his tennis tournaments so this is very, very nice.”
Vonn has won more world championship medals than any other female skier outside of Europe.
Tiger Woods (golf)
During his career, Tiger Woods has been compared to the former world No.1. As one of the most recognisable figures in the world of golf, he has won 14 major championship titles over an 11-year period. Meanwhile, Federer has won 19 major trophies in tennis.
Woods missed 16-months of the tour between 2015-2016 after undergoing two back operations. During part of his absence, Federer was also taking a six-month hiatus due to a knee injury. His winning return to the tour earned praise from woods.
“What Rog has done is he’s been dominant for so long,” Woods said earlier this year. “To compete against (Novak Djokovic), to compete against Rafa, and now Andy (Murray) is playing well. He’s had a litany of guys who have won slams. And no one wins slams at his age.
“And for him to come back, after having to take that much time off, and for him to get the timing, that’s the hardest part.”
2009 advert featuring Woods and Federer
Lin Dan and Lee Chong Wei (badminton)
Federer’s impact has extended to the world of badminton with two multiple Olympic medallist being inspired by his longevity in the sport. 33-year-old Lin Dan is a two-time Olympic champion from China and Malaysia 34-year-old Lee Chong Wei has three silver medals to his name.
Lee, who has won 66 titles in his career, credits Federer for inspiring him to continue his career into his mid-thirties.
“I saw Federer battled Nadal in the Australian Open final for more than three hours, I really admired both players, especially Federer’s ability to sustain his mental toughness and fighting spirit,” he told badmintonplanet.com.
“Federer proved that the age was just a number, and if he can do it, so can I,” he added.
Lin also added that Federer was an icon for their age group.
“Federer is really an incredible role model especially to older players,” he said.
According to The New York Times, Federer played badminton and basketball as a child before switching his full focus to tennis.
Henrik Lundqvist (ice hockey)
NHL star Henrik Lundqvist recently sought advice from Federer about his training regime. Both men are 35-years-old and are represented by marketing agency Team8. A company founded by Federer and Tony Godsick.
“I’ve talked to Roger a lot about his training and his approach,” Lundqvist told The New York Post in May. “He’s a champion, the best ever, so of course I’m interested in learning and taking what I can from him. But I don’t want to get into details.”
Lundqvist currently plays for the New York Rangers in the NHL as their goalie. The Swedish-born player is only only goaltender in NHL history to record 30 wins in each of his first seven seasons in the league. Still, he is fascinated by Federer’s ability in the world of sport.
“I always marvel at how intense and competitive he is, which is definitely needed at this high level of pro sports. There are definitely similarities between the two of us but I think by virtue of the [fact] that he plays a team sport and I play an individual sport there are also differences.” He explained.
“I do think we’re similar in the sense that we both are very focused internally on what we need to do in order to succeed”
