Invited to a literature festival at Cheltenham, England, to promote his new book, Boris Becker met the media and, twelve years after the first time, talked once more about his assumption of sleeping pills in the early '90s.

As vintage tennis fans and long time readers of this website will know, the German revealed this hard moment of his life in his 2003 autobiography "Boris Becker - The player". To stand the pressure of the expectations of an entire nation, Becker abused sleeping pills for five years in his professional career and this addiction, in his words, influenced the result of his 1990 Wimbledon final against Stefan Edberg.

At the Times Forum in Cheltenham last Monday, the former world number one recalled that period of his life.

from Sport Klub.rs
by Svetozar Janičić
translated into English by Mauro Cappiello

The Asian swing and then the final Masters in London. Novak Djokovic is by far the first in the rankings, has won three Grand Slam tournaments this season, was only defeated in the final of the Roland Garros. Many believe that Djokovic will pass Federer and Nadal and will reign on the tennis world for long. International media already analyzed how much Nole, who has won ten Grand Slam titles, will need to reach Federer who has got 17.

Some even more malicious expected Roger to announce his retirement after the US Open, as Flavia Panetta did after winning the women's singles.

from SportSkeeda
by Manjunath Shekara

[...] In recent times, Federer’s innate ability of remaining relevant to the sport has been analyzed and eulogized. In my opinion, his game is where he wants it to be technically and tactically, but not mentally. Yes, that seems very unfair a comment when he has won 17 Grand Slam titles and is currently World No. 2 at the age of 34. But I’m talking about something very specific.

The larger racquet, the Edbergian School of Coaching, the smart scheduling and the SABR (Sneak Attack by Roger) have definitely added layers to Federer’s supreme game. However, certain mental aspects of his game seem to be untapped so far.

The 17-time Grand Slam champion showed a few chinks in his mental armor even in his prime. Federer’s arch-rival and nemesis, Rafael Nadal, has always given him a rough time as evidenced by a lop-sided head to head of 23-10 in Nadal’s favour. 13 of those 23 victories for Nadal have come on clay, his favourite surface, but on quick surfaces like those in Wimbledon and the O2 arena at London Federer has dominated their clashes.

Swiss website Le Matin.ch reported Stefan Edberg’s and Severin Luthi’s impressions after the US Open final that their protégé Roger Federer lost in four sets to Novak Djokovic.

In spite of two losses in as many straight Major finals over the last two months against the Serb, the team remains confident on the Swiss’ chances to add an 18th title to his Grand Slam record.

«The final was decided by two points,» said Stefan Edberg indicating the 147 points won by Djokovic in the end against Federer’s 145. «But Roger played his best tennis for a very long time, he will not give up and this will end up paying,» added the Swede.

Just before yesterday's US Open final, Stefan Edberg was invited to the Sky Sports Uk studio and analysed with Mark Petchey the evolution of Roger Federer's game in the last three years, giving his view on how the change of racquet and his advise contributed in making the Swiss' style more aggressive.

Petchey also asked Stefan about Roger's sneaky attack. "I wasn't aware about it, I saw it on television, so it was a big surprise for me as well," joked Stefan, who also commented on how the roof structure now affects the conditions of play at the US Open and recalled a little about his 1991 US Open triumph.

from Tennis.com

NEW YORK (AP) Roger Federer wonders what might've been if only he'd converted any of those three break points in the last game of the U.S. Open final.

The crowd roaring, Federer rolling, Novak Djokovic reeling - maybe he could have come all the way back from down two breaks in the fourth set to win in five.

But the Swiss great knows one thing for certain.

"I should have never been down in the first place two sets to one and 5-2," Federer lamented late Sunday night, still stuck on 17 major titles for at least 4 1/2 more months.

He fell so far behind because his opponent was simply better in the biggest moments. The top-ranked Djokovic was 6 for 13 on break points; Federer was 4 of 23.

All is ready for the 2015 US Open men's singles final between Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic (4 pm, New York time), with the Swiss trying to catch his beloved 18th Major title and first with Stefan Edberg as his coach.

Stefan himself is looking to set another record, when he tries to be the first man to win the US Open in the junior event (1983), singles event (1991, 1992), doubles event (with Jarryd in 1987) and as a coach.

In the Eurosport video below, enjoy a preview of the final, with statements from both players, plus Mats Wilander's pick.

Not only Mats thinks Djokovic is the favourite, but he is also convinced that the Serb will pass Nadal's 14 Majors and has a chance to go further than Federer's 17.(mc)

Last Monday, Roger Federer was invited to answer a quick set of questions at the US Open funny show 15-Love.

The questions were ranging from his tennis habits to his private life and his tastes in music and tv.

But look at what Roger replied to question number 10, when he was asked about the best tennis match he has ever watched...

P.S. Federer's time was very poor and placed him at the bottom of the ranking made up by all the players interviewed by 15-Love, but the Swiss' fans will be happy to see that at least he ranked better than Rafael Nadal :-).

Freelance journalist Catherine Whitaker, who’s been interviewing players at the US Open for British Eurosport, considers the one with Stefan Edberg the best interview she’s had in Flushing Meadows this year.

Unfortunately, we don’t have that interview to show you, but Whitaker talked about it during a Tennis Podcast from New York with her colleague David Law. The journalist asked Stefan (off records) about his influence on the SABR (Sneaky Attack By Roger), the aggressive half-volley return that Federer has been showing in the North American summer swing and that has been raising so much attention during the US Open.

In the audio excerpt from the Tennis Podcast below you can hear about Stefan’s answer and some interesting comments on why the partnership between him and Roger has been so successful so far. (mc)

In a long interview in the Sky Sports Uk studio yesterday, Roger Federer said that, by now, he is not interested in following the footsteps of Stefan Edberg and start a career as a super coach, once he has quit professional tennis.

"I see myself more helping kids in Switzerland at the National Tennis Centre," he replied to Annabel Croft's question, adding that travelling the tour again would be unlikely for him, "even if 10-15-16 weeks per year are not that much."

"I don't think Edberg thought that as well, and then, 15 years later, I gave him a call and he said 'Why not...'," smiled Federer.

Roger also talked of his US Open memories, that, surprisingly, are not very early. He only remembers something of Stefan Edberg and Pat Rafter, while he can recall more clearly Martina Hingis, champion of the tournament in 1997. "We were both juniors at the time, but she was here winning and I was at home..."

Watch the entire interview in the video below.