‘He was a little soft’ – Former world No 1 on playing a young Roger Federer
Former world No 1 Pat Rafter has revealed that Roger Federer was a ‘bit soft’ as a teenager, detailing his thoughts on their 1999 meeting.
The two-time US Open champion met the Swiss on three occasions, claiming the victory in all of them.
Rafter first faced Federer in the first-round of Roland Garros in 1999, which was the 20-time Grand Slam champion’s debut at Grand Slam level.
“Roger Federer came on the scene in ’99, and I got to play him; he got a Wild Card I think,” the Australian stated on a recent ATP Tour YouTube video.
“He came on, and he beat me the first set 7-5. I was like, ‘You punk!’.
“I was trying to work out how I was going to get through to him as well, and I got off in the second set, and then he might have done a double [fault] or I won a big point and I just got in his face and went ‘Come on!’.
“He sort of melted a little bit. He was a little soft at that stage.”
Rafter went on to claim the match 5-7, 6-3, 6-0, 6-2, before beating Federer in straight-sets at the Miami event in 2001, and a three-set victory In Halle that same year.
However, the three matches arrived before the Swiss legend truly broke onto the scene via a five-set classic victory over the seven-time Wimbledon champion Pete Sampras at SW19 in 2001.
“You know, once he sorted that part of his game out, oh my god, it was such a good time [for me] to leave the game,” admitted Rafter, who hung up his racket in 2003.
“He wanted me to stay so he could start beating me, and I was just trying to get out of the game as quickly as I could.”
In 2019, at the Parisian Grand Slam, Federer also reflected on his debut against Rafter: “I was really happy to play against Rafter, who was one of the most popular players on the tour.
“He had this aura of being nice and fair play, so it was great being able to play him on Suzanne Lenglen Court rather than on Court 23. So I played a good match. I wanted to play on a big court.
“It didn’t happen, but nevertheless it was a great experience for me.”
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The Australian also reflected on a fellow countryman who he strongly disliked playing – Lleyton Hewitt.
“I was nine years older than Lleyton [Hewitt] as well, I mean, he was this baby that came along on tour,” said Rafter.
“I remember he came to Davis Cup at 15, and when playing points with him, he’s chopping me.
“I’m going, ‘This is not right, he’s a little kid, he can hardly serve’, but by god he just knew how to play the game.
“He kept pushing you to be better.
“When he was on tour, I didn’t want to see him anywhere near my draw, and when I did, I was hoping he wouldn’t get through because I didn’t want to play him.”
The head-to-head ended 3-1 in Hewitt’s favour.
