SWITZERLAND: TENNIS - Swiss fans at Roger Federer's local tennis club applaud their most famous player

Record ID: 644694

  • Title: SWITZERLAND: TENNIS - Swiss fans at Roger Federer's local tennis club applaud their most famous player
  • Date: 7th July 2009
  • Summary: BASEL, SWITZERLAND (JULY 5, 2009) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF BUILDINGS ALONG RIVER RHINE (2 SHOTS) VARIOUS OF EXTERIOR OF TENNIS CLUB "OLD BOYS CLUB" (2 SHOTS) VARIOUS OF CLUB MEMBERS PLAYING TENNIS ON "ROGER FEDERER" COURT DETAIL OF SIGN "ROGER FEDERER COURT" SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH), MADELEINE BAERLOCHER, FORMER COACH OF ROGER FEDERER, SAYING: "Well he was just a normal youn
  • Embargoed: 22nd July 2009 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Switzerland
  • Country: Switzerland
  • Topics: Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVA294MD6QI2BZVPNPPH75GQ10KN
  • Story Text: Tennis coach of young Roger Federer watches him become 2009 Wimbledon men's champion.
    Away from Murray Mount and Henman Hill, a small crowd of Roger Federer's fans gathered at his old tennis club in the Swiss town of Basel on Sunday (July 5). There they watched him beat Andy Roddick 5-7 7-6 7-6 3-6 16-14 to win the Wimbledon final - his 15th slam title.
    Most people at the club said they had been surprised by the extent of Federer's success but remembered the young champion as a talented and determined youngster.
    "He was just a normal young boy who liked to have fun on the court and in training. and in the matches he was very eager", Madeleine Baerlocher, his former coach, told Reuters TV. "So he always wanted to be, from the first day, he wanted to be number one in the world."
    Talking near to a tennis court now named after the sixth-times Wimbledon winner, she said she had coached Federer when he was about nine or ten years old.
    Despite Federer's roots in this city, nobody on the streets seemed to express any excitement about the Wimbledon final either before or after the match.
    At the Old Boys' Club, in a leafy suburb of Basel, the crowd of some 30 or so people drank beer and ate ice cream as they watched the marathon match until Federer finally emerged the winner.
    Andrea Poelling jumped up and down as she watched Federer and Roddick trade shots in an epic five set match.
    "It's just great. They both deserved to win," she said, "but after this marathon of a match it's great to see him win again at Wimbledon. It's good."
    Federer's Wimbledon victory was his 15th major title, making him the most successful tennis player ever.
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