CINCINNATI, Ohio, (Reuters) – A victorious Roger Federer said an intensive training programme and a happy personal life have left him in the perfect frame of the mind for the defence of his U.S. Open title next month.
Just a month after becoming a father to twin girls, the world number one beat Novak Djokovic 6-1 7-5 on Sunday to win his fourth title of the year, his 16th Masters Series crown and the 61st tournament win of his career.
“I think that’s the special part, winning for the first time as a dad,” Federer said.
“It’s a great thing. Gets me going emotionally a little bit, because I know it’s been a wonderful summer. Going through all of what I’ve been through and then now right away having success again, it’s a great moment in my career again.”
Federer’s wife Mirka gave birth to twin girls last month but the Swiss found time to step up his practice, something he felt he needed to, despite setting a record of 15 grand-slam titles by winning the French Open and Wimbledon this summer.
“The hard work I put in again in between Wimbledon and Montreal – people don’t know about it – but things went great,” he said.
“I was three weeks at the hospital but I also went for practice almost every day except obviously during the time of the birth and right after.
“My condition trainer was really happy with the work I put in and with Severin (Luthi, the Switzerland Davis Cup captain), we were really precise on what we wanted to work on.
“Of course I was always going to be confident after winning those big titles in a row. I felt like my game was already pretty good in practice so I knew when I was coming here it was just not just to show up, but to really do something.
“(That) it already paid off so quickly, I am a little bit surprised about, but it’s been great, and now I look forward to New York.”