Here's a short letter to the fans from Roger (from rf.com):
ATP - HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Dear fans
Happy New Year to all of you all around the world! I am really looking forward to all the coming challenges and am eager to start the new season. It will, after all, be a special year as the Olympic Games in Beijing add a spectacular highlight to the tennis-year. Furthermore, I will definitely be spending quite some time rooting myself – as the European Soccer Championships will be held in Switzerland and Austria in summertime. That will without doubt be a great soccer spectacle which I am also an official ambassador for.
It is wonderful to know that such a large group of fans always follows me to tournaments and venues all around the globe. I am looking forward to standing on court and hearing, seeing or even meeting you guys. Here’s to an unforgettable 2008!
Yours truly,
RogerAlso, here is a link of Roger being interviewed in Swiss German:
http://helix-v4.sri.ch/ramgen/sfdrs/vod/lebenlive/2007/12/450k/lebenlive_20071228.rm?start=12:36&end=20:05And, thanks to Vrazkar and Gerardo3 over at RF.com, here is the translation:
Here is a translation of the interview. Swiss speakers are more than welcome to correct me Gracias a Gerardo3 who made a summary of the interview in the Spanish thread. Ahora no te odio tanto, sabes por que
The voice speaking at the beginning says that Roger could laugh well again in 2007. He is more than 200 weeks the indisputable #1 in the world and this year won again all the Grand Slam tournaments except for the FO.
The interviewer asks Roger if Dubai has turned into a second homeland for him, why he is exactly in Dubai, is it good to train there or a nice place to travel and visit. Roger says that Dubai has a very convenient location - only 5-6 hours away from Switzerland by plane and a good starting point for a trip everywhere in the world. Besides the weather there is very nice. There are a lot of places in the world where the weather is nice but it rains and in Dubai it doesn't rain at all and that's the most important thing for him.
Then he is asked if there is something else that draws him to Dubai, if he had friends there. Roger answers that he has already some friends in Dubai since he spends there about 3 months per year and has visited this country for the last 3 years. He used to stay in the luxury Burj Al Arab hotel (in the background). Living there was like a dream. It's been a year since he moved to a private place which makes things much easier, he had his privacy and could sleep in his own bed.. Of course he met new friends in Dubai and this made his stay even more enjoyable.
Roger is asked if it is difficult to have friends being so famous. He answers that it was more difficult in the beginning of his career since he thought that people wanted to get to know him because they wanted to make money out of him or because he was famous. Now with the experience that he has he doesn't think much about it and is still able to form some nice friendships.
Then the interviewer asks him if he still stays in touch with his friends from his youth. Roger says that fortunately there is internet and telephone which help him a lot in that. Of course because of his full schedule he doesn't have much time and his friends understand this. However he tries his best to keep his contacts and when he is in Switzerland he tries to meet as much of his colleagues and friends as he can. Regarding his years in the school, moving to the academy in Lausanne and staying there from 14 until 18 years of age has caused him to lose some of his school friends.
Next the interviewer asks if Roger is trying to find out what's going on in Switzerland when he is away, can he think about an event in Switzerland in 2007 that has inspired him. Roger says first that he must think about it and goes on that he spends only 2,5 months per year in Switzerland. He doesn't have so much time to surf the internet although he does this every day and can't answer. Then the interviewer asks him what is the event that stands out for him personally. Roger answers that of course this is Wimbledon because of Bjorn Borg, his record, the final match. Then comes Basel which he was happy not only to take part in but also to win which was the maximum.
The interviewer asks him next how he managed to go on when things didn't go his way in 2007 and how he dealt with losses. Roger says that it is interesting but losing is somehow good for the person because he learns to deal with and overcome losses. It's not like in junior times when there is always up-and-down and at the end you don't feel like playing anymore. Therefore when you have more success losing is much easier to take which is kind of strange, he says...
He is then asked if he would be shocked if he lost his #1 place in the ranking. Roger says that honestly he won't because he has played so constantly and has managed to keep this position for such a long time which is already a great achievement. "If this was to happen, not that I'd be happy about it... the whole thing is an enormous challenge for me", Roger says. "I didn't lose my #1 place when I split up with my coach and when I played bad. When you know what you are doing and I know that I do a lot of things right in my preparation, you aren't afraid of bad times.
The interviewer asks Roger about celebrating the New Year. Roger says that in his life he has been in a lot of different places during Christmas and New Year. He flew two times to Australia and thus missed Christmas once and New Year once. He met the Millennium in Adelaide, Australia where he played a tournament in 2000. In 2006 he was in Dubai and this year he'll meet the New Year again there. The hotel has beautiful fireworks.. Roger will meet the New Year in a very narrow circle of friends with whom he trains in Dubai.
Roger is asked if he has already set his aims for 2008. He says that he wishes above all to stay healthy and uninjured and his family and girlfriend be fine as well. Regarding his professional aims, he'll try to keep his #1 position and of course this will be an Olympic year and it will be very special for him to be at the Olympics and to be part of the whole Olympic team. He still doesn't know if he's going to live in the Olympic village because he had some bad experience before... Anyway the Olympics are one of his aims together with the French Open.
