The 2014 U.S. Open finished September 8 with Croacia’s Marin Cilic beating Japan’s Kei Nishikori. While the win was a huge feat for both Mr. Cilic and his home country, the big story is that neither #1 ranked Novak Djokovic nor #2 ranked Roger Federer were part of this year’s tennis final. Becoming a top world-ranked athlete is no easy accomplishment, and one that often grows athletes egos as much as their popularity. However, when Mr. Federer was interviewed after losing to #14 ranked Mr. Cilic, he showed impressive sportsmanship in the face of defeat.
“It’s fairly simple, I think. Marin played great and I maybe didn’t catch my best day. That’s pretty much it in a nutshell.”
Mr. Federer could have made excuses as to why he didn’t win, but instead gave a soundbite that didn’t require media training. He kept it positive and to the point. This loss came after an earlier upset where #10-seeded Mr. Nishikori beat Mr. Djokovic. When questioned about the underdogs taking the finals, Mr. Federer looked to the future.
“It’s exciting for the game to have different faces from time to time. It’s definitely refreshing to some extent. It’s big for Croatia; it’s big for Japan.” He continued, “Everybody who gets to this stage of this kind of a competition deserves to be there because they have put in the work and they hoped for the break, and this is it for both of them.”
Mr. Federer was not given a break from the hard-hitting questions. A passionate anti-doping advocate, he was asked about the doping suspension that barred Mr. Cilic from last year’s U.S. Open. He addressed the difficult question by stating,
“I don’t quite remember what the circumstances were, but I feel more bad for him than anything else. When I see him, it doesn’t cross my mind in any way.”
While he may have felt defeated, Mr. Federer didn’t show it and kept his cool when dealing with tricky questions. He kept the interview positive and bridged from his loss to the future of tennis. It’s not always as easy as it looks, but that’s why tennis begins with Love all!