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Roger Federer talks to India Empire
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After my victory in Cincinnati, my fifth title in Wimbledon and just before the start of the US Open I’d like to share some thoughts with you.
A milestone
50 victories – what a number! It is a wonderful feeling to have reached such a milestone in my career. Looking back and seeing that I have been able to kiss the trophy 50 times at the end of a tournament… It fills me with pride to be one of only few athletes to have experienced this feeling as often. As you can imagine it has taken a lot to come this far. I certainly hope it will stay this way and I can continue chasing titles at full speed!
Community
My fan-community has constantly increased since my first victory in Wimbledon in 2003. The first time we were able to analyse this development in numbers was with my first website which went online in autumn 2003. Meanwhile my current website has been up and running for two years. I love seeing such an enormous community building up—we’re already heading towards 135,000!
All my travels give me the opportunity to personally meet people all over the world and get to know their way of life. More and more fans are showing up with Swiss flags, posters, banners, T-shirts and the like. It is always a delight to discover such activities in the stadium or on the way there. Thank you, and kee!
New York
Getting used to the conditions here will be a key element to performing well at the US Open. The surface and the balls here are different to Cincinnati. New York is a terrific place, by the way; the list of things to do here is endless. I love the restaurants, the Broadway shows and Times Square to name just a few. I have grown really fond of this metropolis.
My birthday
My birthday is over two weeks back already. The word that comes to mind when I see all the cards, letters, drawings and presents I received is: unbelievable! It is touching to experience your passion and your loyalty in such a way. Thank you.
Obviously the list of presents is way too long to mention every single one. Nevertheless, I’d like to name one that stood out. It is—once again—the book in three volumes by Silvy from Argentina. Together with a group of fans she has put together a collection of photos, texts, magazine covers, etc and printed it as a book. The fact that this is basically the first time I get to see a compilation of material published in the media all around the world makes this a very special gift.
New websites
We have created two new websites. First of all there’s the one for the Roger Federer Foundation: www.rogerfedererfoundation.org. It gives you all sorts of details about the projects we support in different countries, general information on the Foundation and also contains a learning-section that will continually grow.
Secondly, you can visit my online shop: www.rogerfederershop.com. My official fan articles are for sale there and you can even place a bid for my used equipment in the auction. Proceeds from the sales and the auctions go to my Foundation.
My 2008 calendar will be available at the end of September, by the way – wait and see!
I am looking forward to a successful US Open and lots of new experiences.
Take care, bis bald, à bientôt.
Yours sincerely
Roger
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September 2007
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