By Richard Pagliaro | Thursday, September 10, 2015
"I believe it's really the sleep that gives you energy again down the road," says Roger Federer.
Photo credit: Andrew Patron/Camerasport
NEW YORK—A revitalized Roger Federer will face friend and doubles partner Stan Wawrinka in an all-Swiss semifinal on Friday with a trip to his first US Open final since 2009 on the line.
The five-time US Open champion has created dazzling career highlights and endured excruciating losses beneath the bright lights of New York City.
More: Wawrinka Roars Into US Open Semifinals
Federer has spent his spare time taking in Broadway shows Finding Neverland and Hamilton during his days off in New York.
Perhaps he was bitten by the Broadway bug, inspired by a star-studded crowd that included Hall of Famer Andre Agassi, Bradley Cooper, Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake or maybe it was just his desire to give fans a great show, but Federer was so sharp in his 6-3, 6-3, 6-1, dismissal of Richard Gasquest he made the 12th-seeded Frenchman look like a nervous understudy who couldn't keep up with the choreography.
This was Grand Slam tennis re-imagined as artistic annihilation. Federer fired 50 winners compared to eight for a timid Gasquet.
"He's playing so good. He's trying to invent shots in tennis," Wawrinka said of his friend and Davis Cup teammate.
He's playing so good. He's trying to invent some shots in tennis - See more at: http://www.tennisnow.com/News/2015/September/Wawrinka-Roars-Into-US-Open-Semifinals.aspx#sthash.qc8mKPLG.dpuf
The second seed was performing on multiple levels Wednesday night. His level was so far above the talented Frenchman at times it looked like Federer was playing shots to challenge himself and excite the crowd.
So what's the real secret to Federer's longevity and sustained excellence?
The 34-year-old father of two sets of twins, who knows a bit about sleep deprivation, says success is born between the sheets.
The man who made "RF" a global brand cites zzzs as the key.
"For me, also sleeping has become quite important," Federer told the media after sweeping Gasquet. "I make sure I sleep enough, as well. Like when I went to bed after the Isner match it got quite late and I couldn't sleep quite as much as I wanted to. Because I believe it's really the sleep that gives you energy again down the road. That's why the next two days are very important for me in terms of sleeping."
In the city that never sleeps, Roger recharges with plenty of rest.
"In terms of sleeping? Hopefully (I get) nine to ten (hours)," Federer said of his nightly target.
Sleep is primary preparation; pre-match stretching keeps Federer flexible.
"I guess I'm more professional these days; whereas when I was coming up on tour I would bounce up and down for two minutes and then just walk out to the practice and do almost the same for the match," Federer said. "These days I take more time, put in more of the core exercises, do more stretching. Sometimes I just can't wait to get off the table again honestly. It's nice not to be on there all the time."
Remember, it was just two years ago skeptics were putting Federer's career to bed.
Hobbled by a back injury, an erratic Federer converted just two of 16 break points in a humbling 7-6 (3), 6-3, 6-4 defeat to Tommy Robredo in the 2013 US Open fourth round.
It was Federer’s first straight-sets loss in Flushing Meadows since he suffered a three-set defeat to his former doubles partner, Max Mirnyi, in the 2002 Flushing Meadows fourth round. His grim defeat to Robredo ensured the end of an era: For the first time since 2002, Federer would not contest a Grand Slam final in a calendar year.
Regaining his health, finding fulfillment in family and recognizing tennis is his passion, but not his life have helped fuel Federer's resurgence as much as his shift to a larger Wilson racquet a few years back or his SABR return attack this season.
"I'm not the kind of guy who wakes up angry," Federer said. "Even if I am, I don't think it will have much of an impact of how I play. I feel like I see the matches as an isolation. I don't know if it's when I arrive at the tennis, when I go warm up, whatever it is, but that's a different world for me.
Respecting the ongoing rally between his "two lives", the personal and professional, has empowered Federer to realize his tennis dreams while wide awake.
"When I leave the grounds I feel like not I'm a different person, but like that's my other life I have," Federer said. "So I have two lives, and all the problems I might have, I feel like I drop them once I step on to the match court or when I enter the grounds. I don't know if it makes sense, but that's the why the mood doesn't really matter that much to me."