People From Basel

"He hasn't changed a bit. He hasn't been arrogant in the locker room. He never is. That's great to see someone that does it with class. He doesn't intentionally get in anyone's face. He doesn't put people down."

"He is on his way to becoming possibly the greatest of all time. But he's still human."

"He put tennis, the bar very high—very high. It's incredible what kind of game he can play."

"I'd like to be in his shoes for one day to know what it feels like to play that way."

"Roger Federer is the most talented tennis player I have ever seen. He has the capacity to become the greatest in history."

"Roger is a complete player. What he has, and it's not luck, is the ability to change his game slightly as to what his opponent's doing to him."

"I thought Ellsworth Vines and Don Budge were pretty good. And Gonzalez and Hoad could play a bit, too, but I have never seen anyone play the game better than Federer. He serves well and has a great half-volley. I've never known anyone who can do as many things on a court as he can."

"I'm not sure if he has any weakness in his repertoire."

"Maybe Roger Federer will rescue tennis. He plays like we did in the past."

"He is capable of hitting shots which other players don't even think about trying. He has so many skills."

"Maybe I could win more championships and prize money if Federer was not in the same age with me, but you have to know that there is something money can not buy—that's playing against Federer."

"Today, I'm totally zen."

"I am so proud to have him around. It is very pity that I am not able to play with Pete Sampras, but it's okay; I can see Federer on the tour. I could tell my grandson someday that I have competed against the greatest player on the planet."

"Today I was playing my best tennis, trying lots of different things, but nothing worked. When you're playing like that and he still comes up with all those great shots you really have to wonder if he's even from the same planet."

"Roger is like a good red wine, he's getting better with age...I think his big years will be when he is 26, 27, 28."

"Roger hasn't even started to use a lot of his game."

"Just about everything he does is pretty impressive. So, yeah, 50 titles at any age is impressive. 50 titles at 26 is incredible. 50 titles with 11 of them being Grand Slams, and I think now 14 being Masters Series, that's just phenomenal."

"I can cry like Roger, it's just a shame I can't play like him."

"No way I would be a journalist. You guys have tried to kill Roger - often. But he's always come back and proved you wrong. So one thing I would not do is make the mistake of saying Roger is dead."

"I never can beat Roger, he’s too much for me… but the Senior Tour, I will beat him then! He’s the best of history and I’m very lucky to play the best player of the world."

"The metaphysical explanation is that Roger Federer is one of those rare, preternatural athletes who appear to be exempt, at least in part, from certain physical laws."

"He is the best man in the game, on and off the court, and he has a great personality. I enjoy so much having opportunities to compete against him."

"People sometimes miss it and sometimes they don't have it and they want it, and when they have it, they don't want it"

"Previously I always thought it was just tactical and technique, but every match has become almost mental and physical—I try to push myself to move well. I try to push myself not to get upset and stay positive, and that's what my biggest improvement is over all those years. Under pressure I can see things very clear."

"All four of those are on grass, whereas I have to play some on a hard court!"

"It's just unreal, I'm shocked myself. I've played good matches here, but never really almost destroyed somebody."

"It was just one of those days for him to forget and me to remember."

"I would so like to be Lenny Kravitz."

"I never waited 27 years, because 27 years ago I was just born. My parents never told me, 'If you don't win Roland Garros we take you to the orphanage.'"

"No no no, too late! Stop! Yeah, come on… I was allowed to challenge for like two seconds, the guy takes like ten… Every time! I can't allowed that stuff to happen! You have any rules in there or what ?! Stop showing me your hand, ok?! Don't tell me to be quite, ok?! When I wanna talk, I talk, all right?! I don't give a shit what he said, I just say he's waiting way too long…"

"Sometimes you're just happy playing. Some people, some media, unfortunately, don't understand that it's okay just to play tennis and enjoy it. They always think you have to win everything, it always needs to be a success story, and if it's not, obviously, what is the point? Maybe you have to go back and think, Why have I started playing tennis? Because I just like it. It's actually sort of a dream hobby that became somewhat of a job. Some people just don't get that, ever."

"I think you need inspiration, motivation from different angles to keep you going, because it isn’t that simple just to wake up every morning and go for another travel around the world, another practice, all these other things; another fitness workout, another stretch. It’s always nice, but you need to have some success and you need to have the right reasons why you’re doing it. I think I’ve always been able to do that and I really enjoy myself out on the court."

"No, the other one was a night session too and I was wearing a white! No I'm not superstitious at all as you can see and… I try not to be… and because I try no to be, I guess I am… So it's really strange!"

"You gotta be careful about how you phrase that. You don't want to be rude to the other players, because you gotta face them; I don't have to face them. Yeah, I don't ask them stupid questions like that (laughing)...Um, I think there a lot of good players on the tour."

"Maybe, hopefully, one day you can tell me how it feels to win Montreal."

"We need a clown for this circus."

"[...] I have a great deal of respect and admiration for the youth climate movement, and I am grateful to young climate activists for pushing us all to examine our behaviours and act on innovative solutions. We owe it to them and ourselves to listen. I appreciate reminders of my responsibility [...] and I’m committed to using this privileged position to dialogue on important issues with my sponsors."

"What do you want me to do?"

"He hits shots that other guys don’t hit. You want to go over and give him a high five sometimes, but you can’t do that. You want to beat him but he’s fun to watch, too."

"Because he can cover so well to the forehand, it really allows him to stay at home in the backhand corner. That backhand corner gets smaller and smaller, sort of dares you to hit the forehand. There's a lot of times you do, and you're thinking that it's a good idea, then a second later you're going, 'Why did I do that?'"

"I would suggest that his next opponents don't look to me for advice"

"Roger can produce tennis shots that should be declared illegal"

"[Federer] ...is the most beautiful man to watch play tennis. The most beautiful I've ever seen play. His movement, combined with the artistry, his racquet, the look, he's got everything going."

"We are witnessing history. This is the most dominant athlete on planet earth today."

"For me Roger is the greatest player ever who played the tennis game. It’s always good to see him play and win and we are going to see so much more of Federer in the future; he is going to win more grand slam tournaments."

"It’s a combination of how many grand slams have you won, how many tournaments have you won, how many years you were number one, and he’s got all those combinations. The body of work is phenomenal and now he has got that French Open and I think he can just go on and sip Margaritas for the rest of his life."

"What he’s done over the past five years has never, ever been done — and probably will never, ever happen again. Regardless if he won there or not, he goes down as the greatest ever. This just confirms it. Now that he has won in Paris, I think it just more solidifies his place in history as the greatest player that played the game, in my opinion. I’m a huge Laver fan, and he had a few years in there where he didn’t have an opportunity to win majors. But you can’t compare the eras. And in this era, the competition is much more fierce than Rod’s."

"His win today at the French Open, tying Pete Sampras’s record for major titles and the completion of a career grand slam firmly places him in a special place as the greatest player of all time. He has earned his place and he has proven he belongs. Roger is a champion for the ages."

"I never played anyone playing that fast. He doesn’t have any weaknesses at all. He really deserves to be called the best player of all time."