‘The Roger Federer Effect’ is a book that was in launched in October 2022 across the globe, a month after the Swiss maestro’s retirement from the game. It is written by authors who are identical when it comes to their names and love for Federer, Simon Cambers and Simon Graf.
The duo appeared recently on ESPN during the Wimbledon Championships, in which Graf explained their motivation behind writing a book so unique. Interestingly, he spoke about the importance of fan queues especially at a Grand Slam like Wimbledon that helped them understand the mindshare Roger Federer has commanded over the years.
Story on queues at Wimbledon inspired The Roger Federer Effect
Simon Graf was one researching for a story presumably for German publication Tagesanzeiger along with an American friend, on queuing at the Wimbledon. Seeing the inputs he received from viewers at the iconic SW19 standing for tickets and waiting to enter the Centre Court, Graf was astounded at the impact Roger Federer has actually had on fans. Graf was quoted as saying to ESPN –
“We had made a tent one day outside Wimbledon and parked ourselves there for 30 hours, from 6 in the morning. That allowed us to speak to so many people. What impressed me is the impact Roger Federer has had on the lives of these fans deeply. These people have dedicated their vacations just to watch him play. So that made me want to write a book that didn’t talk about what Federer has done, but about his perception in people’s minds, how he has changed our lives. We spoke to 50 people from his inner circle as well as many fans, artists, other sportspeople. I think this is a bold picture of what he has done to people around the world.”
Tickets at the Wimbledon Championships are known to be notoriously expensive, favoring the permanent, long-standing members of the All England Club more. However, over the years, many supporters have worked hard and tried to find ways to buy tickets for Roger Federer’s matches. The prestige of watching him play live was massive as it was not in the destiny of every single person. Even rivals such as Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal have mentioned over the years about the impact Federer has had on tennis and world sport in general, truly being it’s face until last year.
Novak Djokovic was struggling to figure out how Roger Federer plays
The one rival who Roger Federer was able to ‘scare’ the most was the 23-time Grand Slam champion, Novak Djokovic. Graf’s co-author, Simon Cambers had once participated in a podcast for Tennis.com. In the podcast, Cambers claimed that every player on the ATP Tour was just left mesmerized with Federer’s game and at one point, the aura became so much that they were always left scratching their heads as to finding ways to defeat him.
One of those players was a young Novak Djokovic, who struggled to find a way out to combat Roger Federer. Cambers was quoted as saying back in November 2022 –
“Early on in the battles, Novak was struggling to figure out how Roger could play the way he played without seemingly looking like he was trying.
“And Marijan just(Vajda) calmed his mind I think. He made him realize that he couldn’t do what Federer does. So don’t even try to think about that, just focus on your game.”
Rival coaches also had their work cut out, largely because of how impressive Roger Federer’s style of play was, besides being effective. Toni Nadal was one example.
“Toni loved the way Federer hit the ball. He liked Federer’s aesthetically pleasing game. And he talks about the rivalry with Rafa as for him, being one of the greatest in sports. Not just in tennis,” Cambers concluded.
