Quotes from Roger Federer’s pre-tournament presser for Roland Garros
When Roger Federer takes the court for his first-round match at Roland Garros, he will begin his 54th straight Grand Slam campaign, which ties Stefan Edberg for second in the Open Era. Only Wayne Ferreira has more consecutive appearances with 56. The Swiss superstar spoke Friday about his longevity and how meaningful it is to have shown ‘great stamina’ at events where there are ‘no shortcuts’.
“It’s incredible. I never thought I was going to play that many, have that many opportunities to do well at the Slams,” said Federer. “Clearly I’m happy about it, but they don’t buy me victories. But it shows maybe great stamina and an injury-free career in a way.
“In a Slam where you know you’re going to enter best-of-five-set matches over two, three weeks, you have to be at your best and you need to feel like you can compete with the best at the highest of levels for a long period of time. There are no shortcuts in best-of-five-set matches, and that’s where I think I was always up for the challenge. I’m very happy that I was able to do that for so long so far.”