Federer accused of being ‘bad tennis player’ by ex-pro that lost to him 12 times

One of Roger Federer’s old rivals claimed that the former world No 1 was “bad” at tennis when he was younger. Fernando Gonzalez formed a friendship with the 20-time Grand Slam champion during their childhood days but said he was the best while Federer was one of the worst players. Federer went on to get his revenge when they turned pro, beating him a total of 12 times in 13 career meetings.

Federer earned himself a reputation as one of the greatest tennis players of all time during his 24-year playing career. The Swiss star became the first man to win a total of 20 Grand Slam trophies – eventually being surpassed by Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. He also won a total of 103 titles during his career and spent 968 weeks inside the world’s top 10.

But it appears that the 42-year-old wasn’t always destined for greatness as one of his old rivals revealed that he wasn’t one of the good players as a child. Former world No 5 Gonzalez recently opened up on his bond with Federer, as the pair go back decades.

While the Chilean tennis star ended his career with a 1-12 record against Federer, he was the superior player when they were children. “I have known him since we were 12 or 13 years old and I must say that, at that age, he was bad,” the Olympic gold medallist in doubles told TNT Sports.

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“I remember perfectly that, in under-14 tournaments, I was the best in the world and Federer was not among the good ones.” But Gonzalez ended up forming a friendship with his younger rival as he was left impressed by Federer’s willingness to learn.

He continued: “He was a year younger and at that age it is very noticeable due to the physical issue. I was impressed that he did not hesitate to approach me and asked me many questions. We established a very good relationship and we were always together at that time.”

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Federer ended up turning professional in 1998 while Gonzalez joined him a year later. It wasn’t until 2004 that they met for the first time on tour with the Swiss player winning 6-3 6-2 in Indian Wells. The Chilean’s only win over Federer came in the round-robin stage of the 2007 Tennis Masters Cup – the equivalent of the ATP Finals.

Their biggest meeting came in the final of the Australian Open earlier in 2007 where it was Federer who won his 10th career Grand Slam title in straight sets. It was the only Major final of Gonzalez’s career.

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