Just as tennis has evolved, Roger Federer has also evolved with the sport. While today the sporting arena knows the 20-time Grand Slam champion as a determined and disciplined tennis player, there was a time during his young tennis days when he paid the price of missing out on an Olympic medal just to give Tommy Haas an edge to win a bronze.

Even though both have been good friends on and off the court, it was the 2000 Olympics semi-finals when the German tennis player went against the young Federer. While Haas recently recalled those days, he also highlighted how the young Federer at that time gave him an opportunity to win an Olympic medal.

When Roger Federer unknowingly went with Haas’ wish 

That was the first time the 45-year-old German tennis player stepped into the Olympic arena and had the idea of playing a bronze medal match and winning it at any cost. In a podcast interview, Tommy Haas highlighted how the 20-time Grand Slam champion paid the price of his wish, and helped him achieve victory with his impatient behavior.

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The old friend of Federer stated, “When I actually got to the semis I was so focused and so locked in because the last thing I wanted to do was play for a bronze medal. And so I played a pretty decent match and got to Federer, that’s when he was obviously still not the Federer as we like to think of him still a little bit more, you know impatient, and he got you know threw rackets around a little bit.” 

He highlighted that even though he played quite decently, the version of Federer at that time was all about being impatient. But even after taking advantage of his behavior, they have been quite old friends.

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He mentioned, “So, I got the better of him that day and which was obviously great for me, to, you know, come home with a silver medal.” However, do you know that the Swiss tennis legend suffered a lot to keep his temper under control in his junior days?

Federer on getting over his temper 

While talking about the young chapter of his life, last year Roger Federer highlighted how when he started playing tennis, he was always wearing around and throwing rackets that even his parents felt embarrassed by his acts. Further, he also highlighted how the chaotic-to-calmer transition happened in his life.

According to Tennis World, Federer stated, “I had to settle down, but it took me until I was maybe 19 when I finally started to make improvements in that area. I complained about every point I would lose in the past, and I do not know how I got over that.” Not only that, he also mentioned how he was losing too much energy by always getting upset, but with the passing of time he has become a better version of himself.