What Roger Federer once claimed was the reason he and Serena Williams enjoyed such long careers
Roger Federer and Serena Williams both enjoyed stunning careers, reaching heights that not many other sportspeople have.
Federer ended his career with 20 Grand Slam titles, third in the men’s all-time list, with Williams second in the women’s list with 23.
They did, of course, achieve so much else in other areas, with their careers not going to be forgotten anytime soon.
And not only were they able to secure huge success, but both Federer and Williams enjoyed extremely lengthy careers.
Why Roger Federer and Serena Williams enjoyed such long careers
Such longevity was indeed referenced at the 2019 US Open, when Federer was asked in a press conference what he attributed to the lengthy careers of himself and WTA star Williams.
The ATP legend replied: “I’m not sure. Look, Serena and me, she started even earlier than I did on the tour.
“She’s also had many more injuries than me and more time off away from the game than I did. We went about it different ways, totally different backgrounds and all that.
“Still I guess you need to be successful, you need to love what you’re doing, find a way to really keep yourself entertained because you go through moments where maybe being away from your home city, village, country, house, whatever it may be, friends, it’s not that fulfilling. You sometimes got to look for ways to keep going.
“I think what’s helped me so much is stability with my relationship with my wife, my relationship with my sister and my parents, then just the friends we were able to keep throughout my career on the road.
“It didn’t make me feel like if ever I came home I had nobody. I always felt like our friends couldn’t wait to come either meet us at the tournaments or wait for us at home.
“That just made time away or at home so much fun. That has helped me a lot. I mean, success has played a big part in Serena’s and my career, for sure.
“Maybe traveling and only winning 50% of the matches on tour, then maybe also we wouldn’t be playing any more.
“But because we know we can still beat the best, win the biggest tournaments, it’s so worthwhile to stay there and see if you can go back to these emotions, see if you can do it at a later stage in your career, and be a totally different person almost, a different player sort of 20 years later. It’s quite exciting actually.”
Roger Federer and Serena Williams both retired in 2022 after stunning careers
As ever, it was a fantastic answer and indeed fantastic attitude from Federer, who admirably gave tennis fans a real insight into his thought process.
He reached the quarterfinals of the US Open that year, having lost the Wimbledon final to Novak Djokovic earlier in 2019.
That represented his last ever Grand Slam final, with Federer calling time on his career at the 2022 Laver Cup.
He won 103 titles overall, with his fellow legend Williams ending her career at the 2022 US Open with 73 WTA titles to her name.
Packers Make Final Decision on Josh Jacobs Before Thanksgiving
It was a busy day for the Packers on Wednesday, as the team tries to bounce quickly back from Sunday’s dominant defensive performance against the Vikings to take on the Lions, a must-win game if Green Bay wants to give itself a top-level chance to win the NFC North. The Packers come in at 7-3-1, and are 2-0 in the division, while the Lions are 7-4.
The Packers made one decision on the offensive side, opting to keep receiver Jayden Reed out for another week as he returns from collar-bone and foot injuries. When they put out their injury report on Wednesday, it was clear they’d made another, too: They were ready to get running back Josh Jacobs back on the field.
Jacobs was not on Wednesday’s injury report, which means he is good to go for the Lions.
Josh Jacobs In Need of Consistency
Jacobs had hurt his knee in Week 11 against the Giants. He wanted badly to play in Week 12, but the team held him back and Jacobs vowed he would return on Thanksgiving. He’s followed through on that.
Last year, Jacobs proved to be a shrewd addition by the Packers’ front office, as he went for 1,329 yards and 15 touchdowns, plus another 342 yards as a receiver. This year, Jacobs is running behind a reconfigured and oft-injured offensive line, and the result have been rough at times. Jacobs has not had a 100-yard game this season and is on pace for a much more modest 1,037 yards on the year.
Jacobs definitely needs consistency and momentum to be effective. The Packers are hoping he gets more of that down the season’s stretch run.
As offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich said of Jacobs, “It takes a little time in the run game to just get things going and the more opportunities you get the more momentum you can build. When you’re able to give Josh (Jacobs) the ball that many times, he’s going to start popping some and he’s going to wear people out.”
Packers Could Use Emanuel Wilson More With Josh Jacobs
With Jacobs out against the Vikings, RB2 Emanuel Wilson stepped up with 28 carries for 107 yards and two touchdowns. The Packers like to use Wilson as a change-of-pace back, but there is a case to be made for him to get more carries–he had just 53 coming into Week 12. Wilson for one said he’d like that chance.
“It’ll be crazy,” Wilson said of a one-two punch with Jacobs. “When Josh comes back, when he gets going I will try to match his energy. Today, I just tried to do that. … I just went out there and did my job. The guys believe in me so I tried to make every opportunity count for them.”
