Aristotle once said:

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”

If you carefully watch Roger Federer on and off the court, you will realize that everything he does or says is just perfect. It seems unreal, for some people extreme or not “normal”.

Anyone familiar with success understands why. If you want to be the best you can be, you have to set the bar pretty high, and if you want to be better than anyone else in a given field, you have to achieve “excellence” at all times… and as Aristotle once said, not as an act, but rather as a habit.

In Federer’s case it means playing his best tennis constantly.
For that, he works on himself and on his game day by day, moment by moment.

Give your best to your fans, sponsors, tournament organizers, TV, etc.

In the presentations of the Trophy he has a word of affection for his rival and his team.

To be nice to the fans, to sign autographs, to have a smile even when you lose. Go to press conferences and offer positive comments about your opponents and spend more time than requested by the ATP with reporters.

Play fair without trying to pressure referees, line judges or anyone else to make decisions in your favor.

To show his opponents respect but an unwavering desire to win.

I read once, seven or eight years ago, that this talented young man, Roger Federer, when he came home from tournaments, instead of throwing his dirty clothes in the hamper, he put them in the washing machine, dried them and folded them! SAME! How many of us let mom do it?

After Serena Williams’ final against Maria Sharapova at the 2007 Australian Open I told them; “If you want a role model of grit, fighting spirit, perseverance, focus, courage, athleticism, clear thinking under pressure, winning spirit, you don’t need to go any further, look at Serena Williams!”

After watching Roger Federer for the last 6 years and the 2007 Australian Open final I will tell you; if you are looking for “Excellence” follow in the footsteps of Roger Federer and if you manage to be just a little bit like Roger, you have done very well!

Keep working on yourself and your game daily. Be great!

Enjoy your tennis!

For comments or ideas about this article, send an email to the author Sergio Cruz

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