4+1 reasons of why Roger Federer is my hero

Since the evening of the 23rd of September, I have had this bitter-sweet feeling of a loss, a loss coupled with inspiration; the loss of saying farewell to one of the greatest sports people of our lifetime and the inspiration of finding a new hero in him.

Here are 4+1 reasons of why Roger is my hero and a role model I look up to:

1. You can change: As referenced also in Range, despite his mother being a tennis coach, Roger tried many sports before starting to gravitate toward tennis in his teens. Roger Federer started his journey breaking rackets and not being able to manage his emotions on court. He worked tirelessly to evolve his mindset so that he can be in control of his emotions; and save for 1-2 incidents he was always in control, measured, calm and focused to do the best he could.
2. Versatility. As Jimmy Connors, winner of seven Grand Slams, once told the BBC: “you’re either a clay court specialist, a grass court specialist, or a hard-court specialist… or you’re Roger Federer" - Roger was the best player in his era on grass and hard-court and also only No 2 in clay; his range of moves was amazing - from his foot movement to his serve and to his strokes. Probably because he tried many different things before tennis, Roger developed the growth muscle to be versatile, to adapt and to use situational leadership better than most.
3. Effortless essence with beauty is possible. Roger brought an effortless simplicity, beauty and elegance in the game. There are very few things in sports as aesthetically pleasing and graceful as Federer’s tennis game. His flair and creativity are phenomenal, while his movement is economical, in that he doesn’t run as far or as much as his rivals. His single-handed backhand is poetry, a thing of beauty, an all-time classic. It showed us that the impossible is possible and it is as beautiful, even more beautiful that we can imagine. It inspired us with trying harder to get to that beautiful simplicity and essence.
4. It is ok to cry. It is ok to be goofy. It is ok to be vulnerable. The picture of Roger and Rafa holding hands crying after his last match is all-time classic. Roger was always like that - he was real; he was vulnerable; he would be goofy one moment, a prankster the next and also would love to cry; he was ok to let his emotions out in front of hundreds of millions the same way the best are vulnerable with accepting the truth. "Average players want to be left alone. Good players want to be coached. Great players want to be told the truth."- Doc Rivers.

... and as a last one I leave the most important.

Roger has class and is a nice guy. Roger is humble, Roger is nice. He is the person that everyone is rooting for.?He is the person who lives up to the pinky promise and also the funniest person on tour. He is the person we want to hang out with.

For years, our business and sports culture have celebrated the maniacally focused entrepreneur or champion. Steve Jobs. Elon Musk. Michael Jordan. Tiger Woods. Were they brilliant? Absolutely yes. Did they move the world or their sport forward? Undeniably yes. Do I really want to hang out with them? Probably not.

Roger changed that game as well -- he showed us that you can be top of the world, dedicated to your craft, in love with what you are working on and achieve beauty, essence, near-perfection; and doing that while at the same time being a nice, humble, vulnerable, family guy; someone everyone wants to spend time with and root for.

So next time someone asks me who do I look up to, who is my hero, I emphatically say Roger Federer.

What do you say??