Roger Federer talking tennis in artistic way blew my mind, says Mikaela Shiffrin

Tennis great Roger Federer has made an impact on athletes from other sports as well. American skier Mikaela Shiffrin has disclosed that listening to the Swiss icon talk about tennis in an artistic way in an old documentary blew her away.

Last month, 28-year-old Shiffrin set the world record by winning her 87th World Cup race. During a recent conversation with Iga Swiatek, the American weighed in on the pressure on top athletes that comes with unrealistic expectations of people.

She recalled watching the documentary Strokes of Genius, which centered around the epic 2008 Wimbledon final between Rafael Nadal and Federer. The thrilling five-set match saw the Spaniard beat the five-time defending champion at SW19.

However, it was the way Federer articulated his thoughts in the documentary that left an impression on Shiffrin.

"I was just watching Strokes of Genuis, the Federer-Nadal 2008 Wimbledon match. It's cool to hear them talk about tennis almost in an artistic way. Like Federer is talking about playing with the point, exploring the different ways that you can move around the court and what shots you can hit from which angles," Shiffrin said on Instagram live.

"He's really talking about it like at the level you're at, you're so good that you can actually explore the game and the match while you're playing. I'm like mind-blown at that fact," she added.

Shiffrin could immediately relate as she remembered the phase where she would get weighed down by people's expectations.

"It's kind of that way for me with skiing. If you're able to focus on that kind of feeling rather than, 'Oh these people expect that I'm going to do this or that record or this milestone', then it helps a lot," she said. "Because I went through a phase where I heard people talking about what their expectations were and I would really get nervous and feel the pressure."

"But now, I don't really anymore. I'm like, 'I never promised that I'll win 87th [World Cup win] this year, so if I don't, it's your own fault for building this up. It's not on me'," she concluded.

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Roger Federer and his connection with trains

2022 Laver Cup

After recently shooting a commercial for Swiss tourism alongside comedian Trevor Noah, Roger Federer reflected on his younger days when he used to travel on trains in Switzerland and think about his future.

“It’s been wonderful. Doing this commercial today with Trevor really brought me back to my childhood a little bit because I was always on trains,” he said in a conversation with FT Globetrotter.

“I remember leaving home, looking out of the window and seeing the trees and the fields go by and thinking, 'Will I be a good tennis player? Will I not? Will I win? Will I not?'” he added

The 20-time Grand Slam champion retired from professional tennis at the Laver Cup last September