Federer's Dartmouth commencement speech: 'Dr. Roger' explains why 'effortless' is a myth

pAll eyes were on a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/tournaments/roland-garros/520/overview'Roland Garros/a Sunday for the final of the clay-court major between a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/carlos-alcaraz/a0e2/overview'Carlos Alcaraz/a and a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/alexander-zverev/z355/overview'Alexander Zverev/a. But on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/roger-federer/f324/overview'Roger Federer/a was serving aces of his own./p

pThe former No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings delivered a a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqWUuYTcG-o" target="_blank"memorable commencement speech/a to 11,000 people in person and thousands more virtually. The Swiss icon was awarded with a Doctor of Humane Letters degree./p

pldquo;Really, you have no idea how excited I am. Keep in mind, this is literally the second time I have ever set foot on a college campus. Second time ever.

But for some reason, you are giving me a doctorate degree,rdquo; Federer said, cracking a laugh. ldquo;I just came here to give a speech, but I get to go home as lsquo;Dr. Rogerrsquo;. Thatrsquo;s a pretty nice bonus./p

pldquo;lsquo;Dr. Rogerrsquo;. This has to be my most unexpected victory ever!rdquo;/p

pFederer spoke about his friendship with agent and business partner Tony Godsick, a Dartmouth alumnus, who was in attendance to watch his daughter, Isabella Godsick, graduate. The 103-time tour-level titlist shared three key lessons:/p

p- ldquo;Effortlessrdquo; is a myth./p

p- Itrsquo;s only a point./p

p- Life is bigger than the court./p

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pFederer also addressed the idea of retirement, a word he is not too fond of. He viewed his retirement as graduation from tennis./p

pldquo;So what do I do with my time? Irsquo;m a dad first, so, I guess, I drive my kids to school? Play chess online against strangers? Vacuum the house?rdquo; Federer said. ldquo;No, in truth, Irsquo;m loving the life of a tennis graduate.rdquo;nbsp;/p

pThe 42-year-old discussed his philanthropic work and much more, even taking time to briefly provide technical advice./p

pldquo;President Beilock, can I have my racquet real quick? Okay, so, for your forehand, yoursquo;ll want to use an eastern grip. Keep your knuckles apart a little bit. Obviously, you donrsquo;t want to squeeze the grip too hard,rdquo; Federer said. ldquo;Switching from forehand to backhand should be easy... Also, remember it all starts with the footwork, and the take-back is as important as the follow-through. No, this is not a metaphor! Itrsquo;s just good technique.rdquo;/p

pFederer embraced the opportunity and made clear how important it was to him./p

pldquo;If you are ever in Switzerland, or anywhere else in the world, and you see me on the street... even 20 or 30 years from now... whether I have gray hair or no hair... I want you to stop me and say... lsquo;I was there that day on the Green. Irsquo;m a member of your class... the Class of 2024rsquo;,rdquo; Federer said. ldquo;I will never forget this day, and I know you wonrsquo;t either.rdquo;/p

pIn closing, the former World No. 1 said: ldquo;Whatever game you choose, give it your best. Go for your shots. Play free. Try everything. And most of all, be kind to one another... and have fun out there.rdquo;/p

p[NEWSLETTER FORM]/p