Federer Won't Burn Out Like Me - Mats Wilander

Mats Wilander perhaps knows more than anyone how Roger Federer is feeling at the moment having won two Grand Slam titles in a year with one still to play, but the Swede is confident that the Swiss can avoid the burn-out that afflicted his own career.

In 1988, Wilander enjoyed a Federer-like year, winning three Grand Slam titles in the space of 12 months (the Australian and US Opens and Wimbledon), culminating in a stunning victory over Ivan Lendl in the US Open final. It was a title that had eluded both himself and countryman Bjorn Borg, and meant that he stood comfortably at the top of the tennis world. “I think winning the US Open final in 1988 against Lendl stands out as my best tennis memory,” said Wilander.

“I had watched Bjorn Borg win the French Open and win Wimbledon but never be able to win the US Open, so us Swedes thought it was the hardest Grand Slam to win. Up to the point that I won it I knew I had a chance on hard courts because I was beating Lendl, (John) McEnroe and (Stefan) Edberg on the surface, but at the US Open it just seemed that bit tougher. So to beat Lendl in ’88 after having lost to him in ’87 and to win playing a really tactical game and hitting shots that I wouldn’t usually hit, that was incredible.”

After scaling that peak however, Wilander's career went into decline as he struggled for motivation. He would not win another Grand Slam title.

“The first 24 hours after winning the US Open took quite some time to recover from,” he said. “It wasn’t that easy and it didn’t just go away in one day. It was more than a 'beer hangover' so to speak. It was deflation - you pump up the balloon so much and eventually it just exploded.

“I still loved to play tennis afterwards but I did feel like there was something just a little bit different when I was playing. I was hitting shots that didn’t have a purpose and that was very difficult for me to handle because up to the US Open finals in ’88, every ball I hit had a purpose. To then suddenly to start hitting shots for no reason was tough and it ended up being very deflating to my character on the court.”

Wilander is confident that Federer, despite the recent birth of his twin girls Myla Rose and Charlene Riva, will not suffer the same burn-out that he experienced back in 1988.

“I think if Federer keeps playing the way he is now he’s going to run away so far that nobody will ever catch him in terms of Grand Slam titles,” said Wilander of Federer, who recently set a new record of 15 major titles.

“Of course he has to stay physically healthy but he has introduced a new, stronger mindset to his game. Suddenly it’s more fun to play tennis for him. Roger has taken the sport to a different level. He now shows up on the court thinking he’s going to beat his opponent not only in terms of physical strength but also in the mind. I wish him all the best and I really hope he wins 20 Majors.”

Wilander will play at the Jean-Luc Lagardere Trophy in Paris (September 24-27) and the Chengdu Open (November 5-8).