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| Roger Federer of Switzerland waves to the crowd following his victory over Albert Montanes of Spain in their men's singles third round match on day six of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 23, 2010.- AFP |
Swiss tennis legend Roger Federer on Saturday revealed he came close to emigrating to Australia as a youngster.
Federer, who has a South African mother, was born in Switzerland and has won his record 15 Grand Slam titles under the Swiss flag.
But his Swiss father, Robert, who is employed in the pharmaceuticals industry, spent three months working in Australia when his son was aged about 12.
And the family considered moving Down Under.
"I was may be 12, 14 years old," said Federer, after progressing to the fourth round of the Australian Open.
"I actually remember my parents having a debate about moving away from Switzerland to come live over here.
"At the end, they just said, 'look, we have all our friends over here.'
"So in the end they decided to stay in Switzerland."
Federer said the family went on vacation to Australia before he joined the Swiss National Tennis Centre at 14.
"We went on a big vacation here through Melbourne, Brisbane and Cairns and everything to get a better idea of the country," he said.
"It was a beautiful vacation, but in the end we decided to stay in Switzerland."
Federer has long enjoyed a close relationship with Australians, including two of his coaches, Tony Roche and Peter Carter, who died in a car crash in 2002. |
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