In 2004, Roger Federer spoke to Folha about his dream of an Olympic medal

Already a tennis star, then number one in the world and with eight titles in the season, Roger Federer spoke to Sheet in 2004 about the goal of winning an Olympic medal.

At that point, the tournament was synonymous with disappointment. In 2000, in Australia, the tennis player went to the semifinals, but finished in fourth place.

Federer only placed an Olympic medal on his chest in 2008, when he took gold in doubles alongside Stan Wawrinka in Beijing. In 2012, in London, he won silver in the singles tournament – ​​he lost the final to Englishman Andy Murray.

Remember below the interview given by the tennis player to Sheet in 2004.

What does the Olympic medal mean to you? It has always been one of my career goals. I never had a medal. She narrowly escaped in Sydney. I went fourth, and it was a big disappointment. For me, a medal would be nice. I am looking forward to this challenge in Athens.

The key is very competitive. Do you think this tournament will be comparable to a Masters Series? It’s more nervous, because playing for your country is not like playing for the circuit. It’s not your name. Things change. It’s an elite bracket, some guys couldn’t come due to injuries or problems with the schedule, but for me, the Games are a priority, and I hope to do my best.

Do you expect heat to be an issue? I do not believe this. We play hot like that in other places in the world, in Australia, in the US, in other places in the world. This one is very comfortable heat.

What do you think of the dispute that the ATP and WTA are having in relation to qualification for the Olympic key? It is discussed whether the Beijing Games will count towards the rankings. That’s always an issue. There’s no prize money involved for us, just the Olympic federation prize. So the motivation here is not the prize money. For me, it doesn’t matter if you score or not, there’s something else to do here.