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How tragedy transformed Federer into a champion

From racquet-smashing enfant terrible with a bad attitude and ill-advised ponytail to universally respected sporting role model and modern icon, Roger Federer has come a long, long way.

Fourteen years after winning his first Grand Slam title at Wimbledon, Federer has made history with an eighth All England Club triumph and 19th major.

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Victory over Marin Cilic in the Wimbledon final made the 35-year-old the oldest man to triumph on the famed grass courts tucked away in the plush suburbs of south-west London.

"2003 feels like ages ago, because of the ponytail, the beard, whatever, you name it. This one is different," said the Swiss star.

Many other things have changed for Federer since that Centre Court triumph over Mark Philippoussis in 2003.

On court, his successes have brought him more than $100 million in prize money and 92 career titles.

Off it, he is the father of two sets of twins, Myla Rose and Charlene Riva and Leo and Lenny with wife Mirka, a former player he met at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney.

Federer's beautiful family. Image: Getty
Federer's beautiful family. Image: Getty

But his career and life wasn't always so settled.

As a talented young player, Federer's on-court tantrums and hair-trigger temper once threatened to stunt his progress.

"I had a tough time getting my act together out on court, trying to behave properly. For me that was a big deal," he admitted.

Federer and late coach Peter Carter. Image: Twitter
Federer and late coach Peter Carter. Image: Twitter

Federer famously defeated Pete Sampras at Wimbledon in 2001 but was knocked out in the first round the following year.

It took a personal tragedy for Federer to press the reset button.

Just when he turned 21, his Australian coach and close friend from his formative years Peter Carter was killed in a car crash in South Africa.

From that point on, Federer committed himself to winning in style, with grace and not dictated to by his inner demons.

Federer and Carter. Image: Twitter
Federer and Carter. Image: Twitter

David Law, the ATP communications manager when Federer burst onto the professional circuit, says Carter's death transformed him from a boy into a man.

"Peter Carter just kept him on the straight and narrow really and stopped him getting into any trouble," Law said in The Tennis Podcast recently. "Federer was devastated.

"That made Federer grow up incredibly quickly because I don't think he'd ever had to think about mortality before.

"It stopped him in his tracks and it caused him problems for a long time in terms of dealing with it, dealing with the grief. This is someone he knew well, who he saw everyday, who he travelled everywhere with.

"It hit Federer incredibly hard and I think that — and this is a feature of Federer as a boy becoming a man — is that at every stage of his life, whatever has happened, he's digested what has happened and he’s learnt from it. He's moved onwards.

"He will never forget the lessons that man (Carter) taught him and it's a terrible shame he wasn't alive to see everything Federer's gone on to win."

Law says the young Federer made the likes of Bernard Tomic and Nick Kyrgios look like saints.

"The number of times we would go to tournaments and he would throw in a substandard performance where he'd mentally break down or he'd get emotional and throw his racquets — he was a baby. Honestly, he was a crybaby on the court,” Law said.

"He was just immature and it took him a while (to grow up)."

Federer paid tribute to Carter after winning the Australian Open in January, saying no one has had a bigger impact on his career.

“Work ethic was very important for Australians, so I think I profited a lot from that and early on for me Peter Carter was a very important man just overall for my character,” Federer said.

"He taught me respect for each person. It doesn't matter if that person is famous or not famous.

"He just taught me the right values, so did my parents. They got on very well. We were very close to Peter, all of us."

The Swiss champion annually hosts Carter’s parents Bob and Diana at the Australian Open, inviting them to Melbourne from their home in the Barossa Valley.

with agencies