Federer: ‘He Didn’t Want Me To Be A Wasted Talent’

In an emotional interview with CNN Sport, Roger Federer shared just how much he’s still affected by the loss of his boyhood coach Peter Carter, who died in 2002 in a car crash while on honeymoon. Carter was 37.

Federer, speaking with CNN’s Christina Macfarlane, broke down in tears when asked what Carter would now think of Federer, a champion of 20 Grand Slam titles.

“Sorry,” said Federer, his eyes welling up. “I hope he would be proud. I guess he didn’t want me to be a wasted talent so I guess it was somewhat of a wake-up call for me when he passed away and I really started to train hard.”

The year after Carter died, in 2003, Federer won Wimbledon, the first of his 20 Slam titles. “Peter was really a really important person in my life because I think if I can say thank you for my technique today, it’s to Peter,” Federer said.

The 37-year-old Swiss will try to three-peat and win tour-level title No. 100 at the Australian Open, which starts Monday.