Roger Federer shared his thoughts about having mental strength to cope up with the challenges of being a tennis professional.
Federer has been a tennis pro for almost 18 years and over that period, the Swiss Maestro has learned how to handle all sort of adversaries.
According to the 34-year-old Swiss, one of most important qualities needed to overcome challenges of being a pro is having mental strength, which is as important as physical toughness in sports like tennis.
"I'm not sure, you know, if it's the most important to be tough in points, tough in the biggest moments, but it's also day to day grind you go into," Federer told in a video clip made by ATP.
"Are you willing to, you know, leave home for two-three months, are you willing to train really hard, are you willing to put up with the media. There's maybe, not so much privacy. Are you ok with all of that? Are you ok for doing that for 15 straight years?"
Federer has certainly used the mental strength he needed to get back into tennis action after recovering from a knee surgery that repaired a torn left meniscus suffered after the Australian Open earlier this year. He was originally slated to appear at the Miami Open, but a stomach virus forced him to withdraw from the event and instead delay his return, giving fans another week of anticipation.
The 17-time Grand Slam winner's next tournament will be at the Monte Carlo Masters on Apr. 10-17, when he joins the likes of Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, marking the start of the Swiss' clay season campaign.
Meanwhile, Federer has already started acclimatizing himself on clay-courts, with the Swiss already training at the Monte Carlo Masters' clay-court ahead of the tournament kick off next week.
The world No. 3 has yet to participate on a clay-court event this year, and his recent setback has cast doubts about his chances of competing at a high level in the next Grand Slam event of the year, the French Open.