The cop who double-bageled Roger Federer

There may be only one tennis player in the world who wishes he had taken it a bit easier on Roger Federer....

There may be only one tennis player in the world who wishes he had taken it a bit easier on Roger Federer. Reto Schmidli,31,a police officer and part-time psychology student in Arlesheim,Switzerland,is the only person who has double-bageled Federer,that is,beaten him,6-0 6-0.

The fact that the drubbing occurred in Federers first tournament match,when he was just 10 years old,is not lost on Schmidli. I was just thinking about winning the match, remembered Schmidli,who is now a recreational player ranked No. 715 in Switzerland. I wasnt thinking about being nice to him,but if I had to do it over again,I should have given Roger a game.

The beating took place at the Grüssenhölzli in Pratteln,Switzerland,in August 1991. Federer was scheduled to compete in the 10-and-under tournament,but there werent enough entrants,so he was forced to square off against Schmidli,who was nearly 13. Schmidli had a significant size advantage and quickly overpowered Federer.

The match remains memorable for Federer. After notching a 6-0 6-0 victory over Gastón Gaudio in Shanghai in November 2005,he was asked if he had ever blanked an opponent before. No,but I lost,6-0 6-0,in juniors once, he said,adding,I didnt think I played that badly.

Big transformation

Give Federer credit for having a sense of humour,but his account of being untroubled by the loss does not square with reports of his hypercompetitive on-court personality in his early years. He was a really bad loser, said Madeleine Bärlocher,Federers first coach at the Old Boys Tennis Club in Basel. After hed lose a match,hed sit under the umpires chair and cry for half an hour. The other players would be in the clubhouse eating sandwiches,and hed still be crying.

Bärlocher recalled her joy in seeing her beloved protégé cry after he won Wimbledon for the first time. I laughed because it reminded me of how he used to cry as a child, she said. Then he cried when he lost,now he cries when he wins.

Serving up bagels,or bicycles,as a 6-0 6-0 result is called in Switzerland,was once viewed as bad sportsmanship. Players occasionally gave an opponent a game during a rout. When Schmidli had the chance to bicycle the boy who became the greatest champion in tennis history,he took it. If the two played again,Federer would certainly return the favour. If Schmidli pulled Federer over for speeding,there would be no gift for Federer,either. As much as I admire Roger,I would have to give him the ticket, Schmidli said. In Switzerland there are no free passes.

A motto Federer has lived by.