The Man Behind the Maestro: Isabelle Musy on Covering Roger Federer
6/16/202633 min
Isabelle Musy, journalist for Radio Tele Suisse who has interviewed Roger Federer more than perhaps any other reporter, joins the podcast in the lead-up to Wimbledon. With Chris Bowers, Musy shares intimate reflections on Federer’s journey, tracing his path from a "highly promising kid" at the Swiss National Junior Tennis Center to a global icon. Ultimately, Musy offers listeners a behind-the-scenes look at the genuine human being behind the legendary athlete.
Highlights:
- The "Playful" Language of French: Musy explains how Federer’s personality shifts slightly depending on the language he is speaking; while he is diplomatic in English and deep in Swiss German, he often returns to a "playful" and "teenage" way of expressing himself when speaking French.
- A Master of the "One-to-One": Beyond his skill on the court, Musy highlights Federer’s unique ability to be entirely present during interviews, noting his generosity, professionalism, and genuine interest in the people he is speaking with.
- Life Beyond the Baseline: The discussion explores Federer’s life off the court, including his deep respect and friendship with Rafael Nadal, his experiences as a "normal" father telling bedtime stories, and how he manages to maintain a sense of privacy while living in Switzerland.
The TennisWorthy Podcast is presented by the International Tennis Hall of Fame and uncovers the sport's history and mindset of champions.
Listen to every episode and view transcripts at tennisfame.com/podcast.
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsPatrick McEnroe· Host0:00
[upbeat music] Welcome to another Tennis Worthy podcast, brought to you by the International Tennis Hall of Fame. I'm Patrick McEnroe, the president of the Hall of Fame, and as we build up to the enshrinement of the one and only Roger Federer at the end of August, we have an interview for you with the reporter who has probably done more interviews with Federer than anyone else, French language Swiss TV journalist and producer Isabelle Musy.
Isabelle Musy· Guest0:24
I was really lucky to cover Roger, lucky to have those one-to-ones moments because, again, because of that human being he is. I mean, he- the- there's the champion, but as a human being I think he's, he's, he's amazing. I had the chance to do quite a lot of one-to-one interviews with him, and I think that's one of his, um, greatest skill is that he's really into the moment. You know? When he's with someone, he's with someone. He- his mind is not, like, thinking about something else, he's not on his phone, or he's not like, "Oh, I hope we gonna, we gonna do this quickly." You know some players, you can tell that they're not that happy to do it. And Roger takes the time, he's, he's happy, he's smiling, he's, um, he's ... I think he's enjoying the moment. The topic he quite liked to talk about was Rafa because he, he really likes Rafa. He has a tremendous respect for Rafa, and, uh, and I think over the years they really built something, um, a, a kind of friendship and, and, and, and respect. And, and,