How Did Roger Federer Change Over Two Decades?

David Senra, reading Christopher Clarey's The Master, says the most fascinating thing about Roger Federer is how much he changed from the 16 or 17 year old over the next two decades. The parallel to Steve Jobs jumped off the page. People watched Federer and it looked like he was not sweating, with a heart rate of 30. A break point, or a crowd getting into the match, was not going to produce a bad decision. He looked ready for whatever situation came up.

What stayed hidden was how far Federer had come from the racket-chucking, self-berating episodes of his youth. Opponents called him mentally weak and said he had no mental discipline. They figured they could wear him out and beat him. The book gives example after example. Like Steve Jobs, Roger Federer learned more self-control with age.

Senra points to a 20-page afterword in Ed Catmull's autobiography Creativity, Inc., called The Steve Jobs We Knew. Ed Catmull was partnered with Steve Jobs for more consecutive years than anybody else, across a 20-year partnership.