Roger Federer- any CATS come close?

Inspired by Sunday and by a thread on the Hawks Board:
RF has just won his 20th SLAM as we are all aware, and is widely regarded as the GOAT sportsman alive.
Even the great Rod Laver is in awe of him.
A coach of a team of a different code recently implored his charges to find a bit of Federer in their efforts.
Are there any Cats , past or present, who carry/carried themselves the way Roger does?
Totally cool, durable, resilient, super fit, near effortless perfection, great ambassador of the game, universally loved.
Squeaky clean too.
Tall ask.
I could name players who share partial characteristics, but the total package is unattainable imo.
 
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Aug 2, 2012
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Inspired by Sunday and by a thread on the Hawks Board:
RF has just won his 20th SLAM as we are all aware, and is widely regarded as the GOAT sportsman alive.
Even the great Rod Laver is in awe of him.
A coach of a team of a different code recently implored his charges to find a bit of Federer in their efforts.
Are there any Cats , past or present, who carry/carried themselves the way Roger does?
Totally cool, durable, resilient, super fit, near effortless perfection, great ambassador of the game, universally loved.
Squeaky clean too.
Tall ask.
I could name players who share partial characteristics, but the total package is unattainable imo.
Polly.
 
Dec 10, 2003
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Inspired by Sunday and by a thread on the Hawks Board:
RF has just won his 20th SLAM as we are all aware, and is widely regarded as the GOAT sportsman alive.
Even the great Rod Laver is in awe of him.
A coach of a team of a different code recently implored his charges to find a bit of Federer in their efforts.
Are there any Cats , past or present, who carry/carried themselves the way Roger does?
Totally cool, durable, resilient, super fit, near effortless perfection, great ambassador of the game, universally loved.
Squeaky clean too.
Tall ask.
I could name players who share partial characteristics, but the total package is unattainable imo.

One of the more interesting facets to me of The Fed Express is that as much as he seems such a supreme example of a natural gifted tennis player ..effortless and easy on the eye etc. that is not the case. Although talented he worked at many parts of his game to become the player he is .. his cool demeanour for example was something that evolved.. whether it was pure maturity or the result of becoming a winning sportsman ..he showed how.. just because one has a certain personality when young , you can hone and polish. The Scorpion and the Frog is not the universal truth. I do feel its easier to be of good temperament when you are winning , so im sure it helped that as his game developed and he was winning more , he could develop his inner Borg. Perhaps there was aspects of Mooney in that , although no where near the level of player in his sport his personality evolved over the years and was probably at its best in our winning era.. although of course.. Im not sure Fed ever had a 08 GF moment like Cam did.
 
Nov 12, 2002
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I still can't find it in me to care about tennis. I tried, I really did, but ultimately I care more about the Zac Dawson's of this world than the Roger Federer's.

Pretty much. I can watch the last week of a Grand Slam - quarter finals, semis, final etc. But I can't get interested outside of that. I did watch Federer win the final, mainly because it's so unusual for a player of his age to have such a renaissance (it reminds me of Ali's amazing resurgence from around 1973-1975 in that regard). But outside of that, no real interest.
 
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I wonder if a team sport lends itself to the same opportunity to stand out as you can in a single sport? An equivalent to Federa would be Kelly Slater.

Consider Bob Skilton, clearly a champion of the game who was also humble and impeccable in his conduct. But never won a major ....
 
Nov 12, 2002
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I wonder if a team sport lends itself to the same opportunity to stand out as you can in a single sport? An equivalent to Federa would be Kelly Slater.

Consider Bob Skilton, clearly a champion of the game who was also humble and impeccable in his conduct. But never won a major ....

Good point. As good as any individual is in a team sport, it's difficult to stand out to the same degree.

Some come close - Maradona, Van Basten, Ablett senior etc. But overall they are probably too different.
 
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Michael Schumacher

92 F1 wins I think..

Lewis is next with 62. And they have more races now

DAYLIGHT

Go Catters
 

InnocentBystandr

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Tennis is a mainstream sport which (nearly) everyone knows about. I think the Kelly Slater comparison comes close for another mainstream sport. But if you want to get off the beaten track (pun intended) - this guy stands well clear of all his peers - Toni (Antoni) Bou
(YouTube Toni Bou - he can make a motorcycle defy gravity!)
 
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