Motivation Quote by Richard Krajicek

Krajicek’s line lands like a compliment with a quiet blade inside it. Calling Federer “the best ever” is the obvious headline, but the sentence immediately swerves into something athletes recognize as the real currency of greatness: not talent, not even results, but appetite. “The only question” isn’t analysis so much as a provocation. It reframes Federer’s career as a psychological referendum, daring him to prove he wants it badly enough to pay the hidden costs.

The subtext is about suspicion of ease. Federer’s early aura, even more than his technique, was effortlessness: wins that looked like play, not labor. That kind of beauty invites praise from fans and a certain skepticism from peers who came up believing greatness is supposed to show scars. Krajicek, a former Wimbledon champion with his own experience of pressure and physical limits, is essentially translating Federer’s grace into a challenge: if it comes this naturally, will you still grind when it stops being fun?

Context matters: men’s tennis at the time was crowded with rival narratives - the baselined relentlessness, the warrior ethos, the idea that champions are defined by how they suffer. By making “desire” the deciding factor, Krajicek smuggles Federer into that storyline and sets a bar that has nothing to do with forehands. It’s also a protective bet: if Federer becomes the greatest, Krajicek was early; if not, the explanation is conveniently internal. Either way, the quote keeps the debate human, not technical: greatness as a choice, not a gift.