"I don't really know what Boris Becker was trying to say, he was a hero of mine" - When Roger Federer was stumped by German's criticism of his 'image'

Roger Federer was once left stumped after Boris Becker came out in criticism of him, opining that the 20-time Grand Slam champion curated his 'image' by hiding his true feelings and trying to become liked by everybody.

Speaking about Federer in his memoir, Boris Becker's Wimbledon: My Life and Career at the All England Club, the German stated that the Swiss maestro managed to become one of the highest-paid athletes of all time by doing so.

"The reason Roger is one of the highest-paid athletes of all time is because he's liked by everybody. But think about this – you can't possibly be liked by everybody," Becker wrote. "He makes good money out of his image, but would he make less if we saw a bit more of his true feelings?"

Reacting to the comments, Roger Federer was lost for words, saying that it was "odd" to hear Becker write those things about him, especially as they had gotten along really well and as he had thought of the German as one of his heroes.

Federer, interestingly, went on to hint that the remark Becker made could have been specifically put there to sell more books using the controversy.

"I don't really know what he was trying to say. I know him somewhat well and we get along really well. He was a hero of mine. It's odd to hear that. I don't try to please everyone. I'm just trying to be myself," Federer said in an interview with USA Today.

"Does [Becker] get carried away by seeing too many advertisings [of me]? Maybe, And then he thinks, 'Oh, that's [Federer's] image.' But he knows very well who I am.... Books are there to be sold. I read into that [comment] a bit more like that," he added.

Roger Federer: "All I know is that I was brought up to be polite and to respect everybody"

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Roger Federer did not think Boris Becker's assessment that he had carefully curated his image was accurate either, commenting that he had simply been brought up to be polite and respectful of others.

In his opinion, the 20-time Grand Slam champion felt it was important to be a role model for kids, even if Becker disagreed with him at the end of the day.

"Maybe it's a big misunderstanding. Maybe it's something he truly feels is the case. All I know is that I was brought up to be polite and to respect everybody. I feel like it's important to be a role model for kids. If that's a problem, I'm sorry," Roger Federer said.