Roger Federer‘s career ended in September last year, when he played his last match alongside Rafael Nadal at the Laver Cup. The Swiss received a stunning fan tribute at London’s O2 Arena and images from that evening have toured the world.
Fans hoped to see the Master again on the Wimbledon lawns in 2023 and Roger himself had hoped for it, but the conditions of his right knee left him no other choice. The three operations to which the King underwent did not solve the problem and his brief return in 2021 had revealed a very approximate physical condition.
While Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic have broken many records from him over the past two and a half years, no one can ever match the impact Federer has had on the sport. The 20-time Grand Slam champion has contributed more than anyone else to increasing the popularity of tennis, as well as having approached a myriad of sponsors.
Mary Joe Fernandez on King Roger
For those who don’t know her, Mary Joe Fernandez was a very great tennis player in the 90s until reaching three Grand Slam singles finals. Married for several years to Tony Godsick, Roger Federer’s super agent, the American of Dominican origin was recently on the Holding Court with Patrick McEnroe podcast in which she revealed that one of the Federer couple’s children was totally obsessed with tennis.
“I’m sure Roger still loves tennis so much. All his children play tennis and one of them really loves it, which is great fun for him and his wife Mirka. They love tennis so much. They are as if they have to play all the time, over and over again.
Finally, one of them really shows a great interest in tennis. And it’s very, very cool to see.” In a recent interview, World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz sang the praises of Roger Federer and even called him the Lionel Messi of the tennis world.
“Yes, Federer is the Messi of tennis because of how easy he [looks playing]. Messi was the superhero in the World Cup and practically put himself in the entire country so that Argentina would consecrate itself in Qatar,” Carlos Alcaraz said.
“I loved [Federer’s] tennis. I loved watching him play. I was watching his highlights all day, watching matches. I was not thinking of holding number one all year. It was clear to me that they were going to take it from me. I have not yet played as number two, so we will see what feel,” Alcaraz said.
