Have you ever admired and loved a sportsman whose losses felt like a death in the family? Well, that’s how I felt the few times Swiss maestro Roger Federer lost a Grand Slam final. I like to believe I am a rational person and the success and failure of public figures will not bother me, but Federer made me care about his game and the sport of tennis to that extent.
Yesterday, Federer announced his retirement from professional tennis at age 41. He will retire following the Laver Cup in London next weekend. We all knew this was coming, but, still, it feels like heartbreak.
Federer is a 20-time Grand Slam champion and has been World No 1 for more than 310 weeks. He has been an incredibly successful person both on and off the court. A lot has been written about him over the years – whether it’s David Foster Wallace’s essay, “Roger Federer as Religious Experience”, or his billion dollar brand. He has achieved sporting success, fame, wealth, and social status very few people in this world have. Basically, he’s got everything. And many of us are taught to question or dislike someone who has got everything. Then why is it that millions of people around the world admire and love him so much?
The answer is: it’s what he did for himself and the sport of tennis over the last 24 years.
Federer fulfilled his potential tennis talent and increased the popularity of tennis around the world and brought happiness to many. He played a beautiful style of attacking tennis and he did it efficiently in terms of success. His old-school one-handed backhand and serve and volley play got him six Australian Open, one French Open, eight Wimbledon, five US Open, six ATP Finals, and 28 ATP Masters 1000 titles. He also helped his country, Switzerland, win a Davis Cup and two Olympic medals.
And he achieved all these highs without harming his opponents, himself or those close to him. A winner of the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award 13 times and Laureus Sportsman of the Year five times – both records – Federer is respected for his on-court behaviour by his fellow tennis players and sportspersons. There was a time when Federer was the second most trusted and respected person in the world after Nelson Mandela. He has always played the sport with utmost grace and respect and has never been involved in any reputation-hurting scandals – that’s why he’s one of the greatest sportsmen of all time. His polite and correct behaviour is wonderful to see.
Is he the greatest tennis player of all time? I do think so. Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams fans will not agree and throw stats at me but that’s ok. Bill Russell won more NBA rings than Michael Jordan but we consider Jordan the greatest in basketball. Floyd Mayweather Jr has a 50–0 win-loss boxing record but we consider Muhammad Ali the greatest in boxing. Similarly, Federer is the greatest in tennis for what he did for himself and the sport.
The first time I saw Federer live was 10 years ago at Wimbledon. Since then I have been lucky enough to watch him play a few times, like the 2014 International Premier Tennis League in New Delhi, the 2018 Bercy Masters in Paris and the 2019 ATP Finals in London. Watching him play live was always a joyful experience. Pure joy!
Unfortunately, I won’t be able to see Federer for one last time at Laver Cup but I am sure the tennis world is going to give him the farewell he deserves.
Thank you, Roger.
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