heyn 15 September, sports enthusiasts around the world woke up to a momentous occasion in tennis history – Roger Federer announced his retirement on Twitter with a farewell note. The upcoming Laver Cup to be held from 23 to 25 September will be his last tournament. It is the second high-profile retirement announcement to be out of tennis this year, which Serena Williams has also called a day.
This is no surprise though. Federer, 41, hasn’t played a tournament since the 2021 Wimbledon quarter-finals in which he lost to Poland’s Hubert Herkaz in straight sets. After this he had several knee operations. It was becoming more and more clear that a strong comeback is wishful.
Rumors of Federer’s retirement have been doing the rounds for over 13 years – he hasn’t played for over a year, he has all the achievements any player could dream of, and yet, the announcement came as a blow. has come in the form. This is yet another uncomfortable change in a world that is desperately demanding stability. And Federer had grown into that ‘institution’ of stability.
The undisputed GOAT in men’s tennis – Greatest of All Time – will be laying its racquet to rest very soon. Records will be made, will be broken. We already have two players with more men’s Grand Slam titles than Federer – Spain’s Rafael Nadal and Serbia’s Novak Djokovic – but they would also like to play like Federer.
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federer dance
Anyone who doesn’t believe in magic hasn’t seen Roger Federer play.
There is a Federer poem on the court. His footwork makes it look like he is running around. And the powerful forehand he almost closes with his hands looks like Federer just grazed the ball and the magic happened. He makes tennis like an art.
But it was no pleasure for the Swiss player to indulge that kind of passion – he was known to be a naughty, high-headed player with an attitude problem. Federer had to let go of a lot of anger and find patience and dedication to reach the level he is playing at today. But after a long journey of nearly two decades, Roger is loved like a saint in the tennis world. And the tennis champion has had his share of racquet breaking moments, too. He’s not the best at hiding emotions – Federer brought out the human side of this god-like figure while crying at the end of the trophy ceremony.
My favorite Federer forehand shot is from the 2015 ATP World Tour Final (Basel, Switzerland) against Rafael Nadal in the first set, where the latter had the advantage of breaking the former’s serve. Federer had to retreat to the baseline as Nadal played at the net. It looked like Nadal was leading the rally and Federer looked like his body was three inches off the ball – too far to take a volley. But the tennis professional mastered and played a powerful forehand shot. Nadal was stunned, not knowing what to do.
He also had excellent spin in his forehand, which allowed him to hit the ball out of the net and pull it back to the baseline and land it to win a point.
It’s fun watching Federer play. Tennis would be so poor if he didn’t get on the court. Federer has elevated tennis from a game of power to a game of grace. He makes it easy. He dances on the court and the audience dances with him.
At his best, Federer’s clout is almost felt off-screen. He made his opponents run, laugh, and begged for mercy, as if it were meditation, knowing what to do.
It is a sport that comes naturally to her, for which she expressed great gratitude to God, “I was given a special talent to play tennis, and I did it at a level I never imagined.” longer than I ever imagined,” he wrote in his farewell letter.
The way Federer serves is a treat. He never lets his opponents know where the ball is coming from, so they tend to retreat further to the baseline than usual. He has won service games about 88.8 percent of his career – a statistical marvel.
Read also: 17 years ago, I fell in love with the ‘Phoenix of Tennis’. Rafael Nadal is more than a player
Federer-Nadal Rivalry
Roger Federer’s most powerful rivals throughout his career have been: David Nalbandian of Argentina, who beat him five straight times when they met each other on the court for the first time, Lleyton Hewitt of Australia, Andy Roddick and Djokovic of the US.
But perhaps nothing comes close to a Federer-Nadal rivalry – as in any sport in the world.
These two players really showed the world what a sports rivalry is like, and how mutual admiration, respect and love, even friendship, shape it.
Nadal and Federer first went up against each other at the 2004 Miami Open, when the former defeated the latter in straight sets. Since then, they have come face-to-face 40 times, with Nadal leading with 24 to 16 wins.
One of their most memorable moments is a behind-the-scenes video they were shooting to promote their charity match. In an inside joke, both of them fall from their chairs laughing. Two professionals who are not bloodthirsty rivals? Well, here’s the first one!
Nadal was the player who stopped Federer from winning the Roland Garros, also known as the French Open, for the longest time. He didn’t let Federer break Bjorn Borg’s record by winning six consecutive Wimbledon titles in 2008, which would go down as one of the greatest tennis matches ever played. And yet, there doesn’t seem to be any off-the-court rivalry.
The sweetest moment between the two is Federer crying after losing to Nadal at the 2009 Australian Open, and later consoling the former, bringing him back to end his speech.
But perhaps the biggest defeat of Federer’s career was the 2019 Wimbledon final against Novak Djokovic. That’s when Djokovic stole a possible 21st Grand Slam from right under Federer’s nose. The match, which lasted for four hours-57 minutes, progressed to the tie-break of the fifth set.
Federer was serving 8-7, 40-15 in the deciding set for the tournament, with the crowd in his favor, and yet he lost the match to Djokovic with the best win of his career.
But it is not as if all the greatest matches of Federer’s life have been lost. Perhaps the fondest memory of tennis in Federer’s mind will be his defeat of defending champion Pete Sampras in the 2001 Wimbledon quarter-finals. Wimbledon yesterday shared Federer’s post-match interview from 2001.
when the dream came true@Roger Federer , #wimbledon pic.twitter.com/hd6IUZN5wH
— Wimbledon (@wimbledon) September 15, 2022
nineteen years. Twenty Grand Slams. One hundred and three ATP titles. Millions of fans. Only one Roger Federer.
(Edited by Likes)