Seeing him again with a racket in his hand is always a great emotion, for me who followed his rise and his career, growing up with his matches: Roger Federer is back to holding a racket and playing tennis. The Swiss Maestro was filmed while he was practicing at an event of his technical brand UNIQLO, teaching children the technique of his forehand and backhand. It must have been a thrill for everyone present at the event to see Roger still with a racket in his hand. And I want to underline it: the elegance of his technical skills is always that of his best days on the court.
Meanwhile, in a recent interview with SiriusXM, Federer revealed what he considers his favorite match. The Swiss reported that the most important match of his career was the round of 16 match he won against Pete Sampras at Wimbledon in 2001. Roger, in his first appearance at the Championships, defeated the US legend, who at that time had lost only one of the last 57 matches played in London.
“I was junior champion at Wimbledon a couple of years before and that was the only time I faced him. It was a dream come true. Looking back, this might be my favorite match. It was my first time at Wimbledon, against my hero. I’m happy to have had the opportunity to play against him,” said Roger.
Not only. In a new Louis Vuitton advertising campaign – which saw Federer on the snow of the Italian Alps together with his Spanish friend Rafael Nadal – the Swiss opened up on many topics, including how he wants to be remembered by his fans.
“The greatest achievement I achieved in sport was becoming number one and, in general, I am happy with my career. I don’t just want to be remembered for the tennis player I was, but also for the person. What I did and represented for tennis. I would like to be remembered for my personality as well as for the player I was. Being a role model for children would make me happy. Secret? Maybe even a little thing you add to your game. Even when you are playing well, there is always something you can do to improve.
I would tell the to a young Roger-child to surround myself with the right people, choose the best ones capable of inspiring and motivating me to get to the top. When you are young you don’t want to hear certain things, but you have to trust the people who want your best: parents, coaches, athletic trainers, physiotherapists. My inspiration was Stefan Edberg as a tennis player. Even Pete Sampras. They are special people in my life. Stefan also trained me for two years and it was special. I like basketball and, clearly, Michael Jordan and Shaquille O’Neal, they inspired me,” he told.
Nadal revealed that he met Federer at Wimbledon in 2003 and joked, saying: “I remember the first meeting, maybe he doesn’t. When he won Wimbledon for the first time in 2003. You were a bit arrogant! No, it was very nice. I was new to the circuit and I was shy. Having the chance to share this project with what is probably my biggest rival and friend at the same time makes everything more special.
Federer smiled back and said: “I remember his first match in Monte Carlo. He was very young and strong. We all thought: Here, another Spanish future top ten and maybe even more. Then he achieved everything. A special moment was when he beat me in 2004 in Miami and I was number one in the world. I was surprised, but it was great to see young players like Rafa, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray emerge. It was a great rivalry. The one with Nadal, due to his attitude and his style of play, was not a rivalry like the others.”
Finally, still about Federer, the last days that accompanied Roger to the 2022 Laver Cup for his farewell will be serialized in an Amazon Prime Video docu-series which will be released on June 20th, entitled Twelve Final Days. In the released trailer, Federer asks his audience if they are ready, while he sits at a desk. On the table, in front of him, the paper containing the words with which he retired to London. The film will retrace the last highlights with the Laver Cup and the doubles in the company of Rafael Nadal, the Spanish friend-rival. There will certainly be moving and touching scenes, with the family as protagonists. Below is the trailer published by Prime Video:
