Roger Federer has made a decision with a heavy heart: his appearance at the Laver Cup in London, where Europe’s best will match the rest of the world next week, will be his last as an active player on the tennis stage. The exceptional athlete, who has won no fewer than 20 Grand Slam tournaments and was number one in the world for 306 weeks, draws a line.
“It’s a bittersweet decision because I will miss everything the tour gave me,” wrote the 41-year-old Swiss in a four-page statement that he posted on Instagram. The will was strong, detto the ambition to fight back after the third operation on the right knee in August 2021. But the body didn’t cooperate anymore. “His latest message was clear,” Federer indicated that there was no way around resigning.
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“I love you”
“I’ve played more than 1,500 matches in 24 years. The sport of tennis has treated me more generously than I ever dreamed. And now I have to realize when it’s time to end my competitive career.”
Insiders of the scene had expected months ago that they would say goodbye soon and identified Basel, the ATP 500 tournament at the end of October, as a possible “final destination”. There will no longer be a farewell performance in Federer’s hometown in front of his home audience.
“King Roger” thanked his family, i.e. his parents, his wife Mirka, the twin daughters Charlene Riva and Myla Rose (13) and his twin sons Leo and Lenny (8), who allowed him to concentrate on his job . Federer never saw tennis as a profession, but rather as a vocation or privilege. This underpins his emotional ode to his sport: “I love you and will never leave you.”
310 weeks number one
It would go beyond the scope to list all the successes of that man with the fine touch. Federer is a sir who has taken the hearts of audiences by storm. Especially at the lawn classic in Wimbledon, where he triumphed eight times. The 20-time Grand Slam champion and six-time world champion (“ATP Finals”) was at the top of the world rankings for a total of 310 weeks (for the first time in February 2004). “I’ve been given a special talent. I’ve made it to a level I never imagined – for much longer than I ever thought possible,” Federer wrote.
He chose a worthy setting for his farewell performance. At the Laver Cup in the magnificent O2 Arena, the Basel bidder will fight side by side with Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic for points for Europe. For the last time, the trio that has dominated the tennis scene with a total of 63 Grand Slam titles in the past 15 years is united. Something like this will probably never happen again.
Federer’s career
- Federer has won 20 Grand Slam tournaments: Wimbledon eight times, the Australian Open six times, the US Open five times and the French Open once. Only Rafael Nadal (22) and Novak Djokovic (21) managed more in the men’s.
- He celebrated 103 tournament wins in singles, plus eight doubles titles. He also won the Davis Cup with Switzerland in 2014.
- The Swiss player has earned $103,594,339 in prize money since he began his professional career in 1998.
- Federer won 2 Olympic medals: gold in 2008 alongside Stanislas Wawrinka in doubles, silver in 2012 in London in singles.
Source: Nachrichten
