Roger Federer is enjoying life after making tennis history. The Swiss legend’s career lasted over 20 years and ended in September 2022, when he played his last match at the Laver Cup in doubles with his eternal rival Rafael Nadal. The 20-time Grand Slam champion received a truly emotional tribute at the O2 Arena in London, greeting the crowd in one of the cities that has most marked his career (considering his eight Wimbledon Championships).
The former Swiss champion tried his best to get back on the ATP tour, but his knee condition prevented him from being as competitive as he would have wanted a legend of his caliber. King Roger had already resisted the pain in 2021 by trying a timid return, but the results were not brilliant. The Maestro had to retire at the French Open before playing the round of 16, while at Wimbledon he was defeated very clearly by Hubert Hurkacz in the quarterfinals by a bagel in the third set.
A few weeks later, the former world number 1 announced that he wanted to operate on his knee again in the hope of returning to a more competitive field. As the months went by, it became increasingly clear that that day would never come. Outside of tennis, the 20-time Grand Slam champion is working on different projects and loves spending time with his family. Federer was present at the 2024 edition of the Laver Cup at the Uber Arena in Berlin, talking to all the players and saying that the event could reach Asia and South America in the future.
Federer is enjoying life
Meanwhile, Roger and his wife Mirka visited Paris and explored ‘La Galerie Dior’ (an amazing museum dedicated to famous French designer Christian Dior). After his retirement in 2022, the King had promised that he would not get too far away from tennis and kept his promise.
During a recent interview, the former World No.1 reflected on how the game is changing: “The guys and also the ladies are going to start hitting bigger forehands and backhands, be more fearless because they realize the reward is there. The best movers are the best players and you can see that. The mentally fittest, physically strongest and fastest are the best players.
It’s not so much about technique any more. I’ve got fooled enough in the last 10, 15, 20 years where I think, ‘I’m not sure about this technique’ but with racket technology and string technology, you can iron those problems out and so long as you hit hard and nice through the ball, everything is possible in tennis to be honest. The game is where it was, but just a step higher. I always feel like it keeps on going up. Perhaps just a lack of variation but that’s because we have all double-handers (on the backhand side) these days and they don’t use the slice as much.”
Variety is definitely one of the aspects that are missing in this generation of players, who all have the same style of play. Despite this negative aspect, the rivalry between two young champions like Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz is electrifying fans around the world. The Italian ace and the Spanish champion have already played some really epic matches and split the four Majors played in 2024.
King Roger on Carlitos
During the Laver Cup, King Roger also spoke about Carlitos’ rise: “What I like and I am surprised about Carlos is his intensity, the athletic ability he has and the power of his shots. I think he should learn to regulate efforts, not to run so much for all the balls, but that will learn with age. Also, as the years pass, he will be even stronger mentally.
The way he played the fifth set of the 2023 Wimbledon final against Djokovic made me see that he is the one to fight for glory for a long time. The power he showed there, with Novak playing at full capacity, was impressive. Of course he is qualified to win in Melbourne in a few months. When you’ve won two Grand Slams this year, you’re destined to fight for that title. I think he will arrive perfectly prepared on a physical level and performs naturally on a hard track. The fact that the important matches are played at night, I think will favor his tennis.”
Federer and Alcaraz trained together during the 2019 edition of Wimbledon, when the Spaniard was still very young. The Swiss reached the final of that edition of the Championships, losing to Novak Djokovic after having lost two match points.