Swiss Roger Federer said on Saturday morning that he had taken a “perfect” path throughout his career, guaranteeing he was “happy” after losing his last encounter as a tennis professional, in the Laver Cup.
Visibly moved and at times struggling to speak – he didn’t even think he would – Federer said he would “somehow” get through this goodbye, assuring he had a “fantastic day”. .
“I’ve already told you, I’m happy, I’m not sad. It’s wonderful to be here. I loved to tie my shoes one last time, to do everything for the last time. With all the encounters, with the fans, with the family here, I didn’t feel the same stress, although I thought something was going to happen and I was going to get injured”said.
Jokingly, the Swiss “conductor” said he was “very happy to have reached the end” of the entire match, after not playing for over a year – since Wimbledon in 2021 – due to several operations on his knees.
“The match was fantastic, I couldn’t be happier. Of course playing with Rafa in the same team, with all the legends here… Thank you,” he said.
For Federer, it was “fantastic” to have players like Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic or Andy Murray on his team, not least because he didn’t feel alone.
“Saying goodbye to a team, I’ve always seen myself as a team player and in singles we don’t feel that. [Foi fantástico] Be on the same team as Andy, Novak, Matteo [Berretini]camera [Norrie]Stefanos [Tsitsipas]Casper [Ruud], Rafa and also with the elements of the other team. I wanted this to be a party and that’s exactly what happened.”
Speaking about his career, Federer said “it shouldn’t have been that way” because he just wanted “to be happy playing tennis and spending time with friends.”
“And this is where it ended. It was a perfect trip and I would do it again in a heartbeat,” he assumed.
The last compliment went to the family and especially to his wife Mirka Vavrinec: “I should have stopped much earlier, but she kept me going. Thank you”.
Then the emotions continued, with Mirka and the two 13-year-old twins and two eight-year-old twins entering the court, whom he asked not to cry, because he was happy.
Roger Federer made his last professional encounter, losing alongside Spaniard Rafael Nadal in the pairs closing the first day of the Laver Cup.
In London, Federer, along with his rival and friend Nadal, were defeated in more than two hours by the Americans Jack Sock and Frances Tiafoe, 4-6 and 7-6 (7-2) and 11-9.
Federer retires from tennis with 103 titles won, a number only surpassed by Jimmy Connors (109), including 20 in Grand Slam tournaments, surpassed only by contemporary rivals Nadal (22) and Novak Djokovic (21).
Source: DN
