The end of a world for tennis. Roger Federer, one of the greatest players of all time, announced on Thursday that he would retire at the end of September. The Swiss champion left his mark on his sport for eternity with his numerous Grand Slam titles, his strokes of genius on the court and his elegance.
In the number of major titles, two other champions surpass him: Rafael Nadal, his greatest rival, who is at 22 titles, and Novak Djokovic, whose counter is at 21. But beyond the numbers, in the hearts, the Swiss will remain number one almost everywhere. At Wimbledon, his favorite playground where he won eight times, at Roland-Garros where the public was relieved to see him complete his collection of Grand Slams in 2009, and in all the tournaments where his fans supported him unconditionally. , if necessary against their nationals.
A “perfect” player
Federer had all the attributes of the ideal champion, including above all a game like no other, aesthetic, offensive, inspiring by the risks it involved and the shivers it sent down the spines of enamored spectators. . The opposition of style with Nadal has made their rivalry a legend, coupled with a friendship that has never wavered. It is also the Spaniard who came out with the most victories (24 to 16), especially on clay (14 to 2, including 4 Roland-Garros finals). For the Spaniard, a great admirer of his rival’s classicism, the word “perfectsums up Federer’s tennis:He has a perfect serve, a perfect volley, a more than perfect forehand, a perfect backhand (one-handed); he is very fast, everything is perfect with him“.
– Adrian DENNIS
For those who follow tennis from further afield, the Swiss is also a sort of ideal son-in-law: in love for almost twenty years with Mirka Vavrinec, a former tennis player of Slovak origin whom he met at the Sydney Games in 2000 , caring father of four children (two twins and two twins), engaged in charitable work, particularly in South Africa, his mother’s country of origin, the friend of Tiger Woods and Pete Sampras almost makes the unanimity, even among those he martyred on the court. “I would like to hate you, but you are too nice“, Roddick told him after a Wimbledon final. The Swiss always liked “give the image of someone good“, including taking care of his communication during endless interview sessions granted without complaining in the four languages he masters (Swiss German, English, French, German).
A track record that makes you dizzy
His track record is huge. To the 20 Grand Slam titles must be added six Masters, a Davis Cup and even an Olympic gold medal (in doubles with Stan Wawrinka), the singles gold remaining the only important trophy that he lacks. In total, he won 103 titles on the ATP circuit and spent 310 weeks in first place in the world, a record that Djokovic is however able to take from him in 2021. This greatness did not fall from the sky. Certainly, the talent was detected early in this boy born in Basel in 1981. But this “rough diamond to polish“, in his own words, had to repress a dilettante streak and an ugly tendency to swing his racket when things didn’t go his way.
This is why, unlike the Borg, Connors, Sampras or Nadal, he had to wait until his sixth year on the circuit to lift his first major trophy, on the grass of Wimbledon in 2003, at almost 23 years old. This accomplishment in the tournament he cherishes most marked the start of a feast of Grand Slam titles: eleven in four seasons from 2004 to 2007. The competition of then, Lleyton Hewitt and Andy Roddick in the first row, is crushed. Things will get tougher when Nadal and Djokovic mature, but Federer will continue to win and the legend will be enriched with epic matches, such as the two Wimbledon finals of 2007 (won) and 2008 (lost) against the Spaniard.
Stunning comeback in 2017
On the decline (temporarily) from 2011, he signed a breathtaking return to the fore in 2017 and 2018 and added to his collection three new Grand Slam titles to take it to eight Wimbledons, six Australian Open, five US Open and a Roland-Garros. Of a seemingly ordinary physique (1.85 m) but endowed in reality with exceptional qualities of speed and endurance, he had the advantage of being almost never injured until he was over 35 years old. He underwent the first operation of his life, on a knee, in 2016, after injuring himself… bathing his daughters.
Federer was inhabited by an inexhaustible thirst for victories. No record could satiate his champion ego and the years did not alter his belief that he could always beat the best and win the greatest trophies. He approached longevity records – his last victory at the Australian Open had made him the second oldest winner of a Grand Slam tournament behind Ken Rosewall – when his recalcitrant knee put an end to his fabulous epic , over forty years old. A knee that deprived him of the return he was hoping for so much.