Retirement of Roger Federer | We will probably never see the Big Three again, according to Eugène Lapierre

(Montreal) We will probably never see more Big Three dominate professional tennis as it has for the past two decades following the announcement of star player Roger Federer’s retirement, National Bank Open manager Eugène Lapierre said Thursday morning.

We call the Big Three in tennis the trio made up of Federer, the Spaniard Rafael Nadal and the Serbian Novak Djokovic, who are considered three of the greatest players in the history of men’s tennis. Together, these three tennis players have won 63 Grand Slam titles: 22 for Nadal, 21 for Djokovic and 20 for Federer.

The 41-year-old Swiss will, however, become the first player from this prestigious group to officially hang up his racquet after the Laver Cup is held next week in London. He confirmed this in a press release sent to his official Twitter account in the morning.

“There remains one Big Two, but that will change. All sports evolve, and it’s normal that there are more than two or three players who dominate the competition. As participation in tennis has spread across the world – tennis is one of the most played sports in the world – it will be more and more exceptional to see a handful of players dominate in this way. , Lapierre first mentioned in a telephone interview with The Canadian Press.

“We’re going to see more and more players swapping first place in the world. maybe [le champion des Internationaux des États-Unis Carlos] Alcaraz will make us lie, since he is 19 years old, but there are others who are also growing, like Félix [Auger-Aliassime], Casper Ruud, Alexander Zverev and Frances Tiafoe, in particular. There may now be a rotation at the top of the rankings, with all these very good young athletes, ”he continued.

Lapierre was admittedly surprised by the sudden announcement of Federer’s retirement, but it had been simmering for quite some time. Federer also recalled that his numerous injuries suffered over the past three years had forced him to review his plans.

“We expected it a bit, anyway. We wondered more and more how he was going to be able to make a return to the game, and even more to find himself in the top 10 global. How was he going to regain his level of play of yesteryear, and be able to fight with all these young people that we see more and more? So that confirms the changing of the guard which we started to talk about a little bit, ”he said.

Still, Federer is probably one of the greatest players Lapierre has seen in his long behind-the-scenes career in professional tennis.

“He brought another dimension to this sport. He is a guy who can do everything at a very high level on the court. It had never been seen before. There was Björn Borg in the back of the field, John McEnroe in net, Andre Agassi in return of serve and even Pete Sampras in service-return/volley… Federer was also one of the few to be able to exchange with Nadal backcourt on clay, to be able to play on all surfaces,” recalled Lapierre.

“It was really exceptional. And what was great was that he gave the impression that he was doing all of this without forcing it. It’s not true, of course, as demonstrated by his many surgeries over the last few years, but he was so fluid on the pitch… It’s normal that it made a whole generation of players dream.” he mentioned.

Lapierre also recalled the link that united the former world No. 1 to Montreal. After all, Federer, who was born on August 8, 1981, celebrated many of his birthdays during the Montreal tournament.

“He really liked the city, the francophone fact, and the respect of Quebecers. He had gone to eat at a restaurant in the metropolis one day during the tournament and had been asked how he had managed without being constantly disturbed. He replied that people were very respectful, and that’s what he liked about Montreal: people are cool “, continued Lapierre, recalling that the National Bank Open is one of the only ones missing from the impressive record of the Swiss.

“The last time he reached the final here (in 2017) against Zverev, he asked him during the post-match speech what it was like to win the Montreal tournament,” he said. recalled, laughing.

Although he won’t be showing off on the court any longer, Lapierre still believes that Federer will remain involved in the world of professional tennis in one way or another.

“I am convinced that he will stay. He is very involved in his agency-boutique, which takes care of a few athletes including Coco Gauff, for example, and he remains a tennis fanatic. So I think he will want to stay involved in tennis, so as to have a say in the future of the sport,” concluded the Quebecer.