The tennis great will take to the court for the final time to play with longtime friend and rival Rafael Nadal in a doubles match in the Laver Cup at London’s O2 Arena on Friday before hanging up his racket for good.
Following 24 years of excellence on the court, Federer will retire among the best to ever grace the sport, beloved by both his competitors and fans alike.
And ahead of his final competitive appearance, some of his toughest opponents over the years, who he’s beaten and — more infrequently — lost too, have been paying their respects.
“He’s got many sports fans to start following tennis, ” three-time grand slam winner Andy Murray told CNN Sport . “He’s one of the most popular athletes across all sports because of the way he’s gone about his business on the court and off it, and yeah, he’s going to leave a large void and tennis will definitely miss him. ”
Twenty-one-time grand slam winner Novak Djokovic echoed Murray’s sentiment, highlighting Federer’s wider impact. “As a tennis fan, not just his as his rival and tennis player, I’m grateful for everything he has done for our sport.
“He’s brought so much attention, positive attention for our sport on and off the court and brought a lot of other sports fans to watch tennis, so his contribution has been huge. His impact was huge on my own career, I became a better player because of the rivalry that I had with him over the years, ” Djokovic told CNN Sport. “I’m sure that his iconic career will live for a very long time and will be remembered in the most positive way by many people. ”
Even though he’s not had the opportunity to feature around he would have liked in recent years, Federer’s presence has loomed large.
Having made his Tour debut in 1998, he became one of tennis’ most dominant players for over two decades, setting records in Tour wins and men’s grand slam singles titles.
In his long and storied career, Federer also spent a record 237 consecutive weeks near the top of the world rankings between 2004 and 2008. And before his last match, that he said his longevity at the top is something he’s proud of.
“I was fabled for being quite erratic at the beginning of my career. If you remember, I was fabled for being not so consistent. To then become one of the most consistent players ever is quite a shock to me, as well, ” Federer told the media on Thursday.
“That has been a great accomplishment for me, personally. People can judge should they think that’s the case too, but for me, that is something I have really enjoyed and that I have been in a position to stay at the top for so long and compete for any tournament I’d enter and really go out there and say: ‘I hope I can win the tournament, ‘ for 15-plus years.
“I think looking back that has a special meaning in my experience because I always looked to the Michael Schumachers, Tiger Woods , the rest of the guys that stayed for so long at the top that I didn’t understand how they achieved it. Next thing you know, you’re part of that group, and it’s been a fantastic feeling. ”
While both Djokovic and Nadal have overtaken Federer’s record of men’s grand slam singles titles, the Swiss has remained a fan favorite because of his elegance and grace on and off the court.
The 41-year-old’s appearances have been limited in recent years due to injuries, having to undergo multiple knee surgeries the past few years, and his last outing a straight-sets defeat against Hubert Hurkacz in the quarterfinals of Wimbledon last year.
He said he had still planned to make a return to the game next year as recently as two months ago before arriving at the decision to retire.
Federer said he had to obtain permission from Team Europe captain Björn Borg and tournament organizers to play in just the one doubles match at the Laver Cup — which sees teams from Europe and the rest of the world go head-to-head in nine singles and three doubles matches over the course of three days.
“Super special playing with Rafa [Nadal], feels really different, you understand? ” Federer said at the press conference on Thursday. “Also, just walking out on court and having the chance to play with the likes of Rafa or Novak [Djokovic] also in the past has been an amazing experience for me, so to be able to achieve that one more time, I’m sure it’s going to be wonderful. ”
Nadal told the press conference on Thursday that he was “super excited” for Friday’s doubles match.
“After all the amazing things that we share together off and on court, [to] be part of this historic moment, likely to be something yeah, amazing and unforgettable for me, ” Nadal said, “and yeah, super excited, I hope I can have a good time, play at a decent level and hopefully together we can create a good moment and maybe win a match. ”
Federer will play on Friday night in the doubles match earlier than Italy’s Matteo Berrettini takes the Swiss’ spot on Team The european union for the rest of the competition. The Laver Cup was founded by Federer inside 2017 and is named after Australian great Fly fishing rod Laver.
And for the person himself, who will most probably receive a hero’s send-off from the adoring rest in London when he symbole Jack Sock as well as Frances Tiafoe with Nadal, Federer professed that he would miss out on tennis.
“I love tennis, everything about it, ” the guy stated . “I will definitely miss the competition, your fans cheering to or against all of us.
“They’ve usually recently been with me all the way, so it’s been great. I’m able to always travel, then i will not miss that, nevertheless I love going on tour also at the subsequent part of my profession with my family — it’s been wonderful. inches
He added: “You constantly want to play a long time. I love being on court, I love enjoying against the guys and I love traveling. We never really felt like it absolutely was that hard for me to do — about winning, learn from sacrificing — it was just about all perfect.
“I have a passion for my career with every angle. Which is bitter part [of retiring]. The nice part was that I’ve met everybody has to do it in the one point. Most people have to leave the sport. It’s been a great, very good journey. For that, So i’m really grateful. inch