Federer breathed new vitality and brightness into tennis. Federer’s retirement speech was polite and thoughtful, much like everything else in his career up to that point.
Since Roger Federer announced his retirement on Thursday night, fans from all around the world have been working to create the ideal farewell to this most expressive of tennis players. What impacted tennis did Federer have? The significance of Federer to us
These important questions can be confusing. Furthermore, there are no simple solutions. The one phrase that perfectly sums up the situation was written by Stephen Fry for PG Wodehouse, another brilliance from a different era. You just enjoy the warmth and splendour of such sunlight perfection rather than analysing it.
For some, Federer’s performance resembled a warm day. bright and radiant. He had obviously put in a lot of practise, effort, and sweat to get there. But when you saw him play, you hardly ever noticed any of that, especially not the sweat. It was all simple grace and divine interventions. Can you just repeat that one-handed backhand rip down the line?
Federer played the game in every way, unlike anyone else before him. Not only did he improve tennis, but he also made winning repeatedly seem tolerable. He was the ideal combination of arrogance and modesty. Federer was unbeatable from 2004 to 2007, which now feels like a lifetime ago, when his career was at its peak. His abilities have no analogues in sports. His game was therefore compared to both art and religion. The Church of Federer was the organisation of his devotees.
But since he made his genius accessible to others, it was enhanced. He freely discussed it in five different languages. He cried both when he won and lost. However, he never left a match in the middle of it in the more than 1500 professional games he participated in. There may have been some of those games where he wasn’t feeling well enough to perform.
Instead of sitting in a tower with his awards locked within, he made time for the crowd and interacted with them. He went above and beyond his role as a tennis artist by assuming the role of ambassador and speaker. People came to him from all around the world.
In his message of retirement, he added, “Above all, I must extend a particular thank you to my incredible admirers.”
“You have given me so much confidence and courage; you have no idea. One of the most thrilling experiences of my life has been entering packed stadiums and arenas. Without you, those accomplishments wouldn’t have felt as joyful and energising.
The tennis champion was essentially playing at home in every arena he entered. Even the hecklers at the French Open, who are infamous for jeering even the greatest, have a special respect for Federer. That is the ultimate sign of confidence in an era characterised by rampant scepticism.
Federer’s relationships with his peers, superiors, event organisers, stakeholders, and fans are what gave him the air of a legendary figure. Tennis player Roger Federer was ranked above the Pope as the second-most revered person in the world in 2011 behind Nelson Mandela.
Chris Evert, a tennis great, remarked when Federer announced his retirement, “He was the ideal of a champion; class, grace, humility, beloved by everyone. Canada’s Milos Raonic wrote, “Thank you for doing more for tennis than any one person. “Because of you, competitors and spectators from all around the world may participate in and enjoy it. Congratulations on your accomplishments and the lives you continue to touch, both inside and outside of the tennis world.
Roger Federer
When you examine the trajectory of his career, you can see that it began when Pete Sampras was still winning Grand Slams and continued until Carlos Alcaraz, a player born two months before Federer won his first major at Wimbledon in 2003, entered the list of Grand Slam winners. With 20 Grand Slam victories, 103 tour victories, and 310 weeks as the No. 1 player, Federer has outlasted several generations. Novak Djokovic shattered Federer’s record last year. However, Federer was in first place for a record-breaking 237 weeks in a row, from 2 February 2004 to 18 August 2008. He also advanced to 23 consecutive Grand Slam semifinals during a run of consistent excellence.
Federer was also a founding member of the Big 3, or “super generation,” of male tennis players. Federer challenged his closest rivals Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal to enhance their game by upgrading the game and consistently setting new standards. When he couldn’t coast to success later in his career, he stuck with it. Federer the poet evolved into Federer the combatant. Dreams are created of victories like his five-set thriller victory over his biggest opponent Rafael Nadal at the 2017 Australian Open, when he was 35 years old and obviously “owned” emotionally.
He is regarded as being in the same generation as Djokovic and Nadal, who are five and six years younger than him, respectively. This speaks volumes about his longevity. It is nevertheless unexpected to see him die at the age of 41, despite the two years of pain management and surgeries he has had due to back and knee injuries. Even after giving the tennis world a lifetime’s worth of memories, he still left people wanting more.
Federer wrote, “The last 24 years on the road have been a great trip.” While it has been so profound and amazing that it sometimes feels like a lifetime has already passed, other times it feels like it just lasted a day. I’ve had the incredible good fortune to perform in front of you in more than 40 different nations. I have experienced joy, grief, and, most importantly, an incredible sense of aliveness.
He also breathed new energy and light into tennis. Federer’s retirement speech was polite and thoughtful, much like everything else in his career up to that point. He spoke his goodbyes and his thanks in four minutes and 34 seconds. In the future, he wrote, “I will play more tennis, of sure, but not in Grand Slams or on the tour.” He might be able to summon the slice of summer at some point, somewhere.
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