Farewell to Roger Federer: a royal farewell

September 23, 2022 will mark the end of the Federer era in modern tennis. A day when the Swiss legend said goodbye to professionalism and closed, with this, a story that has revolutionized white sport throughout the 21st century.

Despite the fact that the Basel-born man had already left the top spots in the world rankings for a few years, his mere presence on the courts caused a lack of control. The proof was between 2003 and 2021, he continuously won the “Fan’s Favorite Player” award which delivers ATP. And it is that the importance of Roger Federer was not reduced only to numbers. With his elegance, personality and charisma, he conquered the world and took tennis to levels never seen before. Just as Michael Jordan forever changed the business of the NBA, “Rog” did the same with white sports. All this, of course, has been accompanied by more than 15 years of winning the most important trophies on the professional circuit.

The mix resulted in a total icon who also ended up fathering a trio of superhumans who today sit at the pinnacle of the discipline’s history. Of course, the rival who ended his career was neither Nadal nor Djokovic. The culprit was his knee, which after years of struggling ended up giving him the final snap.

Federer’s problems started in February 2020, when he announced he would undergo right knee arthroscopy. . It was the first of three surgeries that were to be performed over an 18-month period, which obviously left him with almost no competition during that time. His last points matches were at Wimbledon 2021, where he fell in the quarter-finals.

But the Swiss intended to continue. In fact, in April this year, he confirmed that he would return to the circuit to play the Laver Cup and the ATP 500 in Basel. The problem was, after a few months, that comeback announcement turned into a goodbye. With an emotional video on September 15, he told the world that it would all be over in the team event he has been heavily promoting in recent years. “As you know, over the past three years I have faced challenges in the form of injuries and surgeries. I worked hard to regain my competitive form, but the capabilities and limitations of my body sent a message to me and it was clear…Tennis treated me more generously than I could have ever dreamed of, and now I have to recognize when it’s time to end my competitive career were the words he chose to announce the end of his story.

Seven days after this announcement, Federer landed in London and prepared to bid farewell to the O2. He was accompanied there by Nadal, Djokovic and Murray, the three most important rivals he had from 2007. Of course, the big attention was paid by the Spaniards.

The relationship between the two has grown from a one-time rivalry to a close and emotional friendship. They could have been two ships facing each other head on, but they preferred to be two companions who almost unwittingly coincided in the definitions of the biggest tournaments in the world. Such was the ‘bromance’ they garnered over time, that for his last match, the Swiss opted for a double with Nadal. The detail, of course, paralyzed the sports world.

The rivals in this duel were Frances Tiafoe and Jack Sock, who managed to spectacularly beat the Spaniard and the Swiss, who played better at the start but lost ground in the end. The match also explained why Federer lost the fight on that knee.

But after the defeat 6-4, 6-7(2) and 9-11 , the real emotional moments have arrived. Federer broke down in tears and so did his doubles partner (the same one he beat in seven ATP finals and three Grand Slams). The Swiss and Nadal couldn’t stand it and shed tears at the same time, finding an iconic image in every way.

A few days later, it was Nadal who spoke about the viralized postcard. “It was hard times because I didn’t want to cry either. It’s a time when he’s already there and I’m a sensitive person and at that time seeing him so excited was hard for me. He is someone who has always caused me admiration, I learned things from him, he helped me to progress in my sporting life. he confessed.

Roger, for his part, was completely sated by the time he hung up the racquet. “I enjoyed tying my shoelaces once more, it was the last time. I didn’t feel the stress of being around my family and the people who love me. The game was great, playing with Rafa in the same team, having these legends with me… It’s impressive. For me, it’s a party, that’s what I want to feel. My career wasn’t supposed to be like this, I played for fun with my friends and ended up here, it was a perfect course, I would do it again. Thank you everyone” on display to the world from the center of the O2 track in London.

Despite the fact that in recent years Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal managed to surpass Federer’s records, his career continues to be in the most relevant trinity in the history of modern tennis. With his burst at the top of the circuit in 2003, the Basel native broke most of the current ATP records and generated a dominance rarely seen on a tennis court.

Of course, at 41, he still maintains the current marks. For example, he is the oldest player to reach world number one (36 in 2018) and the tennis player who has led the ATP rankings for the most consecutive weeks (273). In addition, he holds the record for titles in Basel (10), Halle (10), Wimbledon (8) and Cincinnati (7).

Other iconic records are that between 2006 and 2007 he managed to win 41 games in a row being only five away from the all-time record, reached by Guillermo Vilas in 1977. He also has 17 consecutive finals between 2005 and 2006, as well as 24 consecutive victories in title matches between 2003 and 2005. If we go to the grass, he went five years without losing a single match, starting the mark in 2003 and ending, after 65 encounters, in the 2008 Wimbledon final, when he lost to Nadal in five sets.

When it comes to Grand Slam tournaments, Federer managed to win Wimbledon eight times, the Australian Open six times, the US Open five times (all consecutive) and Roland Garros only once.

These achievements allow you to be the player who has played in the most finals (30) and semi-finals (43) in major tournaments, in addition to having been present in 18 of the 19 event finals in this category between Wimbledon 2005 and the Open of Australia 2010 . He is also one of seven men to have won all four Grand Slams in his career.

He eventually retired from tennis with 103 titles and 1,251 victories being in the open era only behind American Jimmy Connors, who has amassed 109 titles and 1,274 games won throughout his career.