A luxury visitor: Roger Federer steals looks and applause at Wimbledon

Roger Federer caused a sensation. The tennis player, who was unable to participate in this edition of the Wimbledon championship, was on the center court of the All England Club, due to the celebration of his centenary. The Swiss was present on the pitch alongside other personalities such as Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Lleyton Hewitt, Venus Williams, among others.

The maximum champion of the competition arrived on the scene accompanied by his father, Robert, and his trainer, Severin Luth. We saw him always smiling, greeting everyone present on the spot. Note that the current edition of the competition is the first without the presence of the Swiss since 1997, since in 1998 he came to compete in the junior category.

Since 1999, he was always in the main draw. Her first Wimbledon title was won in 2003, winning in consecutive years until 2007. The following season he succumbed in the final against Rafael Nadal, however, he regained the title in 2009. Then he obtained it in 2012 and 2017.

Dressed in an impeccable suit, when given the microphone, the native of Basel assured that he hopes to compete again on the English lawn: “I had the chance to play a lot of matches here. I experienced my greatest victories and my greatest defeats on this track (…) I hope to be able to return, at least once more”, were his words. To that, he added that he couldn’t imagine having so many problems with his knee: “He didn’t treat me well,” he said.

The arrival of Roger Federer caused a revolution at the entrance to the enclosure. It was the most applauded of the emotional day. Along with all of his titles, it’s special for the multi-champion to be there as it’s the place where he played his last game before the injury that held him back for a year. On July 7, 2021, Pole Hubert Hurkacz defeated former ATP Ranking No. 1 in three sets.

Of course, Federer wasn’t the only one talking. Novak Djokovic, who is participating in the current edition, also took the microphone. “This track has been very special in my career. My first memories of tennis, when I was four or five years old, was seeing Sampras win here. Every time I play here, it’s an honor,” said said Nole.

There were video projections, a musical performance by Cliff Richard and many champions present on the field. Of course, there were also absences, the Americans Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras and Serena Williams, as well as the German Stefi Graff were not. Also missing was Martina Navratilova, who regretted missing the event as she tested positive for Covid-19.