Patrick McEnroe believes that Roger Federer’s love of tennis had a lot to do with the Swiss enjoying such a long and successful career. Federer, who turned 41 in August, retired from professional tennis after the Laver Cup in September. After undergoing two knee operations in 2020, Federer returned to tennis the following year. Unfortunately, Federer played only five tournaments before undergoing a third knee operation, after which he was unable to return. At the end of September, Federer returned for only one doubles match. Federer holds the record for the oldest number 1 in tennis history: he was 36 years and 10 months old the last time he reached the top spot. “A lot of players, I tell people all the time, they love to win, like Jimmy Connors or Pete Sampras. Roger Federer loves to win, obviously, that made him one of the greatest in history, but I don’t think I’ve ever met anybody who loved getting out there and hitting the ball as much as he did,” McEnroe said on the Holding Court with Patrick McEnroe podcast, according to Sportskeeda. Although Federer failed to end his career with the all-time Grand Slam record, many still believe that no player has had a greater impact on the game than the Swiss. Recently, Nick Kyrgios explained what Federer did for tennis. “I think when it’s all said and done, Novak will be the GOAT, but I think without Federer there would be no Nadal, no Djokovic. Nadal and Djokovic allow you to get into the match a little bit more, with their groundstrokes and stuff, but Federer can make you feel like a !”#$, makes the court seem very small. If it is something purely related to tennis I would say Novak, but if it is more than an athlete I would say Federer,” said Kyrgios on The JBK Show. Roger Federer shocked the world with the evolution of his game, elegant tennis that led him to fall in love with many of tennis and that saw him lift 20 Grand Slams, totaling more than 310 weeks at world number 1. His legacy is enormous for the history of the game.
Federer is enjoying life
Invited to Sinnaggagghiri’s Youtube channel, Matteo Berrettini slipped a joke about Rafael Nadal at Roland‐Garros before revealing his first match against his idol, Roger Federer. The latter had crushed the Italian in the round of 16 of Wimbledon 2019 (6-1, 6-2, 6-2). “I am a Federer’s fan. I was there when he retired, it was crazy. Everyone was crying. I faced him twice: the first time at Wimbledon, I didn’t understand anything. I wondered what I was doing there, I was supporting him. The second time, I fought harder, but I lost”, said the Italian, who demonstrates with this anecdote all the difficulty of facing a legend of the game, especially when we admired his exploits more young.
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