‘Roger Federer had a very strong visibility thanks to…’, says director

Roger Federer ended his incredible singles career with a record of 1251-275. Roger’s 200th ATP loss came in Rotterdam 2013, when he fell to Julien Benneteau 6-3, 7-5 in one hour and 21 minutes in the quarterfinals. Federer was the defending champion in Rotterdam, setting himself up as one of the favorites in every indoor event on the calendar. The Swiss had reached the final in nine of the previous ten indoor tournaments prior to 2013, winning seven titles and hoping for more in Rotterdam. However, Benneteau stunned him on February 15 and led to Federer’s earliest indoor loss since 2009, when he defeated him in the second round of the Paris Masters. Julien played better on second serve and denied three of the five break chances available to him. The Frenchman took almost half of the return points and secured five breaks to deliver Federer’s 200th ATP loss. Roger had a hard time finding the rhythm in his matches. He made too many errors and won just 10 of 30 second-serve points to come up empty. Benneteau hit a backhand winner from the baseline in the first game of the encounter to earn an early break and gain confidence. He landed two game winners at 30-30 in the second game to consolidate the lead and establish a good rhythm. The defending champion recovered the break in the fourth game after a double fault from his rival and closed the result at 2-2. Roger experienced another bad service game at 3-3, spraying a forehand error and sending the opponent ahead. Julien opened a 5-3 gap after a sloppy forehand from Roger in the eighth game and pressed hard again with the return in the next.

Federer has excited everyone

Is it the brand that is stronger than the player. This subject is the delight of sports marketing schools. The example of Michael Jordan confirms this to us every day. With Roger Federer it’s also a bit the same because it is true that the Swiss had a very strong visibility also thanks to the American equipment supplier even if at the end Nike really spoiled the party. For Nakajima, former director of Nike, Roger still had more impact with Nike than if he had been with a competitor. “Roger would have been famous on his own, that’s for sure. Even if he played for any other brand. But it got much bigger thanks to Nike’s marketing machine. The visibility that Nike can provide an athlete is incredible. Obviously, you have to be successful on the pitch, which was the case with Roger. He won a few US Opens; it opened the eyes of many people.”