We can talk about a big three all we want, Roger and Roger alone elevated this sport to new heights of popularity with his gloriously beautiful style. Pretty much right there with Ali for most beloved athlete ever. Sad that he couldn't end it on his own terms, but that rarely ever happens anyway. Will always be glad I got to see him at the Mecca.
I pretty much realized I was a Federer fan and not a tennis fan when he suffered his 1st knee injury. Barely watched any matches in the past 3 years.
He is my favourite athlete of all time! Such a class act all the way.
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Two icons of the sport (Serena and Roger) retire in the past month. Tennis is lucky that it appears that Iga and Carlitos are ready to carry the torch.
Two icons of the sport (Serena and Roger) retire in the past month. Tennis is lucky that it appears that Iga and Carlitos are ready to carry the torch.
... it's not really the same...
but tennis has Kyprios! he makes people laugh! lol
__________________ Peter12 "I'm no Trump fan but he is smarter than most if not everyone in this thread. ”
Two icons of the sport (Serena and Roger) retire in the past month. Tennis is lucky that it appears that Iga and Carlitos are ready to carry the torch.
I think we all saw this coming when it came out that his knee was still not coming around a few days ago....nonetheless this hits like a gut punch for me who grew up watching him dominate and do so with such poise and grace - he's truly a one of a kind athlete and role model.
The worst part is that you know Rafa is on borrowed time as well and we are all likely looking at another big one calling it at some point in the next 10 months.
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We can talk about a big three all we want, Roger and Roger alone elevated this sport to new heights of popularity with his gloriously beautiful style. Pretty much right there with Ali for most beloved athlete ever. Sad that he couldn't end it on his own terms, but that rarely ever happens anyway. Will always be glad I got to see him at the Mecca.
Well said. I can't wait for some of the post career content to come out and do hope that he embraces it as there are no doubt, some incredible stories to be told.
I will always cherish the fact I was able to see him play at the Australian Open while he was still at the top of his game.
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No the Laver Cup it's a special one off tournament where a team from Europe plays a team from the rest of the world. Each day there are different matches and it's not a regular tournament.
For me there are two moments that I think best exemplify Federer and his fighting spirit. In 2008 after getting crushed in the French Open final and the Wimbledon final in heart breaking fashion, most players would have never recovered. Some people were even wondering if he should retire much like Becker did when Sampras came along. Federer being Federer went on to win the US Open that year in a couple months and his only French Open title the next year after another heart breaking finals loss to Nadal at the AO.
The other one is in 2016 when he injured himself against Raonic at the Wimbledon semis, most people would have called it a career then. He already had the record with 17 majors and was considered the GOAT he had nothing left to prove. But Federer put in the work and then won the 2017 AO title ranked #17 after beating Nishikori, Wawrinka and of course finally beating Nadal all in 5 sets.
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Edit: I was going to post some footage from the Basel 2002 match between Andy and Roger, but suffice it to say it's the match where Roger makes an incredible overhead shot getting to an Andy smash and Andy throws his racket in Roger's direction as if to say "Are you kidding me?"
I'll post this instead...
Last edited by dash_pinched; 09-15-2022 at 09:47 AM.
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No the Laver Cup it's a special one off tournament where a team from Europe plays a team from the rest of the world. Each day there are different matches and it's not a regular tournament.
For me there are two moments that I think best exemplify Federer and his fighting spirit. In 2008 after getting crushed in the French Open final and the Wimbledon final in heart breaking fashion, most players would have never recovered. Some people were even wondering if he should retire much like Becker did when Sampras came along. Federer being Federer went on to win the US Open that year in a couple months and his only French Open title the next year after another heart breaking finals loss to Nadal at the AO.
The other one is in 2016 when he injured himself against Raonic at the Wimbledon semis, most people would have called it a career then. He already had the record with 17 majors and was considered the GOAT he had nothing left to prove. But Federer put in the work and then won the 2017 AO title ranked #17 after beating Nishikori, Wawrinka and of course finally beating Nadal all in 5 sets.
For me, obviously his 237 consecutive weeks at number 1 may be the most unbeatable record there is, and is up there as one of the most impressive feats in all of sport.
I would say the way he roared back in 2017 and 2018 to the absolute top of the game as a 37/38 year old player, one that many said was finished, is something that sums up Roger Federer in a nutshell. The 104-15 record during that time with 11 titles (3 Major and 3 1000 wins) is absolute bonkers.
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Federer deserves alot of credit for turning around the H2H against Nadal later in their careers. 2017 Federer went 4-0 I believe against Nadal after Nadal had won 5 of the previous 6 matches heading into 2017.
