Roger Federer marked the end of his 24-year-long illustrious career this season. He, after walking out of the circuit last season, made a comeback in the Laver Cup for his last dance. However, back then in his farewell speech, the 20-time Grand Slam champion promised to stay in touch with the sport and he kept his promise.
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Federer recently picked up the racket again. He played in a match officiated by his old on-court friend and rival Kei Nishikori. Keeping true to his nature, the Swiss Maestro had a big smile on his face and joked around a little.
A priceless and witty comeback from Roger Federer
Federer teamed up with the World no.1 in men’s wheelchair tennis Shingo Kunieda. They locked horns with Gordon Reid, the British World no.4 in men’s wheelchair tennis and the former WTA no.32, Kurumi Nara. The match held in Ariake Coliseum in Tokyo witnessed one of the cutest Federer moments. When Nishikori asked if his $86,750 Rolex watch was not distracting him. He said, “It’s a look, post-retirement look,” smiling from ear to ear.
Kei asks Roger if it's not distracting to play wearing his Rolex. #Federer "It's a look, post-retirement look" #LifeWearDay2022 @wowowtennis pic.twitter.com/cwioRlnfbt
— 井蛙堂 (@seiadoumogera) November 19, 2022
Speaking of the match organized by Federer’s long-time sponsor Uniqlo, his and Kunieda’s team won the tie breaker 8-6. This was his first on-court appearance after his emotional retirement. Therefore, fans flooded social media with comments depicting a variety of emotions.
A fan wrote, “His retirement still hurts my heart to this day.. I cannot watch anything related to tennis anymore.” While another fan was just happy to see him play again and tweeted, “Awesome to see our king of Tennis on the court playing.”
Federer marking the end of a marvelous career
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The 41-year-old, after suffering a quarterfinals defeat in Wimbledon 2021, opted for a surgery to cure his knee injury permanently. He announced a break from tennis for a year and was looking forward to his comeback. In fact, he even enrolled his name for his home ATP 500 event, Swiss Indoors Basel.
However, with time, he realized his body wasn’t capable of coping with the hectic schedule of tennis. Therefore, with a heavy heart, he dropped the news of his retirement.
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Federer played his last match under the banner of Team Europe alongside his biggest rival and best friend Rafael Nadal. They squared off with the Team World’s Jack Sock and Frances Tiafoe. After dragging the match till the third set, the Swiss Maestro walked away from the sport.