Welcome back, Swiss Maestro! Arthur Ashe Stadium erupts in order to pay respect to the five-time US Open champion, Roger Federer. This year has been quite extraordinary as a whole. For the first time since 2002, none of the ‘Big Three’ have managed to claim a major title in a calendar year. This has been a big shock to the tennis world. Are we witnessing the end of an era?

Perhaps yes, but the craze for Roger Federer. Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic still remains the same. This epic reception from the NY crowd is a testament to that. Roger Federer stood up on his feet to send love to the crowd. He smiled and waved at them when the spotlight came on him during the QF match between Aryna Sabalenka and Qinwen Zheng. The US Open official X handle shared a few glimpses of that iconic moment with a caption, “Welcome back, legend! Great to have you in Arthur Ashe Stadium, @rogerfederer!”

This is Federer’s first visit to this iconic venue since his retirement. Just before gifting this beautiful moment to the fans, Federer promised, “Went to Wimbledon this year and I will go to the Open actually tonight. So I haven’t been back at the Open since I retired, so it’s also going to be nice to be in Ashe, you know. Watching tennis from the sidelines this time. This is the first time I would ever do that.” Fans are now thrilled to see the Swiss Maestro keeping his promise.

Several fans were also spotted wearing hats that had “RF” written on them. It’s nice to see Federer having the same connection with his fans even after two years of his retirement. Federer has quite a few memories attached to the US Open. He’s the last man to win consecutive titles at the 143-year-old tournament, winning five titles in a row from 2004 to 2008.

His contributions to the tennis world are enormous, and tennis misses him every day! Earlier today, Federer even met NBA superstar Stephen Curry, and it was also an iconic moment for all the sports lovers. Talking about special moments, well Aryna Sabalenka recently witnessed one of such moments in NY!

Roger Federer witnesses Aryna Sabalenka’s emphatic victory in the QF of the 2024 US Open

Aryna Sabalenka defeated Qinwen Zheng by 6-1, 6-2 in the QF. The Belarusian tennis star has played some outstanding tennis in this tournament so far. She has lost just one set in her five matches as of now. Next up for Sabalenka is America’s Emma Navarro. Should she win the match, we may see her taking on the world’s number one, Iga Swiatek in the finals, for the third time this year. Sabalenka has already won a title this year including the first Grand Slam tournament of the 2024 season. Will she manage to clinch the last major title of this season? Time will tell!

The ‘Tiger’ is currently on a hunt for her first US Open title. She has a win-loss record of 43-11 in this season as of now. With this emphatic triumph in the QF, she has now also become the first woman to reach four straight SF at the US Open since Serena Williams (2011-2016). She’s now just a win away from entering her second consecutive US Open final. Last time she was defeated by Coco Gauff. The American sensation has already been knocked out of this tournament, so Sabalenka’s fans might be keeping their fingers crossed at the moment.

Last year, we saw Federer wrote a heartfelt note congratulating Coco Gauff on her maiden Grand Slam triumph. He also wrote, “Inspirational win, Coco Gauff. (I have) been watching your game and following you for years. It’s great to see so much hard work and passion being rewarded. You shine brighter than ever.” This time he was caught red-handed watching Sabalenka’s game. Can the Swiss Maestro bring that winning fortune to Sabalenka’s camp?