The fans looked forward to a surprise visit from Wimbledon‘s finest champion ever since the chairman announced his felicitation. Today, the wait was finally over. Roger Federer made his Centre Court appearance right before defending champion Elena Rybakina opened the day’s play. Despite saying goodbye to tennis months ago, the audience recognized their greatest champion with a loud round of applause.
This is the first edition of Wimbledon that is taking place after Federer’s retirement. The organisers felt the need to felicitate its most successful men’s champion now that the Swiss Maestro has retired.
Roger Federer receives a long ovation
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The crowd rose up and acknowledged the Swiss legend as he made his way into the Centre Court. Before his entry, a short clip was displayed for the crowd. It featured glimpses of his Wimbledon-winning moments and some of the current tour players paying tribute to him. At the completion of the clip, the doors were opened for Roger Federer to take centre stage.
A legend returns.
The Centre Court crowd rises for eight-time #Wimbledon champion @RogerFederer pic.twitter.com/0edGz3ncmZ
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 4, 2023
The Swiss Maestro received arguably the longest and the biggest ovation from the Wimbledon crowd. He entered the Centre Court with his wife Mirka. The cheers from the crowd continued right from his entry to the time he got inside the royal box. For over two minutes, the crowd at Centre Court kept applauding the Swiss Maestro on his much-awaited return before he took a seat next to the Princess of Wales, Kate Middleton.
HRH The Princess of Wales Kate Middleton, The GOAT of Tennis Roger Federer and his Queen Mirka Federer grace #Wimbledon today. pic.twitter.com/xHL4XulkFu
— Devanayagam (@Devanayagam) July 4, 2023
However, this was not the only occasion where Roger Federer made a Wimbledon appearance as a guest. The former world number 1 did not miss a single Wimbledon from 1999-2021 but an injury ended the streak last year. Despite that, he still managed to grace the Centre Court.
Roger Federer’s special appearance at last year’s Wimbledon
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Wimbledon celebrated its 100-year anniversary last year when all the former champions were acknowledged. The active players did not miss out but a few former legends including seven-time Wimbledon champion Pete Sampras could not make it. However, Roger Federer arrived in dashing attire and unsurprisingly received the loudest applause.
Some of the biggest names made their way to the Centre Court including the likes of Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal. However, Federer stole all the limelight from his peers as the Centre Court crowd still yearns for its finest champion.
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Do you expect to see Roger Federer making a Centre Court appearance regularly in the coming years? Let us know in the comments.
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