Can you name a better love story than Roger-Mirka? With the Paris Olympics knocking at the door, the two will certainly become nostalgic. Roger Federer and Mirka Federer first met at the Sydney Olympics in 2000. Although the Swiss Maestro didn’t win a medal that year, he ensured he didn’t come back empty-handed!

The 18-year-old Roger Federer fell in love with Miroslava ‘Mirka’ Vavrinec who was 21. Both represented their nations at the Olympics and they had to stay with their fellow wrestlers in the Olympic village. Initially, Federer was a bit shy and needed the assistance of his teammates to push him toward the person who later on became the ‘love of his life’. They spent two weeks together in those dorms and within those two weeks, he finally managed to build up some chemistry between them.

Recalling a funny incident surrounding their first kiss, Federer revealed that a wrestler had told him, “‘Hey, kiss her now’. And I’m like, ‘No, I don’t know, maybe, should I?’ So, anyway, I did.” He added, “She told me I was so young when she kissed me. I tried to tell her I was almost 18-and-a-half. I tried to sneak in a quarter year!” Fans love hearing these stories featuring two of the most beloved personalities in the tennis world. Recently, they have also showered their love on a tweet posted by a renowned tennis journalist, Bastien Fachan.

After several years of dating each other, Federer and Mirka finally married each other in 2009 at a villa near Basel. The couple was blessed with a first set of identical twins (girls) in that same year. Then again in 2014, they became parents to another set of identical twins, but this time it was boys. So, the love story has now turned out to be a beautiful journey of 15 years. They have always entertained the crowd with their glittering presence at multiple events. Fans love watching them together, but how did they react exactly to the story of Federer’s first meeting with Mirka?

Roger Federer failed to win a medal in the Sydney Olympics, but he won the heart of Miroslava ‘Mirka’ Vavrinec

Fans recently came out in numbers to give their emotional reactions to how things started between the tennis couple. The Sydney Olympics was Roger Federer’s first appearance at this mega event. He made a decent run and also reached the SF, where he was defeated by Germany’s Tommy Haas. Then again he got a chance to grab a medal in the bronze medal match but lost to France’s Arnaud Di Pasquale. He lost on the court, but won off the court! Reflecting on the same lines a fan wrote, “Wow what a beautiful tale truly Roger did win the 2000 Olympics.“

After the loss against Pasquale, Roger Federer was quite disappointed and he said he should have never lost this match. “I really wanted to be standing on the podium. Now I have nothing to take home except my pride.” A loss is a loss and it’s always disappointing, but is it only “pride” that he brought home with him? Another fan stated, “Who cares about gold medals in the Olympics? Federer is the real winner here. He got it all!” For those who are unaware, Federer won a gold medal in doubles at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and a silver medal in the men’s singles at the 2012 London Olympics.

In June this year, Federer released his documentary ‘Federer: Twelve Final Days’. After hearing this beautiful story of their first meet a fan wrote, “This is the movie I want to see about Federer and not the one about the 12 days.” However, do you know before Sydney, the only time Mirka saw Roger Federer was at a tournament in their home country? Recalling the incident, Federer revealed that Mirka was told to check out a player who was tipped to be the future of tennis. However, when she went to see him, she saw a guy throwing his racquet in anger and shouting. 

Mirka has played a huge role in Roger Federer’s success. “When I met her I had zero titles, today I have 88, so she’s been on this ride for the whole time,” Federer said during an interview with The Guardian in 2016. Some of the fans call it, “That’s a dreamy story right there.“

Roger Federer has time and again heaped praise on the contributions of his wife in his life. “She is a strong and intelligent woman, who had a huge impact on me both inside and out off the court. She trusted me and taught me to always do my best,” said the Swiss Maestro. Mirka always stood like a rock in his tough days and she never allowed his career to interfere with their daily lives. “Match made in heaven fr,” wrote another fan. 

Federer might not have attained the shining gold at the Olympics, but the event will always be special. He found his strongest pillar of support at the Games, who will now support him in his ventures aside from tennis.