“Deeply Touched”: Roger Federer on Receiving Messages From ‘Idols’ Pete Sampras and Others

Roger Federer’s natural talent for tennis is matched by very few players anywhere in the world. Over the years, the Swiss maestro has thrilled one and all with spectacular tennis throughout his career. With a career spanning over 20 years, he’s won the admiration and respect of the game’s greats. 

Federer recently celebrated his 40th birthday spending time with his family in Ibiza. However, he was pleasantly surprised at receiving birthday wishes from his idols and former greats of the sport. Pete Sampras, Bjorn Borg, and Stefan Edberg reached out to Federer to congratulate him on his 40th. 

The 20-time Grand Slam winner stated, “I am still deeply touched when a Pete Sampras, a Björn Borg, or a Stefan Edberg think of me. And then I look at the phone and all three got in touch practically at the same time and congratulated me. It’s almost surreal for me because those were my idols and favorite players when I was young.”

(Quotes are translated using Google translate)

Roger Federer was overwhelmed with wishes 

It was a touching moment for the Swiss star to receive messages from his idols. Federer stated that he was excited to see the how many people would get in touch with him and was overwhelmed by the number of messages he received. He said that he’s yet to reply to over 50 messages.

The 40-year-old added, “To be honest, I was a little excited in advance to see how many people would get in touch with me. More than after a Grand Slam victory? Fewer? And then I was overwhelmed by how many there were. It shows me that I have many real friends around the world who are close to me. Today I am still 50 messages behind with replies.”

At the moment, it looks doubtful that Roger will be competing at the US Open. However, there has not yet been an official statement from his side. We hope to see him competing on the courts as soon as possible. 

Watch this story: How Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Serena Williams, and Others Travel