Swiss tennis player Roger Federer, top tournament winner 'Grand Slam', with 20, said Saturday that staying as one of the best players in the world at 38 was not in his imagination because he lacked consistency when he was young.

"Longevity was for me something unthinkable because I was known as inconsistent; what makes me the most proud now is my longevity," Federer revealed at a press conference hours before facing German Alexander Zverev in a show called " The greatest match '.

To a question from the Efe agency about the possibility of talking about the future after more than 20 years as a professional, the eight-time Wimbledon champion acknowledged that he now tries to maintain harmony and a calendar that guarantees rest. "I try to stay healthy, I am fortunate to have my wife and four children and I also want to have time for them and to stay focused on my tennis, I don't have a plan and I certainly don't know how long I will continue," he said.

Dressed in green, the color he will use to face Zverev against more than 40,000 fans , which would be a record for a tennis match, Federer refused to talk about a great victory in his career because, he said, he has had many beautiful moments since he beat the American Pete Sampras in Wimbledon in 2001.

Best moments

"That victory against Sampras was unforgettable, I also remember a victory against Novak Djokovic in the US Open, (2007), the final I won against Rafa Nadal in Australia coming from behind (2017) and the Olympic title in Beijing 2008 in doubles was another important moment, "he acknowledged.

The Swiss explained that his life starts from honesty sometimes caused him problems because he always says what he thinks. "I am interested that people believe me, be myself. I speak from happiness , I like fair play and the image I created did not plan it," he said.

Although he confessed to avoiding politics, before the Mexican media Federer confessed that he would have liked to meet Nelson Mandela , president of South Africa between 1994 and 1999, recognized as the great world leader in the fight against Apartheid. "My mother is South African and Mandela would have liked to meet him, I did not visit South Africa much when he was number one in the world and we did not agree but I would have liked to talk with him," he said.

Zverev

Federer, third in the world ranking, said he felt happy in Mexico, a country he visited in 1996 when he was a youth player, and he regretted never having participated in the Mexican Open of Acapulco , the ATP category 500 tournament, in which he will not be in the future because it has commitments to the Dubai tournament and they are on the same date.

"The issue of the date complicates everything to come, I would love to play in Acapulco but one cannot have it all. At the moment I play today in Mexico and I am happy about that possibility," he observed.

Federer was accompanied by Zverev, seventh of the ATP list, who at 22 is one of the promises of world tennis.

"As soon as Roger told me to do the tour with him, I said yes, young people have been playing well and at some point we will start winning 'Grand Slams' tournaments, although the best three (Federer, Nadal and Djokovic) are doing it fine, "he said.

The sympathetic moment of the tennis players' encounter with the media was when Roger was asked who would like him to break his record of 20 'Grand Slam' tournaments won and Zverev raised his hand.

"Well, let it be Zacha because it is close and if I don't say it it will get sad," Federer said jokingly and then acknowledged that at some point the new generation will take the reins of tennis and achieve great feats.

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