A few minutes after the end of the match which ended his 25-year career on Saturday in London, Roger Federer assured that he was "not sad" but "happy", despite the emotion which overwhelmed him, in particular talking about his family.
"We're gonna get there one way or another, huh?"
“, he slipped, his throat tight, to former player Jim Courrier, who questioned him on the court and in front of the public about his first feelings as an ex-professional tennis player.
"It's been a wonderful day, I told the guys, I'm happy, I'm not sad, it's wonderful to be here," he said, despite his already bright eyes.
"I was not so stressed", he assured, even if, after a year and a half without playing and with a right knee which forced him to retire, at 41, he feared "a calf glitch or a locked back during the match, so I'm really happy to have finished it”, despite losing 6-4, 6-7 (2/7), 9-11, in doubles with his rival but friend Rafael Nadal, against the Americans Jack Sock and Frances Tiafoe, for the Laver Cup, an annual match between Europe and the Rest of the World, which he helped to create.
Tribute to his wife
Reflecting on his exceptional career, he assured that he would "do it again without changing anything".
“It should never have been like this, I just liked to play tennis and hang out with my friends.
I never thought it would end here, it was a perfect course”.
The hardest thing for him was to talk about his family present in the stands.
“Do we really have to go through this?
“, he asked, before changing his mind, “no, it's okay, I'm not doing too badly so far, I feel like, at least I can talk.
In my visions, I couldn't even speak,” he joked.
He notably paid tribute to his wife, Mirka, whom he met 22 years ago, who “supported him so much”.
“She could have stopped me a long, long time ago.
But she didn't, she let me go on and allowed me to go on, it was amazing, thank you,” he managed to slip away before being overcome with sobs.
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Roger Federer
Rafael Nadal
Tennis