When he retired in 2022, Roger Federer promised to stay in close contact with the tennis world. The former world number 1 has appeared in several tournaments over the past two years, also for initiatives related to its numerous sponsors. The 20-time Grand Slam champion was present at the Wimbledon Championships and the 2024 edition of the Laver Cup, which took place less than a month ago at the Uber Arena in Berlin. The former world number 1 could talk to Spanish aceCarlos Alcaraz, who did not hide his excitement of playing in front of a global icon like King Roger.
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Federer flew to Shanghai a few days ago and watched several matches live from the penultimate Masters 1000 of the season. The Swiss Maestro also played a small exhibition and entertained fans, who gave him many cheers at each of his appearances. The King attended the first semi-final between Jannik Sinner and Tomas Machac yesterday and was present at the end of todays match between Sinner and Novak Djokovic.
TheKing saw the final
Roger was in the stands with Juan Carlos Ferrero and Carlitos Alcaraz and the three talked a lot during the match. Sinner and Djokovic spoke beautifully about the Swiss legend at the end of the match, testifying to the enormous influence he continues to have in the world of tennis.
Federer was caught on camera several times during the Masters 1000 final in Shanghai, talking to Ferrero and Alcaraz. On his official X profile, ATP legend Boris Becker has written a very funny comment: Would love to be fly on the wall and listen to exchange between Roger and Carlos while they watch the final.
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The 20-time Grand Slam champion continues to follow the events of professional tennis with great interest and likes to express his point of view on the main topics. In a recent interview in Shanghai, Federer opened up on the changing landscape of tennis in 2024: You can feel the changing of the guard. You know, Serena Williams retiring, Andy Murray retiring, Novak obviously having a tough year overall but then winning the Olympics, claiming what he always wanted to do, you know, that elusive Olympic gold. That was incredible for him to do that.
So yes you feel that everything is shifting and then honestly. I mean, Sinner and Alcaraz winning each two Slams, that shows you that the wave is truly coming now and the changes are happening. They are consistent and theyre fantastic to see play. Seeing Alcaraz live at the Laver Cup in Berlin was very impressive. Hes a wonderful player and I think a lot of people are going to have a lot of fun watching him in the future too.
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The Kings career ended in September 2022 due to a serious knee injury. The last two years of his career were very complicated for the Swiss Maestro, who had to undergo several knee surgeries. Federer played his last match at the Laver Cup in the O2 Arena in London alongside his eternal rival Rafa Nadal.
The changing of the guard
Recently, King Roger reflected on how tennis has changed: Its not so much about technique any more. Ive got fooled enough in the last 10, 15, 20 years where I think, Im not sure about this technique but with racket technology and string technology, you can iron those problems out and so long as you hit hard and nice through the ball, everything is possible in tennis to be honest.
The game is where it was, but just a step higher. I always feel like it keeps on going up. Perhaps just a lack of variation but thats because we have all double-handers (on the backhand side) these days and they dont use the slice as much. Naturally, we dont see as many drop shots. Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev try to add it to their game, which I think is a great play but you need to train it a lot the transition game. For the most part, I enjoy watching tennis still today and its always going to be in a safe place because tennis is a wonderful sport.
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Sinner and Alcaraz could be the natural heirs of the Big 3 in the next 10 or 15 years. The Italian ace had a simply fantastic 2024, in which he won seven titles, including two Majors and three Masters 1000. The 21-year-old Spaniard - on the other hand - became the youngest player ever to win the French Open and Wimbledon Championships in the same year. Carlitos also won the Masters 1000 in Indian Wells, the ATP 500 in Beijing and the silver medal at the Olympic Games in Paris.
