The recent night in London was full of tears and warm farewells, but it was a great celebration of one of the greatest athletes of all time. Roger Federer said his last goodbye to the crowd of fans who gathered to see his last competitive match which he played alongside Rafael Nadal. The pair lost to Jack Sock and Frances Tiafoe in a good fight for the Laver Cup in London, UK.
A man and a legend
The match was a tight battle as “Fedal” in which the duo lost 4-6, 7-6 (2). When the final ball hit the ground, the crowd exploded with cheers and ovations as Federer and Nadal left the court. Federer is a man with an impressive story. One of the greatest people to ever set foot on a tennis court, he was celebrated during his mind-boggling career and cheered off the court as a legend.
Throughout his career, he was accustomed to standing on top of the world with incredible records like 237 consecutive weeks of holding the number 1 position in the world and an overall period of being number 1 for 310 weeks. He ended 5 years as unbeaten number 1 and showed excellence on the court many times by besting his younger and physically superior opposition.
His aggressive style and technique created a new trend in tennis with many trying to imitate his ability and mechanics. With 369 competitive victories and 60 losses, he holds an impressive record of an 86% career win rate. He held the grand slam cup above his head 20 times with only four recent losses to Novak Djokovic who many consider the next great who is going to replace Federer
Federer inspired a generation
It was sad to see such a massive global star go. He is an inspiration to a generation of sportsmen. He played against people who decided to pick up a racket because they saw him displaying unmatched excellence. At 41 years of age, he finally decided that his time to step back and allow youth to carry on unchallenged by older legends had come.
