Roger Federer kisses the Wimbledon trophy, where he was champion eight times. Photo: Glyn KIRK / AFP.
The day tennis lovers never wanted to come is here. Roger Federer announced his retirement from tennis at the age of 41, after failing to find a way out for a right knee recovery, which forced him to leave the circuit for more than a year. Despite having tried various therapies and forms of rehabilitation, none have been successful enough to allow the Swiss to return to court.
Although his last function will be in the next one conch cupwhich will begin on Friday 23 September and where we will say goodbye in style, Federer has hung up for good.
Since his arrival on the track in 1998, Federer has awakened a special aura. An innate talent with which he caught a glimpse of locals and strangers from the racquet sport. And his game and his competitiveness took him to the top. Be number 1 in the world for 310 weeks (the second player with the longest time in that position, after Novak Djokovic) e to finish five years in that position (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2009). The most surprising fact is that he remained at the top for 237 weeks in a row, which equates to four and a half years, a fact that until now no one has been able to match.
For 19 consecutive years he was elected the favorite player of tennis lovers
From 2003 to 2021, the Swiss was voted the fan’s favorite player. Every time the ATP vote opened, it ended up getting that distinction. Beyond the fact that he played a tournament, zero or won more titles in the same year, Federer sparked a special charisma for the fans who went out of their way to go and see him wherever he played. In fact, until the match between Serena Williams and Ajla Tomljanovic, which marked the end of the American tennis player’s career, the 2012 Wimbledon final between the Swiss and Andy Murray was the most followed in historyaccording to ESPN data.
Roger Federer has announced his retirement from the professional tennis circuit, his career in photos
The second greatest champion in history
Federer wanted to reach Jimmy Connors’ 109. However, He is the second player with more singles titles: he has won 103although the last ones were raised in 2019. From his first trophy won in 2001 until 2019, when his triumphal time on the circuit ended, only in 2016 did he not manage to get a championship, situation that was due to a knee injury that had marginalized him at that time more than six months of court. In addition, he played another 54 finals.
Two dozen Grand Slams
Beyond the fact that the debate continues for the GOAT (the best of all time) he was a part of at the time, Federer will no longer be able to continue fighting to be the player with the most Grand Slams won (Novak Djokovic is 21 years old and Rafael Nadal, 22). However, he was the first to beat Pete Sampras’ 14 (which at one point seemed impossible) and achieved a total of 20 tournament successes major. The distribution took place with six titles in Australia, one at Roland Garros, eight at Wimbledon and five at the US Open. Specifically, at the United States Open she had a streak of consecutive victories from 2004 to 2008 and was cut by Juan Martín del Potro in 2009.
Also, he is the only one to have obtained five consecrations in a row in two different Slams (Wimbledon, 2003 to 2007 and the period mentioned in Flushing Meadows). Not to mention that he ended his career with 369 victories in this category of events, a milestone so far difficult to match for his pursuers.
Most Grand Slam Finals played
Despite failing to finish at the top of the title rankings, he currently equals the maximum number of Grand Slam finals played with the Serbian with 31 (20 wins and 11 losses). Rafa, for his part, has played 29 with a very high effectiveness.
No one has won more ATP finals than he has
The ATP Finals it was one of Federer’s favorite tournaments. After passing the ATP 500 in Basel, where he wiped out almost every year, the Swiss traveled to London or Shanghai to compete in the race that brought together the eight best of the season. And there it seemed, ever since he was crowned six times, one more than Djokovic, Sampras and Ivan Lendl. Nadal, for example, could never win it. Likewise, He is the highest participant in the history of the tournament with 15 and the one with the most wins (55).
Longest winning streak in the Open era
Despite the overall record being held by Guillermo Vilas with 46 wins in a row, Roger beat it on the same surface: between 2005 and 2006 he won 56 straight games on hardcourt, while on grass he scored 65 consecutive victories between 2003 and 2008when he crashed in the historic Wimbledon final.
A fortune on and off the pitch
The official data of the ATP shows that Federer has pocketed more $ 130 million in his career. However, the luck he has amassed has been much greater, as he has always stood out for the money generated outside the bounds of the field. Having such a good reputation, the brands still do everything for him. So much so that Uniqlo recently paid him about $ 30 million a year to be the flagship image of his sportswear. Not to mention his investments (the sneaker brand ON, which has skyrocketed in shares since his arrival), his deals with Rolex, Nike at the time, the Swiss Bank and others. According to Forbes magazine, this year Roger added 90 million to his accounts, and this did not compete. At the end of last year, according to this specialized publication, the Swiss fortune was close to 1,100 million dollars.
Source: Clarin
