Roger Federer
Tears flowed in the last match
Roger Federer couldn’t hold back his tears after his last match.
© GLYN KIRK/AFP via Getty Images
Roger Federer is history as an active athlete. In London he completed his last game. Then tears came to his eyes.
Roger Federer, 41, is no longer an active tennis player. The Swiss sports icon was on center court for the very last time at the Laver Cup in London. Federer lost in doubles alongside his long-time rival, colleague and friend Rafael Nadal, 36, 6: 4, 6: 7 and 9:11 against the American duo Jack Sock, 30, and Frances Tiafoe, 24. However, after the match point at the latest, the sporting aspect completely faded into the background. Federer cried uncontrollably as the spectators gave him a standing ovation in the O2 Arena.
Roger Federer: ‘It felt like a celebration’
Nadal couldn’t hold back his tears during the short ceremony either. Also on site was Novak Djokovic, 35, who hugged Federer warmly. “It felt like a celebration and that was exactly what I wanted,” Federer said of his last game. Immediately afterwards he thanked his wife Mirka Federer-Vavrinec, 44. She had always supported him during his career. The British singer Ellie Goulding, 35, sang the song “Still Falling For You” to say goodbye to Federer.
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Roger Federer had an incredible career
Roger Federer is considered one of the greatest tennis players of all time. In total, he was at the top of the world rankings for 310 weeks, 237 of them in a row. He has won 20 Grand Slam titles and holds numerous records. In his long career he has won 103 singles titles and won the gold medal in doubles at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing alongside fellow countryman Stan Wawrinka, 37.