Roger Federer is probably the closest South Africa has gotten to professional tennis domination. The Swiss star’s mother was born and raised in South African.
His mother, Lynette, was born in Germiston on the East Rand.
The Swiss claim him as their own – so do South Africans who have long yearned for someone who would dominate tennis at the highest level – in Federer they had that man.
The tennis maestro this week announced that the Laver Cup next week in London will be his final Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) event.
“I am 41 years old. I have played more than 1 500 matches over 24 years. Tennis has treated me more generously than I ever could have dreamt. This is a bitter-sweet decision because I will miss everything the tour has given me. But at the same time, there is so much to celebrate. I consider myself one of the most fortunate people on earth. I was given a special talent to play tennis, and I did it at a level that I never imagined, for much longer than I ever thought possible,” Federer said.
Perhaps it is fitting he will be ending his stellar career, which includes 20 Grand Slam titles, 83 ATP titles in London – a city well known to him and where he won his first Grand Slam title. It was in 2003 that the then world No 4 defeated Australia’s Mark Philippoussis to win his first major title – Wimbledon. This was followed by the Masters Cup win, beating tennis legend Andre Agassi in the final later that year. Federer would go on to win it eight times.
Wimbledon chairman Ian Hewitt hailed Federer’s “remarkable” career. “He will forever be celebrated as one of our greatest Wimbledon champions, having lifted the trophy eight times from his 22 appearances.
“I hope that in retirement, Roger can look back with pride on all his accomplishments and the high esteem in which he is held by the tennis community.”
Federer ends his 23-year professional career with over 100 titles, considerably more than Rafael Nadal (91) and Novak Djokovic (86). He and American Jimmy Connors are the only two players to have won over 100 ATP tour titles.
As Federer ends his stellar career and with both Nadal and Djokovic fast approaching 40, a new star in men’s tennis is emerging in the form of Carlos Alcaraz. The 19-year-old Spanish, ranked world No 1 singles player by the ATP, has already won six ATP Tour singles titles, including the 2022 US Open and two Masters 1 000 titles. By all accounts, he is set to win more in the years to come.
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