If James Bond had ever played tennis, this is how he would have done it
Alas, Roger Federer won’t be returning to have one last crack at Melbourne Park glory, but the sport in Australia will forever bathe in the glow of the man being hailed as “the James Bond of tennis”.
Australian tennis luminaries led the applause for the great man on Thursday after hearing, at 41, Federer is to abandon competitive tennis after next weekās Laver Cup in London.
The news he wonāt be returning for one final fling at the venue for his 20th and last grand slam singles title in 2018 was no surprise after his injury woes, yet it didnāt soften the feeling of loss that the sport will feel in Australia.
āWeāll miss the legend whoās driven the sport to new heights,ā said doubles great Todd Woodbridge on the Nine Network.
āHis game was elegant, masterful, it took tennis to new levels, he used to float around the court, nobody moved more gracefully ā and he taught us it was okay to cry.
āI remember when he walked out on Centre Court at Wimbledon in this most magnificent old-fashioned blazer all done with the little gold trim with the big RF on it.
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āThat epitomised his class; to me, heās always been the James Bond of tennis.ā
In Hamburg, Australiaās Davis Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt hailed his old rival as the greatest of their era.
āIn the mid-2000s, Roger was nearly unbeatable ā it was pretty much only Rafa (Nadal) that could get him, especially on the clay but most of all heās been a great ambassador for our sport,ā said Hewitt, who played Federer 27 times, winning nine.
āHe deserved to go out on his terms. For him to play one more Wimbledon would have been special, but when you get to his age, itās not easy. Heās done everything in the sport he could ever dream of.ā
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Australian No.1 Alex de Minaur, fresh from his Davis Cup win, saluted a āflat-out genius on the courtā, recalling how in 2019 he played Federer in the final of his hometown tournament in Basel and got schooled 6-2 6-2.
āYeah, a nice little lesson. I was foolish enough to think I had a genuine chance to win. I just remember being completely outclassed, he was just on another level.
āI tried six, seven different game plans out there but was basically at his mercy. Yet it was a cool experience, one of the few times I ever walked off a court when I was like, āyou know what, too goodā.
āIt was actually fun getting taught a lesson by Roger.
āHeās an icon of our sport, one of the guys I looked up to and Iām pretty sure every person on the planet has looked up to. If youāre growing up and you donāt want to be like him, you donāt have a lot of idea about tennis.ā
Jelena Dokic, womenās junior world champion at the same time Federer ruled the teenage menās game, noted on Nine: āIt wasnāt just the greatness of his tennis, but how humble he was, how gracious he was, what an inspiration he was.
āI always look at people at how they are behind the scenes, on the practice courts or the locker room, and thereās no-one nicer than Roger Federer. Heād be really kind to you.
āWeāll always talk about him being a great tennis player, but itās important to say what a great person he is too.ā
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