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ROGER FEDERER

Froome takes on Federer over selfies brouhaha

Roger Federer has drawn criticism from British cycling champion Chris Froome after the Swiss tennis star complained about a boy who jumped onto the court at the French Open to take a selfie with him.

Published: 26 May 2015 10:42 CEST
Froome takes on Federer over selfies brouhaha
Photo: Miguel Medina/AFP

The incident occurred on Sunday in the first round of the tournament after the match had ended and the boy climbed down from the stands to snap a court-side picture with the 17-time Grand Slam champion using his smartphone.

“This should never happen on the Philippe Chatrier court,” Federer said, complaining of the lack of security.

“I’m not happy about it — obviously, not one second I’m happy about it.”

It happened as Federer was walking off the court after beating Columbia’s Alejandro Falla 6-3, 6-3, 6-4.

But Froome suggested in a tweet that Federer should learn to live with such intrusions.

“Harden up,” the 2013 Tour de France winner tweeted with a picture of what he has to put up with from fans in cycling races.

“Wonder what RF would have to say about ASO security on Alpe d’Huez?” Froome said in another tweet.

“Give me a couple of kids wanting selfies any time.”

Federer said he generally had no problem with selfies, saying that he posed for several every day.

His concern was with security on the court and “we want players to feel safe”.

He noted that a similar incident happened when he was practising.

“On centre court, where you would think this is a place where nobody can come on, he (the boy with the smartphone) just comes on and nothing happens.”

Federer said he was not just speaking for himself but on behalf of all players.

French Open tournament director Gilbert Ysern said the incident was embarrassing but there was no need to change security procedures.

“It was just a lack of judgment,” Ysem said, the BBC reported.

“Clearly, the security people who were on court did not do the job the way they should have done, of course, to say the least,” he said.

“But it’s not the end of the world.”

Tournament organizers also rubbed Federer’s fellow countryman Stan Wawrinka the wrong way by publishing an article on the Roland Garros website that talked about his private life.

Wawrinka has recently separated from his wife.

The 2014 Australian Open champion said he saw the article on Saturday and immediately communicated his unhappiness to tournament officials.

Wawrinka said it was a “completely stupid article”, which was subsequently removed from the tournament’s website.

“It's the official website of a Grand Slam, so I hope the guy who did that article is not a journalist,” Wawrinka said, according to a report from Associated Press.



”I also hope the guy who is supposed to check all the articles on the website is not working anymore for the tournament.”

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ROGER FEDERER

Is this the end of the road for Swiss tennis legend Roger Federer?

Roger Federer is talking optimistically about returning to his "highest level" after knee surgery, but does tennis have to start adjusting to a future without the Swiss star?

Published: 11 June 2020 16:22 CEST
Is this the end of the road for Swiss tennis legend Roger Federer?
Is it the end of the line for Roger? Photo: Martin BUREAU / AFP

The 20-time Grand Slam winner announced on Wednesday that he would be sidelined until 2021 after his second operation in a matter of months.

Federer remains upbeat, tweeting: “I plan to take the necessary time to be 100 percent ready to play at my highest level.”

In some ways 2020 is a good season to miss after the coronavirus ravaged the tennis schedule. Writing Federer off in the past has proved dangerous.

He returned from a six-month injury lay-off to claim the Australian Open in 2017, winning his eighth Wimbledon crown later that year.

But he will be 40 in 2021 and is now heading into uncharted territory.

Despite his groaning trophy cabinet, there are two factors that will motivate Federer to keep going — the risk of losing his grip on the men's Grand Slam title record and a missing Olympics singles gold medal.

Rafael Nadal has 19 majors, just one shy of Federer's mark and Djokovic has 17.

Spain's Nadal will be fancied to draw level with Federer at the French Open, rescheduled for September, while few would bet against Djokovic winning in New York weeks earlier.

In April, Federer said he was “devastated” when Wimbledon was cancelled for the first time since World War II. Last year he fell agonisingly short at the All England Club, failing to convert two championship points on his own serve against Djokovic.

The Wimbledon grass probably remains his best chance of adding to his Grand Slam collection — he has not won the US Open since 2008 and his only title at Roland Garros came in 2009.

Even though Federer has slipped from the very pinnacle of the game, he is still a major threat to Nadal and Djokovic.

'Golden' ambitions

Last year, the world number four had a 53-10 win-loss record and he reached the semi-finals at the Australian Open in January in his only tournament this year.

Federer, who is still six ATP titles short of Jimmy Connors' all-time record of 109, has one glaring omission from his CV — the Olympic title.

The Swiss won doubles gold in Beijing in 2008 with compatriot Stan Wawrinka but lost in the singles final to Andy Murray in London four years later.

The postponed Tokyo Games will almost certainly be Federer's last opportunity to complete a career “golden” Grand Slam — he will turn 40 on the day of the closing ceremony next year.

Tennis will feel the loss of the elegant Federer keenly when he walks off the court for the last time.

Djokovic and Nadal have been the dominant forces in recent years but the Swiss remains the biggest draw and last month topped Forbes' list of the world's highest-earning athletes.

His last appearance on court was in front of nearly 52,000 fans — touted by organisers as a world record for tennis — at a charity match against Nadal in Cape Town in February.

Federer is nearly always the crowd favourite wherever he plays and has proved a perfect ambassador for the sport since he won his first Grand Slam title in 2003.

He certainly expects to be back and competitive next year.

“I will be missing my fans and the tour dearly but I will look forward to seeing everyone back on tour at the start of the 2021 season,” he tweeted.

The avalanche of support from his adoring fans showed they would miss him too, but they will have to get used to a time when he is gone for good.

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