Tennis superstar rogerfederer is retiring. TIME's seanmgregory reflects on his impact
Serena had a few spats with umpires she’d like to have back. Relatively small potatoes, sure. But something.
But remember that Roger Federer controversy everyone got so worked up about? Neither do I. It’s nearly impossible, under the glare that global-athlete icons face in the 21st century, not to make some kind of public mishap. It’s a testament to Federer that he never really did. Is Federer the GOAT, at least in his own sport? His acolytes, who swarmed his year’s U.S. Open wearing their “RF” caps—even though Federer was nowhere near New York City—will never be convinced otherwise.Magazine feature on Federer. Anyone who lived through his apex was fortunate to witness it. From 2004 through 2007, the four consecutive calendar years he ended his campaign as No. 1 in the world, Federer won 93% of his tennis matches. In 2004 and 2005, he reached the finals of 23 tournaments.
As Nadal emerged—Rafa won his first Grand Slam, at 19, at the 2005 French Open—Federer felt his heat. He wasn’t comfortable having his tennis reputation defined by Nadal. “I understand the point that [fans] think my career might go through him,” Federerback in 2006. “I think it goes through titles.” But by both measures, head to head and the Slam wins, Nadal comes out on top. Nadal finished 24-16 against Federer. He tops him in majors, 22 to 20.
There’s no real reason to doubt him. “To the game of tennis: I love you and will never leave you,” Federer said in a statement Thursday. He has one more tournament left, the Laver Cup in London, next week. Nadal has confirmed he’ll be there. Federer won’t receive a swan song at a major, like Serena Williams did last month at the U.S. Open. Sports fans surely wanted that moment. But Roger Federer’s given us more than enough.