Federer: A double farewell with Nadal, between tears and applause

Paired with his eternal friend rival Rafa Nadal, amidst his usual opponents, amid tears of emotion and thunderous applause of gratitude: Roger Federer’s last performance was shown this evening at the O2 Arena in London. The final act of his tennis adventure ended with a long, intense embrace of 20,000 attendees at the Greenwich Building, creating an atmosphere of intense engagement for the passing of Sid Basel. He deservedly praised the Swiss champion who He left competitive tennis after winning more than 1,200 matches, 103 ATP titles, and 20 major tournaments including eight times Wimbledon.. And again the Olympic gold medal in doubles at the Beijing Olympics, she won the Davis Cup at Lille in 2014. The unusual palm of the player is out of the ordinary, for talent, agility and elegance. As in recent days, he was recognized many times by his former opponents.

In the London building, there was not a single free seat for his vacation from tennis: it was sold, with literally the last tickets, at exorbitant prices, amounting to eight thousand euros. The collective excitement in the stands was a reflection of the media interest in his last official match, in the context of an event that remains a show, albeit at a prestigious venue and is now the annual challenge between the best European tennis players against the rest of the world. In the stands are also hundreds of journalists, coming from every corner of the planet, accredited to the match, broadcasting live on TV all over the world.
Confirmation of Federer’s global interest in “The Last Dance”. The protagonist is in London for the true feast, festive as he wanted, but also full of transport, between shining eyes and choking tears. and the inevitable rhythmic chorus of “Let’s go, Roger, let’s go!” Right from his entry onto the field, his fans cheered loudly. A dramatic ending, preceded by an unscheduled match in the afternoon: during the match between Stefanos Tsitsipas and Diego Schwartzman, a young activist – after storming the camp – tried to set himself on fire, while showing a sign against the use of private jets. The immediate intervention of security personnel and health workers averted the worst: the man was immediately treated and escorted off the field, and after a few minutes of stopping, the match resumed regularly, with two brackets on a day devoted entirely to Federer’s farewell, and his touching farewell to tennis. Farewell, gentlemen.

“It’s so special to be able to play with Rafa again. I’m sure she will be great” Federer said. A week ago, the champion announced his retirement from tennis at the end of the competition, which will witness a competition between Europe and the world. Nadal and Federer already played the duo in the Laver Cup in the first edition of 2017, when they beat Americans Querrey and Sock.