Fans salute Federer as he says final farewell
ROGER FEDERER revealed he cried before his final Wimbledon as he made an emotional farewell to tennis across London last night.
But the Swiss superstar insisted the sport has a bright future with new US Open champion Carlos Alcaraz and the next generation.
Federer walked out to a massive ovation at the O2 as he played his final ever match, partnering Rafa Nadal in the doubles at the Laver Cup.
It was the climax to an emotional few days after the 41-year-old announced his retirement following three surgeries on his right knee.
The 20-time Grand Slam winner had not played since losing the quarter-final at Wimbledon last year to Hubert Hurkacz.
Federer won four matches at SW19 before losing his last-ever set of singles 6-0 to the Pole.
And the eight-time champion said: “In that moment in the tournament, you still believe. But when it’s all said and done, you’re like, ‘Geez, I was miles away.’
“When I lost to Felix [Auger-Aliassime] in Halle, I cried after the match and I knew I would not win Wimbledon.
“Once you are in the moment, you try to convince yourself at all costs.
“I knew that it was going to be a really, really difficult Wimbledon.” Teenager Alcaraz won his first Grand Slam in New York recently to become the youngest ever world No.1 as tennis keeps producing new stars and storylines.
“It is disappointing never to have played against him,” said Federer.
“I closely followed what he did at the US Open and the whole year. It was fantastic, his game is brilliant and I always said that there will be new superstars in tennis.
“He is one of them. Sometimes people have a habit of not believing it, like when Pete and Andre left. They said, ‘What are we going to have now?’ Well, it was Novak, Rafa, myself, Murray.
“It is a gruelling, tough sport. No doubt about it. And I was very happy with what I saw at the US Open. Some great matches. Tennis always creates another great storyline when you dig deeper into the personalities of the players. I think they all have an amazing story.
“So I really enjoyed what I saw and I’m sure the future is bright for the game.”
Federer and Nadal were on-court cheerleaders earlier yesterday as US Open runner-up Casper Ruud won the first point for Team Europe by beating Team World’s Jack Sock 6-4 5-7 10-7.