Roger Federer, who captured the hearts of tennis fans around the world, has announced his retirement from the game after a glorious 24-year career.
Federer, who seemed to defy the laws of physics while concocting near-impossible shots from multiple angles, also shared his incredible knowledge of the science behind the game from time to time.
At the Madrid Open 2012, the Swiss player met Tomas Berdych from the Czech Republic in the final.
The Swiss maestro, who lost the first set, led 3-0 in the second as he played a drop shot that seemed out of his opponent’s reach. Berdych got the crowd on his feet after managing to cover the pitch and making a seemingly incredible return.
A weak backhand from the 20-time Grand Slam winner was then neatly dispatched for a winner before a statement from the tennis legend silenced the crowd cheering on Berdych.
“Did you see the ball hit me?” he asked Swedish referee Mohamed Lahyani.
“It looked to me like it was coming under the racquet,” argued the referee, making his point clear.
“The ball came at me in a top-spin style,” the former world No. 1 continued, unimpressed. “The only way (that can happen) is if you push (the ball) down first. I agree it was close but the result was obvious he didn’t hit it right.”
Replays showed that the 41-year-old was indeed right, which was a testament to his great understanding and appreciation of every aspect of the game.
The ball dove and spun away after either double bouncing or being deflected off the racquet onto the ground and then off the racquet onto the opposite field, resulting in Federer losing the point.
Despite knowing he was right all along, the former world no. 5, 7-5 won surface in Madrid.
Federer meets Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray for the first time since the 2019 Australian Open
The Laver Cup will unite the Big 4 of tennis for the first time since the 2019 Australian Open.
In Melbourne this year, Andy Murray lost his first round match to Roberta Bautista Agut while Federer lost to Stefanos Tsitsipas in the fourth round. Novak Djokovic beat Rafael Nadal to claim his seventh Australian Open title.
[¿LO SABÍAS? 🧐]la #LaverCup Será el Primer Torneo con the Big Four Presenter of the Australian Open 2019. https://t.co/zsFHilJPzm
Since then, the four tennis greats have not been in the same tournament. At this year’s Laver Cup, the Big 4 will come together as Team Europe for the last time before Federer finally hangs up his racquet.
