(Paris) The debate on the best player in history is endless, but by his record, his brilliant game, his elegance and his charisma, Roger Federer will go down in history as the Master of tennis.

There was “Pistol” Pete (Sampras), the Las Vegas Kid (Andre Agassi), the Bull of Manacor (Rafael Nadal), and they all bowed to the Master. On the court and since he announced his retirement.

“Hi Roger, this is Pistol […] When we first met, you were only 19 […] We fought a big battle on center court at Wimbledon and you beat me in five sets,” recalled Sampras, whose public appearances have been extremely rare since leaving the circuit in 2002, but who split a video on social networks to welcome the retirement of the Swiss.

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“Your game and your mind taught us how beautiful the game of tennis could be […] Thank you RF,” Agassi complimented.

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“He’s one of the most important players, if not the player, in my career,” said Nadal, a record holder of Grand Slam titles (22), before playing doubles alongside him the last match of the Swiss whose counter will remain blocked at 20 Majors, also exceeded by Novak Djokovic (21).

But in hearts, he will remain number one almost everywhere. At Wimbledon, his favorite playground where he won eight times, at Roland-Garros where the public was relieved to see him complete his collection of Grand Slams in 2009, and in all the tournaments where his fans supported him unconditionally. .

Federer had all the attributes of the ideal champion. And above all a game like no other, aesthetic, offensive, exciting.

“There are people who followed tennis without liking tennis, to watch Federer,” noted former Swiss N.1 Marc Rosset.

The opposition of style with Nadal has made their rivalry a legend, coupled with a friendship that has never wavered.

“Perfect”, according to Nadal

“He has a perfect serve, a perfect volley, a more than perfect forehand, a perfect (one-handed) backhand; he is very fast, everything is perfect at home,” summarized Nadal.

Outside the courts, the Swiss is also a kind of ideal son-in-law: in love for more than twenty years with the same woman, Mirka Vavrinec, a former tennis player of Slovak origin whom he met at the Sydney Games in 2000, caring father of four children (twins and twins), engaged in charitable work, especially in South Africa, the country of origin of his mother, the friend of Tiger Woods is almost unanimous.

Even among those he martyred on the court. “I wish I could hate you, but you’re so nice,” Roddick told her after a Wimbledon final.

The Swiss has always liked to “give the image of a good person”, including taking care of his communication during endless interview sessions granted without hesitation in the four languages ​​he masters (Swiss German, English, French , German).

His track record is huge. To the Grand Slam titles must be added six Masters, a Davis Cup and an Olympic gold medal (in doubles with Stan Wawrinka), the singles gold remaining the only important trophy that he lacks. In total, he won 103 titles on the ATP Tour and spent 310 weeks at the first place in the world, a record that Djokovic has since spectacularly increased to 373.

Certainly, the talent was detected early in this boy born in Basel in 1981. But this “rough diamond to polish”, according to his own expression, had to suppress a dilettante side and a tendency to swing his racket when things were not turning out. as he wanted.

Late maturity

For this reason, he had to wait until his sixth year on the circuit to lift his first major trophy, on the lawn of Wimbledon in 2003, at almost 23 years old.

This accomplishment in the tournament he treasures most marked the start of a feast of Grand Slam titles: eleven – out of a possible 16 – from 2004 to 2007. The competition of then, Lleyton Hewitt and Andy Roddick in the first row , is crushed.

Things will get tougher when Nadal and Djokovic mature, but Federer will continue to win and the legend will be enriched with epic matches, such as the two Wimbledon finals of 2007 (won) and 2008 (lost) against the Spaniard. On the (temporary) decline from 2011, he made a stunning return to the top in 2017 and 2018 and added three Grand Slam titles to his collection to finish with eight Wimbledons, six Australian Opens, five States Opens States and a Roland-Garros.

Of a seemingly ordinary physique (1.85 m), but endowed with exceptional qualities of speed and endurance, he had the advantage of being almost never injured until he was over 35 years old. He underwent his first operation, on a knee, in 2016, after injuring himself… bathing his daughters.

Inhabited by an inexhaustible thirst for victories, he was approaching longevity records – his last Australian Open title had made him the second oldest winner of a Grand Slam tournament behind Ken Rosewall – when his recalcitrant knee failed. put an end to his fabulous epic, at 41, after more than 1,500 games over more than 24 years.