Federer proves on Twitter why he is the most admired athlete

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Roger Federer was devastated after the cancellation of this year's Wimbledon (Reuters)
Roger Federer was devastated after the cancellation of this year's Wimbledon (Reuters)

Dubai - Tennis icon reacts to his fans' messages on global health crisis. And it deserves a round of applause

By Rituraj Borkakoty

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Published: Thu 2 Apr 2020, 12:15 PM

Last updated: Fri 3 Apr 2020, 3:02 PM

It's hard to gauge which has been the more painful blow for Roger Federer - his failure to take two championship points in the fifth set of last year's epic Wimbledon final against Novak Djokovic or the cancellation of this year's All England tournament in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Last year, in what was the longest Wimbledon final in history, the then 37-year-old Federer came tantalizingly close to dethroning Australian legend Ken Rosewall as the oldest Grand Slam winner in history only for Djokovic to fight back to become the only man ever to win the only grasscourt Grand Slam tournament after saving match points in the title clash.

Federer, naturally, was distraught as Djokovic celebrated his fifth victory in London.
It was a bitter pill to swallow for the Swiss maestro.
After all, Federer's best chance to add to his 20 Grand Slams is on grass at the All England Club where he could hurt his opponent with his attacking style.
But on Wednesday evening when Wimbledon was defenseless in the face of the relentless attack from the Covid-19 pandemic and the authorities were forced to cancel the world's most famous tennis tournament for the first time since the World War II, the news pierced the heart of Federer who will be almost 40 when his favourite Grand Slam event begins next year.
"Devastated," Federer tweeted just one word to bare his soul following the announcement from London.
But it was then that we realized why Federer has become the most admired athlete of the 21st century.
True, the world has been lucky enough to witness the flowering of the genius of Lionel Messi and the unstoppable brilliance of his great rival Cristiano Ronaldo.
Or, for that matter, the many superman-like sprints that Usain Bolt produced before hanging up his boots and the sea of gold medals Michael Phelps wore around his neck.
And, of course, Federer' own rivalry with Rafael Nadal and Djokovic - the famed big three who repeatedly produce insane level of tennis on the biggest stages.
But it's Federer that people love the most.
And on Wednesday night, we got a glimpse into the mind of the eight-time Wimbledon champion who, like a boxer getting back on his feet after a painful blow, retweeted a couple of replies from his followers who felt the global health crisis is a more serious matter now than the cancellation of a tennis tournament.
Swati Sharma, one of Federer's 12.7 million followers on Twitter, replied to Federer's one-word tweet, 'devastated': "This is truly devastating as a tennis fan but being a doctor, I feel this is really the need of hour. Safety of people from this deadly situation we are in right now is a global priority.  Everyone stay at home, stay safe, stay distanced."
Federer was quick to retweet that reply and Sharma knew the significance of that gesture from the tennis great.
Having received congratulatory messages from fellow followers, Sharma wrote: "Iam really happy.. more this time because the mesage is going to spread to a larger audience this way.  Roger knows how to do it."
Another fan, Alberto Delgado, replied to Federer's tweet, 'devastated': "We all are roger but we need to prioritize public health above anything. Stay safe y'all."
Federer was quick to respond again with a retweet with his own message: "Absolutely, health and family."
And Federer's generous response left Delgado in an emotional high.
"Roger Federer, aka the Goat, just replied to me. God I wasn't prepared for this today, I'm close to bursting to tears," he wrote.
And millions of fans around the world will have tears in their eyes if Roger Federer's ageing body gives up the fight before next year's Wimbledon.After all, here is a rare global icon who can connect with ordinary souls.
rituraj@khaleejtimes.com


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