Federer : “I was planning to retire at 35”

[40-15 still haunts me]

Federer has revealed in his Wimbledon pre tournament press conference that his initial plans were to retire at 35. He stated that Pistol jokingly asked him when he was 30 how much he had left in the tank and assumed he would have retired at 33.
When asked about why he is still playing, he cited a love for the game and that he’s still competitive and believes he can win. I think the deeper issue is that Federer won’t admit to the fact he does want the Grand Slam title record and players like Nadal and Novak have almost forced him to continue. I think in any situation where say Federer was in front by 10 slams at the age of 33, he would have retired and wouldn’t be playing today, but that’s my personal opinion.
In a recent poll, Federer was voted as the player people would most like to see win Wimbledon again with no mention of Novak

Federer reveals he thought he would have retired five years ago

Even in his 40th year, there are new experiences and this Championships is something entirely different. Nobody is staying privately and there is a long commute to Westminster.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[Swingmaster]

Federer has revealed in his Wimbledon pre tournament press conference that his initial plans were to retire at 35. He stated that Pistol jokingly asked him when he was 30 how much he had left in the tank and assumed he would have retired at 33.
When asked about why he is still playing, he cited a love for the game and that he’s still competitive and believes he can win. I think the deeper issue is that Federer won’t admit to the fact he does want the Grand Slam title record and players like Nadal and Novak have almost forced him to continue. I think in any situation where say Federer was in front by 10 slams at the age of 33, he would have retired and wouldn’t be playing today, but that’s my personal opinion.
In a recent poll, Federer was voted as the player people would most like to see win Wimbledon again with no mention of Novak

Federer reveals he thought he would have retired five years ago

Even in his 40th year, there are new experiences and this Championships is something entirely different. Nobody is staying privately and there is a long commute to Westminster.

www.dailymail.co.uk

I think he was probaby just basing it on the guys who came before him. Agassi lasted awhile but his body was failing him pretty bad. Federer couldnt have know that his would hold up this long, even after surgeries. Guys like Roddick retired ten years ago.

 

[Spencer Gore]

It's just as well he didn't retire at 35. His records would long since have been demolished and he would now be all but forgotten by the new breed of tennis fan who think tennis history only goes back five years. By keeping playing he's stretched his fame and status for a few more years.

 

[Red Rick]

I'm not surprised he didn't plan playing till 40 when he was 30.

What I'm really reading between the lines is the next few tournaments will probably determine if he plays in 2022.

 

[Hitman]

Federer is going to retire when he is 45.

 

[Tennis_Freak99]

The year when full crowds can go to all tournaments, without bubbles is gonna be Fed's retirement year

 

[Deleted member 771911]

It's good he didn't or we wouldn't have had 2017.

 

[El_Yotamo]

Lol Fred trolling even himself

 

[MichaelNadal]

Djokovic stringing poor Rog along. Stealing his soul in multiple ways

 

[D.Nalby12]

He is surely not playing for love of Tennis in last 5 years. After he hired Edberg and switched racket in 2014 - Edberg said they've plan of playing 2 more years which will give him 3-4 more opportunities to win Slams. They'd got "realistic" aim winning 2 more Slams. So I guess Roger is being honest here as usual. He achieved results he wanted - yet he is going get surpassed by both of his rivals. That's bit tragical end to a great career. But life is not always fair.

 

[Arak]

He’s already playing part time tennis. He’s approaching it as a hobby now.

 

[D.Nalby12]

Federer' record was never safe. Nadal already had 10 Slams in 2011 when he was just 25 yo. So Federer couldn't have retired even after W 12 win. 17 Slams was never looked like out of reach for Nadal. Then Djokovic entered in race in 2016 - so it was turned out to be a 3 way race since then.

 

[Spencer Gore]

L

He achieved results he wanted - yet he is going get surpassed by both of his rivals. That's bit tragical end to a great career. But life is not always fair.

Life is most certainly not fair. But this isn't an example of it. His two main rivals were just that bit better than him. If Federer ends up as third best of the 21st century that will be a pretty fair outcome, and well-earned for the beautiful tennis he has given us over the years.

 

[The Blond Blur]

Good thing he didn’t, because he peaked at 35

 

[Hitman]

Lol Fred trolling even himself

 

[40-15 still haunts me]

BRB just going to write up my “Djokovic to be exposed heavily at Wimby“ thread

 

[Forehanderer]

Djokovic stringing poor Rog along. Stealing his soul in multiple ways

 

[Sunny014]

He is surely not playing for love of Tennis in last 5 years. After he hired Edberg and switched racket in 2014 - Edberg said they've plan of playing 2 more years which will give him 3-4 more opportunities to win Slams. They'd got "realistic" aim winning 2 more Slams. So I guess Roger is being honest here as usual. He achieved results he wanted - yet he is going get surpassed by both of his rivals. That's bit tragical end to a great career. But life is not always fair.

Federer' record was never safe. Nadal already had 10 Slams in 2011 when he was just 25 yo. So Federer couldn't have retired even after W 12 win. 17 Slams was never looked like out of reach for Nadal. Then Djokovic entered in race in 2016 - so it was turned out to be a 3 way race since then.

It is a choice he made.
Had he retired in 2013 and then his record of 17 slams would have broken in 2017 by Nadal and later Djokovic would have crossed it too and he loses the GOAT status, but now he might not lose it even if he loses the slams record, we need to see what happens.

Because end of the day GOAT status is all about marketing, who stays in limelight is the GOAT, There are so many way of marketing someone, even Connors can be marketed as the GOAT for his 109 titles, end of the day who is in the limelight is the best.

Federer did not allow Novak and Nadal to enjoy the max spotlight till 2021, so lets see what happens after the slams record is broken.

 

[GabeT]

In a recent poll, Federer was voted as the player people would most like to see win Wimbledon again with no mention of Novak

That moment when you realize that sports is about beating the other guy or the other team, about winning the most, and not about being popular.

 

[Kralingen]

No player who is just there to enjoy the tour and play for the love of the game would have hired a coach to completely retool his BH at age 35 coming off of knee and back issues.

What Federer did with Ljubicic was nothing short of a miraculous late career change that I truly doubt any other player in history could have pulled off.

The guy wants the Slam record equally as much as the other two, and this image of “just sticking it out bc I love tennis” is such blatant PR that it’s ridiculous to read

 

[Steffi-forever]

He is surely not playing for love of Tennis in last 5 years. After he hired Edberg and switched racket in 2014 - Edberg said they've plan of playing 2 more years which will give him 3-4 more opportunities to win Slams. They'd got "realistic" aim winning 2 more Slams. So I guess Roger is being honest here as usual. He achieved results he wanted - yet he is going get surpassed by both of his rivals. That's bit tragical end to a great career. But life is not always fair.

Right. I never though he’d lose the weeks at #1 record and possibly the GS tally while still being active.