Roger Federer made his way to ESPN’s broadcast during the ongoing Wimbledon 2024. In an interview with the American broadcaster, the former World No.1 spoke about the competition in the men’s draw. After implying how Novak Djokovic wasn’t the outright favorite to win the Grand Slam, Federer went on to laud Carlos Alcaraz.
First up, Federer talked about how impressive Alcaraz was at the French Open 2024 recently. However, the Swiss legend seemed to be more dazzled by the Spaniard’s Wimbledon 2023 title win. This is because he drew from his own experiences of playing the Serb on what used to be a venue and surface he dominated on, singlehandedly in the 2000s.
Federer went up against Djokovic in 3 Wimbledon finals in the 2010s. In each of those contests, the 20-time Grand Slam winner could not get past the finishing line. The 8-time Wimbledon champion was humble in admitting that he found it so difficult against him, so Alcaraz being able to defeat him at such a young age on his first attempt, is a huge achievement.
“Alcaraz at the French (Open) was fantastic. His win last year was incredible against Novak in that five-setter. I’ve played Novak here, I know how hard he is to beat. For Alcaraz to do it was incredible,” Federer was quoted as saying in the interview.
Roger Federer on current state of the game (ESPN Interview) pic.twitter.com/olR0E2QkTf
— asud (@asud659478) July 5, 2024
Despite being pleased by the youngster’s performance, Alcaraz’s rise to the top of the sport hasn’t come as a surprise to Federer. In 2019, the original ‘King of Grass’ practiced with the El Palmar native to prepare for his quarter-final bout in Wimbledon and got a glimpse of the then-17-year-old’s potential.
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Apart from being delighted to watch Alcaraz succeed, Federer also praised Djokovic for bouncing back as quickly as he did after a horrific knee injury a month ago. To top it all, the fact that tennis’ ‘Fedex’ was compelled to take the former World No.1’s name for judging how good Alcaraz actually is, makes it a big tribute to his once-upon-a-time archrival.
Federer Feels Djokovic Is Important for Alcaraz and Sinner to Grow
Djokovic has taken the tennis world by surprise. After going through a successful knee surgery, to play a Grand Slam so quickly is no joke. Federer himself knows that recovery is the biggest challenge for a player especially after an injury to a body part like the knee, which he too suffered in the final years of his career.
“Novak’s amazing at his bounce back. Incredible effort for him after Paris to come back and already be playing,” Federer added.
Federer also lauded the Belgrade native for being able to prolong his career. He feels that Djokovic and his presence is important as he is playing a pivotal role in helping youngsters like Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner grow and going ahead, they will carry the torch in the men’s sport.
As of now, Djokovic performed decently in his first two matches. With certain upsets in his side of the draw, it won’t be surprising if the 7-time Wimbledon champion makes his way into the semifinals. However, he will divert all his attention to the upcoming third-round match against Alexei Popyrin.
