Roger Federer, the tennis legend, once chastised the former UFC dual champion, Conor McGregor, while bashing Serena Williams for her behavior during the 2018 US Open final match.
During her match against Naomi Osaka in the US Open women’s final of 2018, Williams appeared irritated. She even yelled at chair umpire Carlos Ramos during the game after he penalized her for coaching in violation of the code, slammed her racket, and called him a thief, among other violations.
While sharing his views on the same, the multiple times Grand Slam winner Federer criticized Williams’s behavior and even stated that she should have kept her calm. “It’s a melange of all things, but at some point, I feel like Serena should have walked away. She did, but she went too far. She should have walked earlier. It’s a little bit excusable,” he said in an interview.
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Federer also found fault in the referee’s behavior. He said, “The umpire maybe should not have pushed her there. It’s unfortunate, but an incredible case study. Anything that’s good for society and gets the ball rolling, I’m all for it.”
Further on, the Tennis legend defended his sport and compared Williams’s behavior with that of UFC superstar Conor McGregor. “We do so well in tennis; our sport is so well behaved. You see, the UFC guy [Conor McGregor] throw a railing, or in other sports, they spit and swear at each other on a regular basis,” Federer said.
Roger Federer was referring to the altercation between Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov in 2018
The tennis legend apparently compared Serena Williams’s conduct to Conor McGregor’s activities in 2018. ‘The Notorious’ is famous for his altercation outside the UFC.
He frequently makes headlines for similar reasons. In 2018, the Irish celebrity allegedly attacked a bus carrying UFC competitors during an event in Brooklyn. Khabib Nurmagomedov, a prominent Russian fighter, was the focus of the assault.
Their animosity eventually developed into a UFC super event at UFC 229 that same year. The Dubliner lost the battle despite employing a lot of trash talk to manipulate Nurmagomedov’s mind.
What are your thoughts on this old altercation? What do you guys think about Federer’s words?
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