G.O.A.T.? FEDERER, THE HUMAN, LEAVES THE MOST IMPORTANT IMPRINT
Tennis arguments over who’s the greatest tend to shrink when viewing the entirety of Federer’s regal impact on sports and life, which won’t end just because he has retired competitively at 41
A legend is retiring. His brand is not. It’s difficult to share a handkerchief with a tearful Roger Federer when it’s apparent what makes him so unique as a global dignitary — his charm, his sophistication, his RF-monogrammed aesthetic, a graceful glide through life while the rest of us limp or stumble — will carry on as long as tennis is played and common folks try to match his suave quotient.
Unlike athletic greats who’ve wagged tongues, screamed “Let’s Go!” and pumped fists, Federer’s aura was etched in an elegant glow even near the sixth hour of a five-set classic. Oh, he was as ravenous as Jordan, Brady and Woods — and in his realm, contemporaries Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic — but the voyage was more important to him than the number of Grand Slam titles in his bag. He not only grew up in Switzerland, he was the embodiment of Swiss equilibrium, a sculptor when his rivals were grunt machines. He didn’t dominate for more than two decades as much as he floated, focused on enjoying the ride and letting the world savor his style and aplomb. He won 20 Slams and might have won a dozen more if he didn’t play in the Big Three era, but his body of accomplishments wouldn’t be his message as he said farewell after a team exhibition match in London.
“It was never supposed to be this way. I was just happy to play tennis and spend time with my friends, really. And then I ended up here,” Federer told the adoring crowd as he cried, sounding like an interloper more than an icon. “It’s been a perfect journey. I would do it all over again.”
As we have grown accustomed, he delivered nothing short of maximum dignity. He didn’t want this last hurrah, at 41, to be a funeral. He wanted the occasion to be “really happy and powerful and party mode.” The exit he wanted to avoid was that of a singles match at a major event, such as the one 30-plus minutes of tube stops away at the All England Club. Three surgeries on his right knee, in less than two years, had left him incapable of winning his last match in a competitive circumstance, which would have saddened him and sporting aficionados everywhere. So he played doubles, with his friends. “I always feel sorry for players who sometimes retire on the tour, say, ‘I’m going to play one more match,’ and then at one point, you stand there all alone,” Federer said.
He was not alone. He’ll never be, as he moves forward as a statesman, a role model, a leader in the sport’s future and, of course, a sartorial prince. For now, he wants a vacation with his wife and four kids — twin 13-year-old girls, twin 8-year-old boys — but he promised not to be a stranger. “I won’t be a ghost,” he told the gathering inside O2 Arena.
His place in sports is established and exquisitely manicured. Never has a virtuoso of his magnitude been so personable, so honorable, so happy. He played a power game with a certain beauty that reminded us that tennis is a game, not a life-and-death experience, as it has been in volatile moments for Djokovic and John McEnroe. His takeaway wasn’t the thrill of winning. It came from camaraderie. “You always want to play forever. I love being out on court. I love playing against the guys. I love traveling. It was all perfect. I love my career from every angle,” he said. “I know everybody has to do it at one point; everybody has to leave the game. I think I had the best of times. For that, I’m really grateful.”
There isn’t a smidgen of bitterness in his voice, though some regret would be understandable. For someone of his remarkable longevity and achievements — eight titles at Wimbledon, five at the U.S. Open, six at the Australian Open, one at the French Open, still No. 1 as late at age 36 — he doesn’t depart as the definitive Greatest Player of All Time. It was a curse to be a few years older than Nadal and Federer as they were winning 22 and 21 Slams respectively — imagine, the trio won 63 of a possible 75 Slams over two decades — and there is no more excruciating sports debate than trying to chop up which among the three has had the most supreme career.
If sheer numbers form the criteria, Federer falls short. But if popularity and grace matter as much — and they should, especially in a sports world gone mad — yes, a strong case can be made that he’s the G.O.A.T. Except, don’t engage in arguments around him. He sees his rivalries with Nadal and Djokovic as blessings and extensions of good friendships, with no stronger evidence that their final convergence at the Laver Cup, where the boys got dressed up before dinner and took selfies with Andy Murray in front of Tower Bridge. Federer offered the best analysis of his perspective the other day in an Associated Press interview.
“People always like to compare. I see it every day with my twins. Without wanting, you compare them. You shouldn’t — ever. Naturally, we do the same in tennis,” he said. “I am my own career, my own player, that needed those challenges. They needed a challenger like myself. We made each other better. So at the end of the day, we’ll all shake hands and be like, ‘That was awesome.’ Now, is somebody going to be happier than the other? I mean, in moments, maybe.”
But generally, he thinks the debate is “silly.” Of Big Three comparisons, Federer said, “I always say it’s wonderful to be part of that selective group. How can you compare? What’s better? To win when you’re old or when you’re young? I have no idea, you know. Is it better to win on clay or grass? Don’t know. Is it better to have super-dominant years or come back from injury? I don’t know. It really is impossible to grasp. What I know is they are truly amazing and greats of the game and forever and will go down as one of the — maybe THE — greatest.”
So he isn’t conceding the debate. Why would he? He just knows there won’t be a conclusive official ruling from a panel of judges, just as there never will be in the endless Jordan vs. LeBron James mashup. “Who is the greatest? Probably MJ,” said Federer, correctly from my view. “But is it LeBron? Some stats say he is. I think it’s a phenomenon of (social) media. Everybody calling each other ‘GOAT.’ ‘GOAT.’ ‘GOAT.’ ‘GOAT.’ ‘GOAT.’ ‘GOAT.’ I’m like, Come on, OK? There cannot be possibly that many GOATs.
“In Switzerland, we have a lot of them, but they’re in the fields.”
Unlike the NBA, where Jordan and James have played every game on hardwood, tennis’ array of surfaces makes the dispute more maddening. Nadal has won 14 of his 22 Slams on Parisian clay. Since disrupting the Federer-Nadal sphere with his first major title in 2008, Djokovic has done his 21-Slam damage on all surfaces, mostly the hard courts of Australia and New York and Wimbledon grass, then twice at Roland Garros. Federer’s record is similar to Djokovic in its variety, and it seems inevitable, because Nadal can’t avoid health issues and Djokovic is a year younger, that Joker will end with the most Slams among them. His only obstacle: His refusal to be vaccinated for Covid-19, which is costing him potential Slams as he misses opportunities in the U.S. and Australia, countries that ban foreign nationals who aren’t jabbed. He’s the only modern player to claim a double Career Grand Slam. If the only metric is titles, Djokovic likely will reign as the G.O.A.T. in mid-decade.
But if the entirety of a champion’s enterprise is taken into account, the real wrangle is Nadal vs. Federer, two regal champions who’ve cultivated goodwill every step of their journeys. Sensibly, we would forget the G.O.A.T sparring. Tennis is not a barstool sport, after all.
In the end, the greatest might be a 19-year-old who just dropped the mic at the U.S. Open, in his first Slam victory. Carlos Alcaraz, as Nadal already has acknowledged, is the recipient of a torch passing. His game includes elements from each of the Big Three, and, for now, he is carrying the burden of teen sensation with extraordinary class. He wisely stays away from the G.O.A.T. stuff. All you need to know: Federer is the one whose game he has most tried to emulate. “Roger has been one of my idols and a source of inspiration,” Alcaraz wrote on Twitter upon hearing the news. “Thank you for everything you have done for our sport! I still want to play with you! Wish you all the luck in the world for what comes next!”
As a teen, Federer was a hothead who threw rackets, which is still hard to believe. His maturity transformation is near the top of his legacy traits. “I was famous for being quite erratic at the beginning of my career. And then to become one of the most consistent players ever is quite a shock to me, as well,” he said. “That has been a privilege. I think looking back, that has a special meaning because I always looked to the Michael Schumachers, Tiger Woods, all the other guys that stayed for so long at the top that I didn’t understand how they did it. Next thing you know, you’re part of that group, and it’s been a great feeling.
“When you have a vision of being a champion, you see yourself winning one tournament, or maybe more than one, but not many, many times in a row, or staying as long as I did. That is definitely very special.”
Is he sure he won’t be un-retiring soon? Serena Williams already has hinted as much, comparing herself to Tom Brady days after her supposed goodbye at the U.S. Open. A change of heart, after soaking up so much reverence this past week, would be decidedly un-Federer-like. It wouldn’t be a good look. And he always has been about the look, important when he is citing a broken-down body, and an unwillingness to continue grueling rehab, for his competitive departure.
“You’re sad in the very moment when you realize, ‘OK, this is the end,’ ” he said. “At some point, you sit down and go, OK, we are at an intersection here, a crossroad, and you have to take a turn. Which way is it? I was not willing to go in the direction of, let’s risk it all. I’m not ready for that.” As he said in his retirement statement: “I know my body's capacities and limits. I have played more than 1,500 matches over 24 years. Tennis has treated me more generously than I ever would have dreamt, and now I must recognize when it is time to end my competitive career.”
The words captured the refinement of an artist. We’ll eventually blank out on the specifics of his titles. Never will we forget the man.
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Jay Mariotti, called “without question the most impacting Chicago sportswriter of the past quarter-century,’’ writes general sports columns for Substack while appearing on some of the 1,678,498 podcasts and shows in production today. He is an accomplished columnist, TV panelist and talk/podcast host. Living in Los Angeles, he gravitated by osmosis to film projects.