NetJets EU Summer 2023

TEARS AND CHEERS
Federer ran through the
whole gamut of emotions
at his final event – the
Laver Cup, an annual battle
between Team Europe and
Team World
PICTURE ALLIANCE / EMPICS (2)
obviously, I always knew I was going to be emotional. But
I would have never thought that Rafa or Novak [Djokovic],
for that matter, or Andy [Murray], who all cried as well, were
going to be as emotional. But it was really Rafa and me
front and centre on that bench, who showed the world how
much it mattered to us. It was tough but at the same time,
so beautiful and so special. And in seeing me retire, they saw
their career flashing in front of their eyes and they must’ve
thought maybe how beautiful it is to step away from this great
game and how it is OK to let go – even though I tried to hang
on for as long as I could. But, again, you’re right: I did come
full circle in my career. I started super-emotional, always cried
after every game that I lost when I was a little younger and
here I am crying after my last game as well.
TELL US ABOUT YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH RAFA.
I think we have great respect for one another, not just on
a linear level. It goes way deeper. He entered the game in a
very respectful manner and then grew into Rafa the man,
with a bigger personality and had more to say. And then, of
course, the rivalry also started to grow in intensity where we
had some intense battles and intense moments. But what I
always enjoyed is the mutual respect we had for one another’s
parents and teams. And once I had children, everything
shifted a little bit. There’s a recalibration in my head, and
that’s when we both realise we’re getting a bit older and we
actually started really appreciating having one another. So,
I’m very happy that we came out on the other side and are
actually getting along as well as we did – because I don’t
think that’s really normal after 25 years of having had an
intense rivalry – to be able to just sort of hug it out like this.
Although, having said that, and when you look at it through
the prism of the Laver Cup, Björn Borg and John McEnroe
are extremely similar – they battled, and it was intense, but
ended up being best friends afterwards, which is nice to see.
AND THE LAVER CUP IS NOW PART OF YOUR
ONGOING LEGACY.
I’m really proud of what we have been able to achieve with
Tony Godsick [the chairman] and Steve Zacks [the tournament
NetJets
41