OWNER’S PROFILE been
OWNER’S PROFILE been fun. But I don’t miss having to put my body through the ringer on a daily basis – you know, the constant beat down, which can be quite grueling. HOW TOUGH A DECISION WAS IT? I don’t know what was harder – making the decision to retire or figuring out how and when to exit the game. It wasn’t going to be simple. Maybe because of what I mean to the game and what the game has given to me. You have to make it somehow prominent, for the fans but also for yourself. It’s supposed to be a celebration, right? And I think we were able to achieve that at the Laver Cup, for my family, for my fans, and for me personally – I was very content and felt like I could move on after that, because I finally had closure. But you know, obviously, everything leading up to that was quite stressful because you worry about that moment when you grab the mic and you have to address the crowd. I knew it was always going too hard for me. TELL US ABOUT THAT OCCASION. I mean, if you would have asked me “Where are you going to retire one day?” I would have never thought the Laver Cup, because it didn’t exist back then. So, the fact that it ended up being the place where I retired and played my last game with Rafa [Nadal], with all my rivals and teammates and friends and legends all around me, it was like the perfect emotional storm. I can’t believe it. THE PERFECT SEND-OFF … Actually, yes – the perfect send-off and it’s really beyond me how that just happened in terms of the timing, because, as an example, had the Queen passed away a little later, the tournament would’ve been called off. And my send-off would have been totally different. Now, I wouldn’t know where I’m retiring or how I would do it, if it weren’t going to be at the Laver Cup. I was even considering having it at the US Open, but then I was not playing there so I didn’t know how that was going to play out, so it ended up all being perfect. THE SEND-OFF ITSELF WAS ALSO, IN SOME WAYS, A KIND OF FULL CIRCLE: YOU STARTED OUT BEING EMOTIONALLY INTENSE PLAYER AND WRAPPED UP YOUR CAREER JUST BEING PLAIN EMOTIONAL. Yeah, it ended the way it started – you’re right. I mean, 40 NetJets
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
