Roger Federer: “You can feel the changing of the guard”
“Sinner and Alcaraz winning each two Slams, that shows you that the wave is truly coming now”
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It may take forever for any other trio to dominate tennis courts like Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic did but the podiums have certainly begun accepting the new faces with 2024 becoming the first year since 2002 to not see anyone from the Big Three take home a Grand Slam trophy.
And Federer seems to agree with the notion.
The Swiss maestro, who drew curtains on his storied professional career in 2022 as a 20-time Grand Slam champion, recently strolled through the streets of Shanghai on the sidelines of the ATP Masters 1000 tournament being held there. While at it, he also stopped for a word on the changing dynamics in tennis.
“You can feel the changing of the guard,” he said just before Rafael Nadal’s retirement announcement. “You know, Serena Williams retiring, Andy Murray retiring, Rafa getting closer and closer, Novak obviously having a tough year overall but then winning the Olympics, claiming what he always wanted to do, you know, that elusive Olympic gold. That was incredible for him to do that.”
Young sensations Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz kissed two Major trophies each this year, with the Italian doing it in Melbourne and New York and the Spaniard reigning supreme in Paris and London.
“So yes you feel that everything is shifting and then honestly,” Federer added. “I mean, Sinner and Alcaraz winning each two Slams, that shows you that the wave is truly coming now and the changes are happening. They are consistent and they’re fantastic to see play.
“Seeing Alcaraz live at the Laver Cup in Berlin was very impressive. He’s a wonderful player and I think a lot of people are going to have a lot of fun watching him in the future too.”
Federer daps “Old Man” Djokovic in Shanghai
Federer crossed paths with Djokovic, the only Big Three bastion to still cause trouble for the youngsters, at the Shanghai Masters after the Serb overcame 19-year-old Czech Jakub Mensik (6-7 (4), 6-1, 6-4) in the quarter-finals.
After cheekily dubbing the Serb “Old Man”, the Swiss shared a perfect dab and some laughs with him.
The spectacle wasn’t ordinary by any means as it brought back uncountable historic memories, with Federer and Djokovic having 44 Major trophies between them. Also, the tennis giants collided on the court on 50 occasions between 2006 and 2020, with the 24-time Grand Slam champion edging Federer out 27-23 in the head-to-head.
Out of their 50 battles, 17 were played at the Majors, seeing Djokovic prevail in 11 of those encounters.
Federer takes the Shanghai Hard court again
It’s been over two years since Federer walked away from professional tennis but he has swung on the courts several times since then, most recently taking the Shanghai hard court for an exhibition — Celebrity Show Friday Night.
He paired up with Eason Chan, Hong Kong’s music sensation, to face the Chinese team of world No 41 Zhang Zhizhen and Paris Olympics table tennis gold medalist Fan Zhendong — Team Amazing.
Team Federer came out on top in straight sets, with Zhang sending a backhand wide of the doubles court on match point.
Federer is notably a three-time champion in Shanghai, having clinched glory there in 2006, 2014, and 2017.
