Keystone
Roger Federer will be the star guest at the opening ceremony at the Australian Open for the first time on Sunday. Before that, he was enthusiastic about his successors.
A good three years after his retirement, Roger Federer sees his sport in good hands. Like the rest of the tennis world, he raves about the currently outstanding duo of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.
“This is great for tennis,” said the 44-year-old from Basel with 20 Grand Slam titles and his own rivalry with Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic at a media conference in Melbourne. “Their tennis is incredible.” The final in Paris, in which Alcaraz fended off Sinner’s three match points and won after 5:29 hours in the fifth set, also left a lasting impression on Federer. “This final was completely surreal.”
The world of sports stood still
A match like this is “fantastic” for tennis. “I have the impression that from one moment to the next, in this epic fifth movement, the world of sport stood still and looked breathlessly towards Paris,” said Federer. “That was probably one of the greatest matches in history.”
The two then confirmed this with further finals, especially at Wimbledon and the US Open. The 22-year-old Spaniard Alcaraz and the Italian Sinner, who is two years older, have each shared the last eight Grand Slam titles equally between them. Now Alcaraz has the chance to complete his career Grand Slam in Melbourne, where he has never been in the final. “At his age that would be crazy,” says Federer. «Let’s see if he can pull off the crazy thing. I hope so, it would be an incredible moment for our game.”
No coach Federer for the time being
The Australian Open is planning a big opening ceremony on the first day for the first time this year, and Federer will play an important role. However, he doesn’t see himself as a coach – at least not in the foreseeable future. “You should never say never,” he emphasized. “But I’m very busy and have four children. “So no chance at the moment,” he said with a smile.
