Personalities and Formula 1 teams paid tribute to Roger Federer, who announced his retirement from tennis.
The 41-year-old Swiss is one of the greatest tennis players of all time. He won 20 Grand Slam singles titles, a Wimbledon record eight, and was ranked No. 1 in the world for 310 weeks, including 237 consecutive between 2004 and 2008.
Federer has not played competitively due to injury since Wimbledon 2021 and will retire after the Laver Cup team competition in London from September 23-25.
In May, Federer attended the Spanish Grand Prix, where he posed for photos in the Mercedes garage with Lewis Hamilton and George Russell and was also photographed with team principal Toto Wolff.
Tennis fan Russell, who attended Wimbledon this year on Day 10 of the Championships, was among the first to wish Federer well in his retirement.
Roger, congratulations on a remarkable career! It was an honor to see you on the court. Enjoy your retirement and I look forward to seeing you at a few more F1 races in the future! pic.twitter.com/4zG1AVhkeg
—George Russell (@GeorgeRussell63) September 15, 2022
mercedesmeanwhile, posted the same image in their tribute.
Congratulations on a game-changing career, Roger. ?
Have an ace retirement! And don’t forget that you will always be part of the Mercedes family. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/7KtNeOfPVr
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) September 15, 2022
Fernando Alonso released Federer’s official statement and offered a simple “gracias” with a crying emoji.
The Spaniard is also a huge admirer of his compatriot and long-time rival of Federer, Rafael Nadal, whom he has called ‘the god of tennis’.
?. Gracias @Roger Federer https://t.co/5o2HpdxUc8
— Fernando Alonso (@alo_official) September 15, 2022
Nico Hulkenberg, who is heavily linked with a return to the Formula 1 grid in 2023 with Haas, posted an image of him standing with Federer which it would be safe to say was not taken in the recent past, at judging by the German. young look in the photo.
Roger, thank you for the countless goosebumps on the pitch and congratulations on an incredible career. One last dance! pic.twitter.com/EwwCqYi4Fu
— Nico Hulkenberg (@HulkHulkenberg) September 15, 2022
During this year’s Spanish Grand Prix, Federer spoke about his love for F1.
“I followed him a lot when I was younger and then obviously I went on tour and it’s so hard to follow everything on the road,” he told NOS.
“I remember going to the grand final when [Nico] Rosberg was facing Hamilton in 2016, I believe, in Abu Dhabi. But this is only the second time I’ve taken part in a Formula 1 race.
“It’s very exciting for me. I was in the [Mercedes] briefing room in fact as Lewis and George spoke to the team and told them all the details. It was amazing to see, so I was very lucky.
“I can’t tell you any secrets, I was like ‘what am I doing here? I’m not supposed to know all this information’ so I’m going to forget everything again!
“But it was just interesting to dive into another sport and that inspires and motivates me to come back.”
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