Roger Federer’s retirement was one of the clutch moments of 2022. The news was in the air, given that the Swiss Maestro hadn’t set foot on the court for over a year, but his announcement marked the end of an era. The Swiss tried in every possible way to give himself a last lap of the carousel, but the conditions of his right knee didn’t allow him to go on.
The 41-year-old from Basel had tried a timid return last year, playing just 13 official matches and stopping again after Wimbledon. The last two and a half years have been a real ordeal for him, who hasn’t been able to play as much as he would have liked.
The 20-time Grand Slam champion played his last match alongside Rafael Nadal at the Laver Cup, the exhibition he founded himself in 2017. On the day of his farewell, in addition to his historic rivals Rafael Nadala, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray, his family was also there.
His wife Mirka was especially close to him in those moments.
Mirka: “Roger Federer made me fall in love singing the Backstreet Boys!”
Today, Roger can finally enjoy his family, after many trips around the world. Roger and Mirka had been dating since before getting married, in 2009.
There is in fact also a very curious anecdote about the birth of their love story, in the early 2000s, which suggests some details about Federer’s personality. Mirka, at the end of the Nineties achieved good results. Roger and Mirka had represented Switzerland together at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.
Federer told: “Mirka lost in the first round to Dementieva. My losses to Haas and Di Pasquale weren’t easy to swallow, but Mirka stayed there to support me. That’s when we realized that ours was more than a friendship.” Mirka herself told the amusing anecdote: “Roger sang the Backstreet Boys in falsetto, and I was already in love!” A trick that worked very well!
