Will we ever see Roger Federer again at Wimbledon, or even on the circuit? The Swiss announced last Sunday that he would return to the pool table to undergo a third operation on his right knee in a year and a half. The co-record holder for the number of Grand Slam titles (20, tied with Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic) hopes to return in 2022. But he is clear about his chances of returning to the highest level at 40: “I am realistic , I know it’s going to be difficult to have another operation at this age, ”he said in the video posted on his Instagram account.
The Swiss champion has not appeared on the courts since his defeat in the quarter-finals at Wimbledon against Hubert Hurkacz (6-3, 7-6, 6-0). It seems difficult to imagine Federer ending his career on a bubble in his garden. It would even be cruel for the man who has lifted the prestigious All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club trophy eight times.
However, great champions very rarely come out the front door. Due to their exceptional character, they continue to fight through thick and thin. Despite the injuries, mental fatigue or inexorable decline that catches up with them with age, they resist. Going beyond the expected limits: it is characteristic of great champions and it is even what is expected of them.
Pete Sampras, the only party at the top … without knowing it
Pete Sampras is the only tennis legend to have stopped his career at the top. But when he won his fourteenth Grand Slam title at the US Open in 2002, there was no question of hanging up the rackets. However, the American is less efficient.
His triumph in front of his home crowd is even one of his greatest successes, because he is acquired to everyone’s surprise, against his great rival, Andre Agassi, at the end of a catastrophic season which sees him descend to 17e world place. After this title, “Pestol Pete” delayed his return to the courts several times. A year later, the former world number 1 finally made his retirement official, just before the 2003 US Open.
Others pulled so hard on their bodies that it had to say stop for them. Who remembers Andre Agassi stopping on a loss to a qualifier in the third round of the US Open? Or that Ivan Lendl didn’t finish the last game of his career?
“I’m not hungry anymore. I have enough”
Jim Courier
In 2006, Agassi continued with injuries and played only eight tournaments before the US Open. After battling in five sets in the second round against Marcos Baghdatis (8th), the Kid of Las Vegas surrenders against 112e world player, the German Benjamin Becker (7-5, 6-7, 6-4, 7-5). The American had already announced the end of his career and was able to say goodbye to his audience by delivering a moving speech on the Arthur Ashe court. Despite the defeat, Agassi bows out with a final standing ovation at 36.
Ivan Lendl, also winner of eight Majors, was not so lucky. In 1994, the former Czechoslovakian-turned-American player descended three years earlier from the world tennis podium he held for a decade. Torn by a back injury, he retired in the second round of the US Open against Bernard Karbacher. Three months later, the former world number 1 formalizes the end of his life as a professional player, with no last stand.
Stefan Edberg made the choice to play a final season before leaving tennis aside. But later regretted it, subjected to the pressure of expectations at each tournament.
“To be honest, I wouldn’t recommend anyone to do it, even if it’s something nice, because it puts too much pressure on you and you will have too much on your mind,” Edberg will tell The Tennis Podcast more 20 years later. It’s very difficult to manage, but at the same time, it has been a memorable year. But I wouldn’t recommend it. “
By dominating a Stefan Edberg hit in the right ankle during their match, in the 1996 Davis Cup final, Cédric Pioline deprived him not only of a fifth silver bowl, but also of a last prestigious victory in front of his home crowd. in Malmö. The sublime volleyball player was playing his last match before seeing the French triumph.
When it is not the physical that lets go, it is the mind. “I got all I could out of my game,” said Jim Courier in 2000 as he ended his 23-title career. I’m not hungry anymore. I’ve had enough ”The American had managed to return to 32nd place in the world after an injury to his right arm, without regaining the brilliance which allowed him to pocket four Grand Slam titles.
The eternal return that flops
Worn out by the high level, Björn Borg retired prematurely at the age of 26, after a defeat in the second round at Monte-Carlo in 1983 against a 19-year-old boy: Henri Leconte. The Swede with 11 major titles had lost his motivation for tennis and had only played one game in a year and a half.
The tennis star, then record holder for the number of Grand Slam titles – beaten only by Pete Sampras in 1999 – struggled to draw a line in tennis. He gave in to calls urging him to return. Following a new defeat against Henri Leconte in 1984 and a few exhibitions, Borg made a comeback from 1991 to 1993. Result: 12 defeats spread over three seasons.
Like Björn Borg, his best enemy John McEnroe or Guillermo Vilas made their return to the circuit after announcing their retirement. McEnroe stopped for the first time at 33, losing to Goran Ivanisevic in Munich after several years of decline. The American with 77 career titles, put an end to a 1992 season devoid of trophies, but still punctuated by a last semi-final at Wimbledon.
Following a white year, he could not resist the invitation to the Rotterdam tournament and bowed out in two sets against 10e world player, Magnus Gustafsson (6-2, 7-6). Driven by a passion for the game, “Big Mac” nevertheless made an incredible comeback in doubles in 2006. At the age of 47, he won the San José tournament in doubles with the Swede Jonas Björkman.
The great clay specialist, Guillermo Vilas, failed to draw a clear line on his past as champion. The tireless Argentinian was 30 when he won his last title at Kitzbühel in 1983, but he would continue to play until 1992. After a first retirement in 1989, he returned almost two years later to align himself mainly on the circuit. secondary. This part of his career, which ended with a sad record of 4 wins and 24 losses, will be quickly forgotten.
Resist the inexorable decline
In the 1990s, Jimmy Connors, Mats Wilander and Boris Becker also experienced the slow erosion of their game, the multiplication of defeats and increasingly strewn titles as they approached their thirties. Becker resisted three seasons without winning a title, before playing his last match on the main circuit in 1999, at age 31, as the world’s 77th player (lost in the round of 16 at Wimbledon to world number 2 Patrick Rafter) .
Six years have passed between Mats Wilander’s last title gleaned at Itaparica and his last appearance in 1996 in the Beijing first round. At 33 years old, the Swede who reached the peak of his career in 1988 with three Grand Slam titles and a place of world number 1, leaves by the back door on four defeats in a row and a place of 194e world player.
Jimmy Connors distinguished himself – among others – by his longevity by continuing to play on the circuit until 43 years old. His last match? A first-round loss to Atlanta in 1996, when he was in the 413e world place. It was thirteen years after his eighth and last Grand Slam title won at the US Open in 1983. In that time, “Jimbo” added 9 trophies to an already full cabinet to the brim of 100 titles.
Roger Federer is just six units away from the American’s record 109 career titles. But, at 40 and in the current circumstances, this quest is unthinkable for the Swiss. However, no one will be able to doubt his passion for the game, or even set the conditions for his departure. After 23 years of career, Federer still wants to believe in a comeback. The least thing would be to let him write his story and let the magic work.
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