Roger Federer has struggled with a serious knee injury for the past two years. The former world No. 1 played just 13 official matches in 2021, amassing nine wins and four losses. The round of 16 at Roland Garros and the quarter-finals at Wimbledon were his best results of the season, far too meager prey for a legend of his caliber.
A few weeks after the Championships, the king announced that he had relapsed his knee and needed surgery for the third time in 18 months. A few weeks after Wimbledon, Federer announced that he had suffered a knee relapse and needed surgery for the third time in 18 months.
The 20-time Grand Slam champion is hoping to be back in action in late summer or early autumn, perhaps at the Laver Cup (which takes place at the O2 Arena in London at the end of September). The Swiss champion had to overtake Rafael Nadal in the all-time Major rankings while Novak Djokovic snatched away the week-long record at the top of the ATP ranking.
In an extensive interview with ‘Tennis Magazin’, Alexander Waske praised Rogers’ modesty on and off the court.
Waske talks about Roger Federer
“In my eyes, you’re the greatest when you’re not just successful, but you’ve changed the entire game.
Roger Federer did it impressively. His elegance and playing style didn’t exist before, plus this down-to-earth attitude. I have the greatest respect for him, not only as a player but also as a person,” said Waske.
The former world No. 16 in doubles revealed that he and the Swiss had to stay in the same house for a few weeks in 2015 when Waske was part of Tommy Haas’ entourage. “I fondly remember an episode with him at Wimbledon in 2015 when I was coaching Tommy Haas.
We sat together in a very large and elegant house rented by Tommy’s management. A week later, Prince Albert of Monaco was to reside there. No shoes were allowed to be worn in the house.
The screams from the kids were huge because the two Federer twin girls and Tommy’s daughter were playing tag,” Waske said. “Roger came down the stairs in his socks and said in a calm tone, ‘Girls, please don’t be so loud.
Play and have fun but you don’t need to be heard on the first floor.’ Any other father would have said the same thing. That was not said by the multiple Grand Slam champion and multi-millionaire, but by a normal father of two daughters who politely but clearly stopped shouting,” he added.
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