Former world number one Switzerland’s
Roger Federer has
stated the importance of participating in an event like Olympics.
The 42-year-old is often regarded as one of the greatest
players in the history of men’s singles tennis in the Open era.
Federer, while talking to the participants of the 2024
Olympic Games, stated how it was special for him to take part in the
mega-event.
"For me, it was always very important, but we have a
lot of highlights in the year,” he said. “That’s why the Olympics are not just
one more, but one of the big ones. I was able to take part in every Olympic
year.
“It was a huge experience for me, not only as a player, and
athlete but also as a person. The history and everything that came with it,
when you think back on it.
“Before the Olympics, for example, try to adapt social media
consumption to how it will be during the games. And it always helped me to stay
relaxed when it came to the Olympics.”
Federer’s best performance while playing at the Olympics came in
2008 in Beijing where he won the Gold in the doubles category while playing
alongside Stan Wawrinka.
The duo managed to defeat Sweden’s duo of Simon Aspelin and Thomas
Johansson in the final with a score of 6–3, 6–4, 6–7(4–7), 6–3.
In the singles category, Federer won the Silver medal in the
2012 edition where he suffered a defeat against the former world number one
Britain’s Andy Murray in the final with a score of 6-2, 6-1, 6-4.
Federer announced his retirement from professional tennis last
year in September after struggling with fitness concerns for a long period of
time.
He ended his career after winning 20 Grand Slam titles. His most
successful competition was Wimbledon where he lifted the title eight times.
