Roger Federer has yet to play pickleball.
“Never,” he said. “Never held the racket in my hand. You don’t have that stuff in Switzerland.”
As for tennis, the gentleman legend has closed the book. I met Federer Saturday in a small office on the ground level of the O2 Arena, where, the prior night, he’d played the final match of his career, a doubles loss alongside his rival turned pal, Rafael Nadal. Federer was still dressed in his blue Team Europe sweatsuit, but his competitive career was officially over, at age 41.
What did he feel when he woke up in the morning?
“A sense of happiness,” Federer said.
That post-match ceremony had been a heart-tugging weeper. By now you’ve surely seen the images: Federer in tears, sobbing at the microphone and alongside Laver Cup teammates and competitors, especially Nadal, who appeared overcome.
Nadal’s tearful reaction “hit deep,” Federer said. So had emotional responses and words from Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic.
“I’m happy I’m the first to go,” Federer said. “I know how I would have felt if Rafa had gone first, or Novak, or Andy. It would not be the same. Something would be missing.”
Federer’s retirement had been a closely-kept secret since late summer. A knee scan after Wimbledon proved to be concerning, and Federer faced a choice: yet another surgery and rehab, or moving on to his next chapter.
There was heartbreak, but he could get his mind around the latter. He’d never wanted to play into his mid-40s, a tennis Tom Brady. Time off recovering from prior injuries had foreshadowed his athletic afterlife.
“I’d had a glimpse,” Federer said, “and it wasn’t scary at all.”
Roger Federer is finally hanging up his racket after a record-breaking career. Follow the 20-time Grand Slam champion’s career in photos as he transitions from fiery teenager to elder statesman of tennis.Photo: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
He will remain busy. Federer has a range of business interests, a charitable foundation and of course, a family—he and his wife, Mirka, have two sets of twins, 13-year-old girls, Myla and Charlene, and 8-year-old boys, Lenny and Leo. Mornings in the Federer home in Switzerland remain “lively,” he said. “It’s always a question of how loud can the kiddies be from the beginning?”
As for tennis, he emphasized he did not want to become a “ghost.” Federer had spoken poignantly earlier in the week about Swedish idol Bjorn Borg’s estrangement from the sport after his retirement. The silver-maned Borg is now a Laver Cup captain, prominently returned, mixing it up once more. Federer is eager to maintain his own connection.
Could tennis ask for a better statesman? After Federer announced his retirement plan on Sept. 15, tributes poured in, praising Federer for his success, style and mien. He was tennis’s James Bond. Its Baryshnikov. Depending on whom you talked to—and tennis nuts will debate it until the end of time—he has a case as its GOAT, a virtuoso expression of accomplishment and aesthetic.
At the Laver Cup, he was surrounded by idols like Rocket Rod, now 84, and Stefan Edberg, as well as veterans who’d played him at his peak. Then there were the up-and-comers who’d worshiped him since they were youngsters—talents like the Americans Frances Tiafoe and Jack Sock, who would narrowly beat “Fedal” in a spirited match that went to a tiebreak decider.
Federer won 20 major titles, but when the pros talk, they talk about the way he won them—the unruffled manner in which Federer carried himself on and off the court.
“No one is bigger than the sport itself,” said Borg, “but what he did for the sport around the world? It’s amazing.”
He’s left an indelible mark. Would he consider coaching? Federer said there was no way he’d leave his family to go right back out on the road full-time. But he liked the idea of players visiting him for mini-sessions, like he did with Aussie coach Tony Roche in Sydney, tinkering with his game in Roche’s backyard court.
“I’d be open to something like that, especially with young players,” he said.
As for television commentating, he was curious, though he’s explored no formal plan. Networks would surely leap at the prospect of Fed in the booth, but there was a question: Could the sport’s most courteous diplomat be critical of his contemporaries?
“The point is to say how it is, and if it’s critical, it’s critical, but it isn’t personal,” Federer said. He added: “I’m not here to destroy players, I’m here to promote the game and make it better.”
Read more —>
MLTC Newsletter 17Oct22
/in Club News /by RobWe were very fortunate to have some lovely sunny days this weekend to get the 2022 Club Championships underway.
Two events are already complete. Congratulations to the A singles winner – Michelle Stevens and runner up Lindy Meakins. Further congratulations to the A ladies doubles winners Catherine Williams & Kate Platter, along with runners up Lindy Meakins and Suellen Taylor – pictured with all the ladies who participated.
With so many entries this year, there’s another big weekend of matches ahead so we are praying that the weather is kind to our schedule. Due to the match numbers and player availability, we need to use one social court at 11.45am. Our apologies for any inconvenience – we hope this will be the only week that will need to happen (fingers crossed for the weather).
Please arrive at least 15 mins early before your match start time. If courts are free, Denis will try to get you underway. Court numbers will be allocated on the day so please check with Denis on arrival.
Click here to see the draws & results from this weekend.
Click here to see next week’s schedule.
Please contact Denis with any questions regarding Club Champs.
We’d also like to say a HUGE thank you to Denis for putting in so many hours to try to accommodate the many requests for specific times/days. It’s a massive undertaking to do this with so many entries (and often has a knock on effect for many other matches). If the weather is kind this weekend, we should be through the bulk of the tournament.
AGM – The AGM will be on Saturday 12th November and official paperwork will come out this week. Please keep an eye on your inbox.
Bar News
Best Wishes
Virginia
MLTC Secretary
www.manlylawn.com.au
MLTC Newsletter – 29 Sept 2022
/in Club News /by RobEntries are now open for our Club Championships online.
Dates are October 15, 16, 22 ,23, 29, 30 and Finals on November 5
A maximum of 3 events per person so we can finish on time.
If you enter 3 events you may have to play up to 6 sets in a day so be warned.
If you cannot play when drawn you will need to play midweek if your opponent agrees.
Let me know on your entry form any dates you cannot play. Any members not paid up will not be able to play or book online courts.
Entries close October 9
Best wishes,
MLTC Secretary
www.manlylawn.com.au
MTC Night Competitions Term 4
/in Tennis Centre /by RobMTC Night Competitions
Entries for Term 4 Close 11 October.
Enrolments are now open online for Term 4 comps.
Entries close October 11 for ALL competitions.
Night Competitions start:
Reserve players always welcome. For more information, please contact or email Scott.
Sign up on the web links above.
Scott Blackburn
MTC Tennis Director & Head Pro
MTC Ladies Competition Term 4
/in Tennis Centre /by RobMTC Ladies Competition
Entries for Term 4 Close 11 October.
Enrolments are now open online for Term 4 comps.
Entries close October 11 for ALL competitions.
Ladies Competitions start:
Reserve players always welcome. For more information, please contact or email Scott.
Sign up on the web links above.
Scott Blackburn
MTC Tennis Director & Head Pro
2023 Swan Hill Carnival | Tennis Seniors
/in Club News, Tennis Seniors /by RobThe Carnival is contested each year by all the states, plus there are usually a few other teams from New Zealand, Japan and sometimes other countries who wish to enter.
It commences on the Sunday evening with an Official Opening Ceremony and Welcoming Function. Attendance at this is optional as the tennis starts on Monday morning.
The Teams’ week consists of friendly rivalry and is a really good chance to get to know players from our own state as well as the other players who participate. Each state has a “State Dinner” on the Tuesday night, with both ‘old’ and ‘new’ representatives joining in a spirit of fun and camaraderie, sometimes they are on the dance floor until almost midnight – then have to get to tennis by 8am the next morning! TSNSW subsidise this dinner so its great value.
Teams of between four and eight players can be organised by yourselves or you can enter individually or as part of a team and our state Selectors will endeavour to complete your team.
You compete in up to two time slots per day. Each division has to play at either 8am and 1.20pm or 10.40am and 4.00pm, with each match lasting up to two and a half hours. All play is doubles and you start with two pairs playing two sets on adjoining courts. When those first two rubbers are completed you play two more sets on each court. If you use the same four players you must change pairs. You can introduce two new players if you have a team of 6-8 but only 6 can play in each match. Play ceases when the bell rings at the end of the two and a half hour session. Age groups are defined in 5 or 10 year increments depending upon the number of entries for Men and Women. Players can sometimes play eight sets in one day with a team of 4, but with larger teams, they get to have a rest. Play continues from Monday to Thursday in that format and there are semis or finals played on the Friday. You normally get a session or two, being a morning or an afternoon, off during the week
Averages are kept for each state’s matches throughout the week, and the winning state is the one with the highest average. Each night there is a dinner function arranged by the Swan Hill Tennis Club and the week culminates with a Presentation Dinner Dance on the Friday night. Attendance at all social functions is optional but our subsidised State Dinner and the Friday night Dinner Dance finale are highly recommended. If you stay on for the Individual Championships they don’t start till Sunday or Monday so Saturday can be a well earned rest!
Tennis Seniors NSW Committee
Roger Federer Talks About Life After Tennis | WSJ
/in Goss, News /by RobRoger Federer has yet to play pickleball.
“Never,” he said. “Never held the racket in my hand. You don’t have that stuff in Switzerland.”
As for tennis, the gentleman legend has closed the book. I met Federer Saturday in a small office on the ground level of the O2 Arena, where, the prior night, he’d played the final match of his career, a doubles loss alongside his rival turned pal, Rafael Nadal. Federer was still dressed in his blue Team Europe sweatsuit, but his competitive career was officially over, at age 41.
What did he feel when he woke up in the morning?
“A sense of happiness,” Federer said.
That post-match ceremony had been a heart-tugging weeper. By now you’ve surely seen the images: Federer in tears, sobbing at the microphone and alongside Laver Cup teammates and competitors, especially Nadal, who appeared overcome.
Nadal’s tearful reaction “hit deep,” Federer said. So had emotional responses and words from Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic.
“I’m happy I’m the first to go,” Federer said. “I know how I would have felt if Rafa had gone first, or Novak, or Andy. It would not be the same. Something would be missing.”
Federer’s retirement had been a closely-kept secret since late summer. A knee scan after Wimbledon proved to be concerning, and Federer faced a choice: yet another surgery and rehab, or moving on to his next chapter.
There was heartbreak, but he could get his mind around the latter. He’d never wanted to play into his mid-40s, a tennis Tom Brady. Time off recovering from prior injuries had foreshadowed his athletic afterlife.
“I’d had a glimpse,” Federer said, “and it wasn’t scary at all.”
He will remain busy. Federer has a range of business interests, a charitable foundation and of course, a family—he and his wife, Mirka, have two sets of twins, 13-year-old girls, Myla and Charlene, and 8-year-old boys, Lenny and Leo. Mornings in the Federer home in Switzerland remain “lively,” he said. “It’s always a question of how loud can the kiddies be from the beginning?”
As for tennis, he emphasized he did not want to become a “ghost.” Federer had spoken poignantly earlier in the week about Swedish idol Bjorn Borg’s estrangement from the sport after his retirement. The silver-maned Borg is now a Laver Cup captain, prominently returned, mixing it up once more. Federer is eager to maintain his own connection.
Could tennis ask for a better statesman? After Federer announced his retirement plan on Sept. 15, tributes poured in, praising Federer for his success, style and mien. He was tennis’s James Bond. Its Baryshnikov. Depending on whom you talked to—and tennis nuts will debate it until the end of time—he has a case as its GOAT, a virtuoso expression of accomplishment and aesthetic.
At the Laver Cup, he was surrounded by idols like Rocket Rod, now 84, and Stefan Edberg, as well as veterans who’d played him at his peak. Then there were the up-and-comers who’d worshiped him since they were youngsters—talents like the Americans Frances Tiafoe and Jack Sock, who would narrowly beat “Fedal” in a spirited match that went to a tiebreak decider.
Federer won 20 major titles, but when the pros talk, they talk about the way he won them—the unruffled manner in which Federer carried himself on and off the court.
“No one is bigger than the sport itself,” said Borg, “but what he did for the sport around the world? It’s amazing.”
He’s left an indelible mark. Would he consider coaching? Federer said there was no way he’d leave his family to go right back out on the road full-time. But he liked the idea of players visiting him for mini-sessions, like he did with Aussie coach Tony Roche in Sydney, tinkering with his game in Roche’s backyard court.
“I’d be open to something like that, especially with young players,” he said.
As for television commentating, he was curious, though he’s explored no formal plan. Networks would surely leap at the prospect of Fed in the booth, but there was a question: Could the sport’s most courteous diplomat be critical of his contemporaries?
“The point is to say how it is, and if it’s critical, it’s critical, but it isn’t personal,” Federer said. He added: “I’m not here to destroy players, I’m here to promote the game and make it better.”
Read more —>
MLTC Newsletter 20 Sept 2022
/in Club News /by RobClub Captain’s Report
Entries are now open for our Club Championships online.
Dates are October 15 16 22 23 29 30 and Finals on November 5
A maximum of 3 events per person so we can finish on time.
If you enter 3 events you may have to play up to 6 sets in a day so be warned.
If you cannot play when drawn you will need to play midweek if your opponent agrees.
Let me know on your entry form any dates you cannot play .
Entries close October 9
Our winning Ladies 3 team also included Narelle who played 2 matches.
Congratulations again to these Ladies and enjoy your prize money. Denis
Working Bee Saturday 12pm 8 Oct
Keep some time free that day to help tidy up some places around the Club
Best wishes,
Virginia
MLTC Secretary
www.manlylawn.com.au
Roger Federer to retire at Laver Cup | Tennis,com
/in Goss, News /by RobA look back at just some of what has made this Swiss player so revered to so many.
Federer’s genius began with the way he carried his body, from stance to movement. Like a ballerina, Federer appeared to glide more than trod, arriving at the point of contact with superb posture and balance. Such discipline and elegance yielded a spectrum of shot possibilities Federer deployed to befuddle opponents, delight spectators and even please himself. Speeds and spins, angles and power: all of it was at Federer’s command. He was as complete a player as tennis has ever seen.
Notably, Federer’s victims rarely felt bludgeoned. They were dissected, methodically and deftly shredded by everything from his pinpoint serve to whip-like forehand to a backhand he often sliced wickedly short—and then drove deep. No one in tennis history has possessed as many different point-winning combinations as Federer. That variety, and the smoothness with which it was executed, was a major factor for his popularity.
As the arc of Federer’s career shows, all of this genius didn’t instantly reveal itself. Over the course of more than 20 years, his game evolved, with subtle but significant shifts that allowed him to stay at least one step ahead of the bulk of his contemporaries.
Federer’s finest work came at Wimbledon—not just in his eight title runs, but during his breakout victory in 2001 over idol Pete Sampras.
© Getty Images
Annual Club Championships Entries Now Open
/in Club Championships, Club News /by RobEntries for the Annual Club Championships are now open. Events are:
Open grades are for everyone.
A-Grade is Badge Division 7 or lower for Men; Division 5 and Thursday Badge for Ladies.
Scheduled dates are October 15, 16, 22, 23, 29, 30 November 5, 6. Entries close October 9.
All events will be a knockout tournament.
Maximum 3 entries per person.
Questions to Denis Crowley
MLTC Club Captain
MLTC Newsletter 13 Sept 2022
/in Club News /by RobClub Captain’s Report
Congratulations to our Ladies 3 Team winning Division 5 Badge last Saturday at Collaroy.
Collaroy had only lost 1 match all season and our Ladies won the final 6 sets to 2 .
Catherine /Erryn won 4 sets and Kate/Noriko won 2 sets to complete an easy victory.
Other team members were Melinda Pam Sue Narelle Lindy Sally and Barbara.
This was Manly’s only title this season so the ladies can be very proud of their performance. See below a picture of the ladies who played on Saturday.
Our attentions now turn to the club championships which will begin on October 15 and run for 4 weeks depending on weather. Entries will soon be open.
Membership fees are now due so you will need to be a paid up member to enter the championships and to book a members courtt.
Membership Fees Due
Your membership fees are due, please email me if you haven’t received your invoice. You will not be able to book courts or play in club championships if you are not financial.
Working Bee
We have some tidying up to do around the courts so if you can spare an hour on Saturday 8 October from 12pm it will be appreciated.
Best wishes,
MLTC Secretary
www.manlylawn.com.au
Badge Team Winners 2022!
/in Badge /by RobNot shown: Melinda, Narelle, Pam, Sue
Sally, Lindy, Barb
Carlos Alcaraz Wins US Open Men’s Singles Title and Becomes World No. 1
/in Goss /by Rob