Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka, two rivals and two teammates. Both of Swiss blood, the two tennis players have starred in great battles on the courts, with a clear winner decreed: Federer has won 23 of the 26 direct confrontations.
Only three times has Wawrinka managed to beat his compatriot: twice on the slopes of Monte Carlo and once at Roland Garros. In the case of the Monegasque city, the second victory succumbed to the first, since it was the final of the Masters 1000, won by the Swiss second in the standings; In Paris, on the other hand, it was a quarter-final and the success of the player from Lausanne then led him to the Slam title.
Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka are remembered more for the successes they achieved together than for their on-court encounters. Gold medal winners in the men’s doubles at the 2008 Olympics, they also led Switzerland to victory in the Davis Cup in 2014, beating France in the final on their court in Lille.
In Roger Federer’s farewell from tennis, it was precisely these moments that Wawrinka wanted to remember to pay tribute to the career of the most titled of the two Swiss. Wawrinka’s first message, like Alcaraz’s, was limited to a warm reaction, using simple Twitter emoticons: sad faces, hearts and goat symbols.
Only later did he take the time to write a brief reflection on Federer’s retirement, speaking mostly of the experience as teammates. “Thank you, my friend, for all you have done over the years. It was an honor to share the court against you, but it was even more special to be on the same team as you.
Forever grateful for all the memories, on and off the pitch. Tennis will not be the same without you.”
Federer will play the Laver Cup
Dan Evans heaped praise on Roger Federer and his personality, calling him a normal and down-to-earth person.
“Yeah, I think the biggest compliment I can give him is he was very, very normal, down-to-earth person who was obviously good in king-like status in the sport. He treated me, and he treats everybody exactly like the normal bloke on the street to their mate.
That was the biggest compliment I can give him. Obviously a very good practice partner to be able to practice with. Yeah, he was like his phone, would never go off out loud in a press conference,” he said. Evans also stated that the former World No.
1 will be missed and that it would be unfortunate for the younger generation not to see him play. “No, he was good. I think he would be missed. He would say hello to everybody on tour. Obviously to be as good as he was, he obviously wasn’t nice to everybody, I’m sure, but an amazing competitor.
He’ll be sorely missed, I think. It will be different for the older guys to not have him around. It’s unfortunate for the younger generation to not see how he operated, yeah,” he added.
