New Delhi: It was the end of a long wait for Indians to watch ‘The’ Roger Federer live in action at home.The 17-time Grand Slam champion landed in the capital in the wee hours of Sunday morning to make his IPTL debut.This was the second time he was visiting India after a short, charitable visit in 2006 for the Unicef following the devastation by the tsunami eight years ago.
“It is special (to be in India) to say the least. I have played in many places in the world, but there is nothing like playing somewhere for the first time. India is a big country with a lot of history, tradition in culture or sport and to come and finally play here is really a pleasure and privilege,” Federer said, adding, “I felt like a superstar here.”Federer took out two days from his busy schedule to visit the country and accepted that “I will be playing more exhibition matches in future here rather than go for an ATP tournament (Chennai Open).”
He will head back to Switzerland on Monday. “It’s (Chennai Open) definitely not happening next year because I love playing in Australia. India is more like an exhibition territory for me at the moment,” said the 33-year-old.Talking about the IPTL’s concept, he said: “The format is somewhat competitive but it’s light-hearted on the sidelines. I told Mahesh that I’d be available only for a couple of days — a short and sweet affair.”
It’s obvious Federer loves the traditional game of tennis and would love to stick to that. He however, asserted that IPTL gave him an opportunity to interact with the fans like never before. “The response I am getting here is phenomenal. I enjoyed my stay on the court. Playing with Sania Mirza in the mixed doubles brings back old memories,” he said.
Asked if the IPTL has given tennis something new, he said: “Yes, absolutely. You know we analyse everything at the very end, once the tour is over. So far, it seems very promising.”
“It is wonderful that in a big continent like Asia you have something like this. It is at a time when players don’t want to practice, if they want to play, they can or can go on vacation,” he added.
