It was a dream come true for home fans when tennis ‘god’ Roger Federer descended on Indian soil for his International Premier Tennis League debut. For two days, fans revelled in Fed-Ex’s aura, and it was enough to enthrall Indians even as the Swiss great enjoyed his Indian sojourn. “The great moments I spent here will forever be in my memory. Thank you New Delhi! Tremendous crowd support! Forever grateful,” the 17-time Grand Slam champion tweeted before leaving India. Federer, who became a father again this year after the birth of twin boys, said that one day he would love to travel to the “beautiful country in a big way with his family”.
“I really enjoyed it (being in India). Unfortunately, I could not do much during this trip, but I know that one day I will definitely travel to India in a big way. I hope to be in the company of some locals while I am travelling in India. There is so much to see. I want to come with my family. Hopefully, we can do it in peace. I would really like to travel across this beautiful country,” said the 33-year-old. Federer also shook a leg with Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan on the Khaike Paan Banaraswala song apart from playing a charity match with Aamir Khan. On a more serious note, he expressed his desire to play in India again.
“I was only here for two days. Let’s see if I come back. Twelve months is a long time for me. I have four kids and being 33-years-old, having played 85 matches this season, it is tough to say. I need to play an injury free season in 2015. I will consider it for sure, but there needs to be a talk with my family and people here. It will be tough to say yes or no as I had such a great time here,” said the Basel-born player.
The father-of-four welcomed his twin sons — Leo and Lenny — in May after having identical twin girls, Myla Rose and Charlene in 2009 with wife Mirka. Federer confessed that he would devote more time to his family in the coming year and play less matches than the 2014 season. “I am getting older now and I have to look after my four kids also... So, it’s not easy (to juggle all) with such a tight schedule. I will slow down and pick and choose matches in the coming season to spend more time with my family.
“I will probably pick Wimbledon, you can never have enough Wimbledons. It all started from there for me, watching Stefan Edberg and Boris Becker. It inspired me to play tennis,” said the seven-time Wimbledon champion when asked to pick a tournament he would want to win next year.
Federer was surprised to see the kind of support and fan following he enjoys in India and said, “My fans are the ones who support me the most. They know how much I appreciate their support. I don’t really scream about it all the time, and they know it. But if they don’t know and they are insecure that I don’t appreciate them, or I didn’t see the banner, I didn’t see the flags, didn’t see the t-shirt, I want to tell them I did and I really loved it. And that is why I came here. I loved it. I can’t thank them enough.”
Federer will start the year in Brisbane again followed by the Australian Open next month. His trip was also about catching up with his idol and friend Pete Sampras. The duo, who arrived on the same flight, have great respect for each other. For Federer, Sampras remains an idol and the American also looks up to his friend. How was his time with Sampras? “I know Pete very well. He is actually a friend of mine.
That is why it was very cool to be with him on the plane. Catching up on the family front, his wife, my wife, talking about the game. It is always incredible to share moments with him. He will always remain someone I look up to. Doesn’t matter how successful I become, he will always inspire me to do more. Earlier, there was so much said about chasing his records. I did not want to break his records, but they were right there. Everybody was talking about it and it was motivating. For me to share the bench with him was such a privilege. It is always good to see him,” said Federer.
