As so often before, Roger Federer entered Center Court at Wimbledon.
But the 40-year-old, dressed in a suit and tie rather than the traditional white Wimbledon dresses, attended the tournament’s centenary celebrations on Center Court on Sunday. Predictably, he was given a rapturous reception by the fans.
“This place has given me my biggest wins and my biggest losses. I hope I can come back again,” Federer, who missed this year’s peloton for the first time since 1998 through injury, told the crowd.
The 20-time Grand Slam champion, who turns 41 next month, was among a number of former winners who took part in a parade at the famous arena.
He last played at Wimbledon in 2021, suffering a shock defeat to Hubert Hurkacz in the quarter-finals and has not played competitively since that loss as he underwent another knee operation shortly after, his third since 2020.
“I missed it here. I knew when I walked out of here last year it was going to be a tough year. I maybe didn’t think it would take so long to come back – the knee was raw on me,” he said.
During his illustrious career, Federer became synonymous with Wimbledon.
He announced his arrival as a world class player in 2001, knocking out the great Pete Sampras and dominating at the peak of his powers by winning eight times.
“I’ve been lucky enough to play a lot of games on this pitch,” he added. “It feels weird to be here in a different kind of role. It’s great to be here with all the other champions.”
The tall Swiss is planning his comeback and confirmed earlier this year that he will compete in the Laver Cup in September and the Swiss Indoors tournament in Basel, Switzerland in October.
“It’s been a good year, regardless of tennis… I’m happy to be here now,” he said.