Roger Federer brings down curtain on his career with a defeat, but still dazzles alongside longtime friend and rival Rafael Nadal
As Roger Federer prepared for his farewell tennis match, Federer looked calm, relaxed at times and even joyful.
The 35-year-old was in his prime, the most dominant champion in history and on his way to another season in the record books. On the verge of becoming only the 11th man to win 20 or more Grand Slam singles titles, Federer was looking at a career that seemed destined for greatness.
But Sunday night’s 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 loss in the Swiss Indoors at the Monte Carlo Masters was a somber moment for one of the sport’s premier athletes. Federer’s last match to the delight of the tens of thousands of fans watching at the Estadio Jose Martinez Alvarez in Monte Carlo was a farewell to perhaps more than just his time at the top of his sport.
Federer, who was due to play against John Isner in the second round of the French Open in two weeks, lost in the second round of his final top-level tournament in the best tennis of his career. He won the U.S. Open in 2017 and the Australian Open in 2018, but has never made it past the third round of any grand slam tournament.
But Federer is not a victim of his own success, and he is not going out without a fight. The Swiss Open was a chance for him to add to his 20 major doubles titles, which he added in 2016 with Milos Raonic. He is ranked world No. 3 in the men’s singles and is No. 1 in the doubles. He made it to the quarterfinals in the last two grand slams, and this week at Monte Carlo he will have a chance to make it past the quarterfinals of a tournament that usually does not allow him past the last eight.
On the men’s side, this was Fed