Roger Federer: 'I hope we don't lose the fun in it'

Roger Federer has been a role model for many athletes

Roger Federer: 'I hope we don't lose the fun in it'

Marin Cilic recognized the greatness of the Big Three, noting that Roger Federer "transformed tennis" Cilic, who won his only Grand Slam title at the 2014 US Open, has had many battles against Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic on stage. larger. Cilic, 34, often turns to YouTube to watch highlights from his matches against the Big Three of all time. "Yes I do (watch the great moments from his matches against the big three). Very often I go on YouTube and watch the highlights of many of his games. They were the pinnacles of sport. Roger, whose career was so long, I don't remember so vividly (his beginnings of him). 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 were some of the most incredible years for him," Cilic said on the ATP Tennis Radio podcast. "As a player, he transformed tennis, and I remember those moments, some with positive things, some with negative things, but those are the ones that pushed me to be stronger and reach another level," Cilic said of Federer. Cilic has not had much success against Federer, as he has only won one of his 11 meetings. However, that victory turned out to be one of the most important of Cilic's career. In the 2014 US Open semifinal, Cilic stunned Federer in three sets to reach his first Grand Slam final. Cilic then defeated Kei Nishikori in the final to lift his first and only Grand Slam title. In the 2017 Wimbledon final, Cilic faced Federer. Unfortunately for Cilic, he didn't have much of a choice, as the Swiss prevailed in straight sets. Six months later, Cilic and Federer met in the 2018 Australian Open final. This time, Cilic played much better, but Federer still escaped with a five-set victory to win his 20th Grand Slam title. Last year, Cilic and Federer met for the last time, as the Swiss defeated the Croat at the French Open. The Balkan giant had an outstanding season, a year that closed in box number 17 of the ATP ranking.

King Roger retired in 2022

Roger Federer revealed that he was glad that he didn't take the sport too seriously and was able to enjoy his time on the court. "I feel like I had a lot of fun on the tour. It was not just about tennis. It was also about going to nice dinner with friends and I'm happy that I didn't take tennis almost that serious or professional. Still had a bit of an amateur twist to it," he said. "A bit worried that every sport is going into such a professional direction which I hope we don't lose the fun in it. It's important," he added.