Tennis icon Roger Federer was left on his own in the Wimbledon Royal Box
Roger Federer cut a lonely figure as the sole occupant pictured in the Wimbledon Royal Box on Monday. The Swiss tennis legend, who has claimed victory at SW19 on eight occasions, returned to the iconic venue where he is regarded as a legendary presence, not merely for his on-court achievements, but also for the tremendous affection he receives from the crowds.
That warmth, however, did not appear to stretch to his fellow Royal Box guests, as Federer was spotted sitting in splendid isolation without a single familiar face beside him.
He was in attendance for Alexander Zverev’s clash against Jiri Lehecka, his third match of the day watched from the finest seat in the house on Centre Court.
Federer had already taken in Jasmine Paolini’s victory over Alex Eala on the same court during Monday’s opening match.
He stayed put as emerging British talent Arthur Fery announced himself on the world stage with a breathtaking five-set win over Grigor Dimitrov, during which the victor gave him a special mention.
Yet after nearly four hours of Fery’s gruelling battle with Dimitrov, which ended 7-5 3-6 4-6 6-4 7-6(7) in favour of the home favourite, the Royal Box guests made a swift mass departure.
They filed back inside in considerable numbers, presumably to grab a bite to eat or take a well-earned break between matches.
But when Zverev and Lehecka strode out onto court to contest a place in the quarter-finals, the BBC could only pick out Federer remaining in the stands.
Federer will undoubtedly be thrilled at being singled out by Fery, who pointed to the 44-year-old up in the then-packed stand, and said: “First time on this court. Five sets against an absolute legend of the game. I grew up five minutes from here. We’ve got probably the greatest of all time in the front row watching. I saw him.”
Speaking before the match, the Brit revealed that watching Federer compete on the very same court had driven him to pursue a career as a professional player.
“I’ve watched matches on Centre Court before,” the British No. 3 explained last week. “I watched the final in 2014, I think Djokovic-Federer. That’s my main memory of watching a big match there.
” I would go down there and have a look around. We’re used to playing in front of a lot of people in big stadiums. And Centre Court is probably the most famous tennis court in the world. I’ve played on other big courts, so I’m a bit… I’m not used to it, but I’ve had experiences on big courts before.”
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