India has always intrigued me, I want to see the Taj Mahal: tennis legend Roger Federer

Roger Federer of Switzerland

In a recent interview, tennis legend Roger Federer spoke about his love for India and his desire to visit the country and explore its multi-faceted, diverse treasures.

“It (India) has always intrigued me,” Federer told TOI. “My wife and I always talk about visiting and vacationing there.”

“It would be fantastic if a friend could take us through the country to the different places, where we can taste the contrasting cultures that make up India. I want to go to Rajasthan, see the great Indian desert; I want to see the Taj Mahal. I’d like to travel down south, and the east and (the) west. I’m not sure if one trip is enough for India – there’s so much to your country, an ancient civilization.”

The Swiss also said he would love to play in India some day, in front of the countless Federer fanatics.

“I’d like to play in India – play there now in my prime, more so for my fans. More than playing tennis, I want to travel to India. I know I’ve a lot of fans in India, and ‘the lot’ would have something to do with your numbers,” he said, laughing. “You and China are large on numbers and, in many ways that adds to the atmosphere.”

The 32-year-old shed light on his curiosity to learn of the diversity of the nation.

“I’m curious about the languages, how they sound when spoken by the local people. India has always intrigued me.”

When asked about India’s potential to produce good tennis stars, he was optimistic.

“India has produced a lot of great players,” he said, “superb doubles players. Now with Somdev (Devvarman), you’ll be doing well in singles again; it would be nice to have a player from India challenging for the big titles in singles. I hope that happens soon.”

The Swiss maestro is currently competing in the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships where he will meet Radek Stepanek in the second round today.