Roger Federer should get special show instead of commentary stint at Wimbledon, says Alex Corretja
Amidst reports of Roger Federer returning to Wimbledon as a commentator this year, former player Alex Corretja hopes the Swiss legend will be given a special show instead of just a commentary stint.
Federer, a 20-time Grand Slam champion, retired from professional tennis following the 2022 Laver Cup in September. In his last match, he teamed up with longtime rival and friend Rafael Nadal for Team Europe. Neither of the two stars could hold back their tears during the farewell ceremony.
Federer has won eight singles titles at the Wimbledon Championships, the most for a male player. The 41-year-old was recently in the news for a possible return to SW19 as a commentator for the BBC.
Speaking to Express Sport, former World No. 2 Corretja said that those who have played the sport can bring much more value than those who haven't.
"I think it’s nice to have the ex-players involved because they can add lots of things, lots of experiences that no one lived before," Corretja said. "So if you’ve been there before it’s much easier to explain why players are feeling one way or another than if you’ve never been there before."
However, the Spaniard added that it wouldn't make sense for the legend to just call matches all day long and that he should be given a special program.
"I’m not so sure if he’s going to be calling matches or not, or if he's going to be sitting in the booth, maybe he might do it from time to time," Corretja said. "But I see him running a show, being the main one there and saying, ’Okay, I'm the man here’, guiding the whole thing. Maybe doing interviews or a program, doing something special.”
“But it has to be something special and knowing Roger, for sure it’s going to be something special. He’s not going to be calling matches for eight hours a day, I don’t think that makes sense. You need to value Federer as who he is and he has to be something very unique because he is very unique," he added.
"Roger Federer will always be the one who influenced tennis the most" - Dominic Thiem
Dominic Thiem recently praised Roger Federer for the impact that he had on tennis throughout his career. Thiem stated that even if Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic have bigger numbers, everyone should be grateful to the Swiss maestro for taking the sport to another level.
"No matter how much the others win, Rafa, Novak, or someone in the future, Roger will always be the one who influenced tennis the most," Thiem said. "I think he influenced every sport because of his character, his special aura. I think he took tennis to another level and everyone benefited from that. We all have to be very grateful to him."