Roger Federer on what he misses after retirement: "Secretly, you like to be the center of attention but at the same time, it doesn't matter anymore"
Roger Federer recently admitted that he misses the attention he received during his playing days.
Federer called it quits on his illustrious tennis career during last year's Laver Cup. He attended this season's edition of the tournament as a guest in Vancouver, where Team World defeated Team Europe 13-2.
The 20-time Grand Slam champion spoke to Eurosport on the sidelines of the event, during which he was asked what he missed the most after retirement. He responded that while he "secretly" enjoyed being the center of attention during his playing days, he was happy to be retired.
"Secretly, you like to be the centre of attention, but at the same time, it doesn't matter anymore. It's good the way it is right now," he said. "Of course, I miss seeing the happy faces of people hopefully I was able to entertain. The tour was good to me. I loved it, every moment, but I am happy retired now."
Roger Federer on the Laver Cup: "I think it's great to bring the greatest of the game at every level of the generations together"
Roger Federer also discussed the legacy of the Laver Cup and said that the tournament was a way of bringing the best tennis players across generations together.
"Going through the generations is really important for us," he said. "To an event like this, you bring the Jim Couriers of the world, Tim Henmans of the world, Todd Woodbridges of the world, legends of the game that join in on the action."
"You walk across them in corridors as well, and you talk to them. I think it's great to bring the greatest of the game at every level of the generations together," he added.
The Swiss maestro featured in four editions of the Laver Cup, starting from the inaugural one in 2017 where he won all of his matches (two in singles and one in doubles).
He maintained his perfect winning record in singles the following year, triumphing in both of his matches. However, he lost both of his doubles matches.
Federer once again won both of his singles matches at the 2019 Laver Cup, but had a 1-1 record in doubles. He was unable to participate in the 2021 edition of the tournament due to injury but competed in 2022 for his swansong.
Overall, the former World No. 1 won all of his six singles matches at the Laver Cup while having a 2-4 record in doubles.