Roger Federer sent a special gift after 2011 French Open final vs Rafael Nadal, recalls ball kid
Roger Federer once provided great joy to a ball-kid at the French Open, despite losing to great rival Rafael Nadal in the 2011 final. Kenza Del, one of the ball-kids at the 2011 French Open and a Federer fan, made a lovely gesture for the Swiss great, who then thanked her with a special gift.
Nadal beat Federer 7-5, 7-6(3), 5-7, 6-1 in the final, the Swiss superstar's fifth consecutive loss to Nadal at Roland Garros. Del, who was one of the ball-kids for the final, then wrote 'Allez Roger' on the court as a show of support for him, and a picture of the moment went viral.
The picture even reached Federer himself, who then sent Del a present to recognize her support after a tough loss.
"It was a tough moment for him and I don't know why, but I decided to write 'Allez Roger'," Del said in a recent interview for RG Ballos.
"But a picture was taken by a photographer who took it at the right time. He happened to know Roger's agent and sent him the picture. I guess Roger liked it, so he decided to thank me by sending me a little gift a few weeks later."
The gift was an autographed shirt that the 20-time Grand Slam champion wore in the final against Nadal.
"I only learned the full story when I received the gift. The gift was the shirt he wore during the final and the shirt was signed by him," Del added.
She then expressed her desire to get a chance to interact with the photographer and thank them for making possible a memorable moment in her life.
"I never got to meet the photographer, never got the chance to thank him. So, if he watches this video, if he hears me, I'll be glad to thank him, because it's all thanks to him," Del expressed.
Roger Federer's 'artistic' talk about tennis blew my mind: American skier Mikaela Shiffrin
American Alpine skiing sensation Mikaela Shiffrin recently revealed that she was 'mind blown' after listening to Roger Federer talk about tennis in an artistic way in the documentary Strokes of Genius, which was based on the epic 2008 Wimbledon final between him and Rafael Nadal. The Swiss great's views on certain technical aspects of the sport left Shiffrin in awe.
"I was just watching Strokes of Genuis, the Federer-Nadal 2008 Wimbledon match. It's cool to hear them talk about tennis almost in an artistic way. Like Federer is talking about playing with the point, exploring the different ways that you can move around the court and what shots you can hit from which angles," Shiffrin said in a Instagram live chat with Iga Swiatek.
"He's really talking about it like at the level you're at, you're so good that you can actually explore the game and the match while you're playing. I'm like mind-blown at that fact," she added.
The Swiss maestro could return to Wimbledon, the venue of his most successful Grand Slam tournament, in a different capacity this year. He is in talks with the BBC to take up the role of analyst/commentator for the 2023 edition in July.