"Sadly I couldn't be there" - Roger Federer reveals why he skipped Andy Murray's farewell at Wimbledon
Roger Federer was spotted on the Wimbledon grounds on July 4. However, he was not present during Andy Murray's farewell ceremony that same day. The Swiss later shared that he was unsure how things would pan out on the day and had made other commitments.
Murray participated in the men's doubles event at Wimbledon with his brother Jamie. The pair took to Centre Court on July 4 and faced defeat in their first-round encounter. Murray received an emotional farewell following his match and it was attended by the likes of Martina Navratilova, John McEnroe, and Novak Djokovic.
However, Federer, who was spotted at Wimbledon on the same day, was missing from the event. The Swiss legend was featured in the video message for Murray that was shown after the match, but he was not present physically.
Later, in an interview with ESPN, Federer mentioned that he had planned to attend Murray's singles match against Tomas Machac which was slated for July 2.
However, with Murray's withdrawal, the Swiss had been unsure how things would play out. He shared that he had commitments on the day of Murray's doubles match, but he met the Brit before he came out on Centre Court.
“I wish I could’ve been there last night but I already had obligations because I didn’t know how it was gonna all play out. I actually took an earlier flight on Tuesday to be here in case he played his singles," he said.
"Sadly last night I couldn’t be there. I quickly went to see him before the match. I could see Andy was extremely nervous and caring for that very moment," he added.
Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Serena Williams appeared in Andy Murray's Wimbledon video tribute
Wimbledon shared a special video tribute for Andy Murray which featured some of the greatest tennis players of his generation, including Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Serena Williams.
Notably, in the four-minute video, Djokovic said:
“Sometimes, it looked like you against the world.”
Then the video switched to Federer, who said:
“But you were never alone. Because while you carried your own dreams, you also carried theirs,” referring to Murray’s many fans.
Murray is set to grace the Wimbledon grounds again on Saturday, 6 July, as he participates in the mixed doubles event with Emma Raducanu. The 37-year-old will also represent Great Britain at the upcoming Olympics.