WATCH: Roger Federer returns to Centre Court at Wimbledon during Champions Parade

Sunday, 03 July 2022 at 16:00

Updated at Wednesday, 20 November 2024 at 19:47

byZachary Wimer

Roger Federer traveled to London for a very special occasion as the Swiss players was present at the 100 years ceremony of the Centre Court.

Federer was brought out to the Centre Court as one of the many champions who have won the event in the Centre Court’s 100-year-long history. Federer, while not the only one, might be the most iconic of all of those champions, considering what he means to the sport.

There is a prevalent opinion in tennis circles that Federer basically made what modern tennis is. He made it a global phenomenon, so in many ways, all of those who came after him came into the Federer's era.

Federer would argue, but it’s not by chance that his ovation was one of the loudest out of all the former players that came out. Even with players like Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic who were present, Federer still eclipsed them all.

Being there as part of the champions presentation was important to him, and he had some things to say, most notably that he was happy to be back, albeit in a role that felt slightly odd to him.

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"I’ve been lucky enough to play a lot of matches here. It feels awkward to be here in a different type of role. This court has given me my biggest wins and my biggest losses."

"I hope I can come back one more time. I miss being here. I didn’t think it would take this long to come back; this year has been rough on me. I didn’t know if I should make the trip, but I’m happy to be standing here today."

"2001 [stands out] against Sampras [Federer beat the American legend to end his title defence]; and then in 2003, against Mark Philippoussis [to win his first title]. You [Sue Barker, who was speaking to Federer] remember what that meant to me [the Swiss cried during his winner's speech]."