A lot of attention has been paid on Roger Federer’s physicality and how much longer he can last on the tour, but the decisive factor could be his wife Mirka.
Addressing with the media following his third round win over Mischa Zverev at Wimbledon, the 35-year-old praised his wife. The two have been married since 2009 and currently have four children, two sets of twins. Speaking about the support he receives from Mirka, Federer openly admitted that he wouldn’t be able to play on the tour without her.
“Without her I couldn’t do it. If she said, you know, I don’t want to travel no more, I’ll say, Okay, my career is over. It’s as simple as that.” Said Federer.
“So she’s the key to a lot of this. But she’s happy to be doing it, not on a weekly basis just because the travelling gets too much with the four (children).”
The two met during the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. Mirka was a former top-100 player before retiring from the sport in 2002 due to a foot injury. During the same year, the duo paired up to play in the Hopman Cup, finishing third in Group A with only one win (against Argentina).
Given the demanding travel schedule facing tennis players, Federer and his wife are not together all the time. Recently he played at both Stuttgart and Halle without Mirka watching from the side of the court. Still, the world No.5 relishes everything that she does for him.
“So she’s been amazing support for me. She’s the best. I’m happy she allows me to chase our dreams really, because she’s in it as much as I am, even though she’s more on a different side right now. She’s not as invested in the whole tennis bit like she used to be.” He explained.
The ‘Fab Four’ rise again
For the first time since 2011, every member of the big four have made it to the fourth round at SW19. Top seed Andy Murray is the only player out of the group to drop a set due to his testing third round clash against Fabio Fognini on Friday.
Should all four players triumph on Manic Monday (a day when every fourth round match is played), it will be the first time they have all reached the last eight at a grand slam tournament since the 2015 French Open.
“I think it’s great. I’m not that surprised because I thought that everybody this week was going to find their form, especially speaking about Andy and Novak. So I thought they did it very well.” Federer evaluated.
“With me, I hoped I was going to be there. Whereas with Rafa’s confidence, I thought he was also going to be there.
“So I’m not that surprised, but it’s great.”
Federer will play Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov on Monday. He leads their head-to-head 5-0.
