Federer holds SERVED in Fan Zone

The roars from fans for Roger Federer are still as loud as ever. The Swiss tennis legend and co-founder of Laver Cup ventured into the Fan Zone at Thrive City outside Chase Center in San Francisco on Saturday to make an appearance on Andy Roddick’s live Served podcast.

Judging by fan reaction, it was an intensely welcomed move.

When asked about life beyond tennis, Federer said he may have stepped off the court, but he loves the game too much to distance himself from it. His connection to Laver Cup helps fulfill that void. He told Roddick that after retiring from tennis you can do a podcast (which drew plenty of laughs), coach or commentate, but he wanted something that continued to tie the history of the game to the present.

“In tennis, we forget the legends of our sport,” he said. “I always was a bit sad to not see the heroes.” – Roger Federer

A self-described student of the game, Laver Cup is Federer’s way of both staying connected to tennis but also connecting others to the sport. The story of Laver Cup being named after Rod Laver is well told, but Federer said there is more history than that, bringing in captains and vice captains that can connect multiple generations of players. In future there, will be “maybe more and more roles,” he said.

Federer said the “little interactions” that happen between the likes of Team World captain Andre Agassi and 19-year-old Brazilian sensation Joao Fonseca prove invaluable and “that’s what I wanted.”

“When the players leave, I want them to feel super inspired, motivated,” he said. “I want them to learn history and spend time together.”

To get the Laver Cup started on the footing he wanted, Federer made sure he played in the inaugural competition, held at O2 Arena in Prague in 2017. “I set the tone for how I would like it to be played,” he said, adding that when fans come to watch tennis, they want to see “players actually play tennis and not be a clown. When the ball is being hit, it needs to be hit with purpose. There needs to be a reason.”

The conversation moved to a discussion about the slow court surface; Roddick asked if something needed to be done to “correct court surfaces.” Federer emphatically responded, “Yes.”

He said that the tour needs to fix the fact that most court surfaces are now closer together in speed, no longer with extreme differences throughout the calendar. Not only does that mean all players are starting to play more like each other, but it favors a hard-hitting style. Bringing in variety of surface will require more creativity. “Now everybody plays similar,” Federer said. “It becomes every week is basically the same way.”

Federer and Roddick continued to cover plenty of ground, including how San Francisco was a great host city for the event and how Federer gets memories of his 2022 retirement during Laver Cup London every time the event comes around.

“I didn’t want to be alone on the court when I retired,” Federer said.

He talked about how practicing with players who just hit the ball hard, such as Rafael Nadal and Andre Agassi, wasn’t the way he liked to practice and how he spoke to Nadal this summer about the possibility of getting back on court. The Spaniard said he hadn’t played since November.

Federer knew that Roddick had attended Laver Cup’s Thursday black-tie Opening Night Gala without a tie. “Little thick around the neck?” Federer asked after Roddick needled him for needing to work out more. The good-natured ribbing had the crowd excited, but not as excited as when the tennis legend stayed to sign dozens of autographs amidst chants of “Roger, Roger, Roger.”