World of sport reacts to Roger Federer’s retirement announcement and Wimbledon final win by tennis legend Jimmy Connors
Sports News
Sports News
THE WORLD OF Sport has reacted to Roger Federer’s retirement announcement and Wimbledon final day win by tennis legend Jimmy Connors.
As reported by the Daily Mail, the Swiss Federer had been struggling with depression and had asked for and received an international break from his own career.
And in a show of sportsmanship he has now returned to the sport of tennis as a wildcard in the Wimbledon finals.
The Mail reported: “With his game on the brink of collapse, Federer was convinced that his next move would be to call it a day, and said he had been ‘in contact’ with doctors over the past few days.
“He told friends that he’s now ‘done’ in tennis and would concentrate on taking care of his health.
“Federer, who has won 14 major tours and 17 Grand Slams, added that he’ll remain active in his other sports, including skiing (he has two Olympic golds and a World Cup silver), and that he would not rule out trying to make another comeback in golf or boxing.”
Connors, who was also struggling with depression before his death in 2012, had made a promise to his former coach to return to the sport of tennis, and the Mail reported: “He had told his former coach in 1993 that if he became too depressed to continue playing, he would return to tennis.
“Connors had been advised by his doctor that he should not return to tennis because the game made him too stressed. He later called tennis ‘a cancer that took over’.
“He told friends that he was going to retire because he had been diagnosed with lymph node cancer and he suffered debilitating weight loss from his illness.”
The 76-year-old took to Twitter to announce his retirement saying: “Thank you. You made me the best tennis player I’ve ever seen. Thank you for the joy. Thank you for the memories. I won’t be able to play any more tennis. I wish you well. God Bless. Merry Christmas. God bless u. Roger
