Roger Federer tells CNN Sports he’s prepared for happy tears at Hall of Fame induction

By Don Riddell, CNN

(CNN) — The first time he cried after a big win, Roger Federer says he didn’t understand what was happening.

It was 2001 at Wimbledon, and he’d just dethroned the great Pete Sampras on his Centre Court debut.

“I go to my knees, (then) I shake hands with Pete and he’s my hero … and these emotions came all over me,” he told CNN Sports. “And I was like, ‘What is going on?’ This is not who I am normally.”

From that moment until his tearful farewell in 2022, Federer carved out one of the most remarkable careers in tennis history and became arguably the most famous crier in sports.

This weekend the Swiss superstar is being inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame, and it sounds like he’s expecting the waterworks to return.

“If I’m speaking about the game and all the gratitude that I have, and having my entire family there – from my parents to my wife to my four children and my whole team from coaching staff and physios, etc. I think it could hit home very hard,” he said hours ahead of his big moment in Newport, Rhode Island.

“If it happens, it will be more memorable for me personally, but I hope I get through the speech without too many hiccups. We’ll see.”

For his army of fans, Federer’s induction has been a long time coming. It’s been an obvious destination since 2004, when he captured three of the four grand slam singles titles and ascended to the top of the world rankings, remaining at the summit for an extraordinary 237 consecutive weeks – still a record.

In 2005, he won over 95% of his matches, but 2006 is considered to have been his peak season: Another trio of major championships and a total of 12 titles won with a record of 92-5 – a 94.8%-win rate.

Few thought Sampras’ record of 14 grand slam titles would ever be broken, but Federer blew past him at Wimbledon in 2009 and never looked back.

He was beloved for his grace and elegance on the court and his easy-going manner off it.

Federer doesn’t have any regrets, except perhaps for the perception that he sometimes made it look too easy.

“It looked like I wasn’t actually hitting the ball so hard,” he recalled how others viewed his style as a youth player. “But it was kind of flying off of my racket with a lot of power. People always thought, like, ‘It’s so simple for you,’ because it looked like elastic. But it wasn’t the case. There was a lot of work and effort put into it.

“When I would lose, they say, ‘Why don’t you try harder?’ And when you win, they would say, ‘Oh my God, it’s so easy for you!’”

Perhaps within that answer lies the clue to all those famed tears.

“The sacrifice was massive and I was holding a lot of pressure in.”

It doesn’t sound like he misses it all that much. He is at peace with his career. There is no void that needs to be filled, no desire to recreate all that pressure or those emotions.

“I’m actually really happy going through everyday life at a lower pace,” he said.

Life as a father of four, a philanthropist, an investor and businessman is certainly enough to keep him on his toes, and in any case, he still gets to travel: “I’ve always been a guy who loves being on the road.”

His Hall of Fame induction is a chance to relive some of his greatest memories. He has enjoyed the thought of being able to play some of the other legends that he now sits alongside – should the Tennis gods permit it.

“I would have a little list,” he declared, before rattling off the names of Rod Laver, Bjorn Borg, John McEnroe, Stefan Edberg, Boris Becker, and Sampras, again. “I think these would be my favorite players to play against. I’ve always admired their personalities, what they have achieved, and what they represent in the game.”

Federer’s once-record haul of 20 grand slam titles has been surpassed by both Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, but his fans will always regard him as the greatest player of all time. Having mastered the game of tennis, CNN wondered what else he would consider himself to be good at.

“I’m trying to get better at golf,” he mused, “I would love to start with an instrument again. I used to play the piano, so when I have more time, I’d like to dive into that because my four children and my wife play the piano.

“I hope I’m a good listener and a good decision-maker. Hopefully I’m a guy who people enjoy being around. I’m a big family guy. I love being surrounded by my friends – that’s really the priority in my life.”

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