Roger Federer, hailed as the World No 1 tennis player, retired last week after a glorious career. He has won 103 ATP singles titles, the second most of all time, including 20 Grand Slam singles titles, a record eight men’s singles Wimbledon titles, an Open Era record-tying five men’s singles US Open titles, and a record six year-end championships. Former Miss Universe and actress Lara Dutta and wife of tennis champion Mahesh Bhupathi has always admired the Tennis Sports Star for all his achievements. In a recent interview, she has called herself fortunate to have been able to watch him in action.
In an interview with Hindustan Times, the Jhoom Barabar Jhoom actress revealed she had seen Roger Federer play on a number of occasions and that no one could ever match up to his standards. She shared, “I have had the privilege and the pleasure of meeting Roger Federer many times through the courses of my husband’s (former Indian tennis star Mahesh Bhupathi) career. I have been one of the fortunate people to see him play on many centre courts at many Grand Slams. For me, Roger Federer will always be GOAT. It’s just sheer poetry in motion to watch him play.”
She also added, “I still remember watching him play at the Australian Open final against Rafael Nadal a couple of years ago. I mean, Nadal is an incredible player as well, but watching Roger move on court is literally just watching a ballet performance take place. I will always treasure the moments that I’ve had to watch him play as an athlete and as a tennis player.”
Talking about her first rendezvous with the Tennis champ, Lara disclosed, “When it comes to knowing him for the person that he is… I still remember the very first time that I ever travelled with my husband was to the World Championships, which normally held in London around year end,” she says, adding, “That was the first time that I saw Roger. He was sitting in the players lounge right at the very back. Mahesh’s father, Krishna Bhupathi, walked into the lounge, and went to him to say hello.”
Continuing about the encounter, she further shared, “Roger stood up immediately, as soon as he saw Mahesh’s dad came over, and shook his hand. It just spoke volumes about him and about his upbringing, and about the kind of person that he is, for the respect that he had for somebody’s father and an elderly person.”
Apart from Lara Dutta, several other Bollywood celebs paid their tribute to Roger Federer. From Anushka Sharma to Kareena Kapoor Khan, Pooja Hegde to Hansal Mehta, the stars were all praises for Federer’s stellar journey in the field of tennis.
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