By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Wednesday, May 15, 2024
Roger Federer’s graceful good-bye moved many to tears.
On June 20th, we can relive Federer’s farewell as a feature-length documentary.
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Amazon Prime unveiled the trailer for Federer: Twelve Final Days and it’s quite striking.
We see the emotion as Federer records his retirement announcement, we see a visual burst of the Swiss Maestro’s evolution through home video, we hear wife Mirka’s voice for the first time in a long time and we see Federer’s Big 4 rivals convene for his emotional exit at Laver Cup in London’s iconic O2 Arena.
British filmmaker Asif Kapadia, whose highly-regarded 2015 documentary on singer Amy Winehouse, “Amy”, won the Academy Award for best documentary, heads this project. Kapadia, who has also directed award-winning documentaries on Diego Maradona and race-car driver Ayrton Senna, worked with co-director Joe Sabia on the Federer documentary.
Big 4 rivals—Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray—as well as other star players—will all be featured as interview subjects in this documentary.
Remember, back in September of 2022, Federer made an emotional exit partnering rival Rafa Nadal in his final doubles match at Laver Cup in London.
A capacity crowd filling every corner of the O2 Arena stood as one showering the 41-year-old Swiss superstar with rousing extended ovation while tears welled in Federer’s eyes and he tapped his hand over his heart in a show of appreciation.
Laver Cup fans gave the legend a loving London send-off—and Federer exited the stage with grace and gratitude.
What many fans did not know: Federer was being followed throughout his last event by camera crews behind-the-scenes.
The idea was to document Federer’s farewell for a home movie he planned to show to family and friends. However, on seeing some of the footage, Federer realized “we captured so many powerful moments” that he wanted to share it with the world.
“Initially, the idea was to capture the final moments of my professional tennis career so that I could have it later on to show my family and friends,” said Federer. “During my career, I tended to shy away from having cameras around me and my family, especially during important moments. But I didn’t see the harm in shooting this as it was never intended for the public.
“However, we captured so many powerful moments, and it transformed into a deeply personal journey. I am happy to be partnering with Prime Video because of their vast global reach and significant presence in the film industry. This ensures that the story of my final days in tennis will resonate with both tennis enthusiasts and broader audiences worldwide.”
Former world No. 1 Federer, who ruled the world for 310 weeks, still rules the hearts of fans all over the world.
In his farewell match, Federer partnered rival and friend Rafael Nadal in a fitting Fedal farewell at Laver Cup in London.
The iconic champions held a match point, but could not close as Americans Jack Sock and Frances Tiafoe edged Federer and Nadal in a thriller.
After bowing in his final match, Federer received a bear-hug from Novak Djokovic and Matteo Berrettini.
Then Federer and Nadal sat side-by-side on the Team Europe bench, clasped hands and shared sobs.
The night was much more a celebration of Federer’s career than merely competition and proved to be a profound curtain closer.
“It does feel like a celebration to me,” Federer told Jim Courier and the crowd in his on-court interview. “I wanted it to feel like this a the end and it’s exactly what I hoped for. So thank you. It’s been a perfect journey. I’d do it all over again.”
In an interview with Radioestadio Noche, Nadal said seeing Federer get emotional moved him to tears, both on court and later in the locker room.
“It was a difficult time because I didn’t want to cry either,” Nadal told Radioestadio Noche. “It is a moment that he is already there and I am a sensitive person and at that moment seeing him so emotional made it very difficult for me.
“When you see someone you appreciate say goodbye it’s hard not to get emotional. It got a little out of hand, and the worst thing is that when I went to the room I just got emotional again. It was difficult for it not to happen because of everything that was lived that night.”
Photo credits: Getty, Clive Brunskill/Getty for Laver Cup
