Roger Federer spoke from London, where the ninth edition of his Laver Cup is taking place. “It’s a huge part of my life that I miss and no longer get to experience,” he said. He also likes to sit in the stands, while keeping his distance so people don’t think he’s gone mad.
“It might sound silly or strange, but I love it. I just like sitting in the stands,” he explained. In July, he was almost alone in the Royal Box at Centre Court for the late start of the round-of-16 match between Alexander Zverev and Jiri Lehecka.
Jean-Pol Vandenbroeck, not called up by any broadcaster to comment on the matter, comments on it anyway.
It’s very simple. A player who retires, in ninety percent of cases, and I’m being generous, ends up in the stands missing the hotel. I said it back in January. Well, not about Roger specifically, but the spirit was there. Me, in Kitzbühel, in ’92, what I remember is the wait on court. Two hours under the tarp, against a future top ten player. Or three. Roger’s saying the same thing today. Nobody listens to me, but they quote me word for word, don’t they.
On substance, Federer says watching the best players in the world set a whole stadium alight gives him an extraordinary feeling. He adds that tennis let him travel the world, meet wonderful people and discover different cultures. “Tennis was the glue for all of that,” he concluded.
Jean-Pol, who has also spent a lot of time in the stands, though mostly at interclubs, sees no contradiction with his earlier remarks. “I’m not saying the opposite of what I said. I’m clarifying,” he insists.
Jean-Pol has offered to share the Royal Box with him next year, “for the company.” Wimbledon’s reply has not arrived.
It’s true, we checked: We Love Tennis.
