On June 29, Tennis star Roger Federer faced a tricky situation where he could not understand an interviewer’s question during the ongoing Wimbledon tournament. However, Federer handled the situation in a very comic mood. During the interview post-match, the interviewer asked Federer’s views on his opponent Adrian Mannarino falling during the match.
He seemed sympathetic and said, “Yeah, it’s awful. It shows that one shot can change the outcome of a match, a season, a career. I wish him all the best, and he recovers quickly, so we see him back on the courts.” He also admitted that his opponent was the better player on the court. The follow-up question, where the interviewer used a popular British idiom, left the Swiss maestro scratching his head.
The interviewer asked him if he felt his absence from the court was the same with him as it is with the idiom, ‘Absence makes the heart grow fonder’. The veteran Swiss tennis star could not understand and said, “Sorry, I didn’t understand it. I heard something’ absence’ and, I don’t know, my mind went blank. I don’t understand that saying. My English is not good enough.”
“My English is not good enough!”
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) June 29, 2021
Even at 39, you never stop learning – right, @rogerfederer?#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/5BALP53NDA
He chuckled while answering the question, to which the crowd cheered to his response. The interviewer tried repeating the question, but Roger Federer could not get hold of what he was saying. The interviewer then simplified it and explained it in simpler language that he wanted to know how he felt about coming back to the court after two years.
Federer said, “Good reminder, my English is not very good. I think we’re all very happy, all the players, including all the fans and the organizers and everybody that we get a chance to be back on tour, especially here at Wimbledon. It would’ve been worst to have this tournament with no fans. This would have been an absolute killer, so it’s such a privilege to play here.”
Netizens appreciate his honesty
Netizens were all appreciative of his honesty as English is not his first language.
You need to know how to make a defense in to offense . Roger at his best – be it in court or infront of media and spectators . More than Roger , the interviewer was embarrassed 😅
— Rajarshi Basu (@rajabas2002) June 29, 2021
Such a gentleman. Only Roger can make us laugh this way. No wonder he’s Loved by everyone. I love you❤😘 Roger.
— Priyanka (@trxs79) June 29, 2021
Humble enough to say it out loud instead of bluffing his way through. Also, can we imagine someone of a similar stature in India saying something like this? https://t.co/1GYFnKBnKc
— Pallavi Kamat (@Pallavisms) June 30, 2021
Thank you so much for giving me confidence. From now I will straight a away ask to rephrase the sentence instead of ashamed of myself.
— Manohar Chaudhari (@maddy_chaudhari) June 30, 2021
🤣 At least I know I’m not the only one had that struggles. U R Amazing, Roger. 🥰
— JOE & ROWE (@JOE_N_ROWE) June 30, 2021
Your English is perfect Roger. Just like everything you do. We don’t expect you to know all the expressions!😍
— Nina Sodha (@SodhaNina) June 29, 2021
So much humility!
Federer was on the verge of losing the match
Roger Federer almost suffered a first-round defeat in the ongoing Wimbledon 2021 while playing against Adrian Mannarino. He lost two of the three opening sets. In the first round, 20-time Grand Slam champion won the opening set 6-4, but the next two rounds were won by Mannarino with 7-6 and 6-3 on the board.
However, in the next round, Mannarino started to struggle at the court, giving a chance to Federer to make a comeback to the game. He won the fourth set 6-2. In the next set, Mannarino dell on the ground and was not able to continue, which made Federer the winner of the game. The Swiss player would face Richard Gasquet in the next match.
