Roger Federer Returns to Arthur Ashe, Guidelines Out Any Aggressive Comeback

Roger Federer returned to Arthur Ashe Stadium on Tuesday, August 25, for a nostalgia exhibition that reunited him with two of his biggest rivals — and left no ambiguity about whether or not it indicators something extra.

The occasion, billed as “Roger Federer: An Icon Returns to New York,” was staged throughout US Open Fan Week. Federer confronted Andy Roddick in a one-set singles match earlier than becoming a member of John McEnroe for a doubles set in opposition to Roddick and Andre Agassi. It was Federer’s first look on the US Open since his 2022 retirement.

On the query of a aggressive return, Federer was rapid.

“No, no, no, no. No, not at all,” he stated in a press convention the day earlier than the exhibition match, in response to Tennis Majors. “There’s way too many obstacles, and I’m too busy.”

He stated his physique is finished and famous that the obligatory doping pool necessities skilled gamers should fulfill added an additional sensible barrier to any such thought.

Federer ended his taking part in profession on the 2022 Laver Cup in London. He instructed Tennis Majors that after Wimbledon 2021 he acknowledged his knee couldn’t maintain competitors, and that he selected to shut out his profession there reasonably than pursue a farewell tour on the time — a call that made his Arthur Ashe look a long-delayed return to the court docket the place he had his biggest success.

The temper within the stadium was hotter for the ready.

“I fell in love with this city and this court from day one. What a place,” Federer stated in an on court docket interview U.S. open forward of the match. “It’s great to be back in New York. I have incredible memories obviously of this court, of the fans here, of the city.”

Those reminiscences embody 5 consecutive US Open titles from 2004 to 2008. Federer known as the 2005 last in opposition to Agassi — his doubles companion’s opponent that day — his favourite match of the run. “Especially one against Andre I think was extremely special,” he instructed Tennis Tonic. “Playing a legend that was coming towards the end of his career was unforgettable.”

He was equally candid about an earlier encounter with Agassi that went reasonably otherwise. “He smashed me 6-1, 6-2, 6-4,” Federer recalled. “I had no shot and I was like, okay, not so easy, not so fast Roger.”

Roddick, his singles opponent on the exhibition, drew comparable enthusiasm. “I am ready to meet my opponent and I couldn’t be more excited that it is Andy Roddick,” Federer stated.

The New York look precedes a proper milestone: Federer will probably be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island, on Saturday, August 29, as a part of the Class of 2026, alongside broadcaster Mary Carillo.