MELBOURNE, Australia — On his much belated farewell tour to the tournament he first described as the “Happy Slam," Roger Federer has held court on contemporary tennis.
The 20-time major winner was as diplomatic as ever, of course. He said he wouldn't be the one to remind Carlos Alcaraz about how hard it is to complete a career Grand Slam when you've already got three of the four major titles.
He also wouldn't enter discussion on speculation that Serena Williams might be considering a comeback — a rumor the 23-time major winner has denied.
Federer won five U.S. Open titles, five at Wimbledon and three in Australia before he finally completed his career Grand Slam in 2009 with a victory at Roland Garros, where Rafael Nadal was dominant on the clay.
Top-ranked Alcaraz won the back-to-back Wimbledon titles in 2023 and ‘24, and two French titles in a row in 2024 and last year, and won the U.S. Open in 2022 and last year. He’s never gone past the quarterfinals in Australia, where archrival Jannik Sinner has won the past two titles.
“He knows about it. It’s like Rory (McIlroy) going for the Masters, you know, those things are tough,” Federer said Thursday, shortly after the draw was held for the first major of the year. “His momentum (now) shifts toward the first round and then it’s point for point mentality. That’s what it is.
“But it’s true, at his young age, to be able to complete the career Grand Slam already now, I mean, would be crazy. ... I hope he does because for the game, that would be an unbelievable special moment."
Of course, there's 127 other men in the draw with other ideas, Federer noted, including his own long-time rival and 10-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic.
The Alcaraz-Sinner has emerged in the last two years, with the pair splitting the eight majors between them.
“The rivalry between Alcaraz and Sinner, I think, is a great one. They play incredible tennis,” Federer said. “That French Open final was unreal. It just ended up in this most crazy fashion, maybe one of the greatest games we’ve ever had in our sport."
Federer is back visiting the Australian Open for the first time since his semifinal loss in 2020 and his later retirement in 2022, and he'll play a leading role in the tournament's first gala opening ceremony to be staged on Saturday night.
He was asked about the prospects of Serena Williams returning to the tour.
Williams last month issued a social media post saying she's "NOT coming back " after a spokesman for the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) said the 23-time Grand Slam champion had registered with the sport's drug-testing body.
That is the first step that would be required by a player seeking to come out of retirement.
“I mean, I heard that she entered the doping program, and then I heard that she said she’s not coming back,” Federer said. "I mean, obviously for the game it would be incredible ... Serena is such a legend to come back.
“If she decides not to do it, or just maybe give herself an option — it’s great to have options in life, in my opinion. Let’s see what she does and wait for an announcement, or not.”
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