Roger Federer is one of the most celebrated players in the history of tennis. He has won an incredible 20 Grand Slam men’s singles titles and is considered to have one of the greatest sporting careers ever. In 2022, the Swiss tennis champion retired from the sport at the age of 41 due to knee injuries.
On Monday evening, June 10, at the Tribeca Festival in New York, Federer debuted his new documentary Federer: Twelve Final Days, which chronicles his announcement of retirement to his emotional last appearance as a professional tennis player at the Laver Cup in London. The doc—directed by Asif Kapadia and Joe Sabia—provides an intimate look at Federer that fans do not normally see. Viewers will see him as a doting dad to his four children, a loving husband to his wife Mirka, and rare moments of nervousness when he prepared to record his farewell speech for social media.
While on the red carpet, we asked Federer, what does he hope viewers will take away from watching his documentary?
“I hope they get a glimpse into an athlete’s life when they retire and how actually vulnerable and nice it is at the same time,” Federer told The Knockturnal. “And maybe also the rivalries that we share in tennis or in sports in general. What a nice story it actually is from all the big heated rivalries we see, but to all the friendships we created as well.”
The rivalries that Federer talks about is with Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray, who all showed up for the Laver Cup to bid farewell to Federer. In the documentary, viewers will see all four men crying and it’s a sweet and powerful moment. The emotional reactions made by Nadal and Djokovic is unexpected and just shows their rivalry was just on the court. They all share a strong bond and special candid moments that will connect them forever.
Courtesy of Amazon MGM Studios
As the documentary nears its June 20 release on Amazon Prime, Federer also hopes viewers will see and learn how his whole retirement process came about. “It’s quite unique. You don’t know as a player or as an athlete how it’s going to be or maybe in life as well when you retire from the job and how it’s going to feel,” he said. “I think showing that, it is going to resonate with a lot of people.”
Courtesy of Amazon MGM Studios
Federer: Twelve Final Days is a fantastic documentary and worth watching. It’s not to be missed. Make sure to have a box of tissues nearby. You will need it.
