«Believe me, here I have won eight titles…» – Corriere.it

She doesn’t know who I am. Not the type to tell, Roger Federerbut the Swiss champion of the twenty Grand Slam titles came close a couple of weeks ago in London, borough of Wimbledon, his second home. the retired Federer, engaged in a promotional tour for sponsors that took him first to Tokyo from the brand that wears him (even now, as an ambassador and no longer as an active player) and then to New York at the court of a champagne, to tell Trevor Noah’s Daily Show anecdotethe presenter whose Swiss friend (Noah had already been involved as an entertainer in the match against Rafa Nadal that the former world number one had organized for his Foundation in South Africa, in Cape Town, in February 2020, immediately before that the pandemic hit: record 51,954 spectators).

Returning from Japan, on the way to Switzerland, Federer had stopped at the London airport. I had a couple of hours free, I was with my coach Severin Luthi, we said to each other: let’s go have a ta Wimbledon…. The two arrived in Church Road by car: I’ll take care of it, Roger said to his friend, and went down to speak to the guard at the gate of the very private London club. Good evening, listen, during the tournament I’m used to entering from another entrance, today where do you suggest I go? Federer asked the guard, a lady. Do you have the club card? the Swiss master heard himself ask. I think I have it but I left it at home… he replied. I need to see the card, the guard insisted. Oh God I don’t have it here with me but I’m a member of the All England Club… Federer tried to explain. I’m sorry, without a card I can’t let you access. Believe me, I’m a member like everyone who won the tournament: I won eight Wimbledon titles in my career…!. Eh but without a card you can’t pass, the guard replied – definitively. At that point Federer recounts that he got back into his car, circled around the club to look for another entrance and finally ran into a member of the club who recognized him and called the president, who did access the star player. The story ends over a hot tea, in the comfort of the club house of the most famous and prestigious tennis club in the world.. And with the guard who denied him entry as finished? I wanted to go back and tell her that I had managed to get in despite her objections – laughed Federer -, of course I didn’t. I’m not really the type. But I proposed that she get a raise, because she did her job well!