CHENNAI: Lower your sporting flags to half-mast. Mute your TV sets during live sports broadcasts. Shed a tear or two. Genuflect before a tennis racquet. Any sporting equipment really. If you can afford it, fly to London for the Laver Cup, beginning on September 23.
The three-day event will be Roger Federer's final ATP event. The Swiss great, in an emotional video message on his Instagram handle, announced his retirement from the game that he has served with unparalleled distinction since turning professional in 1998.
"... I also know my body’s capacities and limits, and its message to me lately has been clear. I am 41 years old. I have played more than 1,500 matches over 24 years. Tennis has treated me more generously than I ever would have dreamt, and now I must recognize when it is time to end my competitive career. The Laver Cup next week in London will be my final ATP event... This is a bittersweet decision, because I will miss everything the tour has given me."
While the announcement was expected -- his body was failing him and surgeries were increasingly 'Hail Mary' options — the news still affected not just the tennis community but sports fans in general. It's not because of the number of matches or titles he racked up — it had a role — but it was the idea of Federer that made fans fall in love with the Swiss.
He elevated the sport to art and composed mood-lifting music on a tennis court that resonated with people irrespective of their allegiance, a joie-de-vivre.
In an era where tennis became physical, he still showed it was possible to keep winning the game with his poetry. It was a privilege to watch him. It was like being in a high-end art gallery. You could spot the 'Mona Lisa' one moment.
The 'Girl With A Pearl Earring' in another. Five minutes later, 'The Starry Night' would be the crowning glory. Just that, he kept creating each of these centuries-old works of art with a racquet. The finesse, the beauty, the symphony all that he created on the tennis court will be missed forever.