WATCH: Roger Federer enjoys ‘father-son trip’ as he is honoured in Halle
Roger Federer was honoured by the Halle Open on Wednesday as he made his first return to the ATP Tour event since retiring – and his father Robert made the journey with him to the German city.
The Halle Open – which started out as the Gerry Weber Open in 1993 – is marking its 30th anniversary and Federer was an ever-present player for the majority of those years as he played in 18 editions.
The 20-time Grand Slam winner had an impressive 69-8 record at the north-west German event and won 10 trophies with his last title coming in 2019.
There had been talk for some time that he would be honoured following his retirement in September last year and that talk became a reality on Wednesday as he was the guest of honour at the OWL Arena.
He was accompanied by his father Robert to Halle and he titled it a “Father/son trip to Halle🤜🏼🤛🏼” on an Instagram post.
But the 42-year-old was very much the centre of attention as he received a standing ovation when he made his entry.
“This is my first time back to a tournament [since I retired], so it feels a little bit strange in a very good way,” he told ATP Media during ‘Roger Federer Day’.
“I always feel once you’ve retired you need a proper purpose to come back, and that’s why we are here to celebrate the 30-year anniversary of the tournament here in Halle.”
A familiar face in the house 😍@rogerfederer HAS ENTERED THE BUILDING 😎#TWO23 pic.twitter.com/o0xFdO3FSZ
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) June 21, 2023
He added: “With Halle, we go way back. I don’t know the first time I ever came here, maybe 22 years ago, and I played 18 years in those years. More than just a partnership, it’s also become a friendship over the years with the Weber family, first Gerhard Weber and then Ralf, who is now the tournament director. So it’s been a wonderful time, obviously also [I had] a lot of success here.
“[There were] great times, good moments spent as well in the second part of my career with the family. My kids would be running around all across the venue, and also the fans. We got to know them all, there’s been a lot of moments for interactions as well. It’s been really good, to be honest, and I always love coming here, so it’s really nice to come back again once I’m retired.”
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