‘Hardcore and interesting’ – Snapshot of Roger Federer’s emotional retirement turned into a documentary

Shahida Jacobs 19 Feb 2024 12:21 PM

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal crying

The final few days of Roger Federer’s professional career have been turned into a sports documentary by streaming giant Amazon and the Swiss tennis great has admitted “it’s a very personal film”.

Former world No 1 Federer brought the curtain down on his incredible career in September 2022 with the Laver Cup at London’s O2 Arena his last tournament as fellow legends Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray joined him at the biannual competition.

And now that event will be the cornerstone of the yet-to-be-named Amazon Prime documentary which has been described as “an intimate follow-along through the final 12 days of Roger Federer’s illustrious career”.

In an interview with Bloomberg, Federer said: “It’s a snapshot of my life over those 12 days, which is pretty hardcore and interesting.”

The 20-time Grand Slam winner added: “It’s looking deep into another layer of the tennis tour – how the camaraderie is a good one on the tour. Yes, here are rivalries, but off the court there are friendships and respect.”

Those rivalries and friendships were on full display at the Laver Cup as Federer’s last-ever match was a doubles encounter alongside Nadal and during the post-match presentation there were tears aplenty during his farewell speech.

Filmmakers had access to his hotel room and his wife Mirka, who often shies away from giving interviews, is also part of the documentary.

“I never let anyone come into my house,” the former world No 1 said.

Oscar and BAFTA winner Asif Kapadia – who oversaw the Amy Winehouse documentary “Amy” (2015) as well as “Senna” (2010), “The Warrior” (2001) and “Diego Maradona” (2019) – directed the film with Joe Sabia the co-director.

According to Amazon, the film was initially set to be a home video and was not intended for public viewing, but Sabia followed Federer and his fellow professionals around during the Laver Cup and once everyone saw the footage they felt it was too good to only be for home viewing.

“Initially, the idea was to capture the final moments of my professional tennis career so that I could have it later on to show my family and friends,” Federer said.

“During my career, I tended to shy away from having cameras around me and my family, especially during important moments. But I didn’t see the harm in shooting this as it was never intended for the public.

“However, we captured so many powerful moments, and it transformed into a deeply personal journey.”

A release date has not yet been confirmed, but Prime Video is earmarking July to coincide with Wimbledon.