Roger Federer reveals why he didn’t watch Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic’s Wimbledon classic

Tennis great Roger Federer tries to keep up to date with tennis as much as possible, but he admits it is difficult to “sit through matches” due to his busy schedule.
After bringing the curtain down on his great career in September last year, Federer does have a bit more time on his hands these days but the bulk of those free hours is being taken up by his children and “all the stuff that’s going on in his life”.
The 20-time Grand Slam winner has been a bit jet-setter since hanging up his racket as he has done sponsorship engagements across the world, gone on a family vacation to Lesotho and attended several high-profile concerts and sporting events.
It leaves little room for sitting several hours on the couch to watch lengthy tennis matches and one of the big matches he missed recently was Carlos Alcaraz’s epic four-hour and 42-minute win over Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon final.
Federer admitted during a recent interview that he only watched “a couple of games” of the Grand Slam classic as he was “running around with the kids”.
“I follow results almost daily. I like to see what’s going on out there,” he told ATP Media’s Ursin Caderas. “Mostly highlights, I maybe go on YouTube and check four or five minute highlights to get a bit of a feel for the match a bit more.
“It’s hard for me to sit through matches, just because I don’t have the time to be honest. With the children and all the stuff that’s going on in my life, it’s hard to say like, ‘Okay, on that day, I will watch that match.’
“Like the Wimbledon final, I literally only saw a couple games that day because we’re running around with the kids and doing stuff. Then at one point I quickly checked in just to say like ‘Okay, I saw the Wimbledon final a little bit.’
“Of course I was curious, I was checking the scores from time to time, but for me to sit down is hard. I was happy that the match was as great as it was and I love when great stories come out of the game.”
The 20-time Grand Slam winner also opened up about his new-found gym routine while he also has to watch what he eats these days if he is to stay in shape during his post-playing days.
“I have tried to go to the gym four times a week, which I can’t believe I’m actually doing,” he said. “At home, I put some machines in that I got literally the week after the Laver Cup in London. So it was like after my career, I finally had a gym.
“A little bit weird to have it once I was retired, so now I have to use it. So I do that well. I don’t play so much tennis anymore so I have to be a little bit more careful what I eat and stuff. I’d still like to play some exhibitions down the road. So I want to stay in shape.
“I just do everything. Cardio, some weight training. Then more core exercises, a lot of that, which is also good for the back. You have to be careful. I think when you move less, the body hurts more. So I think moving a bit is always good. It makes me feel better for sure.”
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