A boozy and cheerful bow to the fabulous: it will touch the fans – but it doesn’t really get any closer to Roger himself. And what does Heinz Günthardt say?
Author: Stefan Gubser
20.06.2024, 08:05
To cry or not to cry? That is not the question here. Roger Federer is known to be a very emotional man. “16,500 people there in London – everyone was crying,” he says in “Twelve Finale Days,” and his eyes are already moist again. The very last chapter of this true tennis fairytale: a defeat at the Laver Cup, but a few hearts won.
The magic of the «Maestro»
Now Federer is serving his fans a documentary about the last stage of his long career, which ended on September 23, 2022 in London – exactly 465 days after Federer’s last real match at Wimbledon. The knee had been causing a stir for some time. Any further performances that corresponded to Federer’s ideas of tennis art: unthinkable.
Was the film necessary? “Of course not,” says Heinz Günthardt, a tennis expert for SRF for many years. “But you should celebrate as the occasion arises.” Federer does this like he does everything else: correctly.
Everyone is so nice
Federer has always managed to separate his private self from his sporting ego. Anyone expecting to catch intimate glimpses through some keyhole with “Twelve Final Days” is in the wrong place. The most insightful scene is the one in which we accidentally catch Federer calling his Mirka “Bebele”.
Legend: He calls her “Bebele”: Roger Federer with his wife Mirka, about whom he once says in the film: “In the end, she sometimes looked away when I played.” Amazon Prime
No less, yes, tender: the superlatives of the greats when they celebrate Federer as perhaps the only one who is “bigger than his sport”. King Roger, for his part, bows in the style of the elder statesman to his eternal arch-rivals Novak Djokovic (“He was the party crasher!”) and Rafael Nadal (“I didn’t need him”), with whom he has now become friends.
“People expect it from me”
This film can be recommended to all Federer fans who one day could no longer cope with the stress that was part of the dark nature of this white sport. The time came when Federer no longer won all of his matches with the legendary ease that was the result of a lot of hard work, as Heinz Günthardt emphasized on the phone. “I saw him sweating.”
Caption: They are crying, but not because of the defeat in the doubles: Rafael Nadal (right) at Roger Federer’s side – after his last big tennis match. Amazon Prime
Suspense rarely arises in “Twelve Final Days” – at most in the form of the question of whether Nadal will make it to London and Federer will hold back the tears when the last point is played. “People almost expect it from me.”
Relaxation in the locker room
It is true that Federer and his clan did not initially consider making a football match-length film out of the footage they shot for friends and family. Oscar winner Asif Kapadia (“Senna”, “Maradona”), who is experienced in the genre, has enriched it with archive scenes to make it a monument that other world stars of sport have already had built (in one form or another).
Streaminghinweis
Open box Close box
“Twelve Final Days” premiered on June 10, 2024 at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York. The documentary will be available on the streaming service Amazon Prime from June 20.
Of course, that doesn’t hurt anyone. But why not just be allowed to be wistful? That means: tear-crush alarm every fifteen minutes. But “Twelve Final Days” also shows us the Federer whose ability includes effortlessly finding the lightness in difficult times that sets him apart from everyone else.
There he goes, and everyone is crying their eyes out: the millions of people watching at home, the eyewitnesses in London, even Nadal in the locker room. Federer asks him, suddenly composed: “I wonder how they would have cried if we had won?” Homeric laughter.
Any questions? Heinz Günthardt on Federer’s legacy
Open box Close box
Caption: Another strong double: SRF tennis expert Heinz Günthardt (left) with Roger Federer – 2013 in Basel. Keystone
Hardly anyone was as close to Roger Federer’s career as the former SRF tennis expert, who was himself a professional. What remains of King Roger – and who is his heir to the throne? A telephone conversation.
SRF: Forehand to the tennis heart: How much do you miss Roger Federer?
Heinz Günthardt: Others play good tennis too, but nobody is as elegant as Federer. I have never enjoyed watching anyone more. Federer leaves a big gap – no question about it.
Federer has not disappeared from the scene since his retirement. What does it say about Switzerland that people don’t like to see him on stage with Elton John – or serenade Coldplay?
It is not easy to define what a global star is. Federer is a global star. The whole world knows him – and even other stars like to surround themselves with him.
Looking back: Did Federer retire a little too late?
You never know when you’re going to win your last match. Many players stopped playing too early – Björn Borg, for example. I think that if someone has won a lot, they have earned the right to play as long as they want.
Federer lost his last match in Wimbledon – the last set 0:6…
Nobody knows that anymore! They always say you should stop at the peak of your career. So after your first Wimbledon win? Federer also couldn’t be sure that he would win a tournament like that again.
“We never saw him sweat,” wrote former tennis player Andrea Petković about Federer. Is it this lightness that set him apart from the rest of the tennis world?
I saw him sweat! Everything looked easy for Federer, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t work hard for it. The secret of his popularity lies in his elegance.
Longer number 1, more Grand Slam titles won: Statistically, Novak Djokovic has long since overtaken Roger Federer. What do you think about the ongoing GOAT discussion?
It’s good for business. But the question is also how you evaluate what. Just the Grand Slam victories? Do you also take into account the way someone played? And how much the audience loved him? Federer was the most elegant player of all time – few would deny that.
So Federer still gets the beauty prize – and that is not a consolation prize?
(laughs) Federer played against French players in Paris and the crowd was for him – it’s actually unimaginable. That also had to do with how he behaved off the court. This overall package is probably the best there has ever been.
Which player do you enjoy watching the most today?
There is no other Roger. Yannik Sinner comes closest in terms of lightness. He also needs very little power to accelerate the ball. That is something of Federer.
The cultural highlights of the week in the newsletter
Open box Close box
Discover inspiration, stories and treasures from the world of culture: every Sunday, directly in your inbox. Subscribe to the newsletter now.
2024-06-20 06:05:00
#streaming #Amazon #bath #sea #tears #Federer #film #Twelve #Final #Days #Culture
