The winner of 23 Majors, Serena Williams, had a short campaign at Wimbledon last year. The seven-time champion withdrew in game seven of her first-round matchup against Aliaksandra Sasnovich due to injury. The American walked off the court in tears after her first Wimbledon retirement since 1998.
With movement difficulties, Serena fell to the ground in the seventh game and was unable to continue despite trying with all her might. In the previous match on Center Court, Adrian Mannarino injured his knee against Roger Federer when he was leading two sets to one and retired early in the decider.
Roger found out about Serena’s news during his press conference and couldn’t believe how unlucky she was, especially after Adrian’s injury caused her to retire. Federer had to battle hard against the Frenchman to force the decider, winning the first and fourth sets 6-4, 6-7, 3-6, 6-2 when Mannarino resigned.
The Swiss shot 53 game winners and 45 unforced errors and converted four of 13 break point opportunities to hang on and stay in contention. The eight-time winner was not well in the third set, missing a lot and not imposing his shots.
The Swiss won the first set with a late break in game ten thanks to a backhand crosscourt winner. Roger survived two break points in the fifth game of the second set and fought well, despite many mistakes from him, to reach a tie break that could have given him more of an advantage.
Adrian started the tie break strong with three return points and closed it out with a service winner 6-3.
King Roger on his wife Mirka
Roger Federer recently waxed lyrical about wife Mirka’s role in his life, both on and off the court.
“When I got together with Mirka, I didn’t have a single title on the tour,” said the 40-year-old. “She’s a strong, intelligent woman, and her influence on my career and on me as a person has been huge. Mirka gave me confidence and taught me to do my best.
And she comforted me when I lost. In addition, she never let me forget real, real life during the stressful everyday life on tour. She kept our friends and family together and showed me how important it is to make your own way and not to listen to the media or critics, but to trust the advice of friends and family,” he said.
“Our life together is intense and exciting, and fortunately there is always a lot to laugh about. We also have four children together, and we are doing all we can to ensure their future. I’m sure.”
