Steve Smith congratulates ‘sporting idol’ Roger Federer on tennis retirement – Such a lovely bloke

Steve Smith is scheduled to play in Australia's upcoming three-match T20I series against India. Smith said that he was honoured to meet the legendary Roger Federer.

Australia batter Steve Smith congratulated Roger Federer after the star from Switzerland announced his retirement from tennis. The 41-year-old Federer, on Friday, September 16, called it a day after plying his trade in the sport for as long as 24 years.

Federer said that the upcoming edition of the Laver Cup would be his last on the ATP tour. Smith, one of Australia’s greatest batters, especially in Test cricket, lauded Federer and said that he would miss seeing the legend on the tennis court. Smith uploaded a picture alongside Federer to congratulate Federer.

“Very sad day waking up to see that @rogerfederer has called time on his career. He was my sporting idol and inspired me immensely. I had the pleasure of meeting him on a couple of occasions and he was such a lovely bloke. I will miss his graceful moving around the court and that exquisite backhand. Thank you for the entertainment.”

Earlier, Federer admitted that the last couple of years have been challenging for him due to injuries and surgeries. The veteran happens to be the third-most successful player in men’s tennis after Serbia’s Novak Djokovic and Spain’s Rafael Nadal.

During Wimbledon 2022, Federer said that he wished to play the grass-court tournament “one last time”, but that won’t be the case anymore.