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Roger Federer takes in Alexander Zverev vs Jiri Lehecka while fellow attendees in the Royal Box sample the hospitality
Imagine being Alexander Zverev and Jiri Lehecka, playing your fourth-round match on Centre Court at Wimbledon on Monday evening and looking up from one end before serving to see there were just four people in the Royal Box.
As a popularity test it was not exactly convincing. Here was definitive proof that when it comes to a choice between watching you or tucking into a prawn sandwich (or rather in the Royal Box, white truffles and caviar), you were very much second choice.
Yet here’s the thing: there may have only been four people who could be bothered to witness you in action as it started close to 9pm, but as was clear in one of the most revealing photographs ever taken on Centre Court, one of them was none other than Roger Federer. The man who holds the record for winning the All England Club men’s singles trophy no fewer than eight times was in the middle of the front row watching with characteristic lynx-eyed interest.
Never mind that most of the rest of those invited to watch from the most sought-after seats in the house preferred to study the bar menu or leave entirely, the man who mattered was there. Federer, as the photo snapped of him alone in the box suggests, remains the undisputed king of Wimbledon.
Receiving an invitation to the Royal Box is one of the great privileges of the sporting world. For fellow sports practitioners it is the ultimate indication that you have arrived. Though, lovely as the buffet is, Phil Foden would doubtless have been wishing he was in Mexico City rather than south-west London when he was invited on Sunday.
For the likes of Sir David Beckham, Bradley Cooper and Nicole Kidman, it is an unmissable chance to be seen at the centre of things. For others – such as Dame Helen Mirren turning up last year with Stormzy or Matthew McConaughey with Andre Agassi – it is a moment to mix with the unexpected. For Hugh Grant, caught on camera a couple of years back after taking full advantage of the complimentary bar, it is a chance for a delicious afternoon nap.
Matthew McConaughey and Andre Agassi
Matthew McConaughey and Andre Agassi mingle in the Royal Box last year, while Hugh Grant (below) catches forty winks
Federer, however, has different priorities. For the greatest of all practitioners, who is there every day of The Championships, it is an opportunity to do what he enjoys most: watch some top-drawer tennis at close quarters.
On Monday, it was obvious that invitees such as Sir Lenny Henry, Claudia Winkleman, the Duchess of Gloucester and the Princess of Wales’s mother and sister, Carole and Pippa Middleton, had decided the game was not the principal draw. Or at least not when Zverev and Lehecka were playing. But Federer is not like them. When there is a match going on, he is watching. Intently.
Indeed, it is hard to think of a former player who pays as much attention to the action as he does at Wimbledon. Sure, former champions Sir Andy Murray and Ivan Lendl have often been seen on Centre Court. But that is when they are in the coaches’ seats, watching those they are working with. And John McEnroe is always there. But as a commentator, paid to give his opinion on the action.
Some, like Pete Sampras, avoid the site of previous glories entirely, as if worried they might be triggered by the fact it would give such clear indication that chronology has robbed them of the opportunity to compete.
Federer, though, has no such fear. He appears to be there just for the fun of it. Because he loves tennis. Even a contest like that between Zverev and Lehecka. And what a lift it must give to those involved knowing the man who matters is there to watch them.
Post by News Desk
