TENNIS
Roger Federer gave one-word response to news of Serena Williams retirement at Wimbledon
Serena Williams and Adrian Mannarino both had to withdraw from Wimbledon with injuries they sustained on Centre Court on Tuesday. Roger Federer was left in disbelief after hearing that Serena Williams had been forced to withdraw from Wimbledon during her first-round match due to an ankle injury.
Federer had just been given a walkover in his opening match at Wimbledon after Adrian Mannarino was unable to continue due to a knee injury. The Frenchman had looked the better of the two in their tie, taking a 2-1 lead in sets before Federer mounted a comeback in the fourth.
But Mannarino’s night was cut short when his knee buckled underneath him, leaving him in agony laying on the Wimbledon turf. Despite a long break for the physio to take a look and the crowd willing him to continue, Mannarino could play no longer as he conceded to Federer at the start of the fifth set.
And more emotional scenes were to follow just under an hour after Mannarino left the court in Williams’ match against Aliaksandra Sasnovich. The 23-time Grand Slam champion came into Wimbledon this year with plenty of confidence that she could challenge for the title.
And she looked in good form early on against Sasnovich, getting an early break to give her a 3-1 lead. But she appeared to land awkwardly on her ankle in her next service game as she limped back to her chair before asking for a medical timeout back in her changing room.
Williams returned to the court minutes later to rapturous applause from the crowd, but it wasn’t enough to help her continue. Tears began running down Williams’ face as she conceded the injury was too severe to carry on.
Federer was conducting his post-match press conference at the time of Williams’ withdrawal. And he was clearly left stunned by the news after hearing the American icon have to concede. When told that Williams had to retire after slipping, Federer said: “C’mon.”
Federer wasn’t someone who lost his footing during his match on Centre Court, but he still felt there was some issues with the court conditions.
“I do feel it feels a tad more slippery maybe under the roof. I don’t know if it’s just a gut feeling. You do have to move very, very carefully out there. If you push too hard in the wrong moments, you do go down,” he said.
“I do feel it’s drier during the day. With the wind and all that stuff, it takes the moist out of the grass. “But this is obviously terrible.”
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