"Off the table": Shock over Roger Federer retirement 'bombshell'

Tennis pundit Catherine Whitaker has described Stefan Edberg’s admission that he’s advised Roger Federer to avoid a retirement ‘farewell tour’ as somewhat of a ‘bombshell’. Edberg recently opened up about his advice to the Swiss legend as he nears retirement. Edberg announced in December of 1995 that he would be retiring at the end of the following season. However, he regrets the drawn-out nature of his own retirement and has suggested Federer avoid suffering the same fate. Whitaker, a co-host of the Tennis Podcast, described Edberg’s comments as a “little bit of a Federer bomb”. “Stefan Edberg famously completed a farewell tour of the world to say goodbye before his retirement and that is something we’ve speculated Federer might emulate,” Whitaker said. “I think that is a bit of a bombshell because that theory of Federer retirement was one of the frontrunners of how he might do it. “I think that effectively takes it off the table. I think for somebody that Federer respects and is as similar to in a lot of ways as Stefan Edberg, I don’t think he would listen to that advice and go against it. I don’t think he’ll want the tournaments and the matches to have a testimonial feel about them. If he’s playing a tournament, he wants to win that tournament. “If you’re on a farewell tour and you know that someone’s waiting backstage during all your matches with a cake or a plaque or something to honour your final time at that tournament, it takes on a different feel. It does take on a slightly exhibition-y, testimonial feel and I’m not sure that’s desirable.” Source: yahoosports

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