Serena Williams Calls Roger Federer the 'Greatest of All Time' After Historic Tennis Match
Tennis champions Serena Williams and Roger Federer faced off for the first time during a historic doubles match at the Hopman Cup in Australia on Tuesday. Even though Federer emerged the victor from the New Year’s Day match, Williams’ graceful reaction proved exactly why she’s still the GOAT.
The 23-time Grand Slam title holder was all smiles after she and her partner Francis Tiafoe played Federer and his teammate Belinda Bencic. In moments after the match and in a subsequent interview with the two players, it’s clear the tennis greats are friendly: Williams praised Federer and shared how excited she was to get the chance to compete against him.
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“It was a great experience. I’m kind of sad it’s over—you know, I was just warming up,” she joked. “We grew up together, really, and having an opportunity, after all these years, we’ve actually never done this, and so this was super cool that we got to do this at such a pinnacle point in both our careers. For me, it was super cool. I literally wanted to take pictures and bring my baby out. I was way too excited.”
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“The guy is great, he’s the greatest of all time to be honest. Both on the court and off the court. He has such charisma and is a wonderful player,” she continued.
Federer had a lot to say about Williams as well: “I was nervous returning because you just don’t know. People talk about her serve so much, and I see why it’s such a wonderful serve because you just can’t read it,” he said before Williams’ cut in with, “I can’t read yours either!”
“We have the same qualities,” Federer offered with a laugh.
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Williams spent a lot of her 2018 making huge strides for women athletes by speaking about sexism, sharing candid stories about motherhood, and even—successfully—challenging the rules of fashion in tennis. It’s great to see she’s starting her 2019 in true sportsmanlike style.
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