WEBVTT 00:01.933 --> 00:05.000 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% AMNA NAWAZ: The sports world is losing a legend. Swiss champion Roger Federer 00:06.466 --> 00:08.700 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% announced today he is stepping away from competitive tennis. 00:08.700 --> 00:10.133 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70% Geoff Bennett has more. 00:11.566 --> 00:13.366 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% GEOFF BENNETT: Twenty-time Grand Slam champion, 00:13.366 --> 00:17.100 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% eight Wimbledon titles and five consecutive U.S. Opens. 00:17.100 --> 00:21.600 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% For two decades, Roger Federer has built one of the greatest records in the game's history. 00:21.600 --> 00:25.600 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% He holds the professional tennis record for the most consecutive weeks at number 00:25.600 --> 00:30.600 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% one and the record for the oldest player to rank number one. That was at age 36 back in 00:32.500 --> 00:36.200 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% 2018. But injuries and surgeries over the last three years have taken their toll. 00:36.200 --> 00:38.966 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% Today, Roger Federer broke the news of his retirement 00:38.966 --> 00:41.600 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% in a letter he read to fans over social media. 00:41.600 --> 00:45.200 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% ROGER FEDERER, Professional Tennis Player: I have worked hard to return to full competitive form. 00:45.200 --> 00:50.166 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% But I also know my body's capacities and limits. And its message to me lately has been clear. 00:51.966 --> 00:56.133 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% I am 41 years old. I have played more than 1,500 matches over 24 00:56.133 --> 00:59.533 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% years. Tennis has treated me more generously than I ever would have 00:59.533 --> 01:03.533 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% dreamt. And now I must recognize when it is time to end my competitive career. 01:03.533 --> 01:08.133 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% GEOFF BENNETT: Federer will play his final competitive match next week in London. 01:08.133 --> 01:10.600 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% To discuss the impact of the career he leaves behind, 01:10.600 --> 01:15.600 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% I'm joined by former professional tennis star and ESPN broadcaster Patrick McEnroe. 01:16.466 --> 01:18.600 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% It's great to have you with us. 01:18.600 --> 01:21.966 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% And Roger Federer's tennis agent, I learned today, said that he had been trying to convince 01:24.033 --> 01:27.500 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% Federer to retire years ago, but that Federer was always interested in challenging himself. 01:29.100 --> 01:31.900 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% How does the news of his retirement, how does that strike you? 01:31.900 --> 01:33.600 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% PATRICK MCENROE, Former Professional Tennis Player: It's actually kind of 01:33.600 --> 01:35.600 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% emotional for me, believe it or not. 01:35.600 --> 01:40.133 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% And I'm supposed to be unbiased, right, as a commentator for 25-plus years with ESPN. But 01:42.733 --> 01:46.033 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% Roger Federer affects people. And I think that's part of his genius and his popularity, is not just 01:48.666 --> 01:52.233 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% that he's one of the greatest tennis players to ever pick up a racket. That, we all know. 01:52.233 --> 01:57.200 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% But I think it was his ability to connect with people at every level all over the world. He's 01:59.233 --> 02:02.700 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% one of the most recognizable figures, athletes, certainly, on the entire planet. And he did it 02:04.700 --> 02:07.733 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% with a grace. He did it with an elegance. He did it with a competitive spirit that was, 02:09.733 --> 02:13.700 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% yes, intense, but also very joyful about the way he went about playing the game. 02:15.700 --> 02:19.700 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% And I think, as you heard from his agent one, of the reasons Roger has been able to do it for 02:21.766 --> 02:24.833 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% so long at such a high level is because he just loves the game of tennis. He loves the 02:27.233 --> 02:30.500 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% sport. He loves to play the game. He loves to be around the game. Of course, he loves to win and 02:32.566 --> 02:36.400 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% he loves to compete and battle, but I think it's his passion for the game that has separated him. 02:36.400 --> 02:40.233 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% And if what we saw at this year's U.S. Open is any 02:42.266 --> 02:46.766 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% inkling of what's to come in the world of tennis, I think he's left his mark in more 02:46.766 --> 02:51.200 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% ways than just what he's done on the court, but also the way he's he's handled himself, 02:51.200 --> 02:55.833 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% the way he's treated the game, because these young superstars that we saw at the U.S. Open were, 02:55.833 --> 03:00.800 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% quite frankly, electrifying in the way they played the game, but also in their demeanor on the court. 03:02.433 --> 03:04.066 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% PATRICK MCENROE: And I think we can thank Roger Federer for all of them. 03:04.066 --> 03:06.633 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% GEOFF BENNETT: Well, a question about what he's done on the court. 03:06.633 --> 03:11.566 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% I mean, how would you characterize his impact on the way that the game is played? I mean, 03:11.566 --> 03:14.866 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% his serving, his footwork, his forehand, his single backhand, 03:14.866 --> 03:19.500 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% all of that will certainly be remembered. How did it advance the way that the game is played? 03:19.500 --> 03:23.433 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% PATRICK MCENROE: Well, I think what happened in the early 2000s is that the 03:23.433 --> 03:26.933 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% game started to get way more powerful. And you started to see big servers, 03:26.933 --> 03:29.333 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% and then players sort of bludgeoning the ball. 03:29.333 --> 03:34.333 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% And then Roger Federer came along, and he was a little bit of a throwback. In other words, 03:36.166 --> 03:38.933 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% he was a classic player with, as you said, a one-handed backhand. He played 03:38.933 --> 03:43.133 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% with slice. He played with finesse. He played with grace. He could come 03:43.133 --> 03:47.733 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% to the net. He could hit drop shots. But, yes, he could also play the power game. 03:47.733 --> 03:52.233 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% So he took the classical game, and he brought it into the modern era 03:52.233 --> 03:57.233 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% of tennis. And he forced the other players, most notably Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, 03:59.233 --> 04:03.966 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% to continue to improve their games to keep up with him, to catch up to him and eventually, 04:06.000 --> 04:09.466 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% in the case of those two, to pass him, at least in terms of total Grand Slam wins. 04:09.466 --> 04:13.600 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% So I think, in that way, he left a mark with the way he played the 04:13.600 --> 04:17.866 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% game and pushed the envelope for the rest of the field. But, again, to me, 04:17.866 --> 04:22.866 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% it was his ability to show that you could be a great champion, but also do it with dignity, 04:24.900 --> 04:29.333 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% grace, sportsmanship, cry when you lost, cry when you win, show your emotions out on the court. 04:31.933 --> 04:36.433 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% And when you saw Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner play just a spellbinding match at the U.S. Open, I 04:38.900 --> 04:42.500 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% was thinking to myself, we can thank Roger Federer for this, because he raised the bar in a big way. 04:42.500 --> 04:44.500 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% GEOFF BENNETT: As I understand it, 04:44.500 --> 04:47.733 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% you have a personal memory or two that you can share with us. Give us one of them. 04:47.733 --> 04:52.000 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% PATRICK MCENROE: Well, one of them was one of the first times I was working in 04:52.000 --> 04:56.266 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% television. I was covering a big tournament in Cincinnati, and it was the final day. 04:56.266 --> 05:01.233 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% And Roger Federer played James Blake, a great young American player at the time. And he just 05:01.233 --> 05:06.233 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% destroyed him in about 49 minutes, which, in a final, is very fast. And I was sitting down 05:08.233 --> 05:11.700 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% next to him about to interview him on live TV. We had gone to a commercial break. They 05:11.700 --> 05:16.300 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% didn't do the trophy ceremony yet. I sat down next to his bench right there on the sideline. 05:16.300 --> 05:21.300 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% I said: "Roger, congratulations. Well done. Is it OK if I ask you a few more questions 05:23.300 --> 05:25.833 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% than normal? Because you took care of the match so quickly, we need some extra time to fill." 05:25.833 --> 05:27.900 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% And he said: "Oh, sure, no problem." 05:27.900 --> 05:31.500 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% And then he looked at me and he said: "You know, Patrick," he said, "I ball boy-ed for you." 05:31.500 --> 05:34.100 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% (LAUGHTER) PATRICK MCENROE: I said: "What?" 05:34.100 --> 05:38.400 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% He goes, "Yes, I ball boy-ed for you in Basel," which was his hometown, stadium named after him. 05:40.266 --> 05:42.766 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% PATRICK MCENROE: He said: "Yes, you played the final against Wayne Ferreira, right?" 05:42.766 --> 05:46.300 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% I said: "Yes, you're damned right I did." I said: "You must have been rooting for me, weren't you?" 05:46.300 --> 05:49.133 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% He goes -- and he gave me that sheepish little grin. He said: 05:49.133 --> 05:53.633 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% "Well, no, because Ferreira was -- is South African, and my mom's South African." 05:53.633 --> 05:58.633 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% But it was -- it was amazing just that he had the wherewithal at that moment to think about 06:00.633 --> 06:04.500 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% me. I'm just some little reporter, former journeyman tennis player. And that's the 06:06.466 --> 06:09.400 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% kind of person he is. And that's the way he's touched all of us in the tennis world, 06:09.400 --> 06:13.533 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% in the tennis community, and his respect for the game and just people around him. 06:13.533 --> 06:16.400 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% That's why he's one of the most beloved athletes of all time. 06:16.400 --> 06:18.400 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% GEOFF BENNETT: Absolutely. 06:18.400 --> 06:21.733 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% ESPN's Patrick McEnroe, thanks again for your insights and for making time for us. 06:21.733 --> 06:22.800 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% PATRICK MCENROE: Thank you for having me.