Roger Federer: ” Serena Went too Far”

The winner of 20 Grand Slam titles, and one of the best athletes of all time, Roger Federer stated that Serena Williams overreacted in the finals of this year’s US Open. He also added that when comparing to other sports, tennis still has the best possible behavior and discipline.

Serena had to Back Out

All of you remember the women’s finals at Flushing Meadows. Young Naomi Osaka won her first Grand Slam, and to be clear right away she totally deserved it. But what marked that spectacle was the outburst and rude display of the US player, which casted a shadow on a fantastic performance of the 21-year-old Japanese.

According to the Swiss, Serena “went too far” that day, and he thinks that she had to be calmer.

“I feel like Serena should have walked away,” Federer told. “She went too far. She should have walked earlier. It’s a little bit excusable. The umpire maybe should not have pushed her there. It’s unfortunate, but an incredible case study.”

To remind you, Serena and chair umpire Carlos Ramos had a verbal clash. To be more precise, Williams went against Ramos after he gave her three code violations. The first one was for coaching, as he saw Williams, and her coach Patrick Muratoglu exchanging signals during the event. After that, the second one was for smashing the racket, and the final, third, was because of verbal abuse. Serena called Ramos a “liar” and a “thief”, which later started many debates in the world of sports. Some sided along with her; others were blasting the American, saying that she behaved like a spoiled child.

Tennis Much Better Than Other Sports

For FedEx, this is just an exception, and tennis is much better when speaking about discipline than other sports. He then mentioned what happened before the recent UFC clash between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor, when the Irishman injured Khabib’s team members.

“Anything that’s good for society and gets the ball rolling, I’m all for it,” he continued. “We do so well in tennis; our sport is so well behaved. You see the UFC guy [the boxer Conor McGregor] throw a railing, or in other sports they spit and swear at each other on a regular basis.”

For all of those who might think that the Swiss have anything against Serena, here is the part of his interview which denies that. When the 22-time Grand Slam champion appeared in the catsuit at the French Open, that outfit was immediately banned by the French Tennis Asociation. The official reason for that was the “lack of respect towards a game and the venue”, according to Bernard Giudicelli, who is the president of the French Federation.

But for Federer that wasn’t right, and he completely backed Serena on that one, saying that there were much more eccentric outfits before hers and that they haven’t done any harm.

“Serena has worn crazier stuff in the past. Guys have worn crazier stuff. It was a big deal when Tommy Haas wore a sleeveless top at the US Open and then, all of a sudden, it was allowed. For me, it was a bit of nonsense. Just chill out for a second.”

He also mentioned Alize Cornet and her case at the US Open. The French throw on her shirt the wrong way, without realizing until she entered the court. Once she did, Cornet quickly changed it, but the umpire gave her a court violation.

“What was the problem with taking the T-shirt off, or the catsuit?” the Swiss asked.

Federer is known for his fairness, and he tends to be honest whenever mentioning other players, regardless of whether they compete in male or ladies competition. His words in this interview have caused many debates, but we still have a feeling that he didn’t say anything wrong.

At the moment, he is preparing for the ATP Masters Finals in London, a tournament he already won six times, and holds the record in that category. His biggest rival is going to be Novak Djokovic, who defeated him last Saturday in the semifinals of the Paris Masters, handing him the 25th defeat in their H2H history. The third racket in the ATP rankings is one title away from his 100th career trophy, as he won the tournament in Basel 9 days ago.