Raymond APAV
Mirka was a budding tennis player before meeting Roger at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, before a number of debilitating injuries forced her to retire.
“My wife Mirka has suffered a lot due to her physical problems,” Federer said in an interview with Ringier.
“Her career ended very early and I myself advised her to end that pain.
“I told her as if it were the simplest thing in the world.
“Looking back on it today, I get a weird feeling. I am still playing tournaments at 40 and I find it difficult to stop.”
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Federer also revealed a funny anecdote about when Mirka called him in the middle of a match.
“She once phoned me while I was in the middle of a game,” he recalled.
“She had completely forgotten that I was playing.
“This is exactly what I like about her. When we are in a tournament, she is 100% involved, while at home she is free from all thoughts.”
Roger and Mirka have been married since 2009 and have two sets of twins together – Myla and Charlene and Leo and Lenny.
After retiring from tennis in 2002, Mirka went on to serve as Federer’s manager for a brief period before having children.
Mirka and the kids are often spotted courtside at Federer’s matches, cheering on the Swiss legend.
Roger Federer and wife Mirka, pictured here at Paris Fashion Week in September.
Roger Federer and wife Mirka at Paris Fashion Week in September. (Photo by Bertrand Rindoff Petroff/Getty Images)
Roger Federer highly unlikely to play Australian Open
Meanwhile, Federer will almost certainly miss the Australian Open for the second year in a row, with the Swiss maestro said to be recovering slowly from a third knee surgery in 18 months.
Federer’s long-time coach Ivan Ljubicic has played down fears the tennis world has seen the last of the 20-times grand slam champion, who turned 40 in August.
Federer has played just 13 matches in 2021 and not one since suffering a straight-sets quarter-final loss to Hubert Hurkacz at Wimbledon in July.
The six-time Open champion’s latest four-month lay-off comes after he spent a year on the sidelines following his record-setting 15th semi-final appearance at Melbourne Park in 2020.
“Roger Federer is very unlikely to play the Australian Open,” Ljubicic told Sky Sport TV on Sunday.
“He is 40 and doesn’t recover as fast as before. But he wants to compete again and won’t retire all of a sudden.
“We will be able to see Roger again next year. I don’t know when exactly, but he is undergoing rehabilitation. He is recovering slowly, he is not in a hurry.”
The veteran superstar was still on crutches when he made a surprise appearance courtside at the Laver Cup in Boston in late September.
