THEY should’ve ordered more Swiss flags. The red and white standard is in hot demand as the crowd files into Perth Arena, grabbing them from the teenage volunteers handing them out in the foyer. The German banner, not so much.
But the record-breaking 13,700 strong crowd, the big gest tennis crowd in WA history, is here to see one man – tennis superstar, living legend and as it turns out, pretty decent air bongo drummer – Roger Federer.
There is police applause for German teenage wunderkind Alexander Zverev as he enters the arena and then a palpable buzz of energy jolts through the crowd. The house lights are dimmed, AC/DC’s Thunderstruck starts belting through the speakers, there are flashing coloured lights and suddenly, emerging into the open, there he is — the man with the magic feet — Roger Federer.
It’s been 15 years since the biggest name in men’s tennis last visited, and gosh, weren’t we happy to have him back. With wife Mirka and two sets of twins in tow, Federer proved again why he is one of the most loved stars of modern sport. He moves around the court as if he’s never been anywhere else. He doesn’t so much run as skip, he doesn’t hit the ball, he tells it where it’s going. He plays instinctively, with the mark of a true great — he makes the near impossible look easy.
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READ NOWIf there was anyone in Perth who wasn’t a Federer fan last week, they are now. And if you’re not a tennis fan, no matter. It was off the court where the 35-year-old father of four really wooed us. It helped that Federer himself was so happy to be here — the Hopman Cup marked his return to tennis after a six-month hiatus due to injury, the longest continuous break from the court in his career.
He tuxed up for the Hopman Cup’s New Year’s Eve players’ party, displaying some of the style chops that won him the title of Most Stylish Man of 2016 by GQ magazine, and gave a relaxed, candid interview about his six-months hiatus while recovering from a knee injury he sustained when running a bath for his young children. He travelled to Rottnest with his family (“hot and beautiful”, was his verdict) and hit a ball around Cottesloe beach (“hot and windy”; he’s got WA all figured out). He held a free, open training session for fans to come and watch, and 6500 West Australians piled into Perth Arena to cheer him on.
He cuddled a baby kangaroo on the South Perth foreshore and comforted 10-year-old Lily, who, head to toe in Swiss flag paraphernalia, was selected to deliver the coin toss for the mixed doubles on Wednesday night and promptly burst into tears upon seeing her idol. She got a hug from the man himself for her efforts. It would have all been a bit much if he didn’t also prove he has a sense a humour, enthusiastically pretending to play the drums on the sidelines of the women’s singles on Wednesday night, much to the delight of the crowd.
Federer reportedly travelled to Perth with a smaller entourage than usual. The group included his wife and the couple’s two sets of twins, seven-year-olds Myla Rose and Charlene Riva and two-year olds Leo and Lenny. Keyvon Beykpour, co-founder of live video streaming app Periscope also travelled with the group, perhaps explaining Federer’s enthusiasm for the social media platform. The group stayed at the newly opened The Mansions at Crown Perth. Federer and Mirka and the two older girls took in Singin’ in the Rain and stuck around to meet the cast after the show.
“They were all entertainers and they were all excited to meet me,” Federer said. “They just love the tennis here in Australia and it’s wonderful just to meet people. I thought their performance was epic.”.
Federer and Mirka were last in Perth in 2002 — back then, they were dating doubles partners. A lot has changed. Mirka retired from professional tennis due to a niggling foot injury, not long after playing in the Hopman Cup with her future husband. Federer, who won the Hopman Cup in 2001 — his first major tournament win — has gone from promising young gun to become the greatest tennis player of all time. This time, Mirka and the twin girls watched from the sidelines. The seven-year olds, always dressed in matching outfits, would sit briefly in the Arena before going into a private room in the Arena to watch the matches on TV.
After each game they attended, their father would wait for the girls in the players’ lounge for a bit of post-match analysis.
The girls, overwhelmed with the emotion of seeing their father centrestage, often arrived in tears, their dad would laugh, assuring them everything was going to be OK, even if he lost the match.
“The girls are 71/2 now — they were super excited to see the light show, and the reception and one of them even got emotional. She was so happy to see me back on court again, so that was very sweet,” Federer said.
For Federer, the Hopman Cup is a very different proposition 15 years on, and the superstar couldn’t help but reflect on how far he has come, especially as he got to know his doubles partner, Belinda Bencic, who at 19 is the same age Federer was when he won the tournament.
“Speaking to Belinda makes me remind myself of where I was 15 years ago,” Federer said. “My life is set up now but at the beginning there’s a lot of questions — every week is a new week,” he said.
Former Hopman Cup tournament director Paul McNamee remembers a teenage Federer’s nerves in 2001 over playing with another legend — Martina Hingis.
“The thing that I remember so well from that year was just sitting with him on a couch in the player lounge and he said ‘this is really difficult for me because I don’t know how to behave around Martina Hingis because she is so famous. It is really intimidating,” he recalled.
Mr McNamee laughed at the memory. “He turned out to be pretty famous himself.”
Mr McNamee said Federer had long promised him a return to WA.
“I used to run into him from time to time. He said to me ‘Paul, I will come back before I retire’, he said that to me. ‘I will come back’ ... and he was true to his word.”
Mr McNamee noted that the Federer effect was not only great for tennis fans, but for WA tourism, with images of the superstar enjoying his time in WA beamed around the world. Research has shown that broadcast audiences generally increase by 40 per cent when Federer is playing, and 7Tennis reported reaching five million viewers nationally, a 52 per cent increase on last year.
Federer’s social media reach is huge — he boasts 14.5 million Facebook fans, 6.3 million Twitter followers and 2.5 million Instagram followers, all of whom were treated to candid shots of the superstar’s time in WA. Mr McNamee said the photos from the New Year’s Eve players’ party were particularly special.
“He’s a massive, massive identity in international sport and entertainment, so it’s difficult to see Roger letting his hair down,” Mr McNamee said. “That’s great for Perth’s reputation as a place where even Roger Federer will get up on the dance floor.”
The most successful tennis player of all time impressed on the court - that was almost a given - but he won hearts when he proved himself a true sportsman – graciously praising his rivals’ game and reflecting that even a loss is still a chance to play.
Thrilled to be playing after months off, and enjoying Perth with his young family, Federer was in his element, and excited to be on court.
“Personally I just want to thank you guys for making it super special for me, I'll remember this week as well. It was a long, long six months, I can tell you that, so to come back this way onto the tour, here at the Hopman Cup in Perth, I will remember this week forever.”
Federer loves tennis, and in Perth, we love Federer. Ryan Bin-Ald and his family were sitting in the Perth Arena lobby head to toe in Swiss flags.
“He is a genuine talent and I think one of the last great sport stars,” Mr Bin-Ald said. “There are a lot of very good tennis players but he’s the last of the greats.”
And the family heads inside to catch a glimpse of greatness.