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Frances Tiafoe admits he would definitely feel nervous if he knew Roger Federer was sitting in the Royal Box for his Wimbledon Centre Court match. On Tuesday, Federer was honored at Wimbledon and he stuck around to watch some tennis.
The first match Federer watched was the one between Elena Rybakina and Shelby Rogers, who opened the Centre Court play on Tuesday. Then, Federer followed his old rival Andy Murray's win over Ryan Peniston. Federer has since returned home but there is no doubt that he will be seen in the Royal Box many more times in the future.
Tiafoe on the prospect of Federer watching his Wimbledon match
“It’s definitely nerve-wracking! [At] a couple of Laver Cups when he was there watching, every ball that I missed I thought ‘he probably thinks I’m terrible!’.
But that’s definitely going to be something. What a legend, and it’s still tough that he’s not playing. He’s such an icon and so good for the sport. He still looks a million bucks in that suit. The funny thing is, he looked like that on the court – he would never sweat," Tiafoe said on Tennis Channel.
Rybakina, the defending Wimbledon champion, was visibly nervous early on against Rogers. After shaking off the early nerves, Rybakina was able to beat Rogers 4-6 6-1 6-2. After the match, Rybakina admitted she was nervous early on and Federer's presence might have played a role.
“Maybe I was nervous because I really like Roger. When I was younger, I was always watching him play. It was really special. The year after to be again on this court with the same crowd, it was really special. Of course, just the atmosphere and the attention to be on Centre Court, it's different than the last year, because last year I started on a smaller court.
With every match I was playing better and better, feeling better," Rybakina said after Federer came to watch her Wimbledon match.