Watching Federer play is an emotion, says Devvarman

There have been tributes galore over the past one week ever since Roger Federer announced his time at the tennis court is coming to an end at the Laver Cup, a tournament that took seed in his imagination, this weekend. A fitting end to a career unmatched.

Reams of paper and scores of pages have been dedicated to the memories, gratitude and awe that the Swiss maestro inspired over two decades and across generations.

The term GOAT (Greatest Of All Time) gets thrown around a lot these days, bastardised - in a sense - by the short-termism that has come to define the Tik-Tok world.

In this context, when it comes to Federer, it fits the bill. Joining the chorus is Somdev Devvarman.

"I do see him as GOAT. Greatness can't be measured in numbers, there are a lot of intangibles - the fan following he had, how he was on and off the court, how he changed the game..." he said during an interaction on Wednesday.

Devvarman has played the Swiss multiple times in his career and even practiced with him.

"My experiences were always unbelievable. You don't expect someone like him to be so interested in your life and what is happening in India. But he was always interested in a variety of subjects. I learned a lot, especially in practice. Roger is one of those rare people who you can meet as an idol and nobody is going to be disappointed," he remarked.
Having made a moving tribute to the 41-year-old on his social media, Devvarman feels that it is the intangibles that make Federer, in his opinion, the GOAT.

Granted his rivals that defined this era have crossed Federer in Grand Slam wins. He even has a losing head-to-head record against the two - Rafael Nadal (24-16) and Novak Djokovic (27-23) - but Federer had that magnetic charisma to him.

"Do we consider Margret Court as GOAT or someone like Serena (Williams) or Martina (Navratilova)? It is not fair we are comparing generations. Between Nadal and Djokovic best tennis players may be out there. But the greatest are the people who influence the game and Roger was the first to play this kind of passionate tennis. Nobody did it like Roger, to have an all-court game and pretty much on any surface," he said.

"Federer is more than titles, it's the way he played and how he made it look effortless, the shots he could pull off... all of us who are tennis fans, we only imagined tennis could be played like this. All champions were subject to some sort of scrutiny but Roger was Roger, he always tried his hardest and pushed agendas like equal prize money and others to make our sports better.

"(Also) Lot of the matches (he lost to Nadal and Djokovic) were after his peak. The three of them took tennis to new heights but no one could play like Roger. There is a certain serenity in how he played while putting that kind of intensity. Watching him play is an emotion," Devvarman opined.