Roger Federer’s adoration for sport is not strictly limited to tennis, and he has often spoken openly about his love for other disciplines.
Federer dominated the tennis landscape for two decades, collecting 20 Grand Slams between 2003 and 2018.
The Swiss star retired in 2022, but he’s kept a keen eye across the sporting world since hanging up his racquet at the Laver Cup.
The star named three sporting stars from outside tennis that had as big an effect over him than anyone from his own sport.
Roger Federer is a huge fan of Michael Jordan
Federer has often openly praised tennis stars as his idols, but he is equally as inspired by some of the biggest stars from American sports.
Speaking to Tennis World, Federer said: “My idol growing up was Michael Jordan, next to Boris Becker and Stefan Edberg. But Michael Jordan was my big idol.
Jordan won six NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls in the 1990s and 2000s and became a household name around the world.
Federer also named two other American sporting icons from outside of tennis as athletes who inspired him.
“Of course, Mohammed Ali has been doing incredible things, as well as Tiger Woods. They all did great things, and they were people I looked up to; they are inspirations, seeing that they performed at the highest level for a long time, doing things that are not that normal.”
Federer has often shared the limelight with Tiger Woods during their advertising campaigns for Gillette.
Jordan and Federer’s crossovers are less frequent, but they did meet at the 2014 US Open.
Michael Jordan’s thoughts on Roger Federer
Jordan arrived at the biggest tennis tournament on the calendar year to watch Federer in action at the US Open.
Speaking at the event, Jordan said: “I know nothing about tennis. He’s a good athlete. I know he played basketball a bit.”
“I think he looks so smooth. I’ve seen a lot of tennis on TV, but you never really understand how smooth and how relaxed and how fundamentally sound that he can make this game look.”
Unfortunately for Federer, he was defeated in the semi-finals of the 2014 US Open by eventual winner Marin Cilic.
The star did, however, win five straight US Open titles between 2004 and 2008, which is a record at the Grand Slam.
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