Roger Federer with basketball legend Michael Jordan back in 2014. (Getty Images)
A former World No.1 Roger Federer is the winner of record 20 Grand Slam titles
Swiss tennis star Roger Federer is a huge fan of American basketball legend Michael Jordan.
A former World No.1, Federer is the winner of a record 20 Grand Slam titles. In a throwback video with Complex, Federer spoke about a range of issues from collaborating with Air Jordan to how he became a fan of NBA legend Michael Jordan.
In the video, Federer explained how he became a fan of Jordan by watching the NBA clips on Sundays.
“Absolutely, I watched every Sunday show. Michael was the guy, he transcended basketball and was a hero for our entire generation, I think so,” Federer explained.
The Swiss later explained what made Jordan so popular in his home country Switzerland and neighbouring nations like Germany.
“We see it here, I mean the wall is all just Jordan and like this is where it hits you again, you know how much he’s done on the court, and how much it went into the streets and just how popular he was in Switzerland in Germany where I grew up.”
“He was so big and so well-liked, so successful, well-spoken. There was everything about him, he had the perfect run going for so long and then he retired and I couldn’t believe it, but thank God he came back all right,” he concluded.
Meanwhile, Michael Jordan is a former American basketball player and principal owner of NBA Outfit Charlotte Hornets.
Having played 15 seasons in the NBA, Jordan won six championships with the Chicago Bulls.
Widely considered as one of the greatest athletes of his generation, Jordan was instrumental in popularising the NBA around the world in the 1990s.
Federer also added that he loved watching tennis great John McEnroe despite the latter playing before his time.
“Well, they were extreme you know. Jonathan here from New York and just his personality, I mean I loved watching him play even though he was just a bit before my time,” said Federer.
The Swiss maestro then spoke about Agassi and how he transcended the game of tennis with his looks and fashion sense.
“And then I was lucky enough to play through the Agassi era and he’s really pushed the envelope afterwards, the denim shorts and the long hair and the look and images everything, who cares about the results, but as long as you have the guy, I mean he was unbelievable.”
Meanwhile, McEnroe and Andre Agassi were both former World No.1s from America with seven and eight Grand Slam titles respectively to their names.
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