Allow me to put on my amateur sports blogger cap. *adjusts chapeau* Okay, here we go. Today is the last day of the last event of the men’s tennis calendar (excepting the Davis Cup final next week). The last event? The World Tour Finals, where the top eight men’s players do one final battle to see who comes out on top. Rafael Nadal is the world #1, and he dropped out after playing one match, where he lost to wee Belgian David Goffin. All hopes were on Roger Federer, world #2. This year’s top eight was full of debutantes, and Federer was practically the only big-name player left. And he lost in Saturday’s semifinal, to wee Belgian David Goffin. It was a stunning defeat – Goffin had never beaten Federer before, and Goffin is clearly battling some kind of knee issue.
So, long story short, Roger’s dream season will not be capped off with a World Tour Final gong. Was he just tired after a long season? He didn’t even play any clay tournaments though…? He’s also the oldest man in the top ten, at the age of 36. There’s also an ongoing issue with his back, but who knows. Well, I have another theory! My theory is that athletes are superstitious and the Duchess of Cambridge messed with Federer’s mojo!
Roger Federer and his young family had a brush with royalty when they stopped by at Kensington Palace to visit their friends Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. The Swiss tennis ace, who is in London this week for the ATP Finals, was joined by wife Mirka and their two sets of adorable twins on Wednesday night. The family were spotted leaving their hotel on Wednesday afternoon before making the short drive to Kate and William’s home where they stayed for around two hours.
The Cambridges have recently swapped Anmer Hall in Norfolk for Kensington Palace as their official residence as they prepare to take on more royal duties. They are close friends of the Federers, who were guests at both Kate and younger sister Pippa’s weddings. And the pair came armed with presents for their royal pals, with Mirka carrying what appeared to be two small wrapped gift boxes.
The couple, who wed in 2009, are parents to twin girls Myla Rose and Charlene Riva, eight, and Leo and Lennart, three. After leaving the palace later on in the evening, Myla appeared to be carrying a drawing with her name scrawled on it. The Federers were joined by Roger’s mother Lynette, 65, on Wednesday and after returning to their hotel the adults were seen heading out again for dinner.
Granted, Roger doesn’t seem AS superstitious as other athletes, and he’s known for throwing parties, eating ice cream and going to the beach with his kids before big, important matches. But I imagine it probably did throw off his schedule a little bit to spend several hours at Kensington Palace with the Cambridges. I always wonder just how his friendship with the Middleton family really happened – it’s very odd. Oh well. Good luck to Roger in the coming season, especially with all of the sick-list players back on the tour (Wawrinka, Djokovic, Murray, Nishikori, Raonic, etc). And good luck to Kate, who always manages to find time out of her busy schedule (heh) to hang out with attractive athletes.
Photos courtesy of Backgrid.
Not bothered about Rog, sorry!
Just commenting to celebrate the sixth anniversary of the PR phrase “as they prepare to take on more royal duties”. HANG OUT THE BUNTING EVERYONE!
Yes, we must take a moment for the anniversary of this full of bs PR phrase!
I used to love Rog but since the Midds latched onto him with their tentacles I can’t stand him. That Wimbledon photo of Carole lurking outside the stadium to pester tickets out of Mirka said it all. Carole and the Midds are obsequious users of wealthy people.
+1000
NO to playdate at the taxpayers Duvhy finded Palace and Eillnot occupants. This is a free palace PR for a celebrity for middleton friend ; they dont deserve special access to the royals. This use of status on playdated should not occur what charity work has this family done for GB…. visit carol buckleberry if you need a playdate with middleton tennis friend or pipsie. Only charity related, duties service members/volunteers should have such PR – where willnot cannot keep their precious entitled kids far from those events- tha is giving back to the people of GB UK.
Carole and Pippa had been invited to sit in the royal box, but arrived late and could not be seated. Carole then asked her friend Mirka for tickets. I really don’t see the scandal here.
As for them not being allowed to invite guests to their own home, give me a break.
I also wasn’t happy to see them en famille going on a jaunt to Kensington Palace in the middle of an important tournament, a sure way to lose concentration preparing for something like that. The Middleton’s have really reeled Roger in, and he seems to have fallen for the cachet of being associated with royalty. Anyway, i am a massive Roger Federer fan and I now firmly blame the Middleton’s for his loss at the WTF at the O2. Going to KP with his family was a huge distraction. But I do agree it is the Middleton’s who are pursuing the Federer’s. Like so many middle aged women, Carole has a huge crush on Roger and she is now using Kate to get close to him and no doubt engineered this ‘play date’ at the most inappropriate time, which Rog had to fit in rather than concentrating on the job at hand.
I’m no W&K fan, but to say they shouldn’t be allowed to have friends/visitors over to their own home is ridiculous.
They weren’t giving Federer any kind of PR (he doesn’t need it, anyway!), they were having a play date with the kids.
Come on now…
Here you are with the negatvity Sixer. Don’t you know they are KEEN to take on more royal duties??!!
SO KEEN! If only royal duties involved shopping, hair appointments and flirting with Ben Ainslie and Roger Federer all the time!
Don’t they? I thought they did!
OMG! I have just realised! It’s all a secret plot. Bill’s going to spend his time “preparing to take on more royal duties” in Africa, shooting things with whatsherface. So that Kate doesn’t find her time “preparing to take on more royal duties” awfully boring and remain KEEN, they’re getting her a harem. Founding members: Rog and Ben.
They are the champions are preparing aren’t they – she spend 10 years ‘preparing’ for her royal role. Whenever i hear someone saying that they are ‘keen’ to do something i think of these 2 and roll my eyes.
But we all know how much Katie Keen loves her attractive male athletes in sports she likes.
hahaha – yes! There is that phrase. What is to prepare? They are fully staffed, have the clothes. Just do it W&K!
Hahaha. Good one, Sixer.
I’ll bring the faux bubbly to celebrate the faux news!
Ditto.
Sixer deserves a gong for reminding us to celebrate.
🥂🍾
And someone can bring banners that we can display, and they’ll have nothing on them. Reminds me of Seinfeld in a way . . . a celebration about nothing!
@bluhare, I’ll bring both cinnamon and chocolate babka.
And I’m only coming if I can bring my chickens (they’ve got names now ☺️)….
Only if they don’t have cinnamon and chocolate in them, nas.
And your chickens can come if they aren’t layers, frisbee!
What are your chickens called? Tell! Tell!
My chickens are called Mavis, Florence, Enda, Brenda and Shirley, they are all fluffy, white, lay like buggery and are the completely ideal virtual pet. I am now so deeply attached I can’t imagine it was ever a good idea to launch them from tiny catapaults. So we are working on the formation tap dancing instead.
That has totally cheered up my morning!
hrumpf. Just for you, I shall figure out a vegan, chocolate-and-cinnamon-free one. It will not be a lesser babka.
Can we use some of the extra KEEN bunting as part of the 70th anniversary celebrations for HM and PP tomorrow?
” I always wonder just how his friendship with the Middleton family really happened – it’s very odd.”
He probably likes being royal-adjacent like almost everybody else who is famous (I said almost. Stephen Hawking probably doesn’t care).
Wanting to hang out with the royals makes more sense to me than wanting to hang out with Gavin Rosedale, though.
Rog has a lot of high profile celebrity friends, the Mids are just on the lower levels even with the Duchess Katie Keen connection.
The Mids are massive tennis fans and am sure he was the only one to give them the time of day.
True about Rog.
I love how KM has pursued Andy as a friend yet he always seems polite but detached and slightly dismissive of them. Love Andy for seeing through their narcissism and grasping.
Yes, Andy Murray would not be interested in hanging out with W & K, but then again Carole doesn’t fancy Andy.
Roger F is boring but seems kind enough. Andy seems less impressed with status and fanfare and not one to be bothered.
I love him. He has that sort of delightful arrogance I don’t mind in that he’s hard on himself but seems nice to other people, and seems like a good husband and dad.
Have to say this sounds like a mind-numbingly dull play date tho.
I am the opposite. He has a fake humble persona but you can feel the arrogance.
I prefere Murray who actually seems humble, or Đoković who seems like a wonderful guy of the court, even if he can be really intense on it.
See he never strikes me as humble. If anything I’ve seen him edge towards being blasé about his own talent and rankings. Like why yes I won Wimbledon again? Is there a question here? I find that sort of refreshing I guess is what I meant? Everyone defaults to humble and most of it does read as PR training to me. Like faux bashfulness or something. I like when people own the fact that they worked hard, know they’re talented, and expect to win? Major caveat is if you’re a jerk to others though which he doesn’t seem to be.
I like Murray too. 🙂
fake humble persona with palpable arrogance–no wonder they are friends with the c-bridges. like attracts like.
Roger Federer is a tennis genius and a ‘god’ as far as I am concerned. He has supernatural talent and Roger unlike some has earned his regal air of superiority, which some may wish to call ‘arrogance’. He also shows great humility, kindness and fairness otherwise his peers would not have repeatedly awarded him the sportsmanship title. I am not however to keen on the way he is being pursued by the tennis loving Middleton’s, which may have cost him the WTF!
Goffin is 5’11” btw, which may be relatively wee for tennis these days but isn’t vertically challenged. Glad he beat Federer, both because I like Goffin, and well, bcause he beat Federer.
LOL there’s no way Goffin is 5’11”. His bio may say that, but dude is probably 5’9″, if that.
Measuring tape required Kaiser.
Wasn’t there some story about Kate and Pippa making fun of Roger’s wife? It makes this so weird. I think Federer looks like a hanger on here. How can he have anything in common with two people who have done sweet FA their whole lives whereas he had to work hard at training?
+100
Good PR for the celeb.
A lot of tennis players are from rich families ( I know there are exceptions like Serena, Novak, etc). So they could have similar views and experiences.
Please. Roger has more money than the Middleton’s and Kate/William. He is also one of the most popular athletes in the world and is loved by people the world over; moreso than Will and Kate because the vast majority of the world does not have an obsession with the British Royals. They’ve latched on to him not vice versa.
Exactly!
This I agree with. Federer isn’t my favorite, but he will be remembered as one of the best players ever.
@Nic919 I am so glad someone brought this up because it was the first thing I thought of!
IIRC, Kate and Pippa were observed/caught making fun of Mirka’s weight at Wimbledon.
I understand that people move on and get over things, but this wasn’t something that happened on a playground when they were 12 years old — it was within the past five years! If it were me, I wouldn’t want anything to do with any of them. But apparently Roger is into this “friendship,” so.
I’m surprised the Middletons still feel they have to work to get respect after all this time. The daughter is going to be queen; the first grandchild is going to be sovereign. This sounds like these people who see a family member do well so they expect a come up.
Good thing that Roger bought his wife with him as protection from Kate humping his leg a la Ben Ainslie engagements !
Roger might be arrogant and all the rest but he is about the most successful male tennis player ever. He seems to like other famous people – Anna Wintour – so he maybe likes hanging out with the Cambridges – and they with him – because the Cambridges are British royalty and he is tennis royalty. Don’t see any harm to be honest.
Yes, no harm unless they are distracting him, which they clearly are. Having to go to KP in the middle of the WTF was a huge distraction and may have lost him the title!
He’s a grown man. No one forced him to go to KP. If it distracted him, that’s his own fault, not the Middletons’.
The Fed is undoubtedly quite arrogant, but let’s give him a pass because he has trained and worked hard for years to get where he is. I think Kate and Bill just love to have wealthy friends so they can go on holidays with them in various exotic locations.
No no no no no no.
I’ve been a forever Roger’ stan (even when he was throwing his matches with his rackets) and every time he loses it seriously hurts my heart a little. But to blame Kate for his loss? It’s beyond ridiculous.
RF is a big boy and a professional, you would think he knows when to refuse a invitation if it messes with his training and mental prep.
But well I guess Kate is also responsible for the 10 plagues of Egypt….
Another perk of joining the royal establishment gaining high profile famous people as friends. Let’s face it if Kate had not married Wills would the Midds be best mates with RF and family? I can’t recall members of the royal family inviting best buddy celebrities to their circle maybe this is a new thing.