Roger Federer act comes to light after forbidden move from ball girl
The ball girl has opened up for the first time about the tennis legend's actions afterwards.
A ball girl who famously wrote a message for Roger Federer in the clay at Roland Garros has opened up for the first time about how the tennis legend responded. Kenza Del grabbed headlines at the French Open in 2011 when she wrote 'Allez Roger' (Go Roger) in the red dirt during his loss to Rafa Nadal in the final.
Del's actions went against grand slam protocols, with ball kids not allowed to show any form of support for the players during matches. But the youngster wrote her message of support for Federer anyway in a sweet moment that went viral at the time.
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Ahead of the 2023 French Open, Del has re-lived the famous moment and opened up about how Federer responded after his loss. “It was a tough moment for him. And I don’t know why but I decided to write Allez Roger,” she said.
Del revealed how Federer later sent her the iconic red shirt he wore during that final in a frame, along with his autograph. “(The photographer) happened to know Roger’s agent, he sent him the picture," she said.
"And I guess Roger liked it, so he decided to thank me by sending me a little gift I received a few weeks later. I never got to meet the photographer (who took the photo), never got the chance to thank him. So, if he watches this video, if he hears me, I’ll be glad to thank him, because it’s all thanks to him.”
When the story did the rounds on Instagram this week, Federer commented: “Merci Kenza [Thank you Kenza]”. As it turns out, it wasn't the only rule that Del broke during the tournament. “Back in the days, we used to have a little game with the other net ball kid,” she said. “We played some Tic-Tac-Toe on the clay. It was forbidden, of course.”
Novak Djokovic makes winning start in Monte Carlo
Meanwhile, Federer's great rival Novak Djokovic returned to action with an "ugly" win over Ivan Gakhov in the second round of the Monte Carlo Masters on Tuesday - his first match in five weeks. The World No.1 saw off a spirited challenge from 198th ranked Gakhov to advance 7-6 (7-5) 6-2.
"It was probably, if you can call it this way, an ugly tennis win for me today," Djokovic said in his on-court interview. "I haven't played my best, particularly in the first set.
"And I kind of expected that that was going to happen in a way with swirly conditions, a lot of wind today, changing directions. It's different practising and then playing an official match on clay, where I guess no two bounces are the same. It's always quite unpredictable what's going to happen.
"But all in all, I'm just pleased with the way I held my nerves. I think in the important moments and I managed to clinch the two-set win."
Djokovic, who won the Masters 1000 event in 2013 and 2015, has a huge chance to add his third title in Monte Carlo with Rafa Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz missing. Nadal hasn't played since suffering a hip injury at the Australian Open in January, while Alcaraz picked up a niggle at the recent Miami Open.
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