Roger Federer's wife sparks tennis fan frenzy amid Australian Open absence

Roger Federer's wife Mirka has sent tennis fans into meltdown after wearing a jumper with a goat on the front at Paris Fashion Week. Federer isn't playing at the Australian Open this year after announcing his retirement from tennis in 2022.

However he has remained in the public eye and made his annual appearance at Paris Fashion Week recently. Accompanied by wife Mirka, Federer mingled with the likes of Anna Wintour, Baz Luhrmann and Catherine Martin.

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But the talk of the tennis world is the jumper that Mirka wore. Federer's wife made her feelings about her husband known with a big blue goat emblazoned on the front of her black outfit.

In the sporting world, 'GOAT' usually stands for 'greatest of all time'. Fans have been debating for years about who is the tennis GOAT, with Federer often regarded as the best male player of all time.

However the Swiss champion's haul of 20 grand slam titles has been overtaken by Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic in recent years. Nadal now has 22 after winning the Australian and French Open titles in 2022, while Djokovic has 21 after winning at Wimbledon.

With Nadal suffering a shock loss in the second round in Australia last week, Djokovic has a huge chance to equal his record with a 22nd major. In women's tennis, many believe 23-time grand slam champion Serena Williams in the GOAT, however some point to Margaret Court's haul of 24 majors - most of which were won before the 'Open era' of professional tennis.

On Wednesday night, Djokovic paid tribute to Federer after advancing to the semi-finals. "I had some great battles with Roger over the years that’s for sure," he said. “Tennis misses him for sure."

Roger Federer's heartbreaking call to quit tennis

Federer played the final match of his career at the Laver Cup last year, teaming up with Rafa Nadal for a doubles clash at the event in London. Both players were reduced to tears after the match as Federer was farewelled in front of his adoring fans.

The 41-year-old had been planning a return to the ATP tour after a third round of knee surgery, however he soon realised that it wasn't going to be possible. Federer later revealed how Nadal made the brutal call to leave his pregnant wife in Spain just to play in his great friend's farewell, before flying straight back home.

"I called him after the US Open - I waited for him to finish that tournament - just to let him know about my retirement," Federer said. "And I just wanted to let him know before he started making some plans without the Laver Cup at all. I told him on the phone that I was probably 50-50 or 60-40 on making the doubles. I told him, 'Look, I’ll keep you posted. You let me know how things are at home. And we’ll reconnect'.

"Rafa told me, 'I will try everything I possibly can to be there with you.' And that felt obviously incredible for me. And it showed again how much we mean to one another and how much respect we have.

"And I just thought it would be just a beautiful, amazing story for us, for sports, for tennis, and maybe beyond that as well, where we can co-exist in a tough rivalry and come out on top and show that, hey, again it’s just tennis.

"Yes, it’s hard, and it’s brutal sometimes, but it’s always fair. And you can come out on the other side and still have this great, friendly rivalry. I just thought it ended up even better than I ever thought it would. So, an incredible effort by Rafa, and I’ll obviously never forget what he did for me in London."

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