Roger Federer’s retirement from tennis was another form of death, say directors

Roger Federer is one of the greatest tennis players of all time, and witnessing the final days of his career was like “watching him die,” documentary filmmaker Asif Kapadia tells Yahoo UK.

Kapadia and Joe Sabia spent time with the athlete for Prime Video’s “Federer: Twelve Final Days,” which explores the end of Federer’s career, which culminated in a Lavers Cup doubles match alongside longtime rival Rafael Nadal in September 2022. The film traces the successful player’s journey from the announcement of his retirement to his final moments on the court, which was an emotional experience for both him and the filmmakers.

“That’s what really interested me, just the idea, the emotionality,” Kapadia explains. “You know the line about the athlete who dies twice, and the idea that we see him die, one of his lives dies and he’s not sure what he’s going to do now, what’s next, is quite haunting.”

“You can see in the eyes of all his rivals that they know, ‘It’s my turn soon.’ It’s probably even sooner than you think. It really is the end of an era, but that’s what the film is about.”

Sabia met Federer when he gave an interview to Vogue and didn’t know he would soon be working with the athlete again – but he reveals that the original plan wasn’t to show the world the final product.

Read more: Roger Federer is “really relieved” to have retired from tennis (Bang Showbiz, 2 minutes reading time)

“Three years later, the opportunity arose to make a documentary about his experiences, which would otherwise never see the light of day,” he says. “In this context, I met Mirka (Federer’s wife) and his children for the first time… and I immediately realized that it was a very small circle and that to be part of this circle, you obviously need trust.”

“You have to be aware of it and exercise discretion, but once you’re there, you feel nothing but warmth, and that’s what I felt the whole time.”

The director adds: “It was an emotional experience for me too. I didn’t go into this experience thinking that I was a documentary filmmaker working on a project that had been greenlit by a studio, or that everyone agreed that this was going to be a film and that we had to think about the audience.”

“So I was able to go on this journey where I’m just a member of a small circle that makes home videos. I think that allowed me to appreciate it from an emotional perspective where it felt like I was just joining him and his family on this journey.”

He and Kapadia were impressed by Federer’s behavior during the 12 days they spent together, with Federer describing him as a “gentleman” before, during and after the match.

Saba says: “This man had a lot on his mind when he announced his retirement several days in advance. He had butterflies in his stomach until then. But on top of that he had to give 40 interviews in two-hour blocks, speak four different languages, be pulled in all directions and have conversations with his hero Björn Borg. All these young players admired him.

“(He was) worried about his knee the whole time and was worried if Rafa would be on time (for the Laver Cup) because his wife is having a baby soon.

“He had so much on his mind, but he handled everything with composure and typical Federer class. It exhausted me to watch him, I was completely exhausted!”

The film not only shows Federer’s personal journey to accepting the end of his career, but also the other members of the top 4 of the golden age of tennis: Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray.

Read more: Andy Murray: “I feel for younger players like Emma Raducanu – the pressure on me is less now” (Evening Standard, 16-minute read)

“We’re coming to the end of his career. It’s just him and his rivals, it’s just the people who shaped this incredible golden age of tennis and now it’s all coming to an end,” Kapadia says. “He’s the first, he’s the first to come and he’s the first to go and what made it interesting was just being in the dressing room with them.”

As mentioned, the film ends with the Laver Cup, where Federer and Nadal – as part of the European team – competed against the American players Jack Sock and Frances Tiafoe, who represented the international team. The two tennis giants narrowly lost their match and sat together crying afterward, realizing that they would never play together as professionals again.

Sabia filmed the players in the dressing room after their tearful performances on the pitch and said: “I found it even more moving because in the last scene I wasn’t actually supposed to go into the dressing room, but I’m really glad I did.”

“I found it particularly emotional that the camera observed Rafa crying privately with his head in a towel, because you could see that he still had tears in him and had to go to the locker room to let them out. I thought that was also a very moving moment.”

Kapadia adds, “The final act is in a way the tennis match where he plays with his great rival and it’s about the camaraderie between the two. But because real life is not like the movies, they lose the final match.”

“He has match point on his serve and that’s the version from the movie, isn’t it? You win by having a fantastic (serve) and actually they lose. Federer didn’t quite reach the ball or Rafa didn’t.

“He says it to Borg: ‘This is why I have to stop,’ and I think that’s really what the film is about. It’s about getting old and not really being able to do what you used to do. The brain is still there, but physically he can’t do it anymore. That was the idea that the tennis match is not the greatest Wimbledon final of all time… the truth is that they lose.”

“Roger Federer: The Last Twelve Days” is now available on Prime Video.