The world is celebrating the 40th birthday of Roger Federer today. The former World No.1 is one of the greatest player of all time and has won 20 Grand Slam titles in his career so far. As a result, renowned entities of the entire sports fraternity are wishing him on his special day.

In a recent interview, French athlete and Tokyo Olympics 2020 silver medalist, Kevin Mayer, recalled when he first saw Roger Federer on the court. He revealed that he just loved his calmness and style of play at first sight.

“When I was little, I played tennis. One day, I went to Roland-Garros and he was the one I saw play. He hadn’t gone far that year, I’m not sure he made it to the knockout stages, but I loved his style of play. So handsome, so posed, I felt like ‘he never used force in his strike.“ said Mayer in the interview. (Translated via Google Translate)

Mayer became impressed after he got to know that Federer really worked hard to overcome his anger issues. He called him an inspiration and mentioned that he was the quietest player on the court when he saw him.

Mainly, I had read an article where he said he got really angry when he was young and that he had really worked on it. There, he was the calmest guy you can see on a tennis court! I too, when I was young, got really angry on the court, so I took him as an example.” added the French athlete.

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“Find it beautiful”- Kevin Mayer on the personality and calmness of Roger Federer

Mayer highlighted that there is no one better than Federer in tennis and he places him at the top-most position. He stated that he just loves his personality and is a big fan of his calmness.

Technically, for me, there is nothing better in tennis. All sports combined, I place it at the level of the greatest, that’s for sure. For his longevity, for what he has done, for the way he communicates… I like the Swiss class anyway. What I love about him is that it’s not his expression that makes his personality, it’s his game, his calm, I find that beautiful. ” concluded Mayer.

Roger Federer has turned 40 today but fans hope that he’ll continue to play the sport for a couple of years more. Will he be able to end his career with the most Grand Slam titles?

Also Read: WATCH: When Roger Federer Won an Event as a 12-Year-Old Kid