“This court has brought me the biggest wins and the biggest losses. I hope I can come back again,” Federer, who has been out of this year’s main draw for the first time since 1998 due to injury, told the crowd.
The 20-time Grand Slam champion, who turns 41 next month, was among the former winners who took part in the parade around the famous arena.
“I missed it here. I knew that when I left here last year, there would be a difficult year ahead. Maybe I didn’t think it would take so long to get back – the knee was rough for me,” he said.
During his illustrious career, Federer has become synonymous with Wimbledon.
He announced his arrival as a world class player in 2001 by knocking out the great Pete Sampras and continued to dominate at his peak, winning eight times.
“I’ve been lucky enough to play a lot of matches on this court,” he added. “It’s embarrassing to be here in a different type of role. It’s great to be here with all the other champions.”
The Swiss great is planning a comeback after confirming earlier this year that he will play the Laver Cup in September and the Swiss Indoors in Basel, Switzerland in October.
“It’s been a good year regardless of tennis… I’m happy to be standing here right now,” he said.
