"Roger Federer should have let it go a little earlier"- Former Wimbledon champ on Swiss maestro's retirement

Michael Stich recently shed light on his early retirement from professional tennis. He also said that former World No. 1 Roger Federer should have retired from the sport sooner than he did.

Roger Federer had an incredible career lasting over two decades. The Swiss maestro amassed 20 Major titles, including eight Wimbledon, six Australian Open, five US Open and a solitary French Open victory. He retired from the sport after his final appearance at the 2022 Laver Cup in London.

In a recent interview, former Wimbledon champion Michael Stich discussed his as well as Federer's retirement from the sport. Stich left professional tennis at the age of 28, following a semifinal loss against Cedric Pioline at the 1997 Wimbledon Championships.

"No, I'm glad I quit at 28. It must also be said that the decision was completely spontaneous after losing the semi-final against Cédric Pioline at Wimbledon in 1997," Stich said.

The German mentioned that there was no "perfect" time to call it quits.

"No. It was my decision and I had to live with it. That's why the reaction from those around me wasn't that important to me at first. Apart from that, I still think that there is no perfect time to end your career anyway," he added.

The former World No. 2 then discussed Federer's retirement and said that the 20-time Grand Slam winner should have potentially ended his career sooner.

"Look at Roger Federer: With the knowledge we have today, from the outside, maybe he should have let it go a little earlier. But in the end it was his decision and if he feels comfortable with the final years of his career, that's still okay," Stich said.

"I was relieved and happy to retire" - Roger Federer on his farewell at the Laver Cup 2022

Roger Federer pictured at the 2022 Laver Cup in London.

In an interview with the New York Times, Roger Federer opened up about his retirement at the 2022 Laver Cup in London. The 42-year-old revealed that he struggled with the prospect of bidding farewell to the sport that had dominated the better part of his life.

"Life without the game, and life without the fans, and life without the schedule that has dominated my life for 25 years has definitely been something I didn’t know how I would take. For the longest time, I tried to come back and give it one more shot and leave the game healthy, but it was not doable," Federer said.

Federer attributed the timing of COVID-19 and his knee surgery as factors that affected his exit.

"But the good/bad thing about Covid, and with my knee surgery, is that everything started to slow down in the past three years, so it wasn’t like I came from playing 100 matches and then boom, it’s over," he added.

The 20-time Grand Slam champion further divulged that he was ''relieved'' to retire and that his farewell at the Laver Cup was the best place to do it.

"At the end I was relieved, I think, and happy to retire. It ended in the most perfect way at the Laver Cup. I was surrounded by my biggest rivals, and my family was there and my friends. For me it felt like, 'OK, I’m good now. I don’t need to chase that itch any more'," he concluded.