Watch: Roger Federer does not understand British idiom, says ‘My English is not good enough’

Roger Federer had a tough time in the first round of Wimbledon 2021 facing Adrian Mannarino. After four hard-fought sets, Federer got a walkover was Mannarino’s injury forced him to retire. Even after the match, the 39-year-old struggled but to answer the interviewer’s question. The Swiss maestro was unable to understand a common British idiom ‘Absence makes the heart grow fonder’. Federer apologised for not understanding the idiom and said “My English is not good enough”.

“Sorry, I didn’t understand it. I heard something’ absence’ and, I don’t know, my mind went blank. I don’t understand that saying. My English is not good enough,” Federer responded.

“My English is not good enough!”

Even at 39, you never stop learning – right, @rogerfederer?#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/5BALP53NDA

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) June 29, 2021

Federer’s answer was followed by cheers from the crowd. Later, when the interviewer explained the idiom, he said, “Good reminder, my English is not very good. I think we’re all very happy, all the players, including all the fans and the organizers and everybody that we get a chance to be back on tour, especially here at Wimbledon. It would’ve been worst to have this tournament with no fans. This would have been an absolute killer, so it’s such a privilege to play here.”

Federer applauded his French opponent saying that he was a better player on the court. He also sympathised with Mannarino with the way the match ended as he said, “Yeah, it’s awful. It shows that one shot can change the outcome of a match, a season, a career. I wish him all the best, and he recovers quickly, so we see him back on the courts.”

Match Highlights:

The veteran was also shocked by the news of Serena Williams retiring due to an injury in the court against Aliaksandra Sasnovich. The 20-time Grand Slam champion was not happy with the nature of the court.

“I do feel it feels a tad more slippery, maybe, under the roof. I don’t know if it’s just a gut feeling. You do have to move very, very carefully out there. If you push too hard in the wrong moments, you do go down,” Federer said. “I do feel it’s drier during the day. With the wind and all that stuff, it takes the moisture out of the grass. But this is obviously terrible.”