The man’s influence on tennis comes bridled with the fact that he is universally loved. It’s a rare thing in any sport, let alone one where a few dramas and tantrums are part of the theatre of the game. In this close-quarter documentary Federer even talks about a time when he tried to be a bad boy, stretching to giving one or two umpires a bit of lip. But he couldn’t fake it. He’s a true gent, adored by fashionistas, hotel staff, presidents, anyone who has watched tennis in the last 20 years, his family, seemingly all professional sportspeople, his legions of fans, and even his rivals, for whom Federer leaving the court represents a seismic shift in their careers as much as his, even maybe in the game itself.
There are plenty of tears. The man himself is frequently to be seen welling up as he announces his retirement and lives out a series of goodbyes over the last twelve days of his professional life, which culminates in the 2022 Laver Cup in London. The documentary delivers a very real insight in to the relationships between the players whom we have watched push the limits of tennis together; Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray. Each has their turn to give very warm and quite genuine interviews, and you can feel them hesitating to let go of the man who seems to have held them all together.
Presented by Prime Video Sports, Federer: Twelve Final Days is a Lafcadia Productions production. Co- directors are the Academy Award and BAFTA winning documentarian Asif Kapadia, whose previous films include Senna, Maradona and Amy, and the former presenter and journalist for Vogue, videographer Joe Sabia. The film is produced by Kapadia and George Chignell.
Streaming exclusively from June 20 on Prime Video. Premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and was screened at Sydney Film Festival.
Featuring interviews from legendary rivals and friends Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Andy Murray.
The greats of the previous generation are also there for the send off. Björn Borg and Rod Laver hover around the edges of the tournament, reliving their own exits from the centre court, and John McEnroe, who David Foster Wallace famously quoted in his essay “Federer Both Flesh and Not,” with the line, “How do you hit a winner from that position?”, was there for the hugs. New bloods, the future generation who were playing at the tournament, soaked up the atmosphere, just as aware as the crowd in the stands was, and the audience in the theatre is, that we are all watching a page of the sports history book turn.
It is often said that athlete’s die twice, and in the course of the documentary Federer’s long term coach, Sverin Lüthi, makes just that observation. Federer is, of course, asking himself the question, off- and to the camera “What next?” Family life will no doubt be a large part of the answer, and we see Federer’s kids running around, his parents still proud as punch, and for the first time in 20 years Mirka Federer sits down to give an interview, reflecting on a life lived on the ATP Tour, and yes, there are more tears.
Irresistible was lucky enough to see the documentary accompanied by some other Grand Slammers, the Australian tennis legends, Lesley and Bill Bowrey. A sense came through in the documentary that Federer’s presence in the locker room had made the atmosphere behind the scenes if not always convivial, at least a lot more polite. Bill Bowrey confirmed that in the old days it could certainly be pretty tense and unpleasant off-court and, “We certainly weren’t hugging and crying like these chaps,.” he said. He certainly did agree with his wife though in the final analysis from the one and only Lesley Bowrey, “He was just absolutely amazing.”
