Roger Federer has been enjoying his retirement this year, and one event earlier this week was so special that it reduced the Swiss icon to tears.
Roger Federer made a surprise appearance on stage at Andrea Bocelli’s concert in Zurich on Monday night. The tennis legend was reduced to tears as the Italian tenor concluded his performance with a jaw-dropping rendition of the famous ‘Nessun Dorma’.
Federer has been enjoying his retirement to the fullest since bowing out from the sport at the Laver Cup last year. The Swiss star has made several special guest appearances at competitions since and this is not the first time he’s been on stage at a concert.
With plenty of spare time on his hands, Federer has had the opportunity to enjoy more live music over the past few months – and his appearances at concerts has not gone unnoticed by artists spotting his name on the guest list.
Whilst attending Bocelli’s concert on Monday night, the 20-time Grand Slam champion was invited up on stage by the singer so that he could be by his side for his final song. Whilst preparing for his final number, Bocelli was heard saying: “Among us tonight, there is a living legend, Roger Federer.
“For me, it’s really an honor to dedicate the last hour to him for the emotions that he gave to everybody and I would like to have him here on stage.”
Federer duly accepted the offer and was escorted to the stage promptly by security. The pair embraced on stage before Boncelli belted out his iconic ‘Nessun Dorma’, which brought the house down. Federer was visibly moved by the performance, failing to hold back the tears as he stood aside the artist.
The 42-year-old was seen wiping his face throughout the performance, evidently touched by Bocelli’s unbelievable vocals. Federer’s appearance was vastly different to when he decided to go on stage with Coldplay in Zurich earlier this year, though lead singer Chris Martin did give the tennis legend plenty of fair warning.
Speaking of when he received the message from the multi-award-winning artist, Federer explained: “It was I got the invitation from Chris Martin from Coldplay. He said, ‘Don’t you want to come up on stage tomorrow?’ I was in Zurich at the time I just came back from an Elton John concert. You know stuff you just do when you don’t have much to do anymore.
“I looked at my daughter and I told her, ‘Do you think I should be going on stage to do this?’ And she was half-asleep, but told me, ‘Of course, papa, you only live once.’ Of course, I enjoyed it after. But, you know, I don’t need those anxiety moments anymore. I’m just happy and quite content to be away from it all, but I finished on top, you know, this is my music career. I ended it right there, I dropped the mic.”
