Roger Federer held a press conference in Melbourne in the buildup to the 2026 Australian Open. Here, during his interaction with reporters, the six-time champion in Melbourne shared his thoughts on potentially having to face Jannik Sinner in a competitive encounter. In his response, the now-retired Swiss tennis legend brought up the two instances when he watched the Italian former World No. 1 play up close. However, Federer’s take ended up rubbing several fans of the World No. 2 Italian the wrong way.
In the press conference, the former No. 1 Swiss and 20-time Major champion first remembered Sinner’s lucky walkover win over Grigor Dimitrov at last year’s Wimbledon Championships. The Bulgarian, who was once fondly nicknamed ‘Baby Fed’ due to his free-flowing, all-court style of play that is often considered similar to how Federer played, had established a shock two-set lead against the Italian at SW19, but went on to retire mid-match with an injury. The Swiss said:
“At Wimbledon, when Grigor was playing against Jannik and I was sitting there, that made it easy to think how it could’ve been because Grigor plays very similar to how I played. I think it was one of the first times I thought how would it have been to play Jannik.”
The 44-year-old went on to compare the Wimbledon match he witnessed featuring Sinner to his experience of watching the Italian defeat Novak Djokovic in the final of the 2024 Shanghai Masters. According to the 103-time career singles titlist, the thought of how he himself would play against Sinner didn’t occur to him when he watched this particular encounter. Federer added:
“I didn’t feel that way (watching Sinner vs Djokovic in Shanghai), I was just watching great tennis because they both played very different to how I play.”
He concluded by saying that these days, he tends to put himself in Carlos Alcaraz’s mindset to have a better understanding of what he would have done had he locked horns with Sinner. The Swiss concluded:
“I put myself more in Carlos’ mindset and skin when I watch him. Now with Sinner at one time I thought “Okay, now I understand how I would probably play against Jannik””
Loyal fans of the Italian on X (formerly Twitter) perceived Federer’s comments as a slight at the two-time reigning Australian Open champion and reigning Wimbledon champion. Some harshly accused the Swiss of being bitter towards Sinner.
“Bro he is scared of sinner so much. As he should.”
“Old and bitter.”
“One thing is for sure Sinner is never taking part in Laver Cup. Federer doesn’t like him & It’s not surprising Sinner hasn’t played it even once.”
“Interesting how he took as an example the match where Jannik injured his elbow. His performance was obviously very affected by this little detail. I’m sorry but even if I respect him as tennis legend I don’t respect these bitter ex champions unable to show grace and fairness.”
“The price of botox injections CANNOT be THIS high that this old person has to strive THIS hard to stay relevant…IJBOL..(fact that he’s never even played him to be this bitter? Just old and pathetic….)”
“44 years old and in a one-sided beef with a man 20 years younger. it’s way past time for therapy 🤣”
“I Just Hope Carlos Alcaraz & Jannik Sinner Stay Injury Free” – Roger Federer Ahead of Australian Open 2026
In the same press conference, Federer was full of praise for the thrilling 2025 French Open final that saw Alcaraz mount a stunning comeback victory against Sinner after saving three championship points. He also wished an injury-free future for both the Spaniard and the Italian, as according to the Swiss, this will only further their rivalry and improve them individually as players. The 44-year-old said:
“They play incredible tennis. I think that French Open final was unreal. I think the game, not that it needed it, but it was great that we had it.”
The former No. 1 added:
“I practised with those guys a little bit. They’re incredible ball strikers. There’s obviously more to come. I just hope they stay injury free.”
Federer’s 2026 Australian Open appearance is primarily for the Melbourne Major’s inaugural opening ceremony, where the Swiss will take part in the ‘Battle of the World No. 1s’ doubles exhibition alongside Andre Agassi, Lleyton Hewitt and Patrick Rafter.
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