Rafael Nadal leads the list of grand slam winners with 22 titles, Novak Djokovic has 20 but looks good for quite a few more. But when it comes to being the proverbial 'fan favourite', it is the Swiss ace Roger Federer, who towers over his perennial rivals. Federer has been out of action for a long time due to a surgery on his knee surgery and fans are praying that the legendary tennis player gets back to action sooner than later. While he has not been on court, Federer has been out and about, enjoying his life off the court. And whenever fans catch a sight of him, it leads to something special.
On Tuesday, the ATP tour shared a video on Twitter, where a fan meets Federer in a restaurant.
The fans tells Federer that he has a tattoo on his arm, which is in honour of the tennis great. Others present in the restaurant urge the fan to go and show Federer the tattoo. The fan has a famous quote from Federer engraved on his hand, along with the drawing of a tennis court on it.
"There is no way around Hard Work, Embrace it". Roger Federer," is the message written on the fan's arm.
Federer is surprised to see the tattoo and eventually gives a warm hug to the fan.
The Swiss ace was the first men's tennis player to complete 20 grand slam titles. His long absence from the tour meant his rival Nadal not only caught up with him, but surpassed him. Djikovic is level on 20 with him.
The three tennis stars share 62 grand slams between them and have ruled the roost in men's tennis together for over a decade and a half.