Toshihide Matsui is currently the senior-most player active in the tennis world, in terms of age. The Japanese tennis pro is 43 years old and is still ranked on the ATP singles list. With Roger Federer being about 40 years old too, the senior player relates to him in the game of tennis.
Matsui recalls his first game against the tennis giant Roger Federer
Toshihide Matsui lauded Roger on reaching the quarter-finals at the Wimbledon Championship last year in July. Incidentally, Federer is the oldest man in tennis history to reach that stage at any event of an Open era.
Speaking about the first time he played against Roger, Matsui said– “He looked like a little kid and I was nervous, saying to myself- ‘ok, let’s see how good he is.’ He was unstoppable and I almost couldn’t win a point. He hardly missed, fought for every single point, and to be honest, he ‘killed’ me.”
In 2006, at the Japan Open, Toshihide and Federer met again on court, following which the Swiss champ became the World No. 1. “The last time I had a unique opportunity to hit with Federer happened in 2006 when he came to play at the Japan Open.” Mentioning that it was Roger’s first time at the tournament, Matsui continued- “If I am not mistaken it was the first time that Roger participated in this event. I remember that the speed of the court was so fast and the ball did not bounce so high normally. But interestingly, during our rallies every ball and shot hit by Roger bounced even so high that I was so surprised how he did it.”
The Japanese veteran added how whenever Federer met him then on, was kind to him. “Anytime we met after this, he always had kind words for me. Wherever I traveled on the Tour, if I had the opportunity to see him training I always checked it out,” Matsui shared.
Toshihide expresses his wish to play with Roger again in the future
The 43-year-old player hailed Roger Federer for his strength and performance at this stage of his life, given his age.
Praising the former world #1, Matsui said- “He is still playing at the highest level and how Roger is able to manage his mental motivation and physical strength after so many years behind him – it is more than amazing. Surely, one of my wishes is to hit with him again. It’s gonna be fun, especially now as we are both over 40.”
View this post on Instagram
Roger Federer will look forward to making a comeback around May this year and will be taking part in the Laver Cup 2022 along with fellow player Rafael Nadal.