"My English is not good": Roger Federer stumped by interview question
Roger Federer has proved he is human after all.
The Swiss athlete was involved in a hilarious moment during his on-court interview following his first-round clash with Adrian Mannarino at Wimbledon.
Federer moved on to the second round after France's Mannarino was forced to retire from their match after slipping and injuring his knee with the match level at two sets all.
In his post-match interview on centre court, the 39-year-old was left completely stumped by a question you would usually expect him to answer easily.
“Roger, is it true what they say about absence making the heart grow fonder, being back here?” the interviewer asked.
“Sorry, I didn’t understand it,” Federer replied with a puzzled look on his face.
“I heard something absence and then I don’t know my mind went blank.”
The interviewer repeated the question: “Is it true what they say about absence making the heart grow fonder and being back on centre court?”
“I don’t understand that saying. My English is not good enough,” Federer laughed, clearly stumped by the old proverb.
The interviewer pressed on, asking: “Basically, having missed out last year, having been away for two years, how special is it to be back here on centre court?”
“Yes, there you go. A good reminder my English is not very good,” Federer said, much to the amusement of the packed crowd.
The comedic exchange was a nice reminder that English is not Federer's first language.
He is fluent in Swiss German, standard German, English and French. He can also speak functional Italian and Swedish.