Serena Williams has revealed that she felt a “strange, unconscious connection” with fellow icon Roger Federer across their respective careers.
Williams and Federer were among the dominant forces in the tennis world throughout their careers, winning 23 and 20 Grand Slam singles titles respectively.
Both remain among the most revered tennis players of all time and the two greats of the sport called time on their careers within weeks of each other in 2022.
Speaking in In The Arena, a US documentary series detailing her career, Williams admitted that her career had been “strangely parallel” to Federer’s and revealed the huge admiration she had for the Swiss.
“My career has been strangely parallel to Roger’s,” she said.
“He always knew how to handle every situation, and he always knew how to win. I would study his game and think, ‘How can I hit the ball that early? How can I move like that and have that footwork?’
“I wanted to study him because he was the best. I really felt this strange, unconscious connection with Federer that I couldn’t explain.
“I always thought that if Roger could do it, I could do it too.”
Federer was also interviewed for the documentary, which is airing on ESPN in the US.
And the 43-year-old, who is only a month and a half older than the American, revealed that he admired Williams longevity – having played on tour for almost three decades.
He commented: “She entered the tour with a huge bang and a ‘here I am – I’m going to be dominant, I’m going to be great.
“I think for her then to navigate such a long career is something I truly admire about her.”
The latest episode of the documentary centred around the mid-2010s, when Williams was conclusively the dominant force on the WTA Tour.
The former world No 1 famously completed a second ‘Serena Slam’ in 2014 and 2015 though was unable to complete the Calendar Slam, shocked by Roberta Vinci in the 2015 US Open semi-finals.
Speaking in the series, she admitted that it was difficult for her to bounce back from that defeat – having held such high expectations for the tournament.
“It doesn’t end how it does in the movies, and as much as I feel like it could and it should, no matter what I could have done differently, it wasn’t my story.
“Winning is so glamorous. Everyone thinks it’s so amazing when you win and it is, it really is – but the more you win, the harder it is to lose.
“I don’t think I was able to move on from that US Open loss. I was just so angry and just so sad, and just so disappointed in myself.”
