WIMBLEDON, England - Roger Federer did make his way to Wimbledon this year after all - not to compete, mind you, but to take part in a ceremony marking the centenary of Centre Court - and declared his intention to try to return in 2023 with a racket in hand.
"Just tried to be successful here and represent the sport well. I hope I did that," said Federer, who was greeted with a standing ovation Sunday. "And I hope I can come back ... one more time."
Of his 20 Grand Slam titles, eight have come at the All England Club - the men's singles record at Wimbledon.
Instead of the mandatory all-white playing uniform, Federer wore a dark suit and tie, his purple Wimbledon member's badge pinned to a jacket lapel. The Swiss star, who turns 41 on Aug. 8 and has been sidelined for a year by knee problems, was among more than two dozen winners of singles championships at the grass court major tournament who appeared in the main stadium during a 35-minute tribute to Centre Court, which opened in 1922.
"I've been lucky enough to play a lot of matches on this court. Feels awkward to be here today in a different type of role," said Federer, who had participated in every Wimbledon since his main draw debut in 1999. "But it's great to be here with ... all the other champions. This court has given me my biggest wins, my biggest losses."
His most recent match anywhere was last July 7, when he lost at Centre Court in the quarterfinals to Hubert Hurkacz 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-0. Soon after, Federer had surgery to repair damage to his meniscus and cartilage in his right knee - his third operation on that knee in a span of 1 1/2 years. Federer has said he plans to return to tournament action at the Swiss Indoors in October.
"Of course I've missed being here. I would have loved to be here. I knew walking out here last year, it was going to be a tough year ahead. Maybe didn't think it was going to take me this long to come back. But the knee has been rough on me," he told the crowd. "I didn't know if I should make the trip, but I'm happy standing right here, right now."
The whole scene was, in some respects, an infomercial for the world's oldest tennis tournament.
There were three gauzy videos, quips from co-hosts Sue Barker and John McEnroe, performances by both Cliff Richard - who used to help kill time by singing during rain delays (a thing of the past, now that Centre Court and No. 1 Court are outfitted with retractable roofs) - and Freya Ridings, who sang the 2017 ballad "Lost Without You" while accompanying herself on a white piano placed on the grass near the front row of seats.
Some of the past winners on hand are still in the brackets this year. One was six-time singles champ Novak Djokovic, and when his turn with the microphone came, he joked: "Gosh, I feel more nervous than when I'm playing."
The top-seeded star later returned to Centre Court and beat wild-card entry Tim van Rijthoven 6-2, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, reaching the tourney's quarterfinals for the 13th time.
All of the day's on-court action was unusual in its own right: This is the first time in history the tournament was scheduled as a 14-day event, with play planned for the middle Sunday. Previously, that was set aside as a day off, and only on four occasions - in 1991, 1997, 2004 and 2016 - did a backlog of matches created by too much rain lead organizers to add matches on that Sunday.