Kim Clijsters: Roger Federer the closest thing to the perfect player, but he had two sides when younger

Kim Clijsters has told Eurosport that Roger Federer is the “closest thing to the perfect tennis player” ahead of the 41-year-old’s retirement this week. Federer will call time on his glittering career after the Laver Cup, which is live on Eurosport and discovery+.

Ad Reflecting on the Swiss’ time on tour, Clijsters spoke about her first memory of Federer, the qualities that saw him emerge in the post-Pete Sampras era, and also her most cherished moment with a player she says is among the greatest of all time – although the Belgian is not a fan of the “GOAT” debate. Laver Cup‘Until the end of time’ – McEnroe says Big Three ‘GOAT’ debate will last foreverAN HOUR AGO “I don't think by numbers that if somebody has a Slam more or not, it's not that black and white,” Clijsters told Eurosport.

“To me, Roger is the overall package of elegance and technique and style. “He is the GOAT, but you know Rafa [Nadal] to me is also the GOAT, there doesn't have to be one GOAT, right? I respect them all in so many different ways.

Roger was by far to me the first one where I was like, this is incredible, this is the closest thing to the perfect tennis player I think you can get. “I don't think in GOAT terms, I hate when I hear discussions about basketball in my house, it's always like is it Michael Jordan? Or is it LeBron James? I'm like, can you please stop this? There's no way to compare, times change, the world changes.

So yeah, I stay out of the GOAT conversations.” Federer frequently reminded us no single player is bigger than tennis Henman lauds ‘irreplaceable’ Federer Clijsters also believes Federer’s retirement will have his Laver Cup team-mates and legendary rivals Nadal and Novak Djokovic thinking about their own careers. “For