She also ribbed Federer by pointing out how, when they first got together at the Sydney Olympics in 2000, “he had exactly zero ATP titles. Zero.” At that time, she went on, “He was 18 and I was 21. Yes, I was the older woman. Apparently, Roger decided right away that age was just a number. He pursued me anyway, and thankfully he was persistent.”
Mirka’s speech was part of a memorable ceremony. It began with the induction of the great tennis broadcaster Mary Carillo – who qualified for the Hall of Fame under the “contributor” category – and concluded with Federer’s own half-hour speech, which he delivered without notes.
Although Federer never forgot his lines or muffed his words, he has always been prone to choking up at moments of high emotion. On this occasion, he broke down in tears perhaps half-a-dozen times, necessitating pauses which only added to the poignancy of the moment.
“I need tissues and sunglasses,” Federer joked at one point, before adding “Oh my God. Now we’re going to do the Mirka bit. This is such a mess.”