Although two of his iconic contemporaries, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic have statistically won more Grand Slam tournaments than the Swiss Tennis Legend, Roger Federer, the debate over who was the best amongst them continues in sports circles. Each of them had a distinct style, nerves of steel and tenacity required to come out of difficult situations, but Federer, who on Thursday announced his plans to retire next week, had a magical quality, which endeared him to the audiences. He would be at his best at the Wimbledon where it was difficult to beat him on grass, and would exhibit his emotions openly whenever, he lost a point he should have won. At the Australian Open, some years ago, after his loss to Djokovic, he openly cried, unable to control his emotions. This made him to look more human than others. Federer had a great dress sense and was always well turned out, both on the court as well as in everyday life. He thus was regarded as a style icon by his fans, many of them would now miss him. The Grand Slams without him competing would lack the glamour he brought to the game. Ironically, Federer will be playing his last competitive match in the Laver’s cup in London next week, at a tournament named after Rod `Rocket’ Laver, considered to be the most phenomenal tennis player of all times. Although many people doubt that Laver would have been able to withstand the pressures of the present age, yet there is no body who can deny his achievements in another era. Serena Williams, a 23 times Grand Slam winner and amongst the most exceptional women players of all times, has welcomed Federer to the retirement club; she had announced her retirement during the recently concluded US Open. Serena confessed that she always looked up to Federer who was an inspiration for everyone who has played the game. The Tennis world has produced some extraordinary champions, both men and women. Ken Rosewall and Ivan Lendl were two of the most gifted players who performed exceptionally well on the Grand Slam circuit, but ended their career without winning the Wimbledon. Pete Sampras, John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors, Arthur Ashe and Andre Agassi, were phenomenal players from the United States. There was an era where the Swedes dominated Tennis, thanks to Bjorn Borg, Stephan Edberg and some others. Roy Emerson, John Newcombe, Fred Stolle and Tony Roche were big names from Australia. There have been many others, Ille Nastase, Jan Kodes, Manuel Santana to name a few more. Indian too produced many remarkable players, Ramanathan Krishnan, the touch artist being one of the most talented tennis greats from the sub-continent, who inspired Premjit Lal, Jaideep Mukherjee and the Amritraj brothers besides his own son, Ramesh Krishnan to carve out a name for themselves. Women tennis was dominated by Billie Jean King, Margaret Court and Mario Bueno to begin with and later Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf, Monica Seles and the William sisters amongst so many others added to the evolution of the game. Earlier this week, India’s former Tennis captain, Naresh Kumar passed away. There are so many memories of Davis Cup matches which India played, where he was by the side of his younger players. Roger Federer’s retirement has jolted his fans. However, he shall be always missed. His name shall always shine in the Tennis Hall of Fame.