Roger Federer breaks into tears while talking about how his late coach and mentor inspired him

No matter how mentally strong and competent we think we are, we all need a good mentor to guide us through life. There's no one better to speak about mentors than celebrities who rose to fame with the help of someone who taught them important life lessons. Especially when it comes to sports, players form a matchless bond with their coaches who drove them to success. Former Swiss tennis player, Roger Federer was not an exception to this. In a 2019 interview with CNN, the champion broke into tears reminiscing about his late Australian coach, Peter Carter.

The interview happened at a time when Federer was training ardently to defend his Australian Open title that year. The tennis champion was extremely optimistic about the upcoming tournament and mentioned his inspiration, Carter. "Peter was really a really important person in my life because I think if I can say thank you for my technique today, it’s to Peter," pointed out the sportsman. Way before Federer could make his mentor proud with all his remarkable wins, Carter left this world. In 2022, while honeymooning in South Africa the tennis coach died in a car accident at the age of 37. Since Carter passed away the year before Federer won his first slam in Wimbledon, CNN's host Christina Macfarlane asked him how the coach would've felt about the Swiss player's success today. This question got Federer dewy-eyed.

The tennis champion couldn't hold back his tears and got too emotional thinking about the loss of his former coach. "I still miss him so much. I hope he would be proud I guess," said Federer in a shaky voice. "He didn't want me to be a waste of talent. So, I guess it was somewhat of a wake-up call for me when he passed away and I really started to train hard." Speaking about Carter's influence on his life, Federer said, "I've been incredibly fortunate having had the right people at the right time, the right coach at the right time. Sure, you could argue I made those decisions but I also got lucky along the way." 

Carter's death took a toll on Federer's performance back in the day when the Swiss player got extremely distressed upon learning the news. In 2003, a tearful Federer dedicated his first win at Wimbledon to his late coach. Also since 2005, Federer has invited Carter’s parents to watch him play at the Australian Open in Melbourne and also sponsored all their expenses.

Federer's love for tennis was so monumental that his farewell match, the Laver Cup in London in 2022, turned out to be an overflow of emotions. As reported by PEOPLE, the Swiss player broke into tears when an outpour of love and support came from the audience for the champion. During his emotional speech, Federer expressed his gratitude for everyone who supported him, and what made the whole world much more emotional was when his renowned rival Rafael Nadal couldn't hold back his tears. This heart-rending display of emotions by the two legendary players touched millions of hearts on social media.