MIKE DICKSON: Roger Federer drew crowds in the thousands and always had a smile for fellow players

Roger Federer was the man who always had a smile for fellow players, but was never afraid to humiliate them on court if absolutely necessary.

Feliciano Lopez, a close contemporary and touring veteran of twenty years, once said that no one could blow you away in the same way.

“You feel powerless in front of him. He does things that no one can do, especially not the way he improvises’, the Spaniard noted.

This was the core of the Federer dichotomy. Extremely polished and easily off the court, a ruthless competitor who hated it as much as anyone else.

Lopez was one of many who found themselves on the wrong side of the Swiss’ erratic talent. With an almost ballet-like demeanor, he could deliver winners almost anywhere and land his serve with laser-guided precision.

Until age and knee injuries eventually proved insurmountable, of which he delivered the confirmation on Thursday afternoon.

Born within 49 days of Serena Williams, the two have announced their departure less than two weeks apart, and tennis will never be the same.

Federer’s final official appearance is next week at the Laver Cup team event at the O2 Arena in London, across the city from the suburb of SW19, where he first became a Grand Slam champion 19 years ago.

When he played in the ATP Finals in the O2, it became known as Zurich-on-Thames, that was the incredible support he got there, and not just from hordes of traveling or foreign Swiss fans.

ATP tournament officials would tell you that if ticket sales were ever slow for a session, they would put Federer in that slot, and it would sell out in half an hour.

His appeal extended far beyond where he came from, Basel, and a global poll once ranked him as the second most respected person in the world, after Nelson Mandela.

No one paid so much attention to cultivating their image to match their impeccable physical gifts, or had such a good way of interacting with people, and it has been the most powerful combination.

In the following weekend he will be gone, at least at the highest official level of the competition. He pulls out of the big Grand Slam title race with Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal then left behind at twenty, although many will continue to see him as the greatest ever.

His huge appeal is so great that he will still draw large crowds when he plays in exhibitions. It will contribute to a fortune already backed by an estimated $1 billion in endorsements he earned during his career.

Federer arrived on the scene as a sassy, ​​tempered teenager, the son of a Swiss father and a South African mother who had met while working for a pharmaceutical company. Once they reached adulthood, they sensibly withdrew from his career for the most part.

Having learned to control his temperament, an extravagant talent found its full range. The pinnacle of his career actually came some time ago, between 2004-2009, when he won fourteen Grand Slam titles, including five straight at Wimbledon.

The full bloom of Djokovic and Nadal made it harder to find them afterward, but there was a late career spurt in 2017-18.

Arguably the most spectacular major triumph of all was the 2017 Australian Open, which he achieved after missing the second half of the previous season. In the final, he broke down in the deciding set to defeat Nadal, whose rare slip at the 2009 French Open gave Federer his only Roland Garros title.

It turns out his Grand Slam career was to end at Wimbledon last year, and in the most inappropriate way. Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz knocked him out of the quarterfinals and sent him on his way with a 6-0 fourth set.

Federer was desperate to return to SW19 and make it up, but lengthy recovery from his latest knee surgery has proved even beyond him, despite a sustained effort.

All of his achievements were accomplished with a flourish and flair that earned him a worldwide army of fans, often cheering him on even against a player from their own country, sometimes to the bewilderment.

It helped that he is a multilingual natural in public relations, which has fiercely protected his image.

Federer isn’t perfect — nobody is — and sometimes this tendency would make him go missing when political flak flew into the sport’s internal squabbles, when it suited him.

The mask can sometimes slide off after defeats because losing never comes naturally, and he can be moody and merciless after defeat, unable to hide the deep competitive streak inside.

Yet there is also a deeply human aspect to him, and not just when the cameras are rolling.

I remember once waiting to interview him in Miami as he went out of his way to meet a seriously ill young American boy and his parents in private.

Within twenty seconds he had made them feel completely at ease and made them feel like they were the only thing in his world. Having given them much more time than promised, it was touching to see them walking in the air afterward.

Those interpersonal skills mean he could do just about anything in retirement and be a good force on the world stage. He could be a born diplomat or politician.

But underneath it all, as someone who has known him well since his teenage years puts it, he simply enjoyed being a tennis player.

He loves the travel, the locker room chatter, the competition and even the invisible hard grind that made it all possible.

As Tim Henman noted today, “He’s incredibly grounded and good with people, he embraced every aspect of touring life and is a very special person. I played Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras at their best and Nadal and Djokovic before they peaked and Roger was the best I’ve come across.

“He could dominate you with every shot and do anything, be it offense or defense, he’s been the complete player.”

Soon he will be lost to the professional game and it feels that the big reshuffle of tennis is coming sooner than ever.