Roger Federer pictured all alone in Wimbledon Royal Box as celebrities desert match
The former player returned to the scene of his eight men's singles victories and stuck around for the whole day of tennis
Roger Federer sat all alone in Wimbledon's Royal Box on Monday after stars deserted Centre Court.
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Federer, the legendary former World No. 1, cut a lonely figure as he watched Alexander Zverev’s match on Centre Court.
The 44-year-old returned to SW19, the scene of his eight men's singles victories, where he received a hero's welcome from the crowd.
The Swiss tennis legend stuck around for all of the day's tennis, earning him admiration and respect from the crowd.
The day's action kicked off at 1.30 pm with Jasmine Paolini's gritty win over Alexandra Eala, and didn't wrap up until 11pm - nine-and-a-half hours later.
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Federer stayed on to watch British wildcard Arthur Fery's four-hour long clash with Grigor Dimitrov.
An ebullient Fery paid breathless tribute to his beaming hero Federer, describing him as the "greatest of all time".
Speaking on court after the sensational five-set match, he gushed: “We’ve got probably the greatest of all time watching over there, I saw him and now playing here in front of all you guys and winning and having the support is unbelievable.”
Several stars left the Royal Box for a break after Fery's thumping win.
But not Federer, who stuck around to watch Zverev face off against Jiri Lehecka.
Federer did take a short break after the first set, returning to a score of 3-2 in the second.
Stars slowly began to rejoin Federer in the Royal Box as the clash went on.
Paolini also paid heed to her "idol" Federer, adding: “I feel so happy to have this opportunity and to get the win as well – and I want to thank Roger because he is my idol.
“I was saying: ‘Stay focused, don’t think about how he is here!’ I watched all his finals here, so this is an amazing feeling.”