Roger Federer says he was unfortunate not to meet Nelson Mandela

20 time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer spoke about Nelson Mandela on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of his speech at the inaugural Laureus World Sports.

The Laureus World Sports team posted a video of Federer speaking about Mandela.

In the video, Federer, whose mom is also from South Africa, said he never got the chance to meet the legendary figure.

"I am unfortunate I did not get the chance to meet Nelson Mandela. I didn’t go back to South Africa for 10 years since I was last there is 2004. That would have been a good time to meet him but it did not happen.”

“I think he has been influential and inspiring on so many levels. My mum is from South Africa, I still have the South African passports so I feel very connected to the country. And he has changed the country in such a positive way and we can’t be thankful enough for what he has done.”

Here is the complete message from Federer on the great South African leader.

"My mum is from South Africa, I feel very connected to the country...Nelson Mandela's been incredibly influential and inspiring on so many levels." As we celebrate 20 years of Madiba's inspiring words, here's the Laureus 🐐 @rogerfederer on the great man 🇿🇦#PowerOfSport pic.twitter.com/qpWLW94RnH

— Laureus (@LaureusSport) May 26, 2020

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2XLR0T5