Roger Federer has Michael Jackson in his blood: 'My footwork, I owe it to M.J.'

On Thursday, it was the 11th anniversary of Michael Jackson’s death and, whether you know it or not, the famous pop star and Roger Federer, still roaring on the world’s most prestigious courts, have a few links connecting each other.

First of all, Federer was described by former world number one Andre Agassi as being the Michael Jackson of tennis since everyone will regret not watching the Swiss Maestro’s flawless strokes and innate talent once he retires.

"It’s going to be like the person that says 'I never saw Michael Jackson perform,'" Agassi told Business Insider during a Lavazza event at the 2018 Wimbledon Championships. "I can imagine a lot of people saying, 'I can’t believe I never saw him play.' He’s left that kind of mark on the game. He’s changed it,” continued Agassi.

"It will be a sad day [when Federer retires], but it will also be a glorious one because I know what he deserves now for the rest of his life, he deserves to feel something he’s never felt before and I know life will offer [that to] him."

Roger Federer loves listening to Michael Jackson’s hits

In an article released about a month ago, we showed you what music the Big Three – Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic – like to listen to. Therefore, we found out they have quite different styles, but, at the same time, that Federer became passionate about Michael Jackson.

Besides enjoying the rhythms of the moonwalking pop star, during his young ages, the Swiss Maestro loved disco music or the kind mixed by DJs, but it was only later when he fell in love with world-renowned formations like Queen, AC/DC and Metallica.

How did Roger Federer react to Jackson’s death

Michael Jackson died on June 25th, 2009, and Federer reacted to the artist’s passing away after he beat Philipp Kohlschreiber in the same year’s Wimbledon edition, two days after M.J.’s death.

“It was quite a shock to hear that news. Michael and myself are much alike in that we are both timid outside of what we do, but when we do what we are good at we do it with passion and to be the best,” said Federer.

Asked whether he is a fan of Michael, Federer didn’t hesitate to respond: “Oh yeah, sure.  I mean I got all the moves.  Some of my footwork on the court, I owe to Michael Jackson.  Let me show you.”

And Roger did show the reporter some of his moves, but he stopped when he reminded that “Mirka hates when I go into all of it but it is in my blood”. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get our hands on that day’s footage of him showing off, but here is a sample of Roger Federer’s dancing skills – Billie Jean style.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2Yzod5U