You might have thought that Roger Federer was too busy cementing his tennis legacy to respond to creative memes on Twitter, but then you’d have under-estimated the great man.
The 36-year-old went almost five years without winning a Grand Slam between 2012 and 2017 before beating Rafael Nadal in the Australian Open, adding two more majors since then.
But even with all that winning to do, the Swiss star still has time for the fans, no matter how abstract the interaction.
please enjoy this masterpiece I spent way too long creating pic.twitter.com/FdaYyPNIN8
— Camelia (@itscameliaaa) July 31, 2018
Yes, that’s a picture of Federer created by Twitter user @itscameliaaa using the multi-tab view on a phone.
The creative meme has been used to recreate many a celebrity in the past week, and Federer appeared very keen on his own portrayal.
👏
— Roger Federer (@rogerfederer) August 1, 2018
So keen in fact that he not only replied, he quote tweeted the effort as well.
— Roger Federer (@rogerfederer) August 1, 2018
“It was all quite unexpected to say the least,” Camelia, a tennis fan from Egypt, told the Press Association. “I tweeted the picture Tuesday evening and it wasn’t that much of a deal until Wednesday afternoon.
“Then all of a sudden my phone started buzzing like crazy. I saw the quote tweet and reply and I was genuinely shocked. Not only because Roger himself responded to me, but that he found that tweet even though I did not tag him or type his name.”
The fact Federer found the tweet with no mention of his name or Twitter handle was indeed curious, and certainly added to the surprise element.
YOU DIDN'T EVEN @ HIM OMG
— Daniela 20. (@DanielaAnicama) August 1, 2018
Daniela WHAT EVEN HAHAHHA
— Camelia (@itscameliaaa) August 1, 2018
“Federer is known for his sense of humour on Twitter, and it’s always nice to see him interact with fans directly,” Camelia said.
“I hope he’s fine with the fact that I turned him into a meme viewed by over seven million people across Twitter!”
He didn’t seem to mind at all.