Roger Federer makes retirement admission after Shanghai Masters exit

Swiss tennis star Roger Federer admitted he is well above the average retirement age for tennis players. “In tennis terms, I am on the older side, no doubt about it,” Federer Chinese TV channel CGTN. “Average retirement age is 30 to 33 and I am 37 so I understand they call me old. “In life, I am still old but as a tennis player I am definitely on the older side and I had to get used to it also playing the next generation of players because it's just a different feeling. “You also have to imagine that when I came on the Tour and in Shanghai in 2002, I was playing with [Andre] Agassi and also sharing the locker room with Carlos Moya, Tim Henman and Pete Sampras. “Those are the guys that I knew from TV and all of sudden the players know me on TV and they are playing against me.” Federer is expected to continue playing until at least 2020 and he is excited with the young prospects trying to make a name for themselves. “So you have to turn the mind around that a little bit and appreciate that the young generation is knocking on the door. It's really exciting,” he added. “It was also exciting to play against my generation of players - Andy Roddick, Marat Safin, Juan Carlos Ferrero - so for me you go through transitions and this one is a very enjoyable one because I still have some of my age guys on the Tour which is great to see. “But also Rafael [Nadal], Novak [Djokovic], Andy Murray and [Juan Martin] Del Potro - and also the new one coming through such as [Grigor] Dimitrov, [Kei] Nishikori, [Milos] Raonic - and then now the super young guys - Borna [Coric], [Alexander] Zverev and so forth. “It’s nice to go through all of these different players and it has helped to stay motivated for what's to come.” Source- Express.co.uk