Roger Federer talks about how devastated he felt at the cancellation of his exhibition match in Colombia

What's the story?

Roger Federer recently discussed the cancellation of his exhibition match with Alexander Zverev in Bogota due to political protests in the city. Despite the stadium being packed with a large crowd, the government placed a curfew across the city, meaning that the exhibition had to be cancelled at the last minute. Federer explained his experience of this episode and how it affected him emotionally.

In case you didn't know...

Federer, along with Zverev, embarked on a historic exhibition tour of South and Central America in their off-season this year. During the event, the two players visited several countries and cities across South and Central America, including a record-setting crowd of over 42,000 in Mexico.

The heart of the matter

The Swiss maestro gave an elaborate account of what transpired on the day of the match in Bogota.

“We went to warm up and were having a blast on the court, but then everything started to get a bit crazy. I was thinking is this the best scenario? Because people need to get home and be safe and this was honestly when I knew we shouldn’t play, it was too much stress and pressure for everybody," he said.

He then admitted that the interruption took a heavy toll on him personally, as he could feel the disappointment among the fans who had been waiting for the match for so long.

“I had a bit of a breakdown. It was not going to be the dream match it was supposed to have been and I could feel it all falling apart at the end. When I came back [to the locker room] I was emotionally wasted,” he added.

That said, Federer has plenty of positive memories from the exhibition tour too, which was by and large considered a success.

“It was an unbelievable and amazing trip, each step along the way as the fans expressed their love of the sport and appreciation for the experience. There were so many highlights, it was truly a magical adventure and a blast as well,” he finished.

What's next?

Federer is the most popular tennis player on the planet, and one of the most popular across all sports. His exhibition matches are guaranteed to attract huge crowds wherever they are held, and it is likely that at some point in the future he will try to visit Bogota again in order to give the fans what they had been hoping for.