Looks like Federer’s South American tour was a complete success. He played four matches over six days against top ranked Alexander Zverev in cities like Buenos Aires, Santiago, Quito and Mexico City. Probably the coolest moment was the fact that he played in one of Mexico’s famous bullrings, La Plaza de Toros, to more than 42,000, and provided the crowd with a three-set thriller over Zverev, winning 6-2 in the third. Federer is reported to have earned over 10 million dollars for the tour. Not bad for a week’s worth of exhibition matches. 

Unfortunately, it was not all positive for fans. In Bogota Colombia they had to postpone his match due to a curfew that was imposed. Notwithstanding, Federer told fans he’d be back with Zverev to make it up to them. 

This is a stark contrast to another event that was going on in the other half of the world. Spain won the Davis Cup, and while there was standing room only when Spain played, it was all mostly empty seats for the rest of the countries. Some of the coaches, such as Hewitt, complained about the format, saying that the events part owner and Spanish Soccer Star Pique has ruined the event. 

I don’t blame them for complaining about the event. I kept trying all week to follow or watch the Davis Cup from the USA, and it was impossible – pretty much forget it. I couldn’t find anyone showing the matches or any good updates and write ups about the happenings. In previous years I’ve been able to find all matches either on the Tennis Channel and/or ESPN. So, who knows what happened over there other than what I was able to scrape from bad websites. 

Back to Federer though, I was astounded at his ability to draw a crowd of thousands for exhibition matches all over South America. It looks like a different kind of retirement may be in the cards for Federer if and when he retires. He could potentially play another ten years of exhibition matches all over the world challenging younger ATP foes. Forget about playing the champions tours. Federer can just find one guy and reap millions for a week’s worth of work.