LONDON — Five years have passed since Adrian Mannarino came within touching distance of one of the greatest victories of his career, yet the French veteran admits the painful memories of his unfinished Wimbledon battle with Roger Federer have never completely faded.
The 38-year-old left-hander returned to that unforgettable afternoon on Centre Court in 2021, when he led the eight-time Wimbledon champion by two sets to one before a devastating injury abruptly ended what had been one of the finest performances of his career.
Mannarino had frustrated Federer with his trademark flat groundstrokes and precision on grass, putting himself in position to eliminate one of the sport’s greatest players in the opening round of the Championships.
Then everything changed in an instant.
While preparing to return serve during the fourth set, Mannarino slipped behind the baseline and collapsed awkwardly onto the grass. He later revealed that he heard a crack as he fell and immediately realized the injury was serious.
Although he briefly returned after receiving medical treatment, the Frenchman was unable to continue and retired before the deciding set.
“It was a really disappointing match,” Mannarino told ATPTour.com.
“First you’re starting to lose and then instantly when I fell down on the court, I knew that I would have many weeks to recover. It’s a double pain. It was on my birthday, too, so you feel like all the stars are aligned and at the end of the day it went wrong.”
The injury forced Mannarino off the ATP Tour for approximately two months and turned what should have been one of the highlights of his career into one of its most painful moments.
“It was definitely not a good memory,” he said. “I remember taking the Eurostar the next day. I wasn’t able to walk. My coach was carrying five pieces of luggage by himself. It was really complicated.”
Looking back, Mannarino believes he was outplaying Federer for much of the contest.
Their previous Wimbledon meeting three years earlier had ended in a straightforward victory for the Swiss legend, but by 2021 Federer was returning from multiple knee surgeries and was no longer operating at the dominant level that had made him virtually untouchable on Centre Court for more than a decade.
Mannarino insists he had genuine belief that he could complete the upset, even if he acknowledges the outcome can never be known.
“You never know what would have been the outcome of the match,” he said. “I think I was playing better than Roger that day, or he was playing worse than me because he was definitely not the player that he used to be.”
“I was leading on the scoreboard, but maybe I could have been a little bit tighter at the end. You don’t know how it would have been and we’ll never know.”
Despite the lingering disappointment, Mannarino has gradually found perspective, even joking about the significance the match ultimately held in Federer’s career.
The Swiss recovered from the scare to reach the Wimbledon quarterfinals before losing to Hubert Hurkacz in what proved to be his final appearance at the All England Club before retirement.
“It would have been Roger’s last match,” Mannarino said with a smile. “Losing to someone like me, he would have realised it was the end.”
“There were a lot of things going on in my mind. I’m not used to playing on Centre Court and playing this kind of big match, but on that day I felt like I was handling all that stuff pretty well.”
Beneath the humor, however, remains a sense of unfinished business.
“I will never be able to play that match again,” Mannarino said. “People always tell you, ‘You’ll get another chance.’ But you’re like, ‘No, that chance is over.’ I will never be able to beat Roger on that day on that Centre Court.”
“So maybe I’m going to do some nice things in the future, but what I know is that it’s done, and it was not the best end for me.”
Mannarino has continued to build an impressive reputation on grass despite that setback.
Entering this year’s Wimbledon, he ranked third among active ATP players in tour-level victories on grass, trailing only seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic and 2017 finalist Marin Cilic.
His latest campaign has again demonstrated his comfort on the surface, earning another opportunity to advance deep into the tournament.
Mannarino will face sixth seed Alex de Minaur on Thursday with a place in the third round at stake, hoping to create new Wimbledon memories while continuing to leave behind one of the most heartbreaking moments of his career.
