Why tennis legend Roger Federer sat alone in the Wimbledon Royal Box

Roger Federer remained the last man sitting in the Royal Box to watch Wimbledon action on Center Court on Monday.The fight between Arthur Fery and Grigor Dimitrov, which ended with Fery’s triumph, ended after 8 p.m., after which Alexander Zverev and Jiří Lehecká also fought under the roof. Instead of leaving mid-way, as most celebrities did, Federer stayed behind out of respect for Zverev and Lehecka.The suit-wearing tennis legend, known for his grace on and off the court, was enjoying every ball as Zverev led 6-4, 7-5, 3-3 when play had to be suspended after reaching Wimbledon’s 11pm exit.Tennis legend Billie Jean King, Formula 1 driver Kimi Antonelli and England women’s soccer star Alessia Russo were also present in the Royal Box on Tuesday.In addition to the sports stars, Comic Relief co-founder Lenny Henry, actor Ncuti Gatwa and BBC Sport director Alex Kay-Jelski were also in attendance.Watch:As Zverev’s match continued, a few spectators returned to the Royal Box.The eight-time Wimbledon champion was a home crowd favorite at SW19. After defeating Dimitrov, Fery expressed his surprise, saying he spotted Federer sitting in the front row of the Royal Box while he was playing.“‘When I turned on the TV in the dressing rooms for the first match (at Center Court), the women’s match, I saw Roger in the Royal Box, I didn’t know he was coming. I sent a message to my team saying ‘Roger is in the box, I’m pretty tight’,” Fery said, as quoted by the Daily Mail.“It’s incredible to be in a position where one of the all-time greats is watching you, let alone watching me play a five-set match against Dimitrov on Center Court at Wimbledon,” he added.Fery’s impressive run at Wimbledon takes him into the top 100 of the world rankings.He will next face ninth seed and French Open finalist Flavio Cobolli in the quarterfinals.Zverev and Federer played each other seven times before Federer retired. The twenty-nine-year-old German holds a 4:3 lead in the head-to-head record.