Tennis fans hailed icon Roger Federer after he was spotted alone in the Wimbledon Royal Box on Monday.
Swiss legend Federer, 44, won eight of 20 grass-court Grand Slam titles between 2003 and 2017.
Since retiring in 2022, he has regularly attended Wimbledon as a fan, often appearing as a special guest on Center Court.
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And this year was no exception: he competed on the second Monday of the two-week competition in London.
Federer watched as Italy’s Jasmine Paolini beat Alexandra Ila in three sets before Britain’s Arthur Fery produced an epic five-set thriller against Grigor Dimitrov.
Almost the entire royal box had left Center Court by the time the final match of the day began between men’s singles runner-up Alexander Zverev and 13th-seeded Jiri Legecka.
However, Federer was seen alone surrounded by empty seats as he prepared for the match, which was suspended midway through the third set with Zverev three games away from victory.
The image received a huge response from fans on social media, who praised the tennis player for staying until the end.
Journalist Jose Morgado said: “There are FOUR people in the Royal Box at the start of the Zverev-Lehecka match at 9pm. One of them, in the front row, is Roger Federer. You have to love him.”
Martin Edwards said: “Huge respect to Roger for that obvious respect for Zverev and Lehechka, for turning up and watching them too after the Grigor/Arthur blockbuster, when no one else was worried about the final match of the day.”
Dave added: “Roger Federer arrived at the Royal Box at 2.30pm and stayed until the Zverev match at 9pm. A true ambassador of the sport. Pure class.”
Dave Meikle responded: “He’s here to watch tennis, it’s not a photo opportunity like so many other ‘celebrities.’
Anne Marie responded: “Sincere, athletic, pleasant… GREAT!”
And Jidani said: “He’s just the GOAT. Only someone who really loves the game and respects the players.”
On Sunday, Novak Djokovic surpassed Federer for the most men’s singles wins at Wimbledon with his 106th win with a four-set victory over Roman Safiullin.
Seven-time champion Djokovic, 39, will meet Felix Auger-Aliassime in the quarter-finals and equal Federer’s record of eight tournament wins if he follows through and lifts the trophy on Sunday.