Roger Federer’s wife Mirka ‘heckles’ opponent from sideline

ROGER Federer is tennis’s king of cool — however his wife Mirka has been accused of heckling one of his opponents from the sidelines.

Mirka Federer, wife of Rodger Federer, watches his match against Stanislas Wawrinka in London on the weekend where she is said to have heckled her husband’s opponent.

AS a tennis player, Roger Federer has an array of skills which are the envy of his rivals: a deceptive serve, a flawless backhand and an extraordinary ability to mix up his game and keep his opponents guessing. He also, it turns out, has a somewhat feisty wife.

Mirka Federer’s unrestrained contribution from the sidelines to her husband’s semi-final victory over Stanislas Wawrinka in the ATP World Tour led to a 10-minute row between the two Swiss players after the match.

As if that were not bad enough — Roger Federer? Having a stand-up row? — Federer now has to put the unpleasantness behind him as he concentrates on this week’s Davis Cup final in France.

Where, as it happens, his partner is one Stanislas Wawrinka.

Mirka, a former tennis professional, is reported to have heckled Wawrinka as he served during the match at the O2 Arena on Saturday.

The French newspaper L’Equipe claimed that she had shouted “cry, baby, cry” at Wawrinka during the third-set climax. Others alleged she had been questioning his ability to hold his nerve.

Warwinka was visibly and audibly annoyed, and a French television channel picked up his words: “She did the same thing at Wimbledon,” he said.

He then took Federer to task after the match, with officials shepherding the two into a backstage gymnasium, where they had a 10-minute argument.

Federer later pulled out of the final against Novak Djokovic, citing a back injury.

Neither he nor Wawrinka have added fuel to the fire since, but they will face questions after arriving in Lille for the Davis Cup final, which starts on Friday. It is the only major trophy that Federer has not won.

He and Wawrinka will take on the bulk of the workload against France, with Marco Chiudinelli and Michael Lammer as back-up. They are expected to play doubles, but Federer’s back and Wawrinka’s grievance may put paid to that.

Wawrinka was asked directly about what had irritated him in the third set in his post-match press conference. “Not much, nothing special, tense match,” he said.

Federer did not hold a press conference after he pulled out of the final, giving ammunition to those who suggested that he was happy to duck any possible questions about his wife.

Talk of a major rift did not seem to tally with Wawrinka’s post-match tweet on Saturday, however — “Good job @rogerfederer!”, while he tweeted “#Happy” and “#Excited” as he set off for Lille.

The pair used to be close friends and Wawrinka credited Federer with aiding his development.

However, Wawrinka’s rise up the rankings has changed the dynamic. He is also a complicated soul with a Samuel Beckett tattoo to prove it, and it remains to be seen how he will react this week.

On the plus side, at least he knows Mirka will not be heckling him this time.

The Times