"Does that mean Djokovic, McEnroe, Navratilova were not classy?" - Fans dismiss 'class' take on Federer's absence at Andy Murray's Wimbledon farewell

Novak Djokovic, John McEnroe, Holger Rune, Lleyton Hewitt, Martina Navratilova, Conchita Martinez, Iga Swiatek and others were on the Centre Court sidelines during Andy Murray's Wimbledon farewell on Thursday, July 4. However, Roger Federer, who was also spotted earlier at SW19, wasn't a part of the on-court proceedings in Murray's honor. Tennis journalist Amy Lundy Dahl hailed it as a classy move by the Swiss great, but many fans disagreed with this take.

Murray, a two-time Wimbledon winner and former World No. 1, had paired up with brother Jamie to play men's doubles at this year's edition of the prestigious grasscourt Major. However, the brothers were ousted in the first round by John Peers and Rinky Hijikata on Centre Court.

After the match, the Brit received a stirring farewell, with some of the most high-profile names in tennis coming out in his honor. Later, all of them took turns to share warm embraces with Murray, who thanked them for their presence.

Federer, the record eight-time Wimbledon winner, was spotted earlier in the day at SW19. On the previous day, the Swiss legend's wife Mirka was seen in attendance, alone, for the reigning ATP World No. 1 Jannik Sinner's match against Matteo Berrettini.

Tennis journalist Amy Lundy Dahl opined on X (formerly Twitter) that Federer "had to be at the Andy Murray match". However, Dahl suggested that the Swiss deliberately avoided taking the spotlight away from Murray's emotional farewell and called it a "class move".

"So we know Roger Federer is at Wimbledon. He had to be at the Andy Murray match— had to be— but he didn’t make himself readily visible? Kind of a class move," Dahl wrote.

However, Dahl's take did not go down well with several tennis fans, with one section of them asking the journalist if the ones who attended Murray's farewell lacked class.

"Does that mean Djokovic, McEnroe, Swiatek, Hewitt, Henman, Rune, Draper, Norrie, Martinez, Navratilova and Evans were not classy for staying courtside throughout the tribute and all hugging him at the end was not a classy move by them then?"

"I have the exact opposite take. Are you saying that Nole is classless? Andy appreciated the players on the court. He went over and thanked all of them," another fan commented.

"Why is it classy? The others came out. I thought it was mean," opined another fan.

"Yes, very classy. Setting himself apart from the classless riff-raff who were there on court to congratulate Andy like Martina, McEnroe, Djokovic, Rune, Iga… and many more. Honestly," another fan chimed in.

Others revisited Federer's 2022 Laver Cup farewell, where his greatest rivals Rafael Nadal, Djokovic, and Murray were present along with many other big names in tennis.

"If I remember correctly, Roger wanted his big rivals at his goodbye party. And they made themselves available and visible. Even the injured Andy, the injured Novak, the injured Rafa. They made an effort to go and be there. That was all class and more, then," a fan wrote.

"Roger should have been there. Plain and simple. Andy was at the Laver Cup for him," another fan commented.

"Not being there for a great rival goodbye, when he was at his, is classy by your standards? You guys are so funny trying to paint him always as the classy one," another fan weighed in.

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Roger Federer was a part of Wimbledon's official farewell video in Andy Murray's honor; Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Venus Williams also featured

From left to right: Andy Murray, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic (Image via Getty)

Despite Federer's physical absence at Murray's Wimbledon farewell, the 20-time Grand Slam winner featured in a farewell video created by Wimbledon alongside Djokovic, Nadal, and Venus Williams. The video was shown to Murray during the farewell ceremony as well, which left the Brit tearful.

Federer had attended Murray's first-round Wimbledon win over Ryan Peniston last year. Later, the Swiss wrote briefly about his experience of watching the Brit win at SW19 from the Royal Box on Instagram.

"Always great to see a Sir Andy Murray battle," Federer had written in an Instagram Story.

Murray's next outing is set to be at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The two-time Olympic gold medalist has already confirmed that he will not be playing singles after the conclusion of the Summer Games.