Roger Federer’s arrival at Wimbledon turned out to be an occasion to celebrate for Tamil cinema fans too
Roger Federer dropped by Wimbledon on Sunday to join the celebration of the tournament’s iconic Center Court completing 100 years, and quite unexpectedly, the occasion turned out to be a cause of celebration for Tamil Cinema fans as well.
In a post announcing the 20-time Grand Slam champion’s arrival at SW19 on the event’s official Facebook page, fans noticed something unusual. While the caption over his photo read “Welcome back” to most users, it read “Vaathi Coming” for users from the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and other Tamil-speaking regions nearby.
For those unaware, ‘Vaathi Coming’ is a reference to a song from Master (2021), a Kollywood movie featuring actor Vijay, one of the biggest stars in the industry today. The song has over 350 million views and more than three million likes on YouTube as of now, and was even picked as one of the top-streamed Tamil songs of 2020 by Spotify.
Upon seeing the track pop up in such an unexpected fashion in relation to one of the most prestigious sporting events in the world, users on Twitter went ballistic, pointing out that it was evidence of just how wide-reaching the song’s influence is.
Naturally, fans of the actor also saw it as proof of his influence, remarking that he was the only one in the region who was worthy enough to be compared to the indomitable Swiss.
“Federer is at SW19 to watch Sunday’s proceedings & guess what caption Wimbledon FB Page (Location Specific Post) have written to describe his entry! Insane reach!” one fan tweeted.
“The craze & vibes for Vaathi Coming is still high & huge. The official Facebook page of Wimbledon has shared a post with the legendary Roger Federer along with the everlasting tagline “VAATHI COMING,”” another account posted.
“Beyond the boundaries!! For my favourite Roger Federer,” one user wrote.
“Vaathi Coming vibes never ends. It’s always unstoppable,” another fan tweeted.
Roger Federer confirmed during the Wimbledon appearance that he will try to participate in the tournament next year
Roger Federer assured his fans that he will try to make an appearance at Wimbledon next year
Meanwhile, Roger Federer all but confirmed that he will be making an appearance at Wimbledon next year during the celebration ceremony, remarking that the Center Court at SW19 was one of his favorite venues around the world.
The 40-year-old hopes that he can play at least one more time at the event in the future before he has to hang up his racquet, and experience the joy of playing in front of his loyal fans for one last time.
“I’ve been lucky enough to play a lot of matches on this court, feels awkward to be here today in a different type of role but it’s great to be here. This court has given me my biggest wins, my biggest losses,” he said. “I hope I can come back, like you said, one more time.”
The former World No. 1 is an eight-time winner at Wimbledon and holds the record for the most titles won by a man in the event. After getting knocked out in the quarterfinals at SW19 last year, he has spent the past 12 months recovering from knee surgery and will make his comeback at the Laver Cup in September.
